120 Egypt
policy of a British party. Thus we find even the Liberal
Press, and that, too, while the thunders of the Midlothian
campaign still reverberated, welcoming the despatch of
Dervish to Egypt with such war-whoops as that the
cc revolution in Egypt has found its master '' in a man
"as capable of ordering a massacre of the Mamelukes
as was Mehemet AH," and who "would succeed with
Arabi as he had succeeded with Lazes and Albanians,11
whom, be it observed, he had half exterminated (John
Morley, Pall Mall Gazette, June 15, 1882). But
Dervish, who was old, had been impressed and intimi-
dated by the Alexandria deputations and demonstrations
with their shouts of " Up the Sultan/1 " Down with the
Ultimatum/3 "Away with the Fleet," "No foreign
troops." He did not venture to do more than try to
persuade Arabi to go to Constantinople, an invitation to
walk into the spider's parlour that was politely declined.
Moreover, his authority disappeared altogether on the
outbreak of a serious riot in Alexandria the day after his
interview with Arabi and Mahmoud Sami (June 10, 1882).
In this Alexandria rioting fifty Christians were killed,
including a British naval officer ; the British Consul,
Cookson, was seriously injured ; the Italian and Greek
Consuls were grossly maltreated. It had long been
anticipated, and was accepted by British officials, as
proving that all Egypt was in a state of anarchy. Arabi
was at the time condemned as criminally responsible for
it, and is still considered by historians as indirectly im-
plicated. And this, although ArabiJs regulars restored
order and the indictment of Arabi for complicity was
dropped at his trial. On the other hand, the counter
accusation that the Khedive was involved has never been
satisfactorily disproved, and the evidence of Tewfik's
complicity with Omar Lutfy is very damaging (Blunt,