Egypt
The riots in Egypt which we recorded last week led the Government there to forbid some intended political tours of the Wafd, and last Saturday the King issued a Decree by which the present session of Parliament was ended. The Decree was accompanied by an explanation by the Prime Minister of the constitutional rectitude of the action. The effect of this Decree will be that the Government can arrest its political opponents who are immune during the session. Nahas Pasha has been defiant, but he has not yet put his head into this noose. More serious rioting occurred in Alexandria on Tuesday, and the troops had to be called upon to restore order. Since then two of His Majesty's ships have arrived. The Egyptian Minister for Foreign Affairs is to be the new Minister to the Court of St. James's. The Times on Monday printed an appeal from the British Union in Egypt to the Prime Minister here, bewailing recent losses of British prestige in spite of the failure of Nahas to get his Treaty, and attributing to this loss a decline of respect for law and order. The appeal is spoilt by disparaging remarks about the High Commissioner (by which, of course, the Union further damages our prestige) and suggests that he should be advised by a council of British residents. Any advice from men of experience is not likely to be rejected by Sir Percy Lorraine, but the public offer of an official council seems impertinent.
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