234 THE STORY OF THE KHEDIVATE.

Strictly legal point of view, ultra vires. But in this case, as in so many others, the proverb holds good, summum jus summa injuria, and the whole status of International law is of so nebulous a character that it is well-nigh impossible to say what is or is not permissible under International jurisdiction.

The proch verbaux of the sittings of the Commission are not lively reading, and I have no intention of inflicting them upon my readers. What struck me most in their perusal, was the good sense displayed by the Commission, and the good temper with which their discussions were conducted. Their task, doubtless, was facilitated by the fact that Egypt and her creditors had a common interest in coming to a reasonable compromise, while all the world was alive to the truth that if the creditors stood out for more than they could reasonably claim, they ran a great risk of getting nothing at all. Judging by the reports, the Commissioners could devote but verj' cursory attention to the complicated and well-nigh unintelligible statements of accounts submitted to their inspection.

They dismissed doubtful claims ; they cut down genuine claims ; they exhibited a sovereign contempt for the sanctity of contracts. But they succeeded, after three months of arduous labour, in formulating a settlement between Egypt, the bondholders and the floating-debt creditors, which gave general satisfaction at the time, and which, during the score of years that have come and gone since, has never been seriously criticized, or, still less, disputed.