A Fresh Start in Egypt W HAT the Egyptians who recently
procured the rejection of the Treaty do not understand is that Eritain, cannot poSsibly be kind to Egypt by breaking promises. The disregard of pledges is:prohibited ground, and always must be. The Egyptians, however, will achieve a misunderstanding just as gross if they refuse to believe that every rational Englishman desires the most generous possible treatment for Egypt. Everyone here whose opinion counts wishes her to enjoy the fullest degree of independence that is compatible with the well- known conditions of the case.
Popular feeling in Britain about Egypt has shared in the reorientation of feeling about all subject or quasi- subject nations. We no longer have " carnal thoughts," In Cromwell's phrase, about painting the map red for the sake of doing it. It is common ground now that the -rights of all peoples must be recognized up to the point *where they cease to coincide with the rights of others— very strictly scrutinized and carefully confined rights in this latter case. Every Englishman desires, in fine, that the Egyptian politicians should make it possible for us to continue directing the process of evolution which will add point by point to the sum of Egyptian freedOm and contentment. N6'w that the Egyptian GoVernment have piistponedvie hope indefinitelythe offending Public Assemblies Bill the way ought soon to become cleat for a renewal of the Treaty' negotiations. The Egyptians- failed' to perceive that the one way in Which you cannot extort concessions from those with Whom you.are bargaining is to put them in a bad quandary. 'The quandary in Which they put us can be described in a few words. When we made With France the arrange- Merit which gave us exclusive control in Egypt, and which ended a long period of most disagreeable squabbles, we solemnly accepted the obligation to defend the persons and the property" of foreigners resident in Egypt. In 1922 when we issued the Declaration which ended the War-tithe Protectorate of Egypt and -gave Egypt her independence (save for certain reservations) we repeated the undertaking to be responsible for the protection of foreigners. We also warned other Powers that -we held onisekeiresp6nsible for the integrity of Egypt and that We 'Should regard any interference in Egypt as an "
un-
friendly act." The position, therefore, was that we for- bade any Povier to intervene in Egypt on behalf of its natioriaLS, even in the event of our failing to protect them ourselves. Clearly most anxious care was required to secure that we did not give any Power a pretext for Saying that we were not doing our duty and yet had placed ourselves above "the law. We ran the risk of getting into the position in Which the United' States would be if ever she allowed foreigners to be exploited and murdered in Mexico or Panama or Nicaragua while pleading the Monroe Thictrine.
For some time before they made any protest the British Government were concerned about the Public Assethblies measure Characteristic not indeed of all the_meathers of the Wafd, but of the left wing. They saw that this measure would eigiose foreigners to new and real dangers in a country where foreigners cannot be said ever to have been " precisely safe. The measure was obviously designed to weaken authority at the centre, and to transfer the poWer to the local officials: The Wafd extremists would naturally welcome such an arrangement, as their movements would escape the vigilance of the Cairo Departments. The measure iii particular seemed to be framed to weaken the power of the police,' who were forbidden to intervene in demon- strations until " grave disorders " had actually broken out. The penalties for the police if they were convicted of interfering too soon in the interests of order were preposterous. They were to receive punishments vastly more serious "than would be suffered by the people who had actually incited the disorder ! The foreigners in stantly took alarm, and no wonder. They remembered only too bitterly from past experiences how quickly the prairie fire of fanaticism may spread in Egypt on small provocation and end in the loss of innocent lives.
Sir Austen Chamberlain, though he was watching this measure, said nothing about it for a long time, because he was negotiating with Sarwit Pasha the Treaty which he hoped would bring all minor matters-into their proper relation and perspective. When, however, Sarwat Pasha was- compelled by the Assembly to reject the Treaty-and resigned, the Public Assemblies Bill was promoted sud-: denly to a significance and importance which it would not otherwise have had. If any more proof than that which we have already given is necessary to show that it was a thoroughly bad measure we may mention the fact that that great Wafd leader, Zaghlul Pasha, himself condemned it out of hand when it was in its preliminary stages.
The Egyptian argument is, of course, that Britain, by dictating to Egypt in a matter of " domestic policy," is challenging the Constitution, and that no self-respecting independent nation could put up with such a humiliation. The Constitution, however, was granted to Egypt by the Declaration of 1922 subject to the well-known four reservations. It was not a transaction ; it was a gift. And the gift was made possible only by the long labours of Britain in the interests of Egypt. If Lord Dufferin had not indicated our intentions by setting up a barricade of constitutional language between Egypt and the oppres- sive Turks ; if Lord Cromer had not rescued the country from the corruption and bankruptcy which resulted from the rule of the Sultans Ismail and Tewfik ; if British troops had not fought back the predatory tribesmen ; and if Britain had not finally taken the country bodily away from the ownership of Turkey no Egyptian Con- stitution would have been possible nor any independence. Yet now Nahas Pasha talks as though the Constitution were a thing independent of all conditions. He wants the gift while ignoring the terms on which it was offered.
We only ask the Egyptians to believe that Britain sincerely wishes to complete her record. Nahas Pasha has been wise partly to remove the impediment which stood- in the way of further progress. Now let us get back to the Treaty with all good will as soon as possible.
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