EARL OF CROMER. (Hansard, 30 July 1907)

§ THE LORD PRIVY SEAL (The Marquess of RIPON)

My Lords, it is with great personal gratification that I rise to make the Motion which falls to my lot on 698 this occasion, because it is a Motion tending to recognise the great and eminent services of a Member of this House, Lord Cromer, whom I trust I may count among my most valued friends, with whom I have been associated in office, and to do honour to whom is a great pleasure to myself. Lord Cromer's great services are so well known to your Lordships, and indeed to all his countrymen, that it would be out of place, and I may almost say a waste of time so far as the matter of conviction goes, if I were to describe them at length on this occasion. The great success of Lord Cromer's administration in Egypt has afforded signal justification for that belief, of which we are apt, perhaps, in this country to boast too much, that Englishmen are eminently qualified for the administration of affairs in any part of the world and on behalf of any nation in whoso government they may take part. During the twenty-four years which my noble friend as been at the head of the Egyptian Administration ho has done work of infinite difficulty and of the highest importance, a work beneficial to the people of that country, bringing order out of chaos, and laying firm and solid the foundations of prosperity in that country, achievements calculated to confer much honour upon the British name. I feel sure that your Lordships will unanimously concur in the Resolution with which I shall conclude my remarks.

Although most of us, here and outside, connect Lord Cromer's name chiefly with the great work he has done in Egypt, it would be a great mistake to suppose that his public services have been confined to that country. Lord Cromer was trained in a good school of administration. He was private secretary to my late lamented friend, Lord Northbrook, the eminent administrator, who was able to train his young secretary in the solid foundations of good administration. Subsequently I had the great advantage of having Lord Cromer as financial member of the Indian Council during the chief part of the time during which I had the honour to fill the office of Viceroy of India, and I was able then to watch from day to day his devotion to duty, his firm grasp of financial principles, and his high administrative ability. It is therefore with no hesitation that I submit to your Lordships this Motion asking you to express to the Sovereign your readiness to concur in doing honour 699 to one who has rendered such services alike to the Crown and to the people of this country.

Recognition such as that which it is intended to offer to Lord Cromer has very generally been confined to members of the naval and military services, but I rejoice that on this occasion we are about to confer a similar honour upon one whose services have been of a civil nature. If a precedent be sought we all know that a grant of the kind now in contemplation was made many years ago to the late Sir Rowland Hill for the great and eminent services which he discharged in connection with postal administration in this country; but if there had been no precedent I should have been glad to have created one on this occasion. I should have been very glad to have taken part in a step whereby the Parliament of this country, like the Crown, was prepared to recognise eminent service to the public weal wherever given, and in whatever branch of the public service they have been discharged.

I am sorry that in this I find against me the high authority of the late Lord Salisbury, who in moving a similar proposal in regard to my noble and gallant friend, Lord Roberts, thus expressed himself — We never depend upon the services of civilians in the sense and to the extent to which we depend on the services of great commanders. That expression of Lord Salisbury's is no doubt true in a sense, but I think it was stated too broadly; at all events, it was a statement more broad than I individually am inclined to agree with. I think we shall do well if upon this occasion we do not hesitate for a moment to place my noble friend, Lord Cromer, in the same position and on a perfect equality with the eminent soldiers and sailors who have previously been honoured in this manner. I believe, and I do not think your Lordships will be inclined to differ from me, that there have been both in this and other countries statesmen and administrators whose public services have equalled if not surpassed those of many a naval and military commander. In order that we may take our part, humble though it may be, in conferring an honour of this description on a statesman like Lord Cromer, I beg to move that an humble 700 address of thanks and concurrence be presented to his Majesty in answer to his most gracious Message.

§ *THE MARQUESS OF LANSDOWNE

My Lords, we on this side of the House do not yield to noble Lords opposite in our appreciation of Lord Cromer's services, and we desire to associate ourselves with all that has been said by the noble Marquess, and to accept our full share of responsibility for the proposal which His Majesty's Government has made. Lord Cromer has, indeed, conferred signal services upon this country and the Empire. I was glad the noble Marquess reminded us that, although we are apt to connect Lord Cromer's name almost exclusively with Egypt, it was not in Egypt alone that he did good work for us. I can well remember the reputation which Lord Cromer left behind him in India as Financial Member of Council. But it is upon Egypt that Lord Cromer has left an indelible mark, and it was the affairs of Egypt which enabled him to write a page in the history of this country which is all his own.

On such occasions as this one is apt to look for a parallel to the case before Parliament, but I really believe there is no case that stands exactly on all fours with that of Lord Cromer. Our position in Egypt is anal together exceptional one, and Lord Cromer's position in that country was also exceptional. I think it would be almost true to say of him that during his long term of office he was able to serve two masters with equal fidelity and success. Of British interests he was the faithful custodian, and nobody need be reminded of the importance of those interests. It is due to Lord Cromer that our position in that country, at one time undefined and, indeed, somewhat precarious, became assured and consolidated. But if Lord Cromer was a faithful guardian of British interests, he was not the less a faithful guardian of the interests of the country committed to his charge; nothing could have been more wholehearted than his devotion to Egyptian interests. His work, when one comes to review it, was indeed a marvellous achievement in the interests of Egypt. When we 701 consider how under his guidance the great natural resources of that country were developed, when we remember the manner in which he was able to reorganise its financial system and restore its credit, when we remember how every branch of Egyptian administration has during his tenure of office been put upon a sounder footing, we may indeed claim for him that under the guidance of no other man could so much have been done for the people of Egypt. I dare say many of your Lordships may from time to time have perused those admirable Reports which from year to year Lord Cromer was in the habit of submitting to the Foreign Office. I have never road them without a feeling of profound admiration—a feeling that this country might indeed be proud that we had such a man as Lord Cromer to represent us. But although the public generally has been well aware of the magnitude of Lord Cramer's achievements, although it has, so to speak, seen the great output of work of which he was the author, it was reserved for those who were behind the scenes, and who knew the conditions under which that work was performed, to realise in face of what great difficulties and apparently insuperable obstacles that task was so admirably accomplished.

Lord Cramer had to contend with many disappointments; he had to overcome many rivalries; but he triumphed over them all, and ho triumphed because he possessed in the highest degree two great qualities, qualities indispensable in a public man—the qualities of tact and tenacity. It would be unjust to Lord Cromer if I did not refer to my conviction that the satisfactory understanding attained by the late Government with the Government of France in regard to many outstanding questions, and notably in regard to Egyptian affairs, would not have been obtainable, or at all events would not have been obtainable on so satisfactory a basis, if it had not been for the exceptional position which Lord Cromer occupied amongst the representatives of the other Great Powers in Egypt. In this House, at any rate, I feel sure that no discordant note will be raised when we consider the proposal put before us by the noble Marquess. We feel that this proposed grant is no excessive reward for great public service. We trust that it may enable Lord Cromer to enjoy the 702 well-earned rest which we hope he will take after labours which it is well known have involved a serious strain upon his health. We trust that he may live long to see others carry out the great work in Egypt which will always be associated with his name.