i8o THE STORY OF THE KHEDIVATE.

largest landowner in the country, with the power to compel the fellaheen to work on his estates for his own exclusive profit. Apparently this objection was recognized as valid, as from the commencement of the inquiry the British representatives took their stand upon the ground that the Khedive and the State were, in Egypt, synonymous terms ; that it was impossible to distinguish between their respective responsibilities and liabilities ; and that therefore no investigation into the financial position and prospects of Egypt could be of any practical value unless it extended to the affairs of Ismail Pasha in his capacity of a private landowner, as well as in his capacity as absolute ruler of the State.

The French representative, M. de Blignieres, was disposed in the first instance to dispute this contention. Though nominated by the- French Government, he had been practically selected by the Grand Syndicat de Paris, composed of directors of the Credit Fonder, the Credit LyannaiSy the Banque de Paris et des Pays Bos, and other French financial institutions holding large amounts of Egyptian securities. He argued with some plausibility that the duty of the Commission was to effect a satisfactory arrangement between Egypt and the bondholders, and that it was outside their functions to enter on the consideration of how, and by whom, and for what object the debts had been contracted in the past.

M. de Blignieres, however, was a very fair-minded / man, open to conviction. When his British colleagues