The Daily Worker Newspaper, June 11, 1927, Page 10

ARCOS AND THE EIGHT-FIFTEEN (Continued from page 4) He paused. pression, His argument had made a great im- “Or perhaps they were Russian state documonis pinched by the British Secret Service and now the Russians have got ’em back afain?” Sensation! “No Guvynor, the fact of the matter is that the excuse is all bunkum. The fact of the matter is that the die-hards of your party hate workers’ Rus- sia so much that they just hit out blindly and damn the consequences!” ‘ “Hear, Hdar!” sounded approving voices from the owners of the pipes and the billy cans who were leaning forward following the debate with the zreat- est interest. One of the inhabitants of Hampton Court lost his temper and exploded: “Well, what about it? Let them get out, bag and baggage! They are nothing but a lot of deceitful dirty foreigners violating our hospitality. Let them clear out, we don’t want them here!” The broad-shouldered man and his friends roared with triumph. “There you are!’ “There you are!” “That’s the spirit that made the raid!” “Don’t talk about breaches of agreement. and tons of documents and all the rest of it!” “There you have it!” “Real good old damn the consequences Torysim!” “Who’s ‘we’ Mister? Who doesn’t want ’em? You’re not the only slug in the cabbage patch you know.” ~ There Was laughter. The leader of the Plebs, the broad-shouldered man proceeded more calmly: ~ “But I wouldn’t be at all surprised if you’ve suc- ceeded though, and the Russians really do go. But mark my words, they won’t go alone. They’ll take their trade with them.” His listeners were attentive. “Uhg!” snorted a bald-headed man in the corner ceontemptuously, “their trade! Let them take it. We can do without it.” The broad-shouldered one turned to the little man. “Once again Mister, who is this ‘we’? Who can #et along so well without Russian trade? May I ask your profession? “T am an estate-agent. ‘Pike and Barrymore’ sir. One of the biggest. . .” ; “Yes, yes,” said his opponent cutting him short, “much what I thought. Of course, you” (accent on the “you”’) “can do without Russian trade. What are you all here anyway? Lawyers, jobbers, sharks on-’change, landgrabbers and what not. Of course, you can afford to do without it. But what about Manchester and Birmingham, eh? I suppose they’re so loaded up with orders from abroad that they can afford to sneer at Russian trade too? The pugnacious pleb paused for a reply, but none followed. © “T tell yok, this freak policy of the die-hards is cutting off our noses to spite the Russians’ faces.” “Ever heard of Germany guvnor? Can you name me one single thing the Russians can get here that they couldn’t order in Germany? And in the mean- time we've got skilled workmen walking about the streets wearing out their boot-leather looking for a job; instead of standing at the bench and making machinery for their fellow-workers in Russia. And all because the die-hards won't let ’em!” There was a nasty growl from the men with the dinner-cans. The relation of class forces had changed completely, for it’s a long way from bourgeois Hampton Court to the city, and the journey goes over petty bourgeois Wimbledon and Wandsworth and then throguh proletarian Battersea, Lambeth and Southwark. And so the batile raged. By the time the train pulled up at London Bridge the carriage showed as clear cut a class division as the most exacting theorist could ever desire. The two parties drew off in separate groups. The workers laughing and triumphant, their opponents furious and defeated, —_ divided against itself. And thus it was proved once again, beyond a shadow of a doubt, ‘that Hampton Court and Battersea do not hold the ‘game Views on the same subjects, that “East is ; and West is West, and never the twain shall “meet!” 4 4 Hail Caesar, Napoleon, Mussolini—the Conqueror! Drawing by William Gropper The Changes in the Egyptian Government By J. B. (Jerusalem) HE ten months of the government of Adly Pasha, which came into office in June 1926 as a re sult of the compromise between the Zaglulist ma- jority in the Egyptian parliament and the British government, has not brought any benefit to Egypt. In the sphere of politics, not one of the questions vitally important for Egypt — evacuation of the British troops, union of Egypt with the Sudan, abolition of the capitulations—have been solved or brought nearer to a solution. In the economic sphere, the outbreak of the cotton crisis led to the impoverishment of broad sections of the population; and the government did not succeed in doing any- thing to reduce the high food prices. On the other hand there were a great number of inner political diffieulties; disturbances in the religious university of El-Ashad, labor conflicts and unsuccessful at- tempts to carry out reforms. The government was in a constant state of em- barrassment: Parliament with its Zaglulist ma- jority, which in general is much more radically in- clined than the leaders of the Party, and in par- ticular of those moderate elements who were sent as representatives of the party into the Adly Min- istry, insisted in every question on definite de- cisions, and overwhelmed Adly and his minsters with awkward questions, which the government in most cases answered evasively or were unable to answer at all. The reason for this humiliating po- sition of the government is that the independence of Egypt is, in the last resort, only a fiction. With- out the sanction of the British no minister is able to carry out any measure. While, however, Adly Pasha and also the Zaglulists in his cabinet always tacitly yielded to the desires of the British, the parliamentary deputies would hear nothing of this. Conflicts between parliament and the government became more and more frequent: The question of the discharge of British officials, which parlia- ment demanded to be carried out thoroughly while the government, responding to British pressure, sabotaged; the question of the British Supreme Command in the Egyptian army on the »liquida- tion of which parliament insisted; the constitu- tional problem, whether local authorities shall be elected or appointed (parliament demanded that they be elected, while the British adviser insisted on the retention of the system of appointment)—all thesé provided material for conflict which rendered the position of the government impossible. Finally, it came about that the constant inter- vention of parliament hindered the government in its work. The Liberal Constitutional Party, whose program demanded that cooperation with Great Bri- tain which the Prime Minister Adly Pasha carried out, wished to show the Zaglulists that they are not to be regarded as a mere fatade of the cabinet, behind which the Zaglulists could proceed with their attacks in order to preserve their popularity as friends of the people and consistent nationalists, but that they are just as en to the Zaglu- lists as the Zaglulists are to them. Precisely at the moment when the British and e a pertion of the Egyptian press again published news regardiag direct negotiations between Zagful Pasha and the representative of Chamberlain (the result of which would be to render the mediation of the Liberal Constitutionalists superfluous), and when the Zaglulist majority in parliament again undertook an attack in order, if possible, to bring into power a purely Zaglulist government, Adly Pasha made a clever maneuver in order to render possible the resignation of the entire cabinet: he used as a pretext the chance rejection of a vote of thanks to the government on the occasion of a financial transaction. The fact that this action of Adly Pasha precipi- tated the crisis clearly shows that a ministry formed by Zagful or consisting only of Zaglulists would meet with just as much opposition on the part of the British as it would have ten months ago. There remained only the choice; open conflict with Great Britain, which would have immediately led to the dissolution of parliament and to a new period of an “unconstitutional” ministry (the “Ittehad” Party is only waiting for a “favorable moment” in order, with the aid of the British and of the king, to come to power again), or fresh compromise, ac- ceptance of persons agreeable to the British. Although the Nationalist Party and some radical Wafd organs recommended an open conflict (there were even hints that in view of the China adven- ture it would not be possible for the British For- eign Office to proceed drastically against Egypt), Zagful Pasha, with whom this time also the de- cision lay, again decided on a compromise: Adly Pasha was thrown overboard and his place taken by Sarvat Pasha, who was hitherto Foreign Min- ister in the Adly Cabinet and is even more closely connected with the British. In addition to this the Zaglulists had to give up the two most important posts in the ministry, which were the cause of fre- quent conflicts with the British advisers on the one side and parliament on the other, namely the fi- nance ministry and the war ministry, to Liberal Constitutional candidates. As a result the Liberal Constitutional Party, even though numerically un- changed, emerges politically strengthened out of his cabinet crisis. The only compensation the Zaglu- lists received was the office of foreign minister, which is to render it possible for them to continue direct negotiations with Great Britain. The changes in the cabinet do not in any way alter the main problems of Egypt. The cabinet was received very coldly by parliament, and the vote: of confidence was granted with considerable re- luctance. It is clearly perceived that it is only a question of a temporary solution in order to give Zagiul Pasha the opportunity of arriving at an agreement with England. Should Zaglul Pasha, in view of the obdurate line of British policy, not sue- ceed in this, then the government of Sarvat Pasha will result in a ¢onsiderable strengthening of the forces of the left wing of the Zaglul Party which are in favor of the Anglo-Egyptian differences, which are continually concealed and glossed over, being fought out in the open.