Report of the Special Mission to Egypt under Lord Milner, and related papers [‎211v] (425/473)

exchange of mutual conlidences that sometimes took place between the illustrious
Queen Victoria and Mr. Gladstone.
As to the reasons for this ill-concealed hostility, the Cabinet may like a few words
ol explanation. The dislike entertained by the Sultan for Adly—unquestionably the
ablest and most reliable of modern Egyptian statesmen- is of long standing. As far
back as October 1918 Sir R. Wingate reported a somewhat acrimonious conversation
which had taken place between Adly and the Sultan, shortly after the latter’s accession,
when the former had to complain of His Highness’s practice of entertaining visitors
with abuse of his Ministers.
The hostility has continued to grow, for Adly is himself honest in money matters
and disapproves of anything that savours of corruption in others. But, in the Sultan’s
eyes, Adly s chief sin is that he stands for constitutionalism and for the theory of
Ministerial responsibility—not, in all probability, from any natural love of democratic
ideals, but from a well-founded fear of the abuses which inevitably would arise were
the present Sultan or any member of his family to be left with the power of overriding
the wishes of an elected Assembly. Whether or no His Majesty’s Government “ are
woefully misinformed of the influence and strength of Adly Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. ,” the fact remains
tha; the Sultan himself failed to find any other one of the leading statesmen of Egypt
able at the critical moment to form a Government. Not only has Adly done so, but
the Government, when formed, was received with acclamation by the people, and for
the first time for several years Ministers are able to dispense with police protection and
are applauded when they appear.
6. The Sultan then went on to complain of the “ premature publication of the
Milner Report last August, and this complaint was endorsed on behalf of the Cabinet
by the Colonial Secretary.
As a matter of fact the Milner Report was not even written in August last, and
was not published until February of this year, and then only as the result of a Cabinet
decision taken on the 4th January, 1921. •
W hat the Sultan and Mr. Churchill were alluding to was the memorandum
prepared by Lord Milner in July last, in which the outlines of a possible settlement
with Egypt were sketched. This document was not published, prematurely or
otherwise, by His Majesty’s Government. It was communicated to the “ Daily
Herald in August last by Zag’hlul Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. , and was copied thence by other papers.
Concealment being impossible, it was telegraphed in full to Cairo on the 21st August.
Its publication there was in any case inevitable, seeing that four of Zaghlul’s
followers had been sent by him to Egypt to explain the proposals to their felkrw-
countrymen.
4. hinally, Mr. h hurchill, stepping boldly on to ground ordinarily reserved for
the Foreign Office, not merely let the Sultan know quite clearly what were his own
sentiments (with which the Cabinet is already familiar) on the matter, but even
expressed the opinion, which was warmly endorsed by the Sultan, that “ it was quite
possible that no agreement would be reached.” This exchange of confidences will not, I
fear, render my task more easy. It is surely better from every point of view that an
agreement should be made if this can be done with prudence and honour. I have myself
been one of the severest critics of some of Lord Milner’s proposals, but T have
never conceded the view that an agreement is both desirable and possible, and I have
never ceased to work for that end. Lord Milner himself, who had abundant experience
of the extremists, always held that such an agreement was feasible with the more
moderate Egyptian elements, who look to Adiy as their leader. Lord Allenby has
never given any indication of regarding an agreement as impossible of attainment, and
has expressly indicated the modifications of the Milner proposals by which, in his
opinion, it might be attained.
5. Mr. Churchill concludes that the present movement in Egypt is very largely
run by the Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. class, who are seeking to get the whole country into their hands and
to re-establish a reactionary regime.
Jar from this being a true picture, it is the Sultan and Pashas of the type of
Mohamed Said who are reactionary and dread any change in the status quo as being
likely to curtail the exercise of their prerogatives.
It is true that the rich landowners have been the largest subscribers to the
Nationalist funds; but the driving force of nationalism is in the “intelligentsia,”
which is far from being confined to the jPasha class, whilst more liberal-minded
statesmen, like Adly and his followers, look to the political settlement with England as