Lord Cromer reached Omdarman during the week, and on Thursday
held a reception of a large number of Soudanese Sheiks and notables. He told them that in the future they would be governed by the Queen of England and the Khedive of Egypt. The sole representative of the Queen and the Khedive would be the Sirdar, and "no attempt will be made to govern the country from Cairo, still less from London." These are wise words, and show that the Soudan is not to become part of Egypt, and so placed under all the absurd and hampering regulations imposed by the international financial regulations, the Mixed Tribunals, and the Capitulations. The Queen, Lord Cromer went on to say, rules over more Moslem subjects than any other ruler in the world, and their religion and religions customs are strictly respected. The same would be the case in the Soudan. Hereupon a Sheik asked if this engagement included the application of the Mahommedan sacred law. Lord Cromer replied that it:did, which, say the reports, evidently caused great satisfaction. Lord Cromer added that the rale about to be established would be very different from the old Egyptian regime, for it would be just, intelligible, and simple. " A few English officers will be resident in each district, in order to ensure strict compliance with these principles,"—i.e., the principles on which the Sirdar would govern. In short, the Soudan is to be administered like a newly-conquered Indian frontier district, in which, though law and order are maintained, there is no attempt made to impose the laws and regulations of a more complicated system of government.
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