ABSTRACT
The Labour government continued to try to tempt Egypt into some sort of equal partnership in a new Middle East defence scheme, but negotiations remained deadlocked. A conference of African governors in November 1947 chewed over the implications of the new local government strategy, not always amicably, together with most other aspects of African policy. The Cabinet was especially concerned to ensure a smooth transfer of administrative responsibility by speeding up Africanization of the civil service on the lines that had worked well in India. The fate of the railway project was symptomatic of the sheer difficulty of developing Africa. African development might well be vital to the survival of Britain, but if so, it must have a much higher priority in supplies and technicians. South Africa itself, already angry over the perpetual withholding of the High Commission Territories, became alarmed at the Labour government's determination to press ahead with arming Africans.
