The Taihape Daily Times AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE. MONDAY, MARCH 22, 1915. EGYPT.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume 7, Issue 169, 22 March 1915, Page 4

The Taihape Daily Times AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE.

MONDAY, MARCH 22, 1915. EGYPT.

■ With which is inco-porated The Tri hape Poet ,u 3 W*imarinn News.}

To a correspondent who wants to know whether Egypt is now a British possession, we may state that although it is not British as New Zealand and Australia are it is not unlikely, in the future, tobe under British rule much as India is to-day. Egypt became a British protectorate when the late Khedive left the country to join the Turks at Constantinople, or, at least,, when a reversion to the Sultanate took place on the accession of Prince Hussein Kamel Pasha. Egypt has now its own sovereign, but the country is for very important reasons under the protection of the British naff. Perhaps the position of the conntry will be better gathered from the new Sultan's own words, ut te-red to a London Times representative two days before he entered into the 'Sultanate. E< said, after doplqring the ignorance and rash ambition that had brought Egypt to such a sad pass, "the conduct of the suzerain power ha& compelled Great Britain to proclaim a protectorate over the country. The British Government invited me to accept the Sultanate and ] have accepted it. not. light-heartedly, but with a full sense of my rseponsibility to fulfil a sacred duty and in the hope that J may be able to render ser vice to my people. T have never been a Pretender to the throne. I am not an 'arriviste': I had no need to be, for 1 arrived fifty-nine years ago, But I am a believer and my faith has taught me that, to attain the good of my country, I shall have the support of the British Government, Since the suppression of the Arab revolt, I have been convinced that Egypt had need, not of European <|uVntity, but of European quality, i„ order to direct its pi ogress. For what England has done for Egypt we cannot be too grateful and that Egypt has not progressedmore rapidly—l speak of education and civic progress in the true sense of the word, not of

railways and canals—is not the fault of the English, but of the anomalous situation of the country. To Egyptians three doors were open—the door of the ICheclival Palace, the door of the British Agency, and the door of the

{Egyptian Government. Can it be wondered that a people lac-kins political experience and education often lost its bearings and look a course contrary to its trueinterests'? Lord Cromer, the late .Sir Eldon Gorst, and Lord Kitchener, all knew my views in this matter, and knew, too, that my efforts were always directed towards the good of Egypt. 1 waived all questions of rank and' accepted the presidency of the Legislative Council, but resigned when certain influences rendered my task impossible. It would not beseem nn° to say much concerning these interventions, which hampered the progress of the country. But the past is the past, and I hope that under better influences the Council will be abl" to play a part worthy of mv t'a'.r country." '#» * *

The noAv Sultan has on several occasions expressed admiration for the stamina and behaviour of the New Zealand and Australian troops, and in remarking upon the future he says: "And' now for the future. I trust entirely in England and hope she trusts me f have always dealt straightly ■. my past bears witness thereto. 1 have worked for good relation.' between Egypt and England. My relations with your great King, the late King Edward Vll.—may God have his soul—were of the friendliest nature, since first 1 knew him in 1866. T trust juy relations with his son may be equally cordial. I hope that, should Egypt be threatened again, the moral arid civic progress of my people will have been such that they will hasten to' defend their country side by side with the ■ troops of the Empire as readily as your territorials, and the splendid Australian and. New Zealand troops, whom I have daily the opportunity of admiring: at Helipolis, have done. Hove mav I say, en passant, that, since the bewinning of the British occupation, the attitude of your officers and men has been perfect. There has been no swaggering and no sabrerattling in their relations? with the inhabitants of the country. If I can succeed in inspiring-tin-people of Egypt with some of that civic spirit which the young nations of the British Empire have displayed, T shall be content. To reach'that goal edueaton is • re-quired-^—not mere book learning, but social and' moral training which men learn first from their mothers. Female education v what the country greatly needs. and if I am in some things a "Conservative T am a Liberal in this. 1 believe there is a great fut.ur< for my country. Once the disturbance caused by the war has ceased, Egypt will be a centre of intensive cultivation, moral iwwell as material. Remember we have three great assets---the Nil-', the Egyptian sun and, above all the Fellaheen who till the fruitful soil of Egypt. I know them well, and love them. You will not find a race of men more accessible to progress, better tempered, or harder working. They need paternal guidance to direct them on the road traced by firfounder of the dynasty, the great Mehemet Ali. With education, they will be a fine people. Would I were ten years younger, but be assured I will do all in my power for Egypt and her people in the years that God will be pleased to grant me." THE NAVAL DISASTER. From the briefest of cablegrams reaching New Zealand after this journal went to press on Saturday afternoon the AHied fleets operating in the Dardanelles seem to have met with nothing short of a calamity. At leastthree battleships—two English and one French —have been sunk, having been mined in deep water, and the Inflexible, a battle-cruiser, lias been damaged. Fortunately, this calamity lias not been attended with any great loss of life, and it is the French that have suffered most in this respect—indeed, we are told that there were only a few British casualties. In so stupendous a work, beset witli every danger ami menace known to naval warfare, it is only reasonable to expect that some such loss would be encountered, but we nave ben bouyed up witli the hope that nothing very serious might happen by the immunity so far experienced that the news now to hand has produced a shock somewhat out of normal proportions. Prior to the daring act of the Amythest in steaming right through the Narrows to Nagara a few days ago, scarcely a man was lost. While forts have been toppled over and thousands of Turlduh. casualties have resulted from British shells, hardly a man on our ships received a scratch, and, even now, our loss of life is very slight. However, the loss of the ships is serious enough, but it i;-. pleasing to note that the two battleships sunk are of the pre-Dreadnought class, neither being of the latest de-

sign, so that it might have been mue.i worse. From the little news of the number and names of ships operating in the Dardanelles that does leak out there is still more than sufficient strength to pursue the present vigorous endeavour to force a speedy passage.