ملف من أوراق مطبوعة مصنفة تحت عنوان "التفاوض المصري" بين كرزون وعدلي باشا والوفد المصري [و‎‎٦‎٤] (١٧٨/١٢٧)

[This Docu m ent is the Property of Hig Britannic Majesty’s Government.]
421—8 [0824]
CONFIDENTIAL.
EGYPTIAN NEGOTIATIONS.
[E 9590/260/16]
Minute by Mr. Lindsay.
Lord Ourzon,
ADLY PASHA called this morning and we resumed discussion of the Advisers in
the tone which prevailed yesterday. We finished up by sending him away with the
two formulae, which I annex, to think over.
Over the finance formula he made little difficulty. He made some question over
the wide powers of enquiry contemplated, and he reserved the question of the loans
charged on the tribute (the last words of the formula) as to which his delegation was
making some investigations. lie also threw out the interesting suggestion that an
English Under Secretary for Finance might be stipulated for in the treaty.
Over the other formula, for the protection of foreigners, he had far more
hesitation. It is true that whereas yesterday he had only tentatively suggested an
English commandant in Cairo, to-day he accepted that idea without demur; and he
had nothing to say about the Sultanic Advisers. It was the Inspector-General at Cairo
over the three police commandants that gave him difficulty. He reminded us that
Inspectors-General of Police had existed before in Egypt, that they had exercised great
powers, and that they had finally been merged into the Adviser of the Interior. All
this I admitted, but pointed out that an English Minister could not in Parliament
defend a position in which he was providing safeguards for Europeans in three towns
and nothing at all for Europeans outside them. His answer—the only piece of talking
to the gallery that we had was that Europeans outside the towns were in quite a
different position, and did not require any special guarantees. He admitted that some
central authority over the three commandants was wanted, but said it ought not to be
in the treaty, and of course the Egyptian Government could, and indeed would, have
to provide it.
I am inclined to think that what he really wants is to avoid all appearance of
any English control in the Ministry of the Interior. That Ministry has always been
the one in which English influence has been the least prominent, and very likely
native feeling is strong that, under the new regime, that Ministry at any rate shall be
purely Egyptian.
In any case I should not despair ; I think something may yet he found.
R. C. L.
August 20, 1921.
C.
August 21, 1921.
Annex.
Mr. Lindsay to Adly Pasha.
My dear Pasha, Foreign Office, August 20, 1921.
As I promised you this morning in the course of our conversation, I now send
you, for your consideration, the text of the two formulae which we discussed with
regard to finance and the protection of foreigners.
Yours sincerely,
R. C. LINDSAY.