224
though it is to-day a castle very much in ruins, but the
Egyptian's harem is his Ark of the Covenant. There
were, moreover, still medieval traditions in the bearing of
arms among the landowning class, while the farmers had
trained themselves to carry arms as a protection against
the new criminal class in the provinces. Indiscriminate
disarmament was much resented as an unnecessary
injury and as an undeserved insult. Its adoption at this
moment has never been explained. The preamble of the
Act says it was on the " advice of the military
authorities/' but there seems some reason for suspecting
that it was another Egyptian experiment in practical anti-
British propaganda.
The war had brought wealth to a large number of
Egyptians and had not injured the welfare of the country
as a whole. A money contribution levied on war profits
might fairly have been exacted for purposes of war
philanthropy. But, unfortunately, as in the case of con-
scription, we again took refuge from the responsibility
of definitely imposing a war burden. We let the
Egyptian Government have recourse in our name to the
voluntary principle in a community where that principle
only opens the door to arbitrary exactions and petty abuse*
Egypt had become a great hospital camp, and had,con-
tributed its schools and other buildings without resent-
ment, though not without realising the sacrifice.
Monetary subscriptions would have been a very proper
corresponding contribution from the foreign colonies.
But the extension of such voluntary contributions to the
natives was a different matter. When the Sultan and
other Anglophil notables handsomely headed subscription
lists, and expressed their wish that compatriots of every
class should contribute, the result was an informal assess-
ment by the Mudir on every village, which was very in-