Financial Reconstruction 163
or Nationalist. For the system is as intolerable to a pro-
gressive Imperialism, like that of the French in Algiers,
as it is to a militarist Nationalism like that of the Turks
in Constantinople, or to a Socialist Nationalism like that
of the Chinese. The one condition essential for the
revision of such Capitulations is that the reformed regime
has good promise of permanence. This was, however,
the one condition lacking in the British occupation of
Egypt. Consequently, though British responsibility for
Egypt obviously justified a demand for the surrender of
such privileges, foreign Governments which, for diplo-
matic reasons, had no desire to make our task easier
could advance good ground for refusing any concession.
In order to get any relief at all from the Capitulations
it was necessary to set up a sort of auxiliary Assembly
of foreigners by giving certain powers of approval in
respect of legislation affecting the Capitulations to a
' * General Assembly'' of the judges of the Mixed
Tribunals (Decree of January 31, 1889). Under these
conditions a rapid reform of the judicial system was not
realisable. Not only was there foreign opposition to this
from the French and other interests firmly entrenched in
capitulatory privilege, but also from the native lawyers,
headed by Nubar, who feared a remodelling of the exist-
ing French system on British lines. Thus all attempts
to make the French procedures and codes more simple
and suitable by adaptations on Anglo-Indian lines, were
successfully resisted. The reforms effected by Sir J.
Scott and Sir M. Mcllwraith were limited to practical
improvements in procedure. The Consular Courts, the
Mixed Tribunals, the Egyptian Courts with their French
Codes, and the Mahometan Courts with their Sheri law
all continued. And the results were more adapted to the
encouragement of litigation than to the enforcement of