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tinctly proved that it was not a war at all, rather the military operations in Egypt—were undertaken in the cause of Europe, of Egypt, of civilisation. No degrading thoughts of the interests of England ever crossed our minds. (Cheers.) We spent six or seven millions sterling in destroying Alexandria, in stamping out the national rising under Arabi, in bringing the blessings of civilisation to the fierce Arabs of the Soudan at Teb and Tamanieb. (Loud cheers.) These are the sacrifices we have made in the noble cause of cosmopolitanism, in advancing the interests of ether nations in preference to our own; and now—such is human ingratitude—the very nations in whose interests we spent £6,000,000 to destroying Alexandria now ask us to pay £8,000,000 more to rebuild it. (Shame, shame.) But you need be under no alarm; we shall not pay it. Sooner than do so we will withdraw from the country, and leave it to stew in its own juice. (Loud and long-continued cheering.) I have been accused by Lord Randolph Churchill—(hisses and groans, and cat-calls)—and other feeble folk who have their habitations in the rocks of Tory stupidity and ignorance, of bloodguiltiness—I am told that my hands are smirched with the blood of Egyptians and Arabs, even as I declared the hands of Lord Beaconsfield were smirched with the blood of Bulgarian and other Christian martyrs. It is false. Even supposing the blood of Arabs and Egyptians had flowed ten times as freely does Lord Randolph Churchill—(groans)—see no difference between the blood of Christians of the Holy Greek Church and the blood of the Jews, or of the Pagan followers of Mahound? (Loud cheers.) My conduct of the Egyptian Question has been misunderstood even by some of my colleagues. It has even been whispered that if I had been in opposition I should have been an Egyptian nationalist, that I should have supported the struggling nationality of Egypt, as I had before done those of Italy, Bulgaria, and India; but they were mistaken. The conditions were quite different, as I could prove to you if time permitted. (Cheers.) I know that in addressing so thoughtful and intelligent an assembly as I now see before me, I shall receive your hearty applause when I tell you that what is vulgarly called the glorious Empire of England, inspires me with no pride whatever. (Loud cheers.) On the contrary, it has always appeared to me
AN EMPIRE OF FRAUD AND FORCE—
(continued cheering)—and the question that has been constantly present to my mind has been not "ought we to reduce our Empire," but "how can we reduce it with least injury and inconvenience to our neighbours and to the world?" It has never yet been proved to my satisfaction, and I think I may promise you it never will, that England would be worse off without India, or Ireland, or Australia, or Malta, or Gibraltar. Are not the Dutch, and Belgians, and Portuguese as happy and prosperous as the Irish? Is not our true position amongst the fifth-rate Powers of the world, and should we not be more honest and respected if we accepted it? (Loud cheers.) I have been reminded that as the Scotch are the most adventurous and successful of our pioneers, that as there are a far greater number of her sons in India and our Colonies as covenanted and un-
