EGYPT AND THE SUDAN.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 152, 29 June 1926, Page 5

EGYPT AND THE SUDAN.

BRITAIN'S POSITION. ADDRESS TO ROTARIANS. "It is the bounden duty of Great j Britain to continue in control of the j Sudan, otherwise the country will decline, and in ten years a mild form of slavery wiil be introduced by the Egyptians." This is the conclusion arrived at by Mr. 1). X. MacDiarmid, 8.A., who addressed the members of the Auckland Rotary Club yesterday on'"The Political and Economic Aspect of AngloEgyptian Sudan."' Mr. MacDiarmid has, with his wife, been engaged in missionary work in the Sudan for many years, and speaks at first hand upon matters of considerable interest to every Britisher. He commenced his address by areference to the commercial possibilities of that part of the Sudan which extend* south down both sides of the Nile as far as' Uganda. The majority of that territory, he stated, was a grass land waste, but the greater part was suitable for cotton growing, and he predicted that it would eventually become the chief source of supply for the Empire's cotton. A great engineering feat had been performed in constructing the Sennoor dam across the Nile and irrigating 300.000 acres of land, but he believed that more cotton would be grown in the Southern part of Sudan, with its tropical rainfall, than in the irrigated regions. After dealing with the political history of the territory, the speaker stated that since the murder of the late Sirdar the Sudan had been mainly under the control of Britain, which maintained the country out of its own revenue, while junior Sudanese officials assisted in the administration. There was, however, an anomaly, as the British and Egyptian flags were still flown side by side, in accordance with the old agreement. Those interested in the Sudan were anxious to see the question of control definitely settled. Referring to the attitude of the Sudanese themselves to this question, in must be remembered that there were two entirely different types of people in the Sudan. North of Khartoum the people were Semitic in origin, Mohammedan in religion and Arabic in language, but south of Khartoum the natives were pagans, and had no political opinions, nor were they capable to express them. He was firmly convinced that the great majority of the population of northern Khartoum desired British rule. Hi* sympathies were all for the primitive natives, among whom he worked. To) them the advance of civilisation was bringing many problems. The care-free happiness commonly supposed to be the lot of natives living so close to Nature was non-existent, and they were quite unable to look after themselves. If tha British withdrew, they would be mercilessly exploited by the Egyptians.