July 30.
It-is hardly too much to say that the confidence and approval with which the new British Labour Government has hitherto been regarded are shaken to the depths by the discovery of their conduct in respect of Egypt and of Lord Lloyd's forced resignation. The British peoples of all shades of feeling are peculi arly and justly sensitive on the subject of Egypt, which is indeed the main artery of the Empire; and except for a brief period of ill-advised experiment, in that country during the ad ministration of the late Sit Henry Campbell-Bannerman, all parties have agreed on the main lines that British policy in Egypt must follow. But the apparently proposed departure from those lines is possibly less startling and offensive than the principle involved. With characteristic insight and in characteristic language Lord Birkenhead put his finger on the vital point when he said that "a minority Government had no right to make bold, novel _experiments in the fabric of Empire" without the knowledge of liament and he would use all is powers to eject them from office "if they attempted so monstrous an usurpation of Parliament's rights and privileges.' It may be recalled in this connection that Mr. Ramsay Mac-Donald appears to have made all his arrangements to visit President Hoover, and that the naval construction programme has been suspended, without reference to Parliament, which surely haa a right to speak on both subjects. It looks very much as if the Government had made up its mind to get round the awkwardness of being in a minority by simply not consulting the House on matters in which it wants to be sure of its own way. With Parliament! about to rise for the vacation, the thought of what may happen before it reassembles is full of concern, To understand the situation in Egypt properly it must briefly bbe recalled that the Declaration of 1922 put an end to the Protectorate which Great Britain had proclaimed at the outbreak' of the war. Egypt was declared a sovereign state under an here-diary monarchy and with a reputies was elected and Egypt was fairly launched on the path International policy, howeve kept subject to the approval of Great]
Britain, and certain points were reserved for subsequent discussion, these being the question of the British army's presence in Cairo and Alexandria, the posi tion of foreigners and their ists under the capitulations, and the status of the Sudan r natively to Egypt. 'The Egyptian contention has continually been that the Sudan is a province of Egypt. 'There is no justification for this plea, it is most contrary to Sudanese wishes and' has never been allowed by Great Britain, As regards the other two reserved points, it appears to be agreed by those who know Egypt best that both the eapitnlations and the army in Cairo and Alexandria are siecessary' for the safety of foreigners. By the new draft treaty, as published by "El Mokattam," the Egyptian paper, the capitulations are to be abolished, the British army is to be restricted to the Canal zone, and Egyptian troops are to be allowed in the Sudan, Reuter's Agency has been informed that "El Mokattam's" version of the treaty "is incomplete and not fully accurate." But it is. not. denied that such a draft treaty exists, Now it appears fairly clear' that Lord Lloyd: was kept in ignorance of the negotiation; leading to the new arrangement Mahmud Pasha, the Egyptian Premier, has been in London for some time past and has mittedly been in consultation with Mr, Henderson, the Foreign Secretary. From all that has passed we are justified in think. ing that Lord Lloyd was kept in the dark until he was presented with a fait accompli and' given his choice of carrying out the new policy, which the Government probably knew he could not conscientiously do, or signing. Lord Lloyd is known as the best Governor that Bombay ever had, he has deep experience in administering Oriental peoples, and the fact that Egypt has had no history" for the past two years is a tribute to the excellence of his work, To treat a man of his standing in such a manner, going behind his back and preparing for new methods in his sphere of administration without his knowledge, is a sheer insult, and, as Mr. Winston Churchill has said, is a very bad example to Britis administrators if they refuse to lend themselves to disastrous lents-which all their ex.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.