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By FREDERICK CUNLIFFE-OWEN- . tho Princes and Princesses of THAT reigning bouso of Egypt should, according to cable despatches, hare thrown in their lot with tho Nationalists in tho letter's revolutionary movement against the British will surprise no one who has for any length of timq lived in the Land of tho Nile and who has man- aged to keep abreast of conditions in that corner of tho world. For although tho dynasty founded by Mehemet Ali that wonderful old Albanian Bashi-Bozou- k of Kavnla owes its entire existence as well as its maintenance on the throne to Eng- land, its members have always displayed tho grossest ingratitude and aversion, toward her. Those now living arc a degenerate and worthless lot, without any bold upon the loyalty or allegiance of the natives of Egypt, who rightly regard them in tho light of an alien dynasty of obscure and wholly plebeian origin that has fastened itself upon the people by means of oppression ond extortion until Great Britain assumed control of the na- tive Government after the bombardment of Alexandria thirty-eig- ht years ago. Feared British Abandonment. Devoid of the courage that distin- guished tho founder of their houso and hia able son and successor, Pnncq lbra- - him, tW would never have ventured t- o- espouse the cause of tho Nationalists against tho English if they had not been led by the despatch of the Lord Milner Special Mission to Cairo to believe that Great Britain was about to abandon her protectorate, to endow the people with an independence which they r Continued from Fourth Page, , prompt retreat to the Mouso line. Thrco German army commandcre had been re- tired in disgrace at the end of May. Tho end of tho German invasion in Franco ap- peared imminent. Answer: Tba offensive had been stopped and all idea of breaking through abandoned since tho 21st, andOhe oporu-Ho- ns (always of very limited objectives) vero not to be resumed until tho 30th, ac- cording to tho orders themselves of tho general in chief.' The army of exploita- tion, tho Tenth, had to enter tho sector on tha 19th to fill up tho losses. Tho First, dislocated after tho German retreat of March, was in formation and constituted buf a reservo of troops. Thoso are tho two fresh armies ready to plunge into Belgium. Tho recital in its entirety is but a mon- strous deformity of tho incident of April 29 concerning the projected operation of Brimont. There is onco more found tho grotesque fablo of tho Germans already retreating to the Mouse. As to tho disgracg of three nrroy commanders, that is another fablo. There- - was at that timo but ono German army commander disgraced, and ho was so beforo April 10 on account of tho evenU of March. End of Invasion Seemed Nar. The end of tho German invasion geemed, indeed, very near on April 29, when wo had had to stop all along tho lino for eight days (and after what losses!) without oven having conquered CJio first of tho four enemy positions. 13 On the day following tho day when Pninlcvo gave tho order to stop tho of- fensive, the ftrtido says. Gen;Wilson, who was the British assistant of Nivclle, went to London, ond on tho next day had an interview, with Lloyd George. Qn May 2 a telegram worded thus arrived, at the Quat d'Omy \DWsrWuf . report haw liavo never enjoyed and to withdraw from tho Land of tho Nile, merely control of the Suez Canal. Ever since William E. Gladstone fool- ishly promised, some weeks after tho crushing of the Arabic insurrection at tho battle of in 1882, that the military occupation of Egypt was merely a temporary measure of. at tho most, a few months' duration, unlil order had been restored and due provision made for the safety of foreign life and property in the Land of tho Nile, a series of commis- sions have been sent periodically 'from England to ascertain whether the Egyp- tians were entirely ripe for ment and independence and to what ex- tent the British, forces could bo withdrawn. The effect of these missions, commenc- ing with that of Lord Dufferin and of the late Lord Northbrook and concluding with that of Lord Jfilner, now in session at Cairo, has been to create popular disbelief in the permanency of England's domination and to All tho natives of every rank and class with a fear of identifying themselves too completely with the British officials. Tho latter's task has been rendered extremely difficult and discouraging by this uncer- tainty as to tho duration of England's supremacy, and the effect of Lord Mil-nc- rs ill advised mission has been still further to promote tho insane ambi- tions of England's foes ond to discourage r fn( naves 03 welI.ns ,u u\uiwu io muuuuiy mm of Field Marshal Lord Allenby as the Plenipotentiary and Commander-in-Chie- f of the Protectorate. In tho opinion of those who know tho country and its pcoplo best there is but one way of ending almost overnight Painleve Gives reached the British Government. Lloyd George, Lord Robert Cecil, Sir William Robertson, Admiral Jcllieoo leave - to- morrow for Franco in order to ask your intentions concerning tho continuation of tho offensivo and tho High Command of the armies.\ There we catch on the quick the ma- noeuvre of tho High Command against the Govepment. An English liaison mission is installed at Compiegne, Gen. Wilson being tho lpader. Gen. Nivelle informs him that tho French losses announced to tho English Government are considerably exaggerated and that the Minister of War, after having stopped the offensivo of April, now wants to hinder the opera- tions of May, in spito of tho promises given to Haig. Gen. Wilson conveys to Locdon information which he docs not doubt and tho War Committee decides to no longer delay the interallied meeting considered for several days and demanded, moreover, by mo; Conference Analyzed. 14 The interallied conference is an- alyzed briefly, in exaggerated tones: \Tho English Government,\ tho article adds,\ continued to insist up to May 12. On tho 12th Gen. Nivello was relieved of bis command. He explained that it was not too late to resume the battle at tho point where bo had.left it, \insisted on the Ger- man usury.\ Unfortunately they beard him not. Tho French Government was still under the weight of tho panto pro- voked by tho Parliamentarians who had telephoned on April 10 from Micheler's headquarters. Thus, according to this recital, the offen- sive pursued up to April 20 had been stopped on that day by tho Minister and in spite of tho insistence of the English Government and Gen. Nivelle, and was no longer resumed. Now wo know that the offensivo was stopped on April 21 j that all operations ceased until the SOth all that by order of Gen, Nivclle that four THE a of the a to A of the Nationalist agitation and .the san- - guinary disturbances which are assuming a somewhat alarming development. That is by tho issue of a by Eng- land flefinitely annexing Egypt as a per- manent possession cf the British Empire; that is, as a crown colony in lieu of as an independent State, under native sover- eigns and merely, subject to England's protectorate and suzerainty. Once the people of tho Land of the Nile were assured of the permanency of Eng- land's rulo and its uncertainty removed native unrest would bo allayed speedily and the Nationalist movement would col- lapse. Publio order and popular confi- dence would be restored and landed pro- prietors, great and small,, including the members of tho dynasty, would cease their efforts to curry favor with those whom they fear might become powers in tho land in tho event of England's withdrawal. partial operations wero then undertaken conformably to tho p'romiso given Haig. These operations were pursued until tho end of May, They wero more important than the English ( operations conducted during tho same period; for our losses of May were 28,000 dead and prisoners against 20,000 on the English side, and wo took 8,000 prisoners, tho English 3,400. 15 Tho articlo presents three chief ac- cusations against mo: First I had convoked at Paris almost all the commanders of French units to dis- cuss and criticise the plan of tho offensive which had been decided upon by tho-Hig- h Command 'and approved by tho allied Governments. Answer: I found tho French High Command strongly divided. As to tho interallied plan, it consisted of very vast simultaneous attacks of all the allied armies; these attacks were to begin when they could be launched, all within an interval of less tlian three weeks. This plan could not stand up, since the Rus- sian, Rumanian and Italian armies and the army of Salonica wero reduced to immobility. Second I had sent the telegram order- ing the stopping of the offensivo after Haig and England had received the that it would bo continued. v Answer: The offensivo had been stopped for eight days; new operations, these partial, wero to begin and opened effectively in May. ' Third \Finally and this is particu- larly grave for tho ulterior consequences, the Minister of War declared in a publio session of the Chamber of Deputies on July 7 that 'hereafter the French armies should pursue but limited objectives.' That was giving publicly and officially to Germany the opinion that sho had no longer anything to fear on tho aide of France.\ I have done justice to this statement in such a way that it is not necessary Vo SUN, SUNDAY, JANUARY Princes, Sorry Lot, Show Ingratitude to England Debased Members Dynasty Nationalists, Venture They Otherwise Would Have Lacked Cour.age Make Record Infamy proclamation His Own MEHEMET fKU KHr Nothing could be more efficacious in convincing tho people of Egypt of the permanency of England's rule of their country than tho expulsion of tho entire tribe of the princes and princesses of tho reigning houso, including the present Sul return to it. But it was the Collier's arti- clo which put it in circulation. The article thus continues : \The German newspapers of April 17 and 28,\ says Collie?s, \showed a real panic. Evidently they had been officially advised of tho intention of tho High Com- mand to l:avo tho German lines fall back to the Meuse. But when tho Paris papers of April 18 arrived in Berlin the Ger- mans discovered to their great astonish- ment that the same panic existed in France, Their tone immediately changed.\ In brief, tho Germans remained on their positions. Answer: All the French papers of April celebrated on tho contrary the battle of April 1G as a victory. This romark, which pulls tho bases from tho story, was made in a newspaper almost a year ago, when the propaganda concerning Collier's articlo was at its height: And what will show the good faith of the propagandists, they confined themselves to falsifying tho translation and to writo: \But when tho newspapers of May 12 arrived in Berlin,\ &o. Why tho 12th of May 7 So as to make it bo believed that tho changing of tho general in chief was what was giving com- fort to tho Germans. Germans Retreat. Let us remark that in tho same articlo it is stated that tho Germans commenced their retreat to tho Meuso: First, on April 18; second, on April 29. Tho first time, it is tho Paris pres3 which interrupts their retreat; the second time, it is tho stop- ping by order of tho offensive. Behold now a third day, May 15, when tho retreat is begun and it is the disgraco of Nivello which, this time, decides them to remain. So on three occasions, April 20, April 29 and May 15, the enemy jind begun his retreat across tho, Meuse and each timo this retreat had been stopped, tho first timo becauso of tho Paris press of April 18; tha second time becauso of the stop- ping by 6dac at fee offensivo) tho third I) 11, 1920. Misled Into Joining Hi tan. Fuad. None would mourn their de- parture. They have been of no use whatsoever to Egypt, but on the contrary a heavy drain on her resources, and their palaces, especially their barems, all along have been centres of anti-Engli- in- trigues. Crushed Insurrection. Yet it was Admiral Sir Sidney Smith who rescued old Mehemet from drowning at tho battle of Aboukir, and it was Lord Palmcrston who, in 1840, extorted from tho Sublimo Porto the firman, investing hira with tho hereditary Pashalik of Egypt. Again, it was Great Britain who prevented Khedive Ismail from excluding his eldest son, Tewfik, whom be hated, from tho succession! and in 1882, when tho Arabi-Nationali- st rebellion against Tewfik took place, it was England who intervened with her fleet and her army to crush tho insurrection and restore him timo becauso of the disgraco of Gen. Nivelle. It is sad to think that public opinion is troubled with such foolishness. A last allegation of Comer's: I had brought before a court martial (sic) Gens. Nivello and Mangin, and had pretended to dictato to that tribunal the condemnation of tho two great leaders. Thcro was, wo havo already said so, neither court martial nor council of war not oven a council of inquiry. Tho cunning manner in which tho tissue of impostures which Collier's articlo is was prepared deserves to bo examined. Everything is arranged that this article appears to bo composed by an American from a version of English doeumcnts: tho recital of tho interallied discussion at Lon- don and the language of Bonar Law, tho correspondence; Lloyd Gcorgo and Hay, &c, the rolo of Gen. Wilson, &c. In reality the recitals and documents in question flguro in a memoir of Gen. Nivelle. Certain ones are reproduced from this memoir in the Berenger report, but not all; for example, tho recital of tho con- ference of London is the textual reproduc- tion of Gen. NivcUVs recital which figures only in his memoir. We can say that Collier's article was manufactured in France and with docu- ments whose soureo we now know. Tho immense demand of which it has been the object does not deservo less at- tention. Two million copies wero scat- tered in America and in Europe. I havo reproduced beforo the enormous and costly announcement published by tho great Amorican newspapers. There we read that a week, a day perhaps, would have scaled tho German doom. \Tho Ger- man positions wero wiped out, tho enemy in flight; two fresh French armies awaited to hurl themselves on them.\ It was with such lies that thoy almost poi- soned American opinion at a moment when it was essential that ita confidence Version of the 1917 Drive That Failed to his throne. Moreover, if tho princes ond princesses of his houso were con- firmed in tho possession of tho rich es- tates anil secured from tho danger of arbitrary confiscation by the sovereign estates ' for tho most part obtained by their parents through extortion, rapine and fraud it has been thanks to tho English. Sultan Fuad, tho present ruler, is a very foolish ond insignificant individual, brough't up so entirely in Haly that ho speaks Arabic and Turkish like a for- eigner, lie was tho laughing stock of all Cairo and Alexandria by reason of his lamentations over tho treatment ho re- ceived ot the hands of his former wife, who was likewise his coubin, until he was shot and badly wounded at the Khcdivial Club at Cairo by hei brother, Prince Sef-feldi- n, still moro mentally unbalanced than herself, and who after being sen- tenced to a long term of imprisonment by tho, Egyptian tribunals is now under re- straint in a private asylum in England. This evoked some sympathy in behalf of Fuad, who was an extremely fat and good naturcd individual. And it was of this and aleo owing to the fact that the English were awaro of his ambi- tion to become a reigning sovereign that they selected him a3 successor to his elder brother, tho late Sultan Hussein, instead of the latter's only son, Pnnco Kemal-Ed- - I Din, who is of such an excitable tempera- - ment as to convey the impression of irre sponsibility. Thi3 doubtless he inherited from his mother, the first wife of the lato Sultnn Hussein, who may be regarded as having been the pioneer of those emanci- pated princesses of the Orient who spend the greater portion of their lives on tho banks of tho Seine, where they throw all bo complete in the French parliamentary regime. In France tho articlo, translated, was circulated at first as a prohibited 'docu- ment through the classic procedure of the snowball, in all places, notably at the front and iu the hospitals. It was by hundreds of thousands of copies that it circulated between April and Juno, 1917, at the moment when certain parties be- lieving in defeat sought to make respon- sibility for it fall on somo few men and on the regime. Then, wlwn thn propa- ganda becamo bolder, numerous newspa- pers reproduced the articlo even in -Lorraine. Algiers was one of the most active centres of propaganda; north Africa, tho Mediterranean countries, Mar- seilles, were inundated with CollUrs ar- ticles. Tbero arc fow examples of a propaganda as perverse, as insidious and conductod with so much obstinacy. The Dismissal of Gen. Nivelle. But if the results of tho new battles were very mcdiocro and dearly bought, tho appearances were suave. Tho his- toric nnmo of Craonne sounded well in tho communiqu6s. Upon my instructions tho Paris press of May 5 to 10 celebrated tho victory of Craonne. Wo could, there- after, proceed to the integral reform of tho High Command without appearing to underlino a chock or yield to a passing and unconsidered decoption. Besides, agreement was completo with tho English Government. On May 10, after a closo examination of tho military situatiou, we came to tho conclusion, M. Ribot and I, that wo could no longer put off a measuro which was urgent, and on that eanio day I informed tho Waj? Committee of tho proposition to demand from tho General in Chief his resignation; his successor was to bo Gen. Petain and tbo new Chief of Staff Gen. Foch. My proposition was adopted unanimously. On the samo day I asked Gen. Nivello to eoroo to Paris: \You declared to mo on April 25,\ I , 7 ! discretion to the winds and outdo in eccea tricities aw1 extravagancies all tho other foreign ladies foregathering tborc. Princess Hussein, indeed, in tho opinion of those who knew her in Paris and in Cairo, should have been placed under tho strictest kind of restraint if not in an Egyptian or Turkish harem rather than in a European sanitarium. The only occasion on which Sultan Fuad had como into tho publio eye before being shot by his brother-in-la- w was.when, about twelvo years ago, lie invited amuse- ment by putting himself forward as n Candida to for tho throne of Albania, Of course ho never seriously was considered in that connection. For tho chieftains of tho great families of Albania, who arc exceedingly proud of their historio which some traco from the royal French Crusaders of the twelfth century, never for one moment would consent to accord their allegiance to a ruler of such plebeian Albanian lineago as the descend- ant of the baso born Mehemet Ali, tho farmer's son of Kavala. Sultan Fuad is of no earthly use to his English protectors, to whom ho is in- debted for his present rank. Ho is alto- gether too weak a vessel, and by this timo they must have arrivod nt tho conviction thut ho will onhwork with them as long as they continue to assure him of the pos- session of his sovereignty and of bis es- tates. It is becauso he shares the uncer- tainty as to the peimanency of England's control of the Land of the Nile that be has lately shown signs of wavering in his lovalty toward them. Prince Assiz Hassan of Egypti a nephew of Sultan Fuad, who.is a fugitive Continued on Folloicing Page. said to him, \that your resignation was at tho disposition of the Government when tho latter considered tho day had come.\ Gen. Nivelle, very uncommunicative, very bitter, answered me that ho would think it over. \You will think it over,\ I said to him, \but you havo not forgotten your promise of April 25: Your resignation is at tho disposition of tho Government f\ \You leave me flie choice of several so- lutions,\ tho General replied, \I shall think it over. Besides, I am not sick, and as to tho reform of headquarters, I havo already taken all the measures that havo been asked of me. I shall think it over.\ With tlu's enigmatical reply he left me. One Dominating Principle. One principle dominated tho war policy of tho High Command Foch Petain. Victory, complete victory, was possible only on the day when tha Allies possessed definitively a notablo superiority over tho enemy in effectives and in means of action, On that date, but on that date only, will have to bo commenced the great indefinite offensive, the liberating offensive. In order to havo tho vast and assured superiority in effectives, without the help of the Russian army, wo needed a million of Americans. They wore promised to us for July, 1918. That dato was to bo tho prophetic date which would dominate from the summer of 1917 not only the or- ganization of tho Amorican camps but our whole war policy. How many times, and tho last at Ra. pallo in November, 1917, has Gen. Foch, discussing with mo tho consequences of tho breaking dewn of tho Russian front, de- clared to mo: \To imagine that after tho offensive of April 10, in tho condition of our at- tacking divisions, wo could, tho same year, recommence without catastropbo a. great similar entcrpriso is to havo no tense of the realities. That is dreaming, it is not conceiving.\ y i
