Evening star., 1923-06-18
By THE MARaUIsE DE FONTENOY

That King Fuad should have pur-
chased a palace in the outskirts OF
Rome at a cost of 100000, no mNs-
terry being made about the identity
Of the new owner. lends color to the
rumors which are rife in the land OF
the Nile concerning the alleged inten-
ton of its ruler 10 abdicate before
the situation becomes untenable ana
while he is still in a position 10 make
terms of financially advanta geous
character. Fuad has never been rated
as possessed Of very high order OF
intelligence II is no exaggeratlon 10
assert that the members of his own
family looked upon him as stupid.
and he has made the same mistake as
several Of his predecessors on the
throne of Egypt: that is to say, that
he has intrigued with the nationalist
anti-British elements against the
English government. 10 when ne
owed his elevation to the crown. ana
then from time to time he co-operateu
with the English in such a way as 10
win the suspicion and the resentment
of the nationalists. the end of 1t be-
ing that he was equally distfusteo oy
both When the new constitution
came 20 be drafted he first of all took
exception to the refusal of Great
Britain to permit his being styIed
therein the King OF the Sudan. which
is to remain under Engllsh ruie Og
virtue of a guarantee accorded 10 the
native population or tne ,s'sas Suaan'
ton since 1898, views with dread any
attempt to transfer the control or
their destinies TO the Egyptians
whom they have abhorred since time
inlmemorial. Fuad appealed to the ma
At 81 In, he
much i'll feeling against the Engiish
in lower Egypt in connection with MS
pretensions. But shortly afterWaro
he was at war with the nationallsts.
who objected bitterly and vigorously
to his demands for something akin TO
autocracy and his objections TO the
limitations of his sovereignty by any
parliamentary form Of government.
This led him to appeal to England
for support. But Lord Allenby, the
British plenipotentiary at Cairo was
the very frst to point out to him tnat
in view of the fact that Great Britain
had assured through Egypt a consti-
tutional and parliamentary form or
government, he must submit thereto'
and that England could NOT lend IL
self to anything that would lead to
a revival of that autocracy and des-
notism Of the Nehemet Ali dynasty,
which had reduced the land of the
Nile to chaos and ruin, and from
which it had to be rescued by Great
Britain after the Arabi insurrection.
the bombardment of Alexandria and
the English military occupation OF
the country in 1882.
The consequence is that since par
iiamentary rule is to have its trial
in the fall at Cairo. and that the
nationalists will have considerable
say in the course of the government.
the position of Fuad on the throne
will be very uncomfortable indeed.
1t is no exaggeration to state that
not only the nationalists in Egypt,
but likewise the entire native popu-
lation, are against him. He was
brought up almost entirely abroad:
mainly in Italy, having accompanied
his father. ex-Khedive IshmaLl, into
exile in 1879 when he (Fuad) was a
boy of ten years of age. The result
Is that he speaks both Arabic ana
Turkish with a very marked foreign
accent and has never been able to
master many Of the idioms of the two
languages spoken by his subjects.
He has never been really at home In
Egypt He longs for his former
the slightest doubt but what he
would readily step down from his
throne and escape from the imminent
perils of assassination by which he
is beset, II he can succeed in secur-
ing guarantees of the payment of at
least a moiety of his present civil
list for the remainder of his days.
OF one thing there's no doubt, that
without the presence Of the English