33s Egypt
schemes increase production. The only reasonable repre-
sentations that Egypt can make in respect of Sudanese
cotton is as to whether there is enough Nile water to
develop fully the irrigable cotton-lands of the Sudan as
well as the remaining irrigable cotton-lands of Egypt.
The question of cotton is, in fact, like almost every-
thing else in Egypt, ultimately a question of water.
There is a legitimate anxiety in Egypt lest the recent
change in the relations between the Empire and Egypt
and between Egypt and the Sudan may cause us to use
our control of the Upper Nile and our command of
capital for the development of Sudan irrigation to the
disadvantage of Egypt, When there was, in form at
least, an Anglo-Egyptian administration both of Egypt
and of the Sudan, the anxieties of Egypt on this subject
were appeased by a strict limitation both of the area to
be irrigated and of the area to be planted with cotton in
the Gezireh. Under Lord Kitchener it was calculated on
the basis of one of the worst Nile floods on record (1913),
that five hundred thousand acres (feddans] in the Gezireh
could be irrigated without in any way affecting Egypt's
supply of water. It was decided to restrict this still
further to three hundred thousand acres. Moreover, for
no reason, apparently, than conciliation of Egyptian
interests, the cotton area was restricted to one hundred
thousand acres. It seems clear now that both restric-
tions were unnecessary in the interests of Egypt, and
they were certainly obnoxious to the interests of the
Sudan, although both these points are now immaterial,
as the two restrictions were removed in 1924. What is,
however, very material is the mistake that was made in
repealing these restrictions as part of the penalties for
the murder of the Sirdar. For the assumption thereby
involved that Egypt must be prejudiced by full irrigation