312 Egypt
Sugar Trust, the Heliopolis Company, Tramways, Gas
Companies, etc. The Italians, who are the most numerous
foreign colony, except the Greeks, supply skilled artisans
and import motors. The Swiss are the hotel-keepers, an
influential class where the tourist traffic is so large an
asset in the economic balance-sheet. The native Egyp-
tian is but little represented in finance and commerce;
and the Government is making no effort to force native
partnerships on foreign enterprises either by the Russian
or by the Turkish methods.
The establishment of the new nation has, therefore,
had little or no outward effect on Egyptian economics.
Alexandria is not dormant or dead, like Leningrad or
Constantinople, but is doing very well. Cairo, though.it
has not the impressive new power-houses or the latest
inventions in the machinery of Government that Moscow
has installed, is working the old Anglo-French mechan-
isms without any serious reduction of output. So that if
the success of Egyptians in governing is to be judged by
their success in continuing the system of government
evolved by the British, we may consider that they have
passed their preliminary with credit. In any case, they
have not done, and are not likely to do, anything that
will prevent or even prejudice negotiations as to a final
settlement.
A satisfactory settlement of the reserved points will,
however, depend, in the first place, on both Governments
abandoning the attitudes they have hitherto adopted, and
on someone doing something to create a new atmosphere
between the two peoples. Fortunately, recent circum-
stances have facilitated such a change of atmosphere in
our relations with Egyptian nationalism. The menace of
Mussolini, both from Tripoli and from Erithrea, has re-
lieved our relations with Egyptian nationalism as remark-