Nelson Evening Mail MONDAY, AUGUST 6, 1928 AN INTERESTING SITUATION

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXI, 6 August 1928, Page 4

Nelson Evening Mail MONDAY, AUGUST 6, 1928 AN INTERESTING SITUATION

THE latest English files, which arrived at the end of last week, reveal the fact that the extraordinary situation in Egypt, where King Fuad has suspended Parliament for ten years, is in no way connected with Britain’s suzerainty. The King of Egypt has acted on his own authority, in a perplexing .situation which has been created by his own people for purposes which affect Egyptians and nobody else.

Nahas Pasha, who succeeded Zaghlul as the leader of the Wafd Party, has been Prime Minister since March last. He held power by virtue of a coalition with the Liberals, till the middle of June, when he was dismissed from office by his sovereign, in. circumstances which are highly sensational and interesting. Ho was accused by two Egyptian journals of having conspired with others, before lie became X’rime Minister, to defeat the ends of justice and to use his political position for that purpose, and the journals in question published documentary evidence in support of their charges. These documents were two in number: Firstly, an alleged copy of a contract which Nahafc and two other Wafdist leaders had entered into (for the sum of £117,000) whereby they undertook to try to obtain thiiough the Courts, for their client (they were all lawyers) the control of certain trust funds; and, secondly, in a letter written by one of their number, they affirmed that if necessary they would us|o their political power to abolish a certain Court, in order that their client might obtain alimony, of which they were to

leceivo part, in addition to the large sum.already named.’ ThS story of this intrigue goes hack thirty years,” and concerns the Royal Family of Egypt, for the client in question was none other t than the wife of Prince Seifeddin who attempted King Fuad’s life in 1898, ■in a well-known Cairo club, and grievously wounded the Prince who was destined, fortunately, to succeed to the throne. Prince Seifeddin was tried for attempted murder, and was sentenced to a term of imprisonment but subsequently a medical examination showed that he was a lunatic, suffering from a form of mania which made him an oxtremely dangerous member of society. Consequently ho was sent to Ticehurst Asylum, in England, and was prohibited from returning to Egypt. From time to time he was examined by the most experienced alienists, and their verdict was always the same, namely that lie was insane, and the victim of persistent obsession in relation to his kinsman who is now King of Egypt. For tvyenty-seven years lie remained in custody at Ticehurst, and then, in the autumn of 1925, lie escaped through the aid of Egyptian accomplices, crossed in disguise to the "Continent, and surreptitiously made his way to Constantinople, where presumably lie now *is. It was not long after that sensational event that the Prince’s wife entered into negotiations with Nahas Pasha and his two colleagues. All law cases connected with the members of thei Egyptian Royal Family have to he heard by the “Court of the Crown,” and in that court Nahas and others brought'a, suit for the termination of the interdict against the Prince’s return. They failed. In other words, if the Prince was to return and his estate was to be taken out of trust, Nahas and his friends must use their political power to have the “Court of the Crown” abolished. This they were possibly in a position to do when Nahas became Prime Minister, but before any step could be taken in that direction the publication of the incriminating documents took jplace, and King Fuad dismissed Nahas r s Government, and called on Mohamed Fasha Mahmud, the Liberal leader, who had been Finance Minister in Nahas’s Cabinet, to form a Government. This Mahmud did, hut as Nahas and his Wafdist following continued to dominate the Chamber of Deputies, the King decided to suspend Parliament for ten years.

It is to be noted that Nahas and his two accomplices had not denied the truth of the .incriminating documents, up to 27th June last. They are accused publicly with having desired to Secure the legislative abolition by both Houses of Parliament of the “Court of the Crown,” and the transfer of its power to the ordinary Courts; in other words they pro-

posed to abuse their political position by legislation which would be highly advantageous to their clients and consequently to their own pockets. King Fuad’s action in ending a regime fraught with such danger tp the body politic and to himself, will be approved by all right-thinking people in Egypt and in Europe. That'he should bo sensitive in reference to the machinations of Egyptian politicians who were attempting to effect the return of his crazy homicidal relative, is natural enough; and that he should checkmate their plans by reducing their political status to zero, appears to he a wise precaution. To-day political parties are at i disadvantage, and politicians of small account, since Parliament has ceased to King’s action, which is authoritatively reported to be quite constitutional, will go.unchallenged by the Wafd. But King. Fuad will have the support of .the British Government, which will not grieve to see the rejectors of the Anglo-Egyp-tian Treaty thus discomfited. Neither can the British Government- be accused of engineering the present situation, which is entirely the outcome of Egypt’s domestic differences and the intriguing spirit which pervades ftie Wafd and its leaders.