264 Egypt
Hilmi, in his palace at Tchiboukli on the Bosphorus, had
better claims on Egyptian Nationalists than any member
of the family ; and on occasions his restoration was
mooted as a move that would give check to the British.
But those leaders like Zaglul, who had personal experi-
ence of the difficulty, and even danger, of dealings with
Abbas, were not in a hurry to put their necks into the
noose again. Moreover, the ex-Khedive had been
crippled by the confiscation of his estates, for which he
had received in compensation only ^500,000, that being
one-fifth of the value that he claimed. On the whole,
therefore, King Fuad was in a pretty strong position for
forcing on the Constitutionalists those constitutional
amendments that suited his autocratic ambition.
The first collision between the Crown and the Con-
stitutionalists ended with the resignation of Sarwat's
Ministry and the promotion in their place of the Palace
candidate, Tewfik Nessim (October, 1922). This
success was achieved by a temporary alliance between
the Palace and the Wafd against the central block of
more moderate Nationalists and Constitutionalists, which
unholy alliance was due to the absence from public life of
Zaglul and to the acerbity of the final phase of the
struggle between British and Nationalists that caused the
latter to grasp at any weapon, however two-edged. And
this transitory political transaction has left a permanent
impression on the politics of Egypt. For, thereby, King
Fuad succeeded in getting such powers under the new
constitution as will enable any prince of personality and
prudence to make himself the practical ruler of a State
with such undeveloped traditions and training in de-
mocracy as has Egypt. That this is not as yet the case
Is due to King Fuad not having so far acquired the
personal ascendancy and popularity to which he aspires ;