File of printed papers marked 'Egyptian negotiation' between Curzon and Adly Pasha and the Egyptian delegation [‎86v] (172/178)

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old Oriental game of playing off each party against the other and coming out on the top
himself. He has used us to down the Zaghlulists, he now wants to u&e another party to
down us; but times have changed, and it won’t do.
“ I will give you an instance. You know all about the new party that Adly
is forming with Mohamed Mahmoud, AHfi, &c. They are in fact working hand-in-hand
with us. When 1 took office I did so with the full knowledge of Adly and under a
complete understanding with him. You asked me if, in the event of the Constitution being
made operative and Parliament meeting, Adly would take over the presidency The name given to each of the three divisions of the territory of the East India Company, and later the British Raj, on the Indian subcontinent. . All 1
can tell you is that Sarwat is Adly, and Adly is Sarwat, and together we shall do what
we think is for the best. Once the Parliament is working, no politician can hope to do
any good unless he is backed by a party. We are forming one party now, and Adly s
prestige is essential'to that partv. As you know, the idea some months ago was to send
Adly to London as Egyptian Minister there. He would not go. He was perfectly
right; he is wanted here, and I am glad he refused. Ihe King clings always to the
idea of getting Adly to London. Why ? Because he wants to get him out of Egypt
and break up his following. I am not speaking without proof. I have told you
several times that I am most anxious to get Ministers appointed to London, Paris and
Home. Again and again I have spoken to the King about it. I have suggested
Mahmud Fakhry, Gaafar Wali, Yousry Semaika, Tewfik Nessim and several others. 1
have left the choice to him, and he will do nothing. fake the case of London.
I suggested long ago sending Mahmud Fakhry, his own son-in-law, to London. He is
a good fellow, pleasant, polished and all that, but he is not quite the type of man we
want in London. He hasn’t the real political sense. What reason do you think the
King gave me for not sending him ? He was afraid Fakhry’s wife—his daughter—
might go wrong in London. Then I proposed Yousry. Yousry would have been
admissible. He has the real political sense—more so than any other Egyptian. Lie
would have gone far in London, as he speaks English like an Englishman, has all your
manners and customs, and can talk to you on your own level. The King would have
have none of it, because, he said, the suggestion had undoubtedly been made to me by
the Kesidency. Then I proposed Sidky. His Majesty asked for three days to
consider the proposition. I saw him yesterday, and he said he would consider the
matter further, as Sidky was too valuable as Finance Minister for us to lose him.
Nonsense! How can he say this to me when we all know that he hates Sidky and
when he tried not so long ago to turn us both out of office ? I will give you another
proof of the trend of the King’s ideas and of his desire to break up the Adly Party.
The other day Sherei Pasha—you have heard of his new party, the “ Conservatives ”—
came to me and told me that the King had sent for Demerdache and himself and had
charged them with the formation of a new party as a counterblast to the Adly Party,
They were to draw up a manifesto directed against Ministerial responsibility and get it
signed by as many solid notables as they could. How, asked Sherei, was he to get
people to sign against popular opinion, and what the devil was he to do ? 1 suggested
ids drawing up some inotf'ensive formulae and getting as many people as he could to
sign. Lie did so, and no one has heard any more of him. Apart from this, the King
tells anyone who visits him that the Adly Party is dangerous, that it is working against
the Sarwat Government, that it is split into factions—in fact anything he can think of
to discredit it.
‘ “ I have told you all this so that you can understand the sort of difficulties with
which I am faced daily. The work of government is delayed, and the administration of
the country is hampered because the King will interest himself in the smallest matters
—appointments of minor officials, questions connected with the law, the Wakfs, the
press. I need not remind you of the ‘ Liberte ’ incident. I have been disgusted with
the whole thing, and 1 would ask nothing better than to retire from this weary contest
with honour. You will remember that I told you at the beginning of August that I was
weary of it all and wished to resign, but I thought it my duty to see the thing through
if I could, so now 1 shall carry out the programme if I can, believing it to lie for the
good of Egypt. I have, I think, been very patient over my difficulties with the Palace,
and I am very sorry that Lord Allenby, to whom we owe so much, should have been so
greatly troubled with them. I shall continue to be patient, and I shall endeavour to
please the King so far as I can. In order to try and smooth things over I shall, if lie
consents to Sidky going to London, offer to take Tewfik Nessim into the Cabinet in his
place and make him vice-president of the Council of Ministers. I shall also offer to take
into the Ministry o ie other of the King’s men. As to the presence of Tewfik Nessim in
the Cabinet as a political asset, I do not set much value on that. Personally, he is a
friend of mine—a clever, sound, loyal man, and 1 shall work with him with pleasure ;