THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. WEDNESDAY, JULY 12, 1911. SIR ELDON GORST.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10284, 12 July 1911, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. WEDNESDAY, JULY 12, 1911. SIR ELDON GORST.

I The name of Sir Eldon Gorst, who, f unhappily, is lying at death's door, <has much interest for New Zealand, by (reason of the fact that the distinguished ipro-Conisul is a native of this Dominion. When only a year old he accompanied his father, the late* Sir John Gorst, to England. Eldon Gorafc inherited his father's ability, and early in ibis career took a responsible iposition in the Diplomatic Service. ; He was appoinJted Controller of Direot Taxes to the Egyptian Government from 1898 to 1904, and succeeded Lord Cromer as British Agemfc and ConSul-'G'eneral in; Egypt x in 1907. Under the guidance of ' 'the maker of modem Egypt," as Lord Cromer was called, that country, said Lord Lansdowne, "advanced with rapid strides along the path of financial and mat ■erial prosperity." Sir Eldon Gonst continued to administer justice with the firmness found 'so necessary by Lord Cromer, and more fhan once protested against the oonfoessiians granted by the Home Government. It was only last month that he reported that the British conoessioms had beem misunderstood asi a symiptom of weakness, and that it was necessary that the adiministration should be conducted with a firmness that would leave no doubt in the tninffls of the Nationalists of the futSErSy Ol tiEeir agitation'. Sie Eldon, GoS®i>'B view is that the .policy of ruling Egypt fa, co-operation with native

Ministers is incompatible with that of encouraging the development of so-called representative institutions. "The principal and sufficient reason has been," he adds, "that from first to. last the adoption- of .this .policy has been attributed both by the Egyptians and by the local European .colonies to weakness*, to an attempt to pacify the- Nationalist agitation by ill-timed concessionis, and to an intentional diminution of British a,\\- \ thority. We have to make the Egyptians understand .that His Majesty'is Government do not intend to I allow themselves to be hustled into going further or faster ini the direction of self-government than they consider to be in the interest* of the Egyptian people as a whole. Until this elementary lesson has been thoroughly learnt, no proposals for furth. developing the Legislative Council can be usefully entertained. The experience of the last few years shows that the axiom that British policy will not be moved from the right course, by agitation or violence, either from the one side or the other, is not easily grasped. In the past, mere- words and declarations have notproved sufficient for the purpose."