THE "CONDOMINIUM.'' 501 condition that the Soudan was to be administered under English control. There was, as I have said before, a great deal of exaggeration in the theory put forward in England, at the period of the evacuation, that the insurrection led by the Mahdi was caused solely by the exactions of the Egyptian officials in the Soudan. When all is said, the administration of the Soudan by Egypt was humane, civilized, and enlightened, in comparison with the rule of the Mahdi and the Khalifa. Still, the corruption, greed, and incompetence of the native officials, appointed from Cairo to administer the Soudan, had undoubtedly contributed to the outbreak of the Dervish insurrection ; and any attempt to restore the old order of things would have gravely increased the chance of further disturbances.

The fact therefore that England was in future to be openly associated with Egypt in the government of / the Soudan rendered the re-annexation of the country I to Egypt far less unpopular to the Soudanese than it J would have been otherwise. I do not hesitate to say that throughout all the East there is a well-nigh universal belief in the general justice and consideration of English rule towards her native subjects. This belief renders her sway far less distasteful to the Mahometan world than that of any other Christian Power. In consequence, England was well advised in proposing, and Egypt was equally well advised in accepting, the scheme for a joint administration of the Soudan.

By this scheme, which, for want of any other term.