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On 7th March, the British Government issued a White Paper, containing the text of the Treaty, and an account of the progress of the negotiations. They also addressed to the Egyptian Government a note pointing out that owing to the rejection of the Treaty the British Government could not allow any of their responsibilities under the Declaration of 1922* to be endangered either by Egyptian legislation or by administrative action.
The Note was intended to make clear the objection of the British Government to the Omdas Law," which, if passed, would make the election of the headmen (omda) of villages a party matter, and to a proposed administrative ordinance which would permit the carrying of arms by certain persons.
*
On 8th March, Sarwat Pasha was still in office, temporarily, pending the choice of a successor.
GERMANY.
General Groener, the new Minister of Defence, has already created a good impression in the Reichstag by his outspoken declaration that politics will on no account be allowed to intrude in the Reichswehr, and that all attempts to tamper with the loyalty of the defence forces will be sternly suppressed.
"
An opportunity to take action on these lines may soon be given to the Minister, for numerous accusations have been made by Socialist Deputies to the effect that Fascist cells are being established in the Navy by the extreme reactionaries under Captain Ehrhardt. This officer appears to be reviving the Viking" organisation, having found the methods of the Stahlhelm too subdued.
The political crisis caused by the cleavage in the Government coalition over the education bill came to a head last month, and an immediate dissolution was only prevented by the intervention of the President. The Government subsequently agreed to carry through urgent measures such as the Budget, on which they were able to agree, and the elections will therefore not take place before May.
The event of the month in Berlin was the state visit of the King and Queen of Afghanistan, no trouble or expense being spared to make a success of this the first visit of a reigning monarch to Germany since the war. The Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Hergt, was unable to resist the opportunity to stress German friendship for another nation involved in a continuous struggle for her security and the independence of the country," but he was severely taken to task for this indiscretion by the Socialist Press. A great point was made of showing King Amanulla what progress had been made in aviation, and he was presented by the Government with a triple engined Junker passenger aero- plane, no doubt in the hope that contracts for Germany would
result.
* Declaration of Egypt's independence subject to certain reservations.
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GREECE.
On 20th February, M. Ziamis's new Cabinet obtained a vote of confidence from the Chamber, and the Government will now proceed with its programme. On 17th February, General Pangalos, who had been brought to Athens the previous day, appeared before the plenary session of the Examining Commission. General Pangalos stated, in reply to the charges of having over- thrown the country's regime by force of arms, that no lawful regime existed in Greece between 1916 and the date of his move, except for brief interludes in 1920 and 1922, nor was the parliamentary regime working normally and in accordance with the people's wishes. His regime was not different from that of his predecessor, and the fact that it was dubbed a dictatorship was insignificant, since nomenclature was a question of taste. He declared that the motives which animated him in the action he took were not personal, but sprang from the then parlous situation of the country, both from the international point of view and from the point of view of unpreparedness for war. He said his move was not secretly carried out; on the contrary, he had warned the Government and had recommended the formation of a Coalition. He expressed gratification at his trial by representatives of the people, and said that the Court should examine his motives, not his mistakes, since his intentions were indubitably bona fide. The trial continues.
PERSIA.
In a Note issued on 1st March, and addressed to the Persian Minister in London, the British Government replied to the Persian protest, made in November 1927, against Article 6 of the Anglo-Hedjaz Treaty (signed 20th May, 1927), which refers, inter alia, to the islands of Bahrein in the north-western part of the Persian gulf.
[C
By Article 6, the King of the Hedjaz and Nejd undertakes to maintain friendly and peaceful relations with the territories of Koweit and Bahrein, and with the Sheikhs of Qabar and the Oman Coast, who are in special treaty relations with his Britannic Majesty's Government."
The Persian protest asserts that the islands of Bahrein are a part of Persian territory. The claim rests on the slender ground that for a short time in the eighteenth century the islands were overrun by Persian troops. The latter were, however, driven out by the Arab inhabitants under the direct ancestor of the present Sheikh over a hundred years ago, and since that time treaty relations have existed between the successive Sheikhs of Bahrein and the British Government.
The British Note, after alluding to the claims which have been made from time to time by the Persian and also the Turkish Governments, states that the British Government have never recognized the validity of these claims. The Note concludes by
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