Woodchip bioreactors provide sustained denitrification of brine from groundwater desalination plants
5.6. Acknowledgements
Graham replied to it on July 25. HP, Vol. 1(22), 1916.
48 Ibid. Hardinge confided to Graham that after the War he would be going to the Paris p o st. He suggested that Graham would then be the ideal candidate for permanent Under-Secretary.
counts for so much in the East, and the fact that my staff especially the native portions of it, like and trust me . . . I confess that the career that I had vaguely mapped out for m yself was to leave here as soon as I could be spared, to have a good rest, to go to a Diplo
matic post in a decent clim ate and possibly, som e day or other, to return here. 49
This indicated that Graham considered him self qualified to be High Com
m ission er. This fact should be borne in mind, in light of later developments.
Graham repeated that Wingate would do a fine job, as he understood the country. After a further written exchange, Graham accepted Hardingefs offer of a position in the Foreign Office. While Graham kept Wingate in
formed of the intrigues between Cecil and the other civ il servants, he did not tell him of his personal aspirations or of his correspondence with Hardinge.
Although he was ignorant of Graham's expectations, Wingate had formed an opinion concerning the friction among the High Commissioner, the Commander-in-Chief, and the British civil servan ts. He had also thought out the problems presented by the lack of communication between the
Foreign Office and the various governmental officials in Egypt. In a long letter of September 13, 1916, Wingate analysed these problems, discussing the rivalry of Maxwell and Murray, and McMahon's ambiguous position. He pointed out that it was absolutely n ecessary to have clear-cu t lines of
command, and then considered the friction existing among the governing
49 Graham to Hardinge, July 25, 1916. HP, V ol. II (23), 1916.
o f f ic ia ls . structions, much trouble would be avoided.
However, the removal of Maxwell (who of course knew
-Hence the constantly increasing friction between the C -in-C and the H .C . because of the nebulous situation -
each thinks he has a right to "boss" the other and the govern-’
ment w ill not apparently put its foot down. 50
In concluding, Wingate reiterated his dependence upon Clayton as an
intermediary between the High Commissioner and the Commander-in-Chief.
He bemoaned the fact that too many of the officials in Egypt did not have their minds fixed upon the primary goal at hand, which was to win tho- War.
50 W ingate to Clayton, Septem ber 13, 1916, S A 2 3 6 /5 .
. . . but unfortunately this vitally important issu e is often obscured by personal jealousies and personal ambition - a condition of affairs which is of very rapid growth in the intrigue soaked soil of Egypt. 51
Within Egypt, British personnel w ere rapidly moving into other
positions or leaving Egypt entirely. After Graham accepted the post in the Foreign Office, a dispute ensued over the new appointment of the Adviser to the, Interior. Graham supported Clayton for the position, while Cecil and McMahon backed James Haines, form er Chief Collector of Taxes . Hardinge enquired whether Cheetham would be a suitable candidate, and Graham answered:
I am afraid Cheetham would not do at all, even as a stop
gap - he does not know a word of Arabic, very little of the country and practically nothing of the people or officials and though accurate and pains talcing is terribly slow - he would never get through the work. 52
It was imperative that the Adviser to the Ministry of the Interior, who was the major British contact with the Egyptians, should have a thorough know
ledge of the country and its people. For this reason, Graham considered both Haines and Cheetham inappropriate ch o ic e s. Graham rejected Haines, for he was C ecil's nominee, 'which damned him with the n a tiv es'.53
After Hardinge heard Graham’s opinions, he asked for McMahon's views, while pointing out that m atters could become serious if the Adviser was not
51 Ibid.
52 Graham to Hardinge, September 9, 1916. Graham's estim ate of Cheetham's abilities w ill be noted when Cheetham takes control of the administration in Wingate's absence. HP, Vol. IV(25), 1916.
53 Ibid.
4 0 .
'eminently suited* 54 for the post. McMahon responded that Haines was popular with the natives, and that Clayton's appointment was im possible because he could not be spared from his work in the Arab Bureau. McMahon indicated that Clayton was disliked in som e native quarters, owing to his connection with the m ilitary 55. After a period of indecision, Haines was appointed56
When Graham's impending departure was announced, the Egyptian m inisters planned a se r ie s of farewell p a rties. These and other tokens of native regret caused Graham to have second thoughts about leaving Egypt ,57 but on September 27, he and his wife left amid a la rg e-sca le Egyptian send- off 58. Following this, Aubre}?- Herbert wrote to Wingate that Graham would be m issed, and that he wished Wingate would be appointed High Commissioner59
By this tim e, Wingate's appointment was nearing realisation. Rumours of it w ere widespread among British officials long before it was publicly
54 Hardinge to McMahon, September 21, 1916, HP, Vol. IV(25), 1916.
55 McMahon to Hardinge, September 25, 1916, HP, Vol. IV(25), 1916.
56 Clayton told Wingate he was sorry he had not received the appointment.
Graham reported to Hardinge, September 27, 1916, that he had pushed hard for Clayton, but had been defeated by the joint opposition of
McMahon and C ecil. HP, Vol. IV(25), 1916.
57 Graham to Hardinge, September 9, 1916, HP, Vol. IV(25), 1916.
^
The Egyptian Gazette, September 28, 1916.59 Aubrey Herbert to Wingate, October 16, 1916, SA160/4. Aubrey Herbert was from the Herbert of Wilton fam ily and was attached to the G .O .C . 's staff during the War.
announced. Mervyn Herbert in his diary mentioned in September, while in London, that he had heard of Wingate’s appointment. When he returned to Cairo, he told Cheetham the news 60. On October 11, 1916, Grey asked
Wingate if he would consider becoming the High Com m issioner. In this letter, Grey told him that McMahon's appointment had been temporary, and that with Kitchener’s death the Foreign Office wished to make a permanent nomination. Grey asked Wingate to name a su ccessor as Governor-General of the Sudan, and to take a brief rest in London before assum ing the r e s ponsibilities in Egypt01.
Wingate answered Grey im m ediately. He thanked the Secretary for the honour, accepted the position, and recommended Lee Stack 62 as acting Governor-General 63. On October 30, Grey telegraphed that Wingate’s appointment was final, and that the Foreign Office wished him to begin work before the end of the year 64. News of Wingate's appointment spread quickly.
On November 5, Graham congratulated him and told him that he would back his requests to the Foreign Office.
The Tim es announced the appointment on November 6. After that, the official congratulations began to pour into Wingate’s m ail. These letters con
tained best w ishes and remarks that m atters would improve with a new man in
60 Mervyn Herbert diary, PPC.
61 Grey to Wingate, October 11, 1916, SA160/4.
62 Lee Stack served in the Sudar from 1900 and became Governor-General in 1919. He was murdered in Cairo in 1924.
63 Wingate to Grey, October 12, 1916, MP162.
64 Grey to-Wingate, October 30, 1916, repeated October 31, MP162.
Cairo. Clayton wrote that the appointment had been a blow to McMahon, but that it would ’do away with a 1000 difficulties and inaugurate a very different state of affairsT65. That Wingate's appointment was a universally popular one is evidenced by this multitude of congratulations, and the favourable
. 66
p ress-rep orts
There are, however, indications that McMahon resented being so sum m arily d ism issed . In a letter to Hardinge he remarked that the natives
’cannot but suspect that I have been intentionally m isleading them and this is hardly fair to me* 67. He had earlier expressed personal doubts as to
Wingate’s suitability for the position of High Commissioner 63. McMahon
seem s to have been the only individual who regretted the change, for The Tim es correspondent noted on November 11 that Wingate’s appointment was popular with ’all elem ents of the population, because he was w ell known and had great personal prestige*69
On November 13, Clayton wrote that he was looking forward to Wingate's arrival. He hoped the Foreign Office would make Wingate Commander-in- Chief as w ell as High Com m issioner, since he p ossessed the n ecessary 65 Clayton to Wingate, November 6, 1916, SA 160/5/1.
66 Letters w ere received from Slatin Pasha, who worked with the Red Cross and was able to correspond through that agency, the Bari of Cromer, and many British o fficia ls. SA236.
67 McMahon to Hardinge, November 10, 1916, HP, Vol. VI (27), 1916, Also se e Herbert diary, PPC.
68 McMahon to Hardinge, October 13, 1916, HP, Vol. V (26), 1916;
Lloyd George Papers, E 3 /1 2 /1.
^ The Tim es, November 11, 1916.
qualifications for both positions 70, Wingate asked the Foreign Office if a , dual appointment was possible, but the officials in London rejected the idea.
This rejection restricted Wingate’s exercise of full control over the Egyptian government, leaving him to deal with the army officers in much the same way as McMahon.
News of Wingate's appointment caused speculation in Cairo as to
whether he would str e ss the civilian or m ilitary aspect of the government. It must be remembered that Wingate was a m ilitary officer on the active list, and so remained, even after he had assumed the position of High Com
m issioner . During this time, he was also Commander of Operations in the Hijaz. Consequently, there was every possibility that Wingate would
emphasize the m ilitary sid e. The debate assumed the form of discussion over what type of d ress Wingate would wear when arriving in Cairo, since this was considered a sign of the form of government he would adopt. Wingate recommended that he should arrive in m ilitary uniform . The question was debated at the Foreign Office, where it was decided that Wingate wear the uniform of a British General when entering Cairo 71. In a private letter to Graham, Wingate had already expressed his intention of wearing the British khaki uniform unless there was an objection 72.
No doubt Wingate gave som e thought to what form his administration 70 Clayton to Wingate, November 13, 1916, SA 160/5/1,
71 F 0371/2667. The decision is undated,but appears to have been made between November 2 and November 28.
72 Wingate to Graham, November 12, 1916. Wingate telegraphed the sam e m essage to the Fcreigi: Office, F0371/1667.
4 4 .
would take in Egypt. Initially, he was anxious that the entire Egyptian effort should be directed towards winning the War. Desirous that all personal intrigue in the Egyptian administration should halt at once, Wingate wrote concerning the matter to Clayton and Cheetham.
After all our one and only preoccupation at the present tim e should be to try and win the war - individual interests and personal ambitions must go to the winds when it is a question of obtaining efficiency in order to
achieve the main object in view - none of us can go far wrong if we adhere to this most important principle. 73
Our main efforts must be directed to adding our sm all gusto towards achieving a victory over our enem ies - and till then, I support administrative reform s must n e c e s
sa rily take a second p la ce. 74
Wingate had cause to worry over the extent of the personal rivalries for he had been receiving letters on the subject since the summer of 1916. After his appointment became official, more letters warning of the schism between Edward Cecil, the Adviser to the Ministry of Finance, and other British
officials in Egypt were written to Wingate, Unfortunately, these letters dwelt more upon the personal aspects of the problem than upon the actual administra
tive difficulties in Egypt. When discussing the problems Aubrey Herbert wrote:
You w ill find (beginning at Residency) little or no discipline, most people doing what they liker and none of the keenness which was the feature of Anglo-Egyptian officials in former y e a r s . 75
73 Wingate to Clayton, November 24, 1916, SA 160/5/1.
74 Wingate to Cheetham, November 27, 1916, SA236,
75 Aubrey Herbert to Wingate, November 16, 1916, SA153/7.
more importance than the sta te's. 'It is the race for honours and not for honour.' 76
Wingate replied that he thought it a pity that Cecil was trying to advance his own position rather than work towards winning the War77
Thus Wingate, although aware of the currents of personal conflict in did not wish to make any far-reaching changes in the system until the War had been won; nor are there indications that Wingate was fully in formed concerning the problems confronting the Egyptian nation. He did, however, have close friends among the Egyptians, including the Sultan, with whom he had corresponded since the latter's accession . According to Major W.D. Kenny, the British aide-de-cam p to the Sultan, Husayn said, fThe day the Sirdar occupies the Residency, I shall consider m yself in Paradise. 178
In hopes of cementing this friendship more firm ly, Wingate wrote to Husayn on November 16 and expressed the desire to se e the Sultan shortly to discuss with him the many problems facing Egypt79
After agreeing to see Wingate, Husayn replied frankly to his enquiries about Egypt.
En nous dormant la main bien intimement, car je n ’aurai pas besoin d'avoir des interm ediaires entre Vous et moi, j ’ai confiance dans l'avenir, le bonheur et la prosperity
76 Aubrey Herbert to Win gate, November 26, 1916, SA160/6.
77 Wingate to Clayton, November 30, 1916, SA 160/5/1.
78 Kenny to Wingate, December 4, 1916, SA160/6.
79 Wingate to Sultan Husayn, November 16, 1916, SA153/7.
de I'Egypte. J'ai le sentiment que tirer le s hauts fonctionnaires, par votre presence, connaitront bien leurs devoirs resp ectifs, et ne se meleront pas de questions dferangeres a leurs attributions. J'espere que cette "Camorra" cessera, avec votre presence ic i - qui rem ettra toutes choses a sa place. 80
This letter indicates the Sultan's dissatisfaction with the British administra
tion. Wingate sent the letter to Graham, asking him what the Sultan meant by 'Cam orra'.^1
The Sultan, in ill-health, was advised by his doctors to take a vacation on his private yacht in Upper Egypt, where Wingate visited him on his way to Cairo. During this meeting, the governor of Aswan, and the Egyptian
Minister of Finance, Yusuf Wahba Pasha, were present. In Wingate's private notes on the interview with these men, he wrote that they were d issatisfied with those relations presently existing between them selves and the British
a d v isers. They believed that the British did not pay enough attention to Egyptian views, and that Egyptians were not receiving an adequate share of governmental responsibility 82.
Following this interview, Wingate and Wahba travelled to Luxor 83.
80 Sultan Husayn to Wingate, November 23, 1916, SA153/7.
81 Wingate to Graham, December 3, 1916, SA160/6. 'Camorra' was a secret organisation in N aples. The Sultan used the term in referring to the Cecil clique.
82 Wingate's note on the interview which was held on December 21, 1916, SA227.
83 The Egyptian Gazette, December 22, 1916.
84 85