The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. TUESDAY, JULY I8, 1911.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 3272, 18 July 1911, Page 4

The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. TUESDAY, JULY 18, 1911.

Affairs in Egypt.

them that it was not their business to govern Egypt, but to teach the Egyptians to govern it. How the Egyptian smiled! The Nationalists have grown by leaps and bounds, and chaos is not far off. As regards several departments Mr. Neville goes on to explain matteie from his point of view. He goes on to say, significantly, that no young Englishmen are being taken into the service to replace the older men. We are watching a pitiful undoing of all Lord Cromer’s work. The remedy is simple. The Foreign Office must revert to the spirit of the old regime. “In less than a year Lord Kitchener, if lie could he induced or allowed to do one more service for the British nation, would have the machine going smoothly again.” If this is a fair commentary on the present position in Egypt—and it would appear to be near the mark—is it any wonder that the Nationalists are annoyed at the fact that Lord Kitchener is to he the new British Resident of that country ? There can he little doubt but that unles.s he were badly needed in Egypt the Empire would not lie deprived of the eminent services in other directions of so valuable an administrator as Lord Kitchener.

There is much more than at first meets the eye in the appointment of Lord Kitchener to succeed the late Sir Eldon Gorst as British Resident in Egypt. To those who make a keen study of Egyptian affairs it has -become more and more apparent of late years that the position of the administration of that country has reached a stage which calls for considerable reform. Thus it is not surprising to.learn that both the Christian and Moslem press of Egypt agree “that a strong man is needed.” “Six years ago,” commented Mr. Ralph Neville, in a recent issue of the “Nineteenth Century,” the Egyptian administration was among the most striking of British successes; now none so- poor to do it reverence.” It is of interest to note the reasons which Mr. Neville gives for such strong denunciation of the present state of things in Egypt. Briefly put it amounts to this: The native officials are a seething mass of discontent, the younger generation of English confess to disappointment and. disgust. Much of the trouble lies in tlnp form- our presence takes. We are working through the old channels; in theory the Egyptian conducts his own affairs. The plan worked well'when our personnel assumed that we were, the dominant partner. Now it does. not. British advice .is either advice that is a synonym for command or it is useless. It is just that which recent experience lias proved. To entrust the Government to men whose avowed aim is Nationalist is a betrayal of the Empire to cant. As soon as. Lord Cromer’s back was turned the English officials were called together, and it was carefully explained to

An important manifesto has been issued

at Home by the Our National Life. National Council of Public Morals. Addressed to the people of Great and Greater Britain it opens: “We, the undersigned, desire to express our alarm) at the low and degrading views of the raciaL instinct which are becoming widely circulated at the present time, not only because they offend against the highest ideals of morality and religion, but also because they therefore imperil our veiy life as a nation. * Dealing with the question of the declining birth-rate, the manifesto avers that many causes, old and new, are conducing to the evasion of the great obligations of parenthood and the degradation of the marriage tie, evidence of this being found, to some extent, in the decline of the birth-rate. Pernicious literature, it is next declared, is in very wide circulation. “Our youth of both sexes,” state the Council, “is in danger of being corrupted as a result of the publication of such literature for which no defence can be offered—a circulation which has to-day reached an extent and developed a subtle suggestiveness without parallel in the past. This is an evil that can be controlled, and so long as we knowingly permit it- to continue, the serious consequences lie at our door.” As to the moral education of the young, it is declared that the situation is.further aggravated by the fact that our systems of education too frequently ignore the sacred and responsible functions which confront the young on reaching maturity. The tendencies of the age make it imperative that they should be taught to entertain high conceptions of marriage as involving duties to the future of the nation and the race. Tlie duties of the State in respect of the feeble-minded are also touched upon. Certain laws of heredity and development, no less natural or Divine than other laws which are universally acknowledged, must also receive due recognition and govern our national policy. A high proportion of immorality and inebriety is due to neglect of the incurably defective-minded, whose progeny, lamentably numerous under present conditions, too frequently resemble their parents, and largely reinforce the ranks of degradation and shame. These cases must receive permanent care apart from the community, that they and posterity may be protected. “We believe,'’ adds the manifesto, “that only along these lines—by raising the ideals of marriage, by education for parenthood, and by intervening to prevent degeneracy—can we cope with tlie demoralisation which is sapping the foundations of national well-being, and we earnestly commend these suggestions, therefore, to all who love the good cause and desire to maintain through the coming time our national traditions of marriage and the home.” Attached to the manifesto are the names of many of the leaders of the social reform movements throughout tlie Empire.