ABSTRACT
Several months after he resigned, Sidqi was in debt; all business ventures were closed to him on orders from the King; the party he had created had placed itself under the new Premier; and, his honour was under attack. The cotton transactions he had supervised as Minister of Finance were being criticised in Parliament, because, to prevent speculation on the market, he had sold all the government-held cotton secretly, without his ministers' assistance, but with the King's unreserved consent. His speculation had lost L.E.20,OOO, but it had allowed him to raise cotton sale prices, and Egypt's cotton market had gained L.E.300,OOO; he was therefore able to vindicate himself to Parliament, but the attack sullied his name. Then, both the King and the Prime Minister wanted him blamed for the Corniche road scandal, which broke out when the cost estimate of building a road section extending the length of the Alexandria coastline rose from L.E.80,OOO to L.E.450,OOO. Sidqi had heard that portions of the Corniche commission's report reflected on him, although he had not testified before it.l He was also accused of granting two high-ranking government officials state land at special prices, in exchange for the capital value of their pensions. He scornfully denied the allegation.2
