Jan. 19, 1884.
Many thanks for your important private letter about Egypt. The information may be of use to Baring.
Barrère is a very clever fellow, and has persuaded Baring that he is very friendly.
Gordon went off yesterday, in a very good humour, determined to help us in carrying out our policy of evacuation in the best manner.
He is wonderfully optimistic, with a great contempt for the Mahdi and disbelief in Arab fanaticism or love of real fighting. He is not much afraid of a massacre. I trust he may be right.
A fresh disaster in the Soudan—Baker Pasha's defeat—encouraged the idea that these reverses were symptoms of weakness on the part of England, and gave France a reason for desiring to interfere, and a locus standi for asserting a claim to do so.
Lord Lyons to Lord Granville.
Paris, March 11, 1884.
The large majority obtained by the Government against the coalition of the extreme Right and the extreme Left on Paul Bert's extravagant proposals relative to the salaries of schoolmasters and schoolmistresses, has strengthened their hands and has given some confidence to the Union Républicaine Party, on which they mainly rely. They also succeeded in defeating a very mischievous motion made by Clémenceau in the Committee of 44 to send a deputation to Anzin in order to inquire into, or more properly to foment the troubles in the Anzin coal districts. Nevertheless, the state of the country and of Paris in particular is far from comfortable. The distress of the workmen, and the folly and unreasonableness of their demands and expectations are on the increase. I send you by this messenger a good despatch by Crowe[40] on the violent cry for protection from the competition of foreign workmen as well as that of foreign goods, which has been one of the consequences.
I am afraid all this does not tend to make the Government more conciliatory on foreign affairs. They are hourly expecting to hear of the fall of Bac-Ninh, and if they are quite successful there, they are only too likely to turn their thoughts to getting a little glory out of the Egyptian question, as well as out of the Madagascar, Congo, and other matters in which they are more or less opposed to England.
So far as we are concerned, the effect the reconciliation between Russia and Germany has had upon the French is not good. So long as they had any hopes of a quarrel between Germany and Russia, they felt bound to reserve their strength in order to take advantage of it, and to cultivate good relations with other Powers, in order to secure at least their non-interference. Now they have given up the hope of a break between Russia and Germany, and are at the same time confident that all the Continental Powers are determined on peace. They think therefore that they may expect to be tête-à-tête with us and to be free to act as suits them in affairs in which we are concerned.