pill of foreign domination to the dweller on the banks of the Nile is that the Egyptian element has been utilized to the fullest possible extent in the work of administration. 'English heads and Egyptian hands' has from the first been Lord Cromer's motto, and it has been vigorously applied in practice. From the Minister of the Khedive in Cairo down to the humblest clerk in the provincial administration, the great mass of the bureaucracy is native, A few carefully-chosen Englishmen direct the machine from behind the scenes; but the first lesson they are taught is the necessity of acting with tact and discretion, and of keeping as much as possible in the background. The government of the country is carried on in the Khedive's name, laws are passed by the Egyptian Council of Ministers, orders are signed by the Ministers of His Highness and executed by Egyptian officials. The situation is summed up by the fact that only one Englishman—the financial adviser—permanently attends the meetings of the Council of Ministers, and even he has no vote. When, in future ages, Macaulay's New Zealander digs up the official archives of the Egyptian Government he will hardly find any trace of the names or existence of Lord Cromer and the small band of Englishmen who have assisted in the regeneration of the country.
The third principal reason for the success which has attended British rule in Egypt is that there has been little or no interference on the part of the authorities at home. For once in the history of the Empire a really free hand has been given to the man on the spot. The four great bogies which have damped the ardour and tied the hands of some of our greatest pro-Consuls—the Home Government, Parliament, the Press, and Public Opinion—have in their mercy left Egypt severely alone. In this instance they have obeyed the behest 'not to speak to the man at the wheel,' with the result that the ship has been brought to the haven by a plain, straightforward course. Doubtless it has taken time to arrive at this desirable consummation. Slowly but surely the
