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European riots began at Alexandria, on May 20, in which 14 Europeans were killed and 69 wounded. one Italian was burnt alive, and there was some evidence to show that the mob tried to burn the corpse of a Greek. Amongst the wounded was Judge Hanssen, a Norwegian Judge in the Mixed Court of Appeal and now its Vice-President, who was savagely attacked on his way to Court and narrowly escaped with his life. The town was left by the Special High Commissioner, Lord Allenby, in the hands of the mob for several days in spite of the strong representations made by the Consuls of the Allied Powers. Although he had repeatedly told Egyptian delegations on other matters that his mission was to maintain order, he showed an extreme unreadiness to put his words into action even in a case of imperative necessity. It was a disgraceful business, and very nearly led to a landing from French and Italian warships to protect their nationals, which would have created a serious political complication.

Soon after the formation of the Adly Ministry, the question arose of forming a delegation to go to London to reopen the negotiations with the British Government. Zaghlul said he must be President of the Delegation, and that the majority of the Delegates must be chosen from his own Delegation. This neither the pride nor the dignity of Adly could consent to, and he formed it from men of his own choosing. The answer of the mob was : 'Long live Saad. No President of the negotiations but Saad. Saad has our confidence. Down with the government,' and riots in Cairo and Alexandria. Adly failed in his mission, and proved to be just as intractable as Zaghlul when he found himself confronted with the necessity of making a decision and accepting responsibility.

During Adly's absence Sarwat Pasha, the Minister of the Interior, was acting Prime Minister, and he was getting Zaghlul and his followers well in hand. On Oct. 17, he prevented Zaghlul from landing from his steamer at Assiut, whither he had gone to rouse the turbulent instincts of the people of Upper Egypt. This was the first check to Zaghlulism-Zaghlul's influence had begun to wane. He still continued to cause trouble, and on Dec. 22, he and eight of his followers were ordered to live on their estates and to cease their political

activities. It was a foolish order, and Zaghlul had no alternative but disobedience. His vanity precluded him from sacrificing his political position, and he preferred exile in the Seychelles; thus by martyrdom strengthening his position of leadership which had begun to decline. On Nov. 18, 1921, Lord Allenby cabled to Lord Curzon that his Advisers said that any decision which did not admit the principle of Egyptian independence and maintained a protectorate must entail a serious risk of revolution throughout the country. This telegram called for a well-merited rebuke from Lord Curzon for Lord Allenby. He said :

'In view of the fact that you were present at the meetings of the Cabinet when the terms to be offered to Adly Pasha were decided, we cannot help feeling rather surprised that you failed to point out to the advisers that they were proceeding in total ignorance of the true position when in their memorandum they described the decision of His Majesty's Government as maintaining the Protectorate and as refusing to accept the principle of Egyptian independence. This error renders their argument to a large extent unsound.'

On Dec. 3, Lord Allenby was instructed to make a communication, which was in accord with the best traditions of the Foreign Office, to His Highness the Sultan. It enunciated a policy of reasonable concession with firm resistance to extremism, which policy had been steadily advocated by the majority of persons who had any knowledge of the subject. It declared in plain words to what extent the British Government intended to maintain its hold over Egypt, and the language employed left no doubt in the minds of the public as to the policy to be definitely adopted. It produced an excellent effect.

There was at this time no Egyptian Ministry, and for some reason both the Palace and the Residency considered that Sarwat was the only possible candidate for the Premiership. He was by no means anxious for the honour, and in order to get out of what was for him an invidious position, he delivered an ultimatum to Allenby, which was later embodied in the famous Declaration of Feb. 28, 1922. To his astonishment Lord Allenby accepted his conditions. This amounted substantially to an

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abandonment of the position taken up by the Foreign Office in the Curzon scheme, and this in return for a mere acceptance of office by Sarwat Pasha, with no corresponding undertaking by him either for himself, the Egyptian Government, or the Egyptian people. During the whole of January 1922, Allenby had been infecting Lord Curzon with his timidity, with the result that he was instructed to proceed to London, where he arrived on Feb. 8 accompanied by two of the most specious and at the same time most timorous members of his 'Kindergarten.' The outcome of this was the recognition of Egyptian independence subject to the reservation of four points: (1) The security of the communications of the British Empire in Egypt; (2) The defence of Egypt against all foreign aggression or interference direct or indirect; (3) The protection of foreign interests in Egypt and the protection of minorities; and (4) the Sudan, which was to be settled by subsequent agreement between the two countries. The day following the publication of this monstrous document Sarwat Pasha formed a Cabinet. His first utterance after taking office was: We have secured the abolition of the Protectorate and we have not promised anything in return.'

Whilst the British Cabinet, urged on by Lord Allenby, who never understood Egypt or the Egyptians, had come to the conclusion that the Egyptian question had not been properly understood in London, the terrorist gang was continuing its work of killing Englishmen. Mr Hatton, a locomotive superintendent, had already been murdered. On Feb. 18, 1922, ten days before the declaration of Independence, Mr Aldred Brown, Controller-General of the Central Administration of the Ministry of Education, was murdered in one of the principal streets of Cairo in broad daylight. the same day Mr Charles Peach of the Railway Administration was shot and so severely wounded that it necessitated his retirement from the service. Mackintosh Bey of the same Administration was shot at, and his life was saved by the fact that he carried a revolver with which he was able to put his assailants to flight. Then followed the murders of Major Cave of the Police and Dr Robson, one of the Professors at the School of Law. Mr T. Brown of the Ministry of Agriculture and

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his family were also shot at as they were driving to whi the Cairo Railway Station. The native servant was Pres killed and the others, including the governess, were wounded. On July 15, Lieut-Colonel A. F. H. Piggott of the Command Pay was shot and very badly wounded in the abdomen, in broad daylight, and in one of the principal streets of Cairo. This made the sixteenth outrage since 1921. Assassination is the traditional way which for thousands of years has characterised the Egyptians when they found themselves confronted with a weak ruler. This time it was England who was weak and Englishmen were murdered. It must also be emphatically noted that none of these murders and outrages were repudiated by the Nationalist leaders or the native press, nor were any messages of sympathy sent by them to the families of the victims. It cannot be assumed that the murderers acted on their own initiative, and that they were not incited by others of greater social position, who thought that the murder of a few very inoffensive Englishmen, who had never harmed an Egyptian or had any connexion with politics of any sort, would prove to the world that Egypt was fit to be a self-governing nation. British policy certainly gave them some foundation for their belief; murder was alwas coincident with any tightening of the British grip, and cannot be dissociated from the Nationalist programme.

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On March 16, 1922, the Sultan Fuad was proclaimed King of Egypt. During the Cairo celebration of this event the Egyptian army showed a lamentable lack of discipline, and Russell Pasha had to come to their assistance with his police. Then a Commission was formed to draft a Constitution. Sarwat, though he had achieved the abolition of the Protectorate and the Declaration of the Independence of Egypt, soon lost his popularity, and his influence began to wane. He was succeeded by Tewfik Pasha Nessim. On Jan. 28, 1923, the political situation in Cairo again became acute owing to the draft Constitution still awaiting the King's signature. provided that the King should be entitled 'King of Egypt and the Sudan.' This created an awkward situation which was settled by the presentation of a strong British Note. The Cabinet then offered its resignation,

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which was accepted. Yehia Pasha Ibrahim, formerly President of the Court of Appeal, succeeded in forming na Cabinet on March 16, 1923. On April 4 a struggle commenced between the people and the Crown. The King feared that a democratic Constitution would impose too fettering limits on his power. Three governments had followed each other, but there had been no progress towards constitutional government. Great Britain could not consent to hand over Egypt to autocratic rule and absolutism could not be allowed to return. A curious state of affairs then manifested itself, the King and the Extremists were against the Government and Great Britain. On May 19, 1923, the King after much delay signed the Constitution in a fit of panic. It substituted a democratic for an autocratic régime, and the Egyptians felt strange under the rulership of their own people. It was in reality a transfer of power from the Palace of Abdin to the House of the Nation, as Zaghlul's house had come to be called.

On Sept. 24, 1923, Zaghlul, on the plea of ill-health, was allowed to return to Egypt, where he at once resumed his rôle as a political agitator. He inflamed the hatred existing against the British and denounced the Declaration of February 1922, as a deceit, a sham, and a fraud, and said that British interference was only camouflaged. In the mean time the electoral law had been elaborated, and in January 1924, the election returns showed that Zaghlul had an overwhelming majority in the new Egyptian parliament. It met on March 15 with Oriental pageantry, and amidst remarkable scenes of enthusiasm, Zaghlul became Prime Minister. It accomplished no work of value to Egypt, and at once it became evident that the country had confided its destinies to a small, despicable, and tyrannical oligarchy. In November this resulted in a wave of discontent owing to Zaghlul's abuse of power and his administrative injustice.

In the early autumn Zaghlul went to London to discuss the settlement of the four reserved points with the Prime Minister. He was, however, unable to hoodwink Mr Ramsay MacDonald, who found him a thoroughly unpractical politician, with a complete inability to grasp the limitations necessarily attached to Egyptian

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