The intention is to actually achieve this, not just in word. This is the goal that I have set for myself since I had the honor of being appointed as His Majesty's representative in this country. In the early years of the occupation, the first matter (which our policy aims for) took precedence over our goal, as there was an urgent need to take the initiative to rectify the dire situations resulting from the past bad policy. My esteemed predecessor succeeded in this material reform quickly and successfully, which impressed the entire civilized world. Anyone who reviews the recent reports of Cromer will find that he was thinking, two years before his departure from Port Said, about what could be done to increase the participation of Egyptians in managing their affairs. He specifically suggested that the project for this should be the promotion of the affairs of the provincial councils. If the result, after striving to improve the affairs of the Egyptians, is not only material but also moral, for a period exceeding a quarter of a century, and progress in this path does not align with the requirements of practical policy, then there may be a fundamental error in our approach to this issue.

Since my appointment, I have made it my habit, with the approval of His Majesty's government, to undertake practical matters related to our explicit objectives of this kind, which are: First: To encourage Egyptian officials to become more resolute in taking responsibility and to personally undertake the management of their country's affairs. Second: To give the Legislative Council and the General Assembly an opportunity to have their voices heard on important matters, because although they do not represent the country in the true sense, they are the only two means by which Egypt can express its opinion informally.

Third: To promote the affairs of the provincial councils and give them the authority to be a real element in local government, especially concerning education. As for the first of these reforms, it is the natural progression that the policy initiated in Egypt from the beginning aimed for. British supervision was limited, as much as possible, to providing guidance in the central government departments and to thoroughly inspecting the work of national government officials. This method ensures a considerable degree of good administration and also secures national men for the government who gradually increase in competence and ability. Education has paved the way for this, as it has prepared a better material (than the initial material) from which to draw officials.