Page:The empire and the century.djvu/815

 pointed out should be found in an enlightened and disinterested criticism of the measures which the Government are proposing to adopt. Unfortunately, such criticism does not at present exist in Egypt. In England we suffer from a plethora of discussion combined with a poverty of results. The reverse is the case in the land of the Pharaohs, and neither in the institutions of the country nor in the Press can there be heard at present the voice of an honest and well-informed public opinion. The want of local restraining influences of this kind is much felt by those who have at heart the welfare of the Egyptians, and who would be only too thankful for some trustworthy barometer of the wishes and feelings of the people. Time alone can repair this deficiency by the gradual spread of education and by the regular evolution of some simple system of local self-government which will help the people to a more complete understanding of public affairs.

The story of Great Britain's work in Egypt and of what has been accomplished under Lord Cromer's inspiration and guidance is in many respects an object-lesson which may not be without utility to our countrymen both at home and across the seas. The circumstances of the case were no doubt peculiar and not likely to be reproduced elsewhere. Special difficulties had to be met by special remedies. But, in the main, it may be said that the qualities to which Egypt owes her regeneration and the Soudan its release from barbarism are the very same which created the British Empire in the past, and which are equally indispensable for its preservation in the future.