NEWS OF THE WEEK
T„,,.. HE most hackneyed of all the epithets usually applied to British Cabinet Ministers is the word " massive " applied to Mr. Ernest Bevin. Yet it is the right word with which to describe his statement of British policy towards Egypt and the Sudan in the Commons on Monday. "His Majesty's Government," said the Foreign Secretary, "have no intention of taking any steps or agreeing to any measures which would leave the Middle East defenceless." And that was a sufficient reply to the assertion by King Farouk, in his speech from the throne last week, that the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936, which governs the defence of the Canal Zone, should be abrogated and that the Sudan should be united with Egypt forthwith, under the Egyptian crown. There is not the slightest reason why the British Government should attempt to compete with the Egyptian Government in chauvinistic statements. Strong speeches, in which Great Britain is apt to figure as the villain, are usual on Egyptian patriotic occasions, and the Wafd, whose reputation with the Egyptian people has lately been on the wane, possibly stands in some need of such displays. But threats of the unilateral denuncia- tion of treaties are no more likely to deflect the British Government in 1950 from what is undoubtedly the proper course than they were in 1947, when the process of peaceful negotiation was similarly interrupted by the Egyptian authorities. The maintenance of proper defences at key points by international co-operation in time of peace is perfectly consistenl with the rest of Western defence policy, besides being required by common sense. If the treaty of 1936 is to be revised (and the British Government has not ruled out the Possibility of revision) then the change should come after the re- organitsation of the Egyptian armed forces has been achieved. King Farouk's speech from the throne said that it was about to begin. And if the status of the Sudan is to be altered, as it undoubtedly will be in due time, the nature of the change will be determined by the ability of the Sudanese to govern themselves rather that by the Willingness of Egyptians to shout slogans about the "unity of the Nile Valley." Perhaps when the Egyptian Foreign Minister, Mohamed Salah ed Din, arrives in London to discuss Egypt's ster- hog balances as well as the Treaty question cooler counsels will have prevailed over his statement on Monday that the treaty will be abrogated sooner or later "no matter how." The truth is that the question " how " is the one that matters most of all
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