§ 4. Mr. PONSONBYasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether the reply of His Majesty's Government to the Government of Egypt, sent on the 12th ultimo, was an official reply to the formal request of that Government for the modification of the capitulatory regime; and whether the assent of His Majesty's Government was unqualified or was contingent on the acceptance by the Egyptian Government of certain requests made by His Majesty's Government?
Mr. LOCKER-LAMPSONThe answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. With regard to the second part, the understanding with Sarwat Pasha to which, as I informed the hon. Member for Brightside (Mr. Ponsonby) on the 21st of November, the British reply to the Egyptian circular note of the 25th December, 1927, alludes, represents the manner in which after discussion it proved possible to conciliate the wishes of the two Governments. In some respects the proposals contained in the Egyptian Note go beyond the scope of this understanding, and in so far as these particular proposals are concerned His Majesty's Government have naturally intimated to the Egyptian Government that they must reserve their attitude.