Report of the Special Mission to Egypt under Lord Milner, and related papers [‎106r] (213/473)

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It ras also, pointed-out that the^Ytuatrlori''could never be
-exactly rhat it was in years gone by, and that, aftr-r all
that had passed, the present and future high Corjinissioners
in "Rgypt could never hold the sai.e position as Lord Cromer
had in the past,
LORD MILNRR said that th-re was only one thing which he
still intend- d to say v/hen certain questions had been asked.
He had been very careful to impress on the Egyptian Delegation
that he ^ f as talking oua Mission, and could not speak for the
Government any mo v ^ than the Egyptian del'gates could speak
for the Egyptian Government. He was of opinion that his Mis
sion was committed to reporting in favour of some scheme on
the lines indicated in their Interim Report, but His Majesty’s
Government were, of couisc, not committed in any way. His
hone, hoover, vas that thr y right see fit to approve, with
certain reservations, relations with the Egyptian Government
on the linos contemplated, rather than on the lines of the
relationship of a Colony or Prot otorat© to the Hone iovnrn-
ment. The next step w^uld have; to be to appoint representa
tives on both sides to draw up some foratal document. Sudh k
Treaty wh.n drafted would have t0 the E gyP tian
Assembly. Regardin® reservations, he had looked through Lord
Curzon’s remarks, and he thought most of his proposals were
quite in accordance •ith the spirit of the scheme. There
were, however, one or t'vo of them which, if adopted, might
upset it altogether. Regarding the military forces to be
stained in Pgypt, and the keeping open of our linos of con-
*. • 4 .- <31 (Md not think that this had been
munication to tijo ast , ne c-a nv ^
j +.V- ▼’fin^nm 1 he basis of vhe
very clearly expressed in th>r Memoranau.j.
whole thing was an Alliance in which ve guaranteed Egyptian
independence and the sending of an Army to protect Egypt if
. , v» v r p demanded a ,r c»lua>ble p.-i.!
need be; in return lor this wo aemanu-
- r « ar a n her local resources should be
omo , namely, that in war an
r, n r< further that we should have a
placed at our disposal, and, *ur .n ,
permanen t military basvf in ^^•
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