§ 8. Mr. SWANasked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is aware that a meeting was convened by the Egyptian delegation 388 under the presidency of His Highness Prince Youssef Kamal for 24th March to meet at the house of the late Sayed Abu Bakr Ratch Pasha: that more than 3,000 invitations to influential Egyptians and Europeans from all over Egypt were issued; that the object of the meeting was to discuss the Egyptian situation after the latest British declaration; that Prince Youssef Kamal was approached by the authorities with a view to inducing him not to preside over the meeting; that he refused to abandon the meeting; and that the authorities at the last moment prohibited the meeting; whether a political meeting in the form of a dinner, held at the Continental Hotel, Cairo, on 26th March, was allowed to take place; whether the Members of the Cabinet with other officials attended and Sarwat Pasha himself made a long political speech; and, if so, why some Egyptians are permitted to express their views on the political situation of their country and others prohibited from doing so?
Mr. HARMSWORTHI understand that the meeting mentioned in the first part of the question was prohibited by order of the Egyptian Prime Minister. It is for the Egyptian Government to decide what meetings may be held without detriment to public order.