Eldon Gorst

“ Slowly but surely the man and his work have gained the confidence of his fellow-countrymen, till Lord Cromer's name has become a proverb for single-minded policy and honest administration. The advantage to Egypt and her hard-working population has been great. The European, after years of study amongst the people of the East, finds difficulty in arriving at even a moderate understanding of their customs, habits of thought, and prejudices. It is not, therefore, surprising that the intervention of those who have no such specific knowledge generally produces more harm than good. ”

“ Europe has recognised that the task upon which England so unwillingly entered must not be impeded or thwarted by the prospect of a premature evacuation, and that so long as we are responsible for the good government of the country, we have the right, and indeed the duty, to insist upon being given a free, hand for the execution of our programme. Diplomatic intrigue is no longer the fashion in Cairo, nor is it now possible for other countries to utilize the so-called international status of Egypt as a means of putting pressure on the British Government. ”

“ In moments of difficulty and crisis—and there have been many such in the last twenty years—it has been of inestimable advantage to Lord Cromer and his coadjutors to feel that they had behind them the support and encouragement of their fellow-countrymen at home, and that their labours and motives were not being misconstrued by their own people. ”

“ Only those who serve the State in foreign lands can rightly estimate the immense advantage to the Anglo-Egyptian Administration of the knowledge that its actions were meeting with the approval and support of the British nation. As a general rule, the British public is nervously suspicious of any information with an official taint; when the best men have been selected to watch over the interests and carry out the policy of the country in other parts of the world, public opinion usually seems to think it has done enough. ”

“ The administrative system by which Egypt is ruled is unlike anything to be found elsewhere in the world. It has been evolved partly by the accidents and circumstances of the moment, and partly by the practical administrative genius of the great man in whose hands the destinies of the country have been placed. ”

“ The system of government which has grown up in Egypt under Lord Cromer's inspiration may be described as a benevolent despotism—the best form of government, in the opinion of many philosophers, when you can get it. Most historical despotisms have been either inherited or obtained by violence, and the present case is one of the rare examples where power has been earned by merit. ”

“ Moreover, the leading-strings which keep the average human being on the right path are a terrible hindrance to the efforts of the earnest reformer; the machine ends by absorbing the human elements that ought to work it, and operates in the direction of discouraging individuality and initiative. It would, therefore, be wholly unsuitable to the needs of a new country.
The Egyptian Administration is a plant of too recent growth to have contracted the defects which characterize bureaucracies of long standing. ”

“ In the space of some twenty odd years—a brief period in a human life, and hardly appreciable in the life of a nation—the external position of Egypt and her relations to the British Empire have undergone as complete a revolution as the internal condition of the country and its population. ”

“ Whether it is possible to go further and to say that he is proportionately grateful to those to whose efforts the change is due is a question to which the answer is more doubtful In spite of the unquestionable talent of the Anglo-Saxons in ruling Oriental peoples, the two races are at the opposite poles of humanity, and can seldom be united by any very strong bonds of sympathy. No dominant race can expect to inspire affection in the peoples over whom it rules, but the Englishman has, as a rule, succeeded in inspiring the two next best feelings—respect and fear. ”

“ Given the man and the power, the next question is how the one will use the other, and here we come to the second principal cause of the success of England's government of this Oriental people. The great aim which Lord Cromer and his English assistants have ever had before them has been the promotion of the welfare of the Egyptians, and the prosperity of their country. They have studied the needs of their adopted land, and endeavoured to supply them without any suspicion of partiality in favour of British interests in cases where the latter might appear to clash with those of Egypt. ”

“ The human element is of necessity subject to frequent variation, and no two men, however equally versed in the art of government, take the same view either of ends or means. Consequently, there is at times a want of continuity in the methods adopted, owing to the fact that the personal factor has a tendency to overshadow tradition and precedent. New ideas can be put into execution and administrative experiments tried with greater facility in Egypt than elsewhere. But new ideas are not necessarily good ones, and experiments sometimes end in failure. ”

“ When, in future ages, Macaulay's New Zealander digs up the official archives of the Egyptian Government he will hardly find any trace of the names or existence of Lord Cromer and the small band of Englishmen who have assisted in the regeneration of the country.
The third principal reason for the success which has attended British rule in Egypt is that there has been little or no interference on the part of the authorities at home. For once in the history of the Empire a really free hand has been given to the man on the spot. ”

“ Now his confidence has been gained, and whatever view he may take of the measures adopted under British initiative, he is at all events ready to admit that they have been put forward in absolute good faith. That the existence of this feeling of confidence enormously facilitates the work of reform in Egypt goes without saying, and the first care of those who are engaged on that work has always been to avoid anything which might tend to enfeeble it. ”

“ The survival of the fittest is the brutal rule of Egyptian official life, and, indeed, as regards the English in the Egyptian service, such a rule was an absolute necessity. Their number being very limited, and the power of those in high position very considerable, whether for good or evil, it was essential to give very short shrift to those who were not efficient.
It may be objected that a system which requires specially-qualified men to work it stands self-condemned. Demand has, however, a tendency to create supply, and the present case has been no exception. ”

“ The story of the Empire would not be complete without some account of England's work in Egypt during the twenty-two years that have elapsed since the British occupation of that country. Much has been written on the subject of the marvellous development of Egypt's material resources during these years of British rule, of the improvement in the moral and physical condition of the population, and of the progress effected towards establishing a sound and stable system of government. ”

“ The conversion of public opinion, which was at first distinctly unfavourable, has thus been allowed to follow a natural course, unimpeded by extraneous influences, until the moment has arrived when the efforts made for the regeneration of Egypt offer no further scope for controversy. ”

“ Good intentions cannot supply the place of knowledge of local conditions and racial peculiarities, and Egypt has lost nothing by having been saved from the invasion of the faddist and the doctrinaire politician. This attitude of non-intervention in Egyptian matters on the part of the British public has been gradually transformed into a generous recognition of the value of the work accomplished under Lord Cromer's direction. ”

“ Further, not only has the Egyptian learnt to appreciate the motives underlying our reform policy, but experience has shown him that the measures themselves are beneficial. Under the new order of things, the daily life of the fellah or agricultural labourer has undergone a complete revolution. He no longer groans under taxation greater than he can bear. ”

“ Egypt has, then, ceased to be a point of weakness to the Empire and a source of danger to the world, while the material progress of the country, made under circumstances often very unfavourable, and the reconquest of Khartoum and the lost provinces of the Soudan, are facts which may afford legitimate gratification to all sections of the British race. ”

“ Curiously enough, the Eastern races have generally exhibited a marked preference for Anglo-Saxon masters as compared with those of other nationalities. The reason, perhaps, is that, though we are very slow at understanding them, they easily understand us, and quickly acquire the comfortable feeling of knowing exactly where they are. Two other facts have greatly helped to cement the good feelings that exist between the rulers and the ruled in Egypt. ”

“ Last, but not least, the occupation of the Valley of the Nile is no longer a stumbling-block in the way of the establishment of intimate and reciprocal friendship between England and France, and it may even be said that the recent adjustment of long-standing grievances in regard to that country has of itself tended to bring the two nations closer together. ”

“ After years of study the Oriental still remains an enigma to his Western brother, and the workings of his mind are a perpetual surprise. Mistakes have often been made where they were least anticipated, but in the long-run patience and observation have prevailed, and we have learned how to avoid treading upon the Egyptian's toes. ”

“ At first the Egyptian man in the street viewed with ingrained suspicion our most harmless proceedings, and was constantly imagining—very often at foreign suggestion of a not wholly disinterested character—some secret design in the simplest proposals. ”

“ The first point to be remarked is the very personal character of the Egyptian system. Most modern bureaucracies are constructed on the same principle as the automatic safety appliances utilized on railways. They are intended to be, as far as possible, independent of human error. Innumerable checks and controls are invented with a view of reducing to a minimum the chance that mistakes may be made. ”

“ The daily work of administration is carried on in a businesslike manner, and does not oppose obstacles to progress and reform. Its lack of rigidity is especially suitable to the needs of the Oriental community for whose benefit it exists. ”

“ The importance of this result for the due accomplishment of our work is not to be overestimated, for nations, like human beings, are much more sensitive to that which hurts their feelings than to outward injuries. ”

“ They acquire experience while still young and active in mind and body, and are consequently less susceptible to what may be called the 'sleeping sickness' characteristic of bureaucracies in general. It follows that in the questions of importance that are dealt with by the higher officials routine and red-tape play a comparatively minor part. The business of the Government is largely carried on by personal communication, and thereby the delays and misunderstandings produced by departmental correspondence are avoided. ”

“ And by so doing they have best served the true interests of the country of their birth, and have kept alive her ancient reputation for sincerity and single-mindedness amongst the weak and down-trodden populations of the earth. ”

“ The very ease with which new projects can be launched is sometimes the cause of their being adopted without due consideration or sufficiently thorough study, and occasionally it is found that a false road has been followed, and that the steps taken must be retraced. ”

“ The departmental consultations which take place before even a sample issue is decided are no doubt a preservative against hasty and ill-considered action, but they also have a tendency to weaken the feeling of personal responsibility. ”

“ In the first place, the predominance of the man over the machine causes the latter to work erratically whenever the former is changed. The mechanism is so responsive to the touch that an unskilful hand can quickly produce disaster. ”

“ The want of local restraining influences of this kind is much felt by those who have at heart the welfare of the Egyptians, and who would be only too thankful for some trustworthy barometer of the wishes and feelings of the people. ”

“ Not only are young men of talent attracted to a service in which seniority plays second fiddle to merit, but the responsible nature of the work with which, from the first, they are entrusted, forms the character and develops the intelligence of those who can survive th6 test. ”