In the past, for whatever reason, the words and the declaration of intent were not spoken. I have exerted my efforts in my recent annual report to bring to the minds of the members of the Shura Council this fact: that the jurisdiction of their council cannot be expanded unless it is proven that its expansion poses no danger to the public interest. However, my advice found no attentive ears among them.

Perhaps the official declaration made by His Majesty the King's government in the House of Commons last June will offer them better advice than mine. It stated that progress in Egypt cannot be hoped for until incitement to British occupation ceases. Indeed, the strongest convincing argument, nay, the only argument that will teach them this lesson, is for events and time to prove that this declaration is not mere talk, but rather the true consequence that always follows in the path of assisting Egyptians to advance.

However, the failure of the recent experiment will not be entirely in vain if the course of events of the past two years has shown the Egyptians that their progress towards self-governance is always and forever dependent on convincing the British people that self-governance is in the best interest of the entire Egyptian nation. In that case, with sincerity and good intentions, we will know to what extent we can accept the Egyptians' desire for expanded self-governance without compromising the position reached by good administration and judgments under this regime. We are not to blame if those who could have assisted us in the success of this endeavor have chosen to be its opponents rather than its supporters.

Furthermore, given the peculiar circumstances prevailing in this country, it may not be possible to avoid the failure of efforts to increase the ties of affection and understanding between the occupying power and the Egyptian nation, due to errors in the motive behind these efforts and the misconception that the motive is weakness. If this initial failure leads to the removal of this illusion and the correction of this error in the future, then what has happened will have helped the Egyptians to take a necessary step in their political education. And when progress is halted for a time – though it must eventually resume to fulfill its planned course – it is hoped that this particular obstacle will not recur, and that those who claim to speak for the Egyptian nation will be more inclined to assist us in this path then than they have been until now.

What makes us optimistic about this is that the situation is now healthier than it was in the few preceding years. The plan of the moderate faction of the people has changed for the better, considering...