- 38 -Legislative Council Discussion The Legislative Council has simplified it by way of proposal to be a basis for research and discussion. It is apparent that any legislative council established in the Egyptian territory must be composed of members elected by election and others appointed by the government. The question that requires judgment is therefore the ratio of appointed to elected members and the methods of their appointment and election. There is no need to elaborate on the common arguments that favor each of the appointment and election systems over the other, as these are well-known. I will confine myself to considering the specific characteristics of the situation in Egypt. For it is one of the political priorities that individuals and organized groups tend to be unjust in power if no deterrent is established to curb them. The subjects view the actions of any government with suspicion and distrust, whether it is rightly or wrongly viewed. This distrust exists in Egypt to a degree specific to it, and perhaps even beyond the limit, for two reasons. The first is that the country has not yet shed the ingrained belief from its days when most of its ills resulted from the actions of its rulers. The second is that countries where competition between the nations residing in them sometimes intensifies do not shed the illusions they have formed about the actions of some individuals or nations to whom those individuals turn. It is not right in such circumstances to go to extremes in adhering to the principle of appointment. Therefore, although in my opinion the Egyptian and British authorities should have the right to reject decisions they object to, I also believe it is necessary to refrain from forming a council that makes it easy for the government to decide what it deems appropriate. Even if the public, with its blood, deems it appropriate, it is as if it is being forced upon them. Thus, the system of appointment must remain within the limits that people generally recognize as necessary for the public interest. As for the other system that is established for us, it is the system of election, and it must be applied with caution and apprehension in Egypt as well, considering its specific circumstances. I have had many discussions on this subject with men who are important in giving opinions on it, and I have inferred from what has been conveyed to me a lack of conservative spirit. They blamed the difficulty of objecting to the extreme application of the appointment system, but they feared what might result from the extreme application of the election system. The reason for this is that "there is no public opinion in Egypt," as I have been told many times. This phrase does not mean that there is an obstacle preventing the expression of public opinion, as the reality is different. Nor is the intention to evaluate the European newspapers published there, as they strive to express public opinion and their efforts are met with success.