The implementation of the desired reform from potential to action depends on the possibility of solving the issue at hand in an agreeable manner. I agree with them on this and say that if we can devise a plan by which the Council can be constituted in a way that the European public trusts, we will remove one of the major obstacles to the significant and curative change I seek. I alluded to this achievement in my last annual report, where I examined the reasons.

Before proceeding with that, I will begin with a preamble in which I will remind the readers of this report of the facts of the situation regarding the reform of the foreign concessions system.

The obvious and undeniable fact is that the aforementioned concessions exist and cannot be modified except with the consent of the states. The method we have tried for modifying them is new in its kind and has no precedent in the management of Egyptian affairs. The usual practice in such matters was for the Egyptian government to consult the British government and then issue circulars to the states requesting their agreement to what it wished to change in the existing laws. Neither the Egyptian government has issued such a circular now, nor is the British government bound to approve a specific reform project. Rather, the opinions I have set forth in this report and in my report for the year 1900 are my personal opinions. I do not mean by this that His Majesty's government is not concerned with this issue, as the reality is the opposite, because it sees what I see: that the foreign concessions system in Egypt has had its day and that there is an urgent need to change it. However, since this issue is very complex and intricate, and its solution requires a comprehensive knowledge of local conditions, it naturally looks to its representative in Egypt to make specific changes that meet the needs of the situation before approving a general course of action. This is the position of the British government in this matter.

I have a few words to say about my own position. I know clearly what change is required, because after having tested the conditions of Egypt for a long time and carefully considered the present state of Egypt, I have become convinced of the necessity of abandoning legislation by means of policy, as is currently the case, and replacing it with a practical legislative instrument, otherwise the material and moral progress of the country will not be achieved. As for how to implement this change from potential to action, and the restrictions that limit the authority and composition of the Council, and similar matters, I see them as still subject to change according to what appears to me from further contemplation and research. Therefore, I do not propose any specific, definitive proposal of this kind until I know more than I do now about the opinions of those who have influence.