Moreover, the claim of the
conquerors to Fashoda and other territories rested solely on the former
rights of Egypt. On the other hand, if the Soudan became Egyptian again,
it must wear the fetters of that imprisoned country. The Capitulations
would apply to the Upper Nile regions, as to the Delta. Mixed Tribunals,
Ottoman Suzerainty, and other vexatious burdens would be added to the
difficulties of Soudan administration. To free the new country from the
curse of internationalism was a paramount object. The Soudan Agreement
by Great Britain and Egypt, published on the 7th of March, 1899,
achieves this. Like most of the best work done in Egypt by the British
Agency, the Agreement was slipped through without attracting much notice.
Under its authority a State has been created in the Nile Valley which is
neither British nor Ottoman, nor anything else so far known to the law
of Europe. International jurists are confronted with an entirely new
political status. A diplomatic 'Fourth Dimension' has been discovered.
Great Britain and Egypt rule the country together. The allied conquerors
have become the joint-possessors. 'What does this Soudan Agreement mean?'
the Austrian Consul-General asked Lord Cromer; and the British Agent,
whom twenty-two years' acquaintance with Egyptian affairs bad accustomed
to anomalies, replied, 'It means simply this'; and handed him the
inexplicable document, under which the conquered country may some day
march to Peace and Plenty.
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