- 47 -the soul to reach the government, unless an Indian politician dared to cast his shadow over India, even if he was an extremist from the revolutionary party. Moreover, correspondence and affection were constant between me and Lord Dufferin, and I would have slept soundly if only he had seen my opinion, not my words or mistakes. Do you not see that I attributed to us a life as I mentioned before, but what remains in my mind from the impact of all that "he said" and "what he said" is that he was not very confident in conveying the idea he had initially. By God, I did not see the extent of the success achieved in it. He asked for a soul and his "passage" was not without astonishment. In other words, Lord Dufferin, due to his limited choice and poor understanding of public affairs, did not rely on the rapid progress of self-governing councils in Egypt. Rather, his utmost hope from them was to establish in Egypt "a kind of barrier, even if not a strong one," between its people and the injustice of previous rulers, and to establish councils that could "educate" and, over time, become "extended" (1). How far apart this statement is from the rapid promotion of these councils to parliamentary councils, some of them general. Then he turned to the formation of the Legislative Council. It has been mentioned that 14 of its members, or less than half of its members, were appointed by the government. Lord Dufferin said, "And perhaps the members' qualifications are clear." I agree with his opinion, but I believe that the matter of this appointment was not given the due attention it deserved for years after the establishment of the council, even if the appointed members in these years were increasingly competent. The reason for the lack of attention to appointments in the past was the government's reluctance to have it appoint members to the council who lacked experience. This attention is noble and hidden, but I believe it cannot be given more than its due. The Egyptian social body is now composed in a way that allows the government to appoint men of good morals, ability, and competence in their professions and dealings, so that they can occupy the council's position with their order, and their influence in permissible matters. It will not then be said that the government appointed men whose political views are known and specific. As for the members who are elected to the council and the general assembly, it is clear that under the current system, their representation of Egyptian public opinion is proportional to the people's interest in the regular election (with a kasra). It is clear that Lord Dufferin's fundamental achievement was to free the peasants from the local sheikhs, because he was supporting them against their oppressors. He wrote, saying, and it is incumbent to grant freedom to the people, the right that the people of each town should be free to elect the person they trust with their votes in electing members of the councils. (1) These phrases are quoted from a book he published in my report for the year 1985.