THE ANGLO-TURKISH CONVENTION. 411 obtaining the consent of the Sultan to the appointment of a Commissioner, who was to discuss with him in Cairo the terms of an arrangement by which England was to pledge herself to withdraw her troops at a date to be fixed hereafter, while Turkey was to bind herself to send an army to Egypt in case of need, in order to uphold the Khedivial Government.

It is characteristic of Turkish politics that the Envoy selected for this purpose was Mukhtar Pasha, who was chosen, not on account of his high military repute acquired in the Turko-Russian war, but because this very repute was considered by the Sultan as an adequate reason for exiling him permanently from the banks of the Bosphorus. Fifteen years and more have come and gone since Ghazi- Mukhtar Pasha, the hero of the Caucasus campaign, arrived in Egypt, and throughout this period he has never been allowed to quit Egypt, on the plea that his presence there is essential to Turkish interests. At Cairo, the negotiations proceeded far from rapidly. The Egyptian Government was bitterly opposed to any arrangement which might render Turkey master of the situation. The Continental, and especially the French, bondholders considered that any kind of Turkish intervention in Egyptian affairs would imperil their financial interests, while the British authorities in Egypt, including, I believe. Sir Evelyn Baring, were extremely doubtful as to the advantage of the proposed Convention, even if it could be carried into eflfect Meanwhile, before any understanding