Correspondence
A LETTER FROM CAIRO.
[To the Editor of the &men...roil.] Sin,—Politics in Egypt to-day recall the apocryphal story of the German traveller on an English steamer, who one morning found the bath queue too long for his patience ; whereon he observed " Der bad—I can do mit and I can do mitout," and calmly returned to his cabin. So, as regards Parliament, Egyptians are finding they " can do mitout perfectly well, in fact, a good deal better, for legislation now moves to simple motifs instead of the President's bell increasing the cacophony of the Chamber music.
Our genial Prime Minister, Mohammed Pasha Mahmud, has completely recovered from his attack of paratyphoid and is in the most cheerful spirits. Any allusion to the moribund Wafd provokes him to mirth, for, while Nahas and party are ploughing the sands, the Government are providing fertile acres for the ploughs of the fellakin. This is an age of " records," and Mahmud Pasha achieved one when he went officially to Victoria College (an English insti- tution) and made a speech in fluent English, wherein he refeired affectionately to his Balliol days and declared that the standards learnt in University life transcended all racial and political differences. When one recalls the unpleasant episodes of 1919, these sentiments from an erstwhile supporter of Zaghlul Pasha show what a long way we have travelled on the path of Anglo-Egyptian friendship. If the Government needed a canvassing motto to the Egyptian people, it might aptly be " Plenty of guile to make you smile. For everybody is, so to speak, patting everybody else on the back about the two most important steps recently taken, namely, the decision to heighten the Aswan Dam and the conclusion of the Nile waters agreement. The former will require that shrewd Scot, Sir Murdoch Macdonald, to exchange the chilly braes of Inverness for the grilling rocks of Aswan in his capacity of consulting engineer to the Govern- ment. The rumour that the Phike temples were to be shifted bodily elsewhere has proved to be fallacious and they will eventually resemble the submerged Atlantis, which the Cook's tourist may some day visit in a subaqueous saloon akin to the Nautilus of Captain Nemo and Jules Verne. The Nile water agreement is one of the biggest and most beneficial achievements in modern Egyptian history, and its settlement reflects the greatest credit on the British and Egyptian Governments and especially on the Prime Minister and his Foreign Secretary, Dr. Hafiz Afifi Pasha. The Wafd, trying to • make face," cabled an unconvincing protest to the Foreign Office, but it is difficult to regard seriously any objection to a project like the Gebel Aulia Dam on the White Nile, destined to provide Egypt with a vast quantity of additional water, that should drown the protests of any political axe-grinder.
As Egypt is an important pivot in the Eastern service of the Imperial Airways, there was great excitement in April when they inaugurated their Croydon to Karachi air mute. A large crowd greeted the monster flying boat at Alexandria harbour, which brought Sir Samuel Hoare and Sir Vyell" Vyvyan ; the former went to the Sudan, while the Air Vice-Marshal transferred with the mails to the " City of Jerusalem " aeroplane for India. On the present schedule the distance from England to Egypt is covered in about four and a quarter days, which, of course, is hardly quicker than the express route by train and steamer. Unless this is accelerated, there will be little inducement for the public to incur the expense and risk of flying, for the traveller will rather endure the sea and " bear the ills he has than fly to others that he knows not of."
Local tennis received a considerable impetus by the entry of Egypt for the Davis Cup competition. Certain chau- vinists were much perturbed because the team did not consist exclusively of native-born Egyptians, and it had to be explained that the Davis Cup qualification is residence and not nation- ality. For the Egyptians are yet a young, though improving race at tennis, and the majority of the best local players are Europeans. However, the team managed to find its way to Finland and also to win its match : then they played Holland, but the Dutchmen, as ever, were doughty opponents, and the Egyptian champions retired gracefully from the competition.
The social season was extremely gay and very expensive, thanks to the lordly tariffs charged by the leading hotels. Now the leave question absorbs us and everyone is discussing plans for his exodus from Egypt, the ultimate objective being London, where we hope to see the portrait that Mr. de Laszlo has just painted of King Fuad. His Majesty is shortly starting on a prolonged tour of Europe, including, it is said, an unofficial visit to Cowes, while the Prime Minister is due for London in July. To those who stay behind and hold the fort we wish a quiet summer free from discomfort, climatic or political.—I am, Sir, &c.,
You'll. CORRESPONDENT IN CAIRO.
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