340 Egypt
would follow the natural frontier along the Nubian desert
and would assign to Egypt an area that would increase its
territory by as much as a half. Egypt would thereby
acquire a considerable extent of the cattle range that it
especially requires. Moreover, many of the inhabitants
of this region have already acquired the habit of going
down into Egypt as domestic servants and have given
their name to a useful class there known as '' Berberines.''
In short, such a region might quite reasonably be con-
sidered as a natural extension of the national territory of
Egypt.
There would then remain only the regulation of rights
in the Nile. Here again League machinery might be of
assistance. The proposal in the Milner report for a Joint
Board to regulate water rights which should represent
Egypt, the Sudan, and Uganda, was inacceptable to
Egypt, as it put its interest in a permanent minority. This
difficulty might be obviated by an arrangement with
Uganda as to Lake Albert similar to that recently made
with Abyssinia as to Lake Tana, or by letting Uganda
transfer to the Sudan the few square miles of remote
hinterland that would contain the Lake Albert dam.
Then Egypt and the Sudan could be given equal repre-
sentation under presidency of the League, It is difficult
to believe that so international an institution would be
suspect of British imperialism in the eyes of Egyptian
nationalism. But, in any case, general approval and
acceptance could probably be secured by financial
guarantees that would ensure an early realisation of the
White Nile storage schemes.