THE New zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 16, 1920. THE NEW ERA IN EGYPT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVII, Issue 17603, 16 October 1920, Page 6

THE New zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 16, 1920. THE NEW ERA IN EGYPT.

The text is now available of the recommendations made by the Milner Mission for the recognition of Egyptian independence. As was anticipated when the cabled summary was published they contain important reservations which were not then disclosed, the effect of which is to make the new departure less startling than at .first it appeared to be. With the safeguards which are designed to protect Egypt from foreign aggression and to conserve British interests in the Suez Canal, the Milner policy is in strict accordance with the principles on which Britain has always governed Egypt. Even in Lord Curzon's day British statesmanship looked forward to a time when control might safely be removed from Egypt. In the judgment of Lord Milner and his colleagues the time has now arrived, but they recognise that British interests will still surpass any other foreign interests in Egypt and care has been taken to safeguard them in peace and in war. Nevertheless it is no grudging measure of independence which Britain proposes to confer upon the Nile Valley. Egypt is to control her domestic and foreign policy, the advisers to the various Ministries are to be withdrawn, and though it is contemplated that the Egyptian Government will desire to retain a considerable number of British officials these will be responsible to the Egyptian heads of their departments. Most important of all, Britain undertakes to negotiate for the abolition of the capitulations which, under innumerable treaties imposed long before British occupation, limit the powers of the Egyptian Government in regard to taxation, domestic legislation, and even administration. They chiefly affect France, Italy, the United States and Greece, and if, relying upon the guarantees Britain proposes to offer, these Powers consent to the abrogation of the capitulations, Egypt will enjoy complete self-government within her own borders and over her own nationals. She will, in fact, add to the security she enjoys under British protection a measure of freedom she has not experienced for many centuries.

Her position will be a singularly privileged one. Her prosperity is so well-founded that only ' the grossest misgovernment can destroy it. She still has a foreign debt, but the great increase in her wealth makes it possible for her to redeem the whole of it by an internal loan if so desired. For her protection she will still ]pan heavily upon Great Britain, who guarantees her integrity against -outside aggression. In. return for this, the draft agreement pledg.-s Egypt to make no treaties at variance with British policy and to accept British representation in countries to which she does not appoint her own diplomatic

agents. Britain will maintain forces in the canal zone, which is the great highway to India, the Far East, Australia and New Zealand, and which during the war was placed in a complete state of defence. She also retains the very important right to enter Egyptian territory in case of war. The eventual withdrawal of British troops from Egypt has, with these safeguards, little military significance. In normal times the British garrison was only 5000 strong and was concentrated at Cairo, the Nile Valley being policed by the Egyptian Army. Since the post-war disturbances about 30,000 British and Indian troops have been maintained in Egypt, but this "was an extraordinary precaution which would have been relaxed whenever the country became tranquil. A 4 far as Egyptian legislation is. concerned British authority will be limited to the right to veto any laws affecting foreigners. It is intended that the Consular Courts should be absorbed by mixed tribunals for the trial of all cases in which foreigners are interested.

Before this agreement, which has won the adherence of Zaghlul Pasha, the Egyptian Nationalist leader, can be translated into a treaty there must be somewhat delicate negotiation. Zaghlul Pasha has no consti tutional standing, and the formal' agreement will be drafted between properly accredited representatives of the British and Egyptian Governments. The abolition of the capitulations may involve prolonged conversations with foreign Powers, but there is no reason to doubt either that Britain will be able to carry out her share of the bargain, or that the Egyptian people will reject an offer so magnanimous. The treaty will finally require ratification by the British Parliament and the Egyptian National Assembly, which came into existence in 1913, but was suspended during the whole period of the war. As the mandates of the delegates have expired, it is probable a new assembly will be elected to consider the treaty and pass an organic law embodying the new agreement. Whatever doubts British public opinion may entertain regarding the proposed changes will be prompted by sympathy with the Egyptian people. Britain retains most of her privileges in Egypt with fewer responsibilities. That the shifting of responsibility on to the shoulders of Egyptians will mean less efficient administration is highly probable, bufe'that is one of the risks that must be accepted. Britain, at all events, can claim that she has given the Egyptians an excellent start in their national life, and that her record among them is one that should command their gratitude as it excites the admiration of the outside world.