Progress at Cairo The Anglo-Egyptian negotiations are progressing with a
leisureliness which would be disturbing if there were not signs that real progress was being achieved. It is a considerable achievement to have got agreement on mili- tary questions, and though Mr. Eden sounded a warning on Monday against acceptance of unofficial versions of the content of the agreement there is no doubt that the Egyptians have been given satisfaction in their reasonable demand that British troops should not be quartered like an army of occupation in their capital. Of the four questions reserved under the 1922 proclama- tion, two, regarding the defence of Egypt and the pro- tection of British communications, have thus been settled ; one, regarding the abolition of the capitulations, requires the concurrence of a dozen other States ; the fourth, the future of the Sudan, remains to be dealt with. That is a question of some delicacy. Considerations of prestige lead Egypt to stipulate that an Anglo-Egyptian condominium shall be made a reality, and her concern about the conservation of Nile water is genuine enough, though actually no ground for anxiety on that score exists. But the Sudan is prosperous and contented today and no fundamental change in the regime could be accepted. * * * *
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