At the present moment this fund shows a deficit of LE336,000, and
there are outstanding charges on account of the expedition amounting to
LE330,000, making a total deficit of LE666,000.'

'On the other hand, the fund will be increased, when the accounts of the
year are made up, by a sum of LE382,000, being the balance of the share
of the Government in the surplus of 1898, after deduction of the excess
administrative expenditure in that year, and by a sum of LE90,000, being
part of the proceeds of the sale of the Khedivial postal steamers. The
net deficit will, therefore, be LE194,000; and if the year 1899 is as
prosperous as the present year, it may be hoped that the deficit will
disappear when the accounts of 1899 are closed.'

A great, though perhaps academic, issue remains: Was the war justified
by wisdom and by right?

If the reader will look at a map of the Nile system, he cannot fail to
be struck by its resemblance to a palm-tree. At the top the green and
fertile area of the Delta spreads like the graceful leaves and foliage.
The stem is perhaps a little twisted, for the Nile makes a vast bend
in flowing through the desert. South of Khartoum the likeness is again
perfect, and the roots of the tree begin to stretch deeply into the
Soudan. I can imagine no better illustration of the intimate and
sympathetic connection between Egypt and the southern provinces. The
water--the life of the Delta--is drawn from the Soudan, and passes along
the channel of the Nile, as the sap passes up the stem of the tree, to
produce a fine crop of fruit above. The benefit to Egypt is obvious;
but Egypt does not benefit alone. The advantages of the connection
are mutual; for if the Soudan is thus naturally and geographically an
integral part of Egypt, Egypt is no less essential to the development
of the Soudan. Of what use would the roots and the rich soil be, if
the stem were severed, by which alone their vital essence may find
expression in the upper air?

Here, then, is a plain and honest reason for the River War. To unite
territories that could not indefinitely have continued divided; to
combine peoples whose future welfare is inseparably intermingled; to
collect energies which, concentrated, may promote a common interest; to
join together what could not improve apart--these are the objects which,
history will pronounce, have justified the enterprise.

The advantage to Great Britain is no less clear to those who believe
that our