Mr. Labouchere continued to enquire into the Government's intentions towards Arabi in the House of Commons. A timely question on October 31 to Sir Charles Dilke secured the intervention of the press at the trial, and further questions on the following days forestalled the attempts of the Khedive to wriggle out of the conditions that Mr. Blunt's advocate had obtained from Mr. Gladstone. Arabi was, on December 4, condemned to death, and in spite of Mr. Gladstone's being at first inclined to let the law take its course, the sentence was commuted to banishment to Ceylon. Mr. Labouchere commented in _Truth_ as follows: "The farce {205} of the rebel's condemnation to exile with retention of his rank and with a handsome allowance, is a fitting conclusion to the trial. I see it stated that Arabi will be invited to take up his residence in this or that portion of British territory. It need hardly be said that he may reside in any part of the world, outside Egypt, that he pleases. There is no existing law which enables us to detain an Egyptian in deference to the wishes of an Egyptian Khedive; and it is not likely that we shall ever consent to convert any portion of our territory into an international gaol, where all who are in disfavour with foreign rulers are to be deported, and restrained in their liberty."[11] When Parliament met after Christmas, Mr. Labouchere seconded Sir Wilfrid Lawson's amendment to the Reply to the Speech from the Throne to the effect that no sufficient reason had been shown for the employment of British forces in reconstituting the Government of Egypt. It was certain, he said, that Arabi was supported by the entire Egyptian nation. He could quite understand why the Opposition did not challenge the policy of the Government. The Government were practically dragged into the war by the acts of the Opposition when in power. Anyone who read the Blue Books must see that. A great many Liberals and all the Radicals in the country regretted the Government plunging into the war. There could be no doubt that it was entered into for the sake of the bondholders and for that reason only. We were going to place the Egyptian army under an English General and a financier at the side of the Khedive, and then tell Europe that the Khedive was an independent ruler and that we had nothing to do with the Government of Egypt. Why were we there? For the single object of collecting the debts of the bondholders.[12] He wrote to Mr. Chamberlain on January 9, 1883: You people do not seem to have a very clear policy in Egypt. I cannot understand why you do not settle the French by adopting {206} the line of "Egypt for the Egyptians" and convert the country into a sort of Belgium. If you can establish the principle that no one is to interfere, you have got all that you want. To do this only two things are necessary: 1. Fair Courts of Justice where "meum and tuum" is recognised.