I return to the recent demands of the Copts and say: I believe that the Copts' desire to find a way to represent the minority in proportion to their numbers in all legislative bodies cannot be achieved at the present time. Furthermore, the principle of Arab election has been introduced to Egypt, but it is hardly possible to devise a method for electing deputies from them. The Copts will inevitably remain a minority in every ruling body, but they must trust that the English supervision will not allow any injustice to befall them.

It is clear that the Copts have gone to extremes in their demand to make Sunday a day of rest for them in the government and schools. If government work is delayed, it occupies two days a week, so necessity dictates that one day be sufficient. It is clear that the Muslims' day is the day for the largest part of the population, so it must be the day of rest. It is understood that Christian employees in government offices are allowed to be absent for specific hours on Sunday mornings to perform their religious duties, and this is the case for their employees. The directorates have responded to this by stating that they are not required to attend on their private holidays, such as New Year's and Easter, and that they also attend on Muslim holidays.

The fifth demand, related to the expenditure of government funds on certain religious or charitable works, does not escape significant attention. For a country where the vast majority are Muslims, it is expected that its treasury will bear some public expenses, such as sending the Mahmal to Mecca. There is no harm in all the people, Muslims and Christians alike, bearing these expenses equally. I believe that the Copts' objection is specifically directed at a small subsidy given by the government to the Al-Urwa Al-Wuthqa Society, which is an Islamic charitable society, for publications it disseminates in the villages and rural areas, benefiting them morally and materially. Whatever the case, the funds spent by the government in this regard are not large. If the Copts requested similar funds to be spent on their national cause yesterday, the government would consider their request with due consideration.

I pointed out in a previous paragraph that the Coptic conference in Assiut must be met with a similar conference of Muslims. This has now been realized, as an Islamic conference is being organized, and the time has come to consider its agenda. However, it is said that its purpose is to consider the conditions of the country's inhabitants in general and the conditions of the Copts in particular. The government has absolutely no involvement in this conference or its proceedings.