Rebellion and Independence 243
me necessity of maintaining in force the King's Pro-
tectorate of Egypt." That is, he had a free hand to deal
with the rebellion, but was tied by the leg to the main
cause of it—the Protectorate. In these circumstances it
jwas perhaps fortunate that the rebellion had practically
run its course and was being called oft by the time he
arrived (March 25, 1919), It was no less fortunate that
under General Alienby the military repressions and the
judicial reprisals, though severe, were not such as to pro-
voke a fresh outbreak. For in that case the movement
might have escaped from the control of its leaders and
taken its own course.
The swiftness of General Alienby 's success in re-
storing a working relationship between English and
Egyptians in the further government of Egypt, shows
that the situation was under control of the nationalists.
For there was at the moment no government at all other
than the revolutionary committees and councils. The
British administration was barely working at all. Native
officials and employees, like railwaymen, postal workers,
etc., -were being rapidly enlisted for a general strike.
And as the movement changed its character from active
rebellion to passive resistance it became all the more
difficult to deal with.
General Alienby at once set about renewing relations
by inviting representatives of all interests to the Resi-
dency, and by appealing to them for assistance in restor-
ing order and in redressing grievances. As a result,
various religious and political authorities circulated mani-
festos calling for a return to normal conditions. Then,
after consultation with the ex-Cabinet and with the
Cairo Committee of Independence, the High Commis-
sioner issued a proclamation releasing ZagM and his
colleagues from Malta and leaving them at liberty to