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Coll 15/1 'Egypt Affairs: General Situation 1931; Anglo-Egyptian Treaty, 1936' [‎14r] (28/493)

The record is made up of 1 file (246 folios). It was created in 15 May 1931-10 Dec 1947. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .

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7
^gyptiim negotiators to reproduce the
substance of article 7 of the 1936 treaty
in the revised treaty, and to the existence
of a deadlock in the negotiations, the Law
Officers of the Crown were asked on
1st June to advise (1) to what extent, in
the absence of agreement, His Majesty’s
G-?»*ernment were entitled to rely on
articles 6. 7 and 8 of the treaty of 1936
as being valid and in force, (2) to what
extent His Majesty’s Government could
rely on the sentence in article 16 quoted
above as constituting an obligation on the
Egyptian Government to conclude in a new
treaty provisions containing the principles
of those articles. The Law Officers’ reply
was in substance (1) that if the Egyptian
Government declined to accept the proposal
of His Majesty’s Government as to new
provisions for warlike assistance, the
present negotiations would fail and the
existing treaty including articles 7 and 8
would remain in force; (2) that, on the
other hand, there was no obligation on the
Egyptian Government to agree to the
conclusion of a revised treaty containing
any particular provisions. And, as regards
article 7 of the 1936 treaty, the Law Officers
concluded their opinion with the statement
that, ‘ ‘ although the treaty may be kept
on foot by His Majesty’s Government
refusing to conclude a revised treaty save
on such terms as to warlike assistance as
may be agreeable to them, the existing pro
visions of article 7 in that regard are likely
to be of little value in the event of Egypt
not wishing, when any emergency arose, to
implement the spirit of the treaty.”
19. As a result of consideration in the
light of the above, fresh proposals were
approved by the Cabinet and telegraphed
to Sir R. Campbell on 9th June. The
following is an extract from Foreign Office
telegram No. 1137 of 9th June :—
“ . . . . in actual practice the imple
mentation of any defence scheme
maintained in peace-time on Egyptian
territory and by Egyptian personnel
depends on the goodwill of the Egyptian
Government and the Egyptian people and
the effectiveness of our joint lay-out, and
that this holds good whatever provisions
may, or may not, figure in our treaty
arrangements, published or unpublished.
Thus, even if the provisions of the 1936
treaty were textually reproduced in the
new treaty, an unfriendly Egyptian
Government could, in an emergency,
sabotage them without great difficulty.
For instance, even under the 1936 treaty,
His Majesty’s Government were not the
sole judges of the existence of an
emergency. There was to be consultation
as provided for in the agreed minute
which forms part of the treaty. It would
be open, therefore, to a hostile Egyptian
Government to refuse to admit that an
emergency had come into existence.
Contrariwise, a friendly Government
might give us (as in 1940-44) far more
extensive facilities than were ever
defined in writing. In any event it is
useless to have facilities for the re-entry
of troops if there are no adequate
facilities available for them, and,
although the treaty of 1936 did not
explicitly provide for this, they did in
fact exist, and this was clearly
recognised by the parties. From a
practical point of view the maintenance
of installations, &c., is more important
than a treaty right of re-entry after con
sultation. The only method by which
we can secure the maintenance of these
installations is through arrangements
between the two military staffs and
undertakings in some form to carry them
out by both Governments.
“ This being so, I have endeavoured
to re-adapt certain provisions of Sidky
Pasha’s avant pro jet so as to replace,
in a manner acceptable to Egyptian
opinion the (in Egyptian eyes) inadmis
sible provisions of the 1936 treaty.”
20. The readaptation of Sidky's draft
(Annex 3) consisted in the introduction of
a new article 4 embodying the idea of a
Joint Defence Board, and the revision of
Sidky Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. 's articles 4 and 5. The
following are the full texts :—
“Article 4.—It shall be the common
task of the high contracting parties to
ensure their mutual security, defend
their territories and protect their com
munications.
In order to ensure the mutual co
operation and assistance of the high
contracting parties and the contribution
which each will make to the common task
His Majesty The King of Great Britain
and His Majesty the King of Egypt
agree to establish a joint Board of
Defence composed of the competent
military authorities of the high con
tracting parties assisted by such other
representatives as the two Governments
shall appoint.
The functions of the board shall be :—
(1) To co-ordinate measures for their
mutual defence in the region of
the Middle East, including
territories adjacent to Egypt.
(2) To study the land, sea and air
problems, including personnel

About this item

Content

The file comprises telegrams, despatches, correspondence and government printed papers. On the front of the file is written in red ink 'Secret Cupboard'.

The correspondence concerns the general situation in Egypt in the periods 1931-1937 and 1945-1947. Correspondence also discusses the issues relating to the negotiation and conclusion of the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty 1936, including:

  • negotiating points
  • concessions
  • capability of the Egyptian army
  • location of British military facilities
  • the significance of the Suez Canal as an 'artery of communication' for the British empire

The main correspondents include: the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs; the Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia; the Minister of External Affairs, Union of South Africa; and HBM High Commissioner to Egypt and the Sudan (Sir Miles Lampson).

The file includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.

Extent and format
1 file (246 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in rough chronological order from the rear to the front of the file.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 246; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio.

Written in
English in Latin script
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Coll 15/1 'Egypt Affairs: General Situation 1931; Anglo-Egyptian Treaty, 1936' [‎14r] (28/493), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2762, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100043038405.0x00001f> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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