—it has been of inestimable advantage to Lord Cromer and his coadjutors to feel that they had behind them the support and encouragement of their fellow-countrymen at home, and that their labours and motives were not being misconstrued by their own people.
Doubtless one of the chief reasons why Egypt has been especially favoured in this connection has been that our local administration has lain outside the battleground of political parties in this country. Neither side has had any interest in unduly extolling or unduly depreciating the work upon which Great Britain was engaged in the Nile Valley. There being no party advantages to be gained, the subject of Egypt has not recently formed part of the polemics which rage between the 'ins' and the 'outs,' and the results of the Occupation have been appraised merely on their merits. The conversion of public opinion, which was at first distinctly unfavourable, has thus been allowed to follow a natural course, unimpeded by extraneous influences, until the moment has arrived when the efforts made for the regeneration of Egypt offer no further scope for controversy.
The administrative system by which Egypt is ruled is unlike anything to be found elsewhere in the world. It has been evolved partly by the accidents and circumstances of the moment, and partly by the practical administrative genius of the great man in whose hands the destinies of the country have been placed. It is full of absurdities and paradoxes, but it has yielded good results, and it may not be without interest to indicate very briefly some of its chief peculiarities.
The first point to be remarked is the very personal character of the Egyptian system. Most modern bureaucracies are constructed on the same principle as the automatic safety appliances utilized on railways. They are intended to be, as far as possible, independent of human error. Innumerable checks and controls are invented with a view of reducing to a minimum the chance that mistakes may be made. The depart-
