Reports and papers of the Egyptian Administration Committee [‎10r] (19/108)

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, h he existence oi the Egyptian Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. in London under Sir A. Webb, subject to
the orders and control of the Egyptian Government, seems to be the stand-by of the
r ?i s I ( V ieil!e ’ and 1 on Jy sa .Y that from my experience in India of the operations
y 16 ^opartmenh oj the ^lirector of Supplies in the 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. in supplying the
needs of India the example is not one that I would wish to see imitated. I am
- informed that the Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. is conducted to the entire satisfaction of the Egyptian
Government, and it will be far wiser in every way to leave well alone.
\ s ^he educational system, it is more likely to work well under the paternal
control of the Egyptian Government than under a bureaucratic Department in
London.
rvm ho sum up. Although there is no desire to claim that the control of the Foreign
Gfhce should be prolonged indefinitely, it is maintained that in view of the doubts
already expresed by the High Commissioner as to the future status of Egypt in the
event of the Sultan s death, in view of the important negotiations which will have
to be carried on with Foreign Powers in connection with the abolition of the Capitu
lations and foreign extra-territorial jurisdiction, and also in view of the diplomatic
situation in Tripoli, Syria, Abyssinia, and the Hedjaz, where the efforts of the
Foreign Office are at present concentrated on maintaining the position of the King
of the Hedjaz against the political encroachments of France and Italy in Arabia
and the Red Sea, the moment to close the transition period of Foreign Office control
has not yet arrived, and any substitution of control from that of the High Com
missioner to a Department .somewhere in London would be likely to result in friction,
lack of co-ordination, and the addition of a fifth wheel to the coach. In these
critical times, when Egypt is administered under martial law, and for some time
after the close of the war, the internal government of that country should be left in
the experienced hands of the capable administrators who govern the country in the
name of the Sultan, but under the High Commissioner, and who should be protected
from unnecessary interference from home. In any case, the scheme w\hich seems to
have been put forward by Lord E. Cecil on his own authority and initiative should
in the first instance be commented upon by Sir R. Wingate and other expert advisers
in Egypt, since the authority of the High Commissioner would by its adoption be
considerably restricted, and practically a new situation created.
Under existing circumstances the'control of Egypt is not a serious burden to the
Foreign Office, but it was decided some months ago, long before the present proposal
was put forward, to create a Middle East Department in and as part of the organisa
tion of the Foreign Office, to which experts from Egypt and Mesopotamia (if the
latter province remains under British control) would be appointed, by which a
general supervision would be exercised over the administration of these territories,
and without undue interference with the local Governments during the transition
period of probably five to ten years, when they may be sufficiently developed to be
handed over to some other controlling AgencyThis new Department would be in
close touch and in consultation with the advisers of the Egyptian Government, and
would contain an Egyptian element recruited from the Egyptian Civil Service and
other sources. This project still holds the field, but it is obvious that it cannot be
satisfactorily put into execution until something more definite is known as to the
future status of Egypt and Mesopotamia.
Finally, I would strongly urge that no sufficient reason has been shown for any
immediate change of system, and that in these critical times, while all is going well,
it is better to leave well alone than to seek a counsel of perfection in an endeavour to
inaugurate a new scheme of administration in Egypt, the need of which has not been
proved.
H.
September 6, 1917.