The Press.
London, England, 1857-05-23 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

are generally made " infant phenomena."
This stumbling-block the "Old Boy" has
avoided, and given us a display of true boyish
sentiment without a tinge of exaggeration.
The tribute here paid to that great and ex-
cellent man who first, perhaps, exhibited to
the English world how noble and how sacred
was the position he occupied obtains our
cordial approval. With many points in Dr.
Arnold's religious and political theories we
cannot agree, but he had two inestimable
qualities namely, unadulterated love of
truth, and a philanthropy without cant. He
was thoroughly, not merely conventionally,
honest; and wherever we find such a man
we shall be wise to forget differences of intel-
lectual temperament, and to improve and
fortify ourselves by contemplation of his
moral greatness.

Egypt and the Great Suez Canal. A Narrative
of Travels. By J. Barthelemy Saint-Hilaire.

London : Bentley.
Eavpr, according to M. de Saint-H ilaire,exhibite
to us a remarkable picture of " European civi-
lisation grafted upon Mussulman ignorance,"
and he forthwith proceeds to discuss in a
series of pleasant and instructive letters the
present position and prospects of the country.
Attached to a mission about to investigate the
practicability of forming the famous Suez
Canal between the Mediterranean and Red
Seas—a favourite project with the present
Viceroy—he was so fortunate as to meet with
every attention from his Highness Said
Mohammed. The flatteries of the Viceroy
were many and delicate ; one will suffice.
Hesitating to stand covered in the open air
before his Highness, notwithstanding his re-
quest that they would do so, M. de Lesseps
observed, "Your Highness treats these gentle-
" men like crowned heads." " These gentle-
" men," replied the Viceroy, " are the
" crowned heads of science.' But such
attentions, though perhaps they may have
softened, did not materially alter the views
of M. de Saint-Hilaire as to the wants
of the country his Highness reigns over.
He believes that new destinies are opening up
to Egypt, and he freely expresses his opinions
upon the two great evils of the country—viz.,
the want of a higher morality among the
people, and a better organisation of the laws
of property. With respect to the laws of
property, in point of fact, the people of Egypt
hold no property upon any permanent basis.
The Sultan is the proprietor of the soil, the
Viceroy his tenant for life ; and, with these
exceptions, and those of a few persons to
whom special grants have been made, there is
not a single landed proprietor in the country.
This monstrous arrangement of property,
so similar in system to our own in India, is
productive of similar evil effects. The mate-
rial wealth and prosperity of the country never
progresses beyond a certain point; all enter-
prise is checked ; and when, in addition to
such a system, we consider the traditional
rapacity of the governors of provinces, the
" almost universal improbity," and the un-
scrupulousness of all officials, we need not be
surprised that a country like Egypt possesses
a population of beggars, and does not
progress in proportion to its opportunity.
Mohammed Said, says M. de Saint-Hilaire,
no sooner succeeded to the Government than
" he hastened to carry out strict administra-
" tive reforms ;" but his work is heavy, for ho
is not well supported, and his labours, we aro
assured, are " immense and almost over-
" whelming" :
By the organisation of absolute power everything is re-
ferred to him, and he is of necessity occupied with a mul-
titude of details, which engross all his time, and would
weigh down natural powers less strong than his. The
machinery of administration is very simple, but the hand
of the master is incessantly required to direct and maintain
its action. Under the governors of provinces, or Moudirs,
who may be compared to our Prefets, are the Nazirs, who
resemble Sous-Prefets ; and under the Nazirs are the
governors of towns and heads of villages, the lowest instru-
ments of the central power. Everything has yet to be
created in the habits and methods of work ; and, unless
the impulse is given by the Viceroy, there is great risk that
it will not be given at all, or very badly.

Mohammed Said has great activity of mind, and the
business which he transacts in it single day might well
startle the most hardworking 1111111. llis bodily activity is
not less great, although he has suffered since the age of

SATURDAY,

thirty-four from excessive corpulence, at which he fre.
quently smiles. In the summer of 18-15, with a heat of
:10 deg. of Riaumur, he led his troops into the Desert
in pursuit of the Bedouins who had revolted, and he
proved himself the most ardent and indefatigable of his
soldiers.

From all that I have seen of the Viceroy, I am of
opinion that his Administration is and will be a great
benefit to Egypt, which in his hands cannot but make the
most important progress.

The greatest danger that will for a long time menace
the Egyptian Government will arise from its own goal
intentions. In a country where everything has to be
created, it is !absolutely necessary to commence many
things at once, and it is difficult to finish them all, when
they are great and important. It is well known amongst
us, with all our superiority, how much time—l dare not
say how much perseverance—it has required to finish
works which were undertaken centuries ago, and some of
which are only completed in our days, whilst others will
perhaps never be concluded. In Egypt, which is per-
fectly new to civilisation, it is not to be wondered at that
this is the case. Our own faults may teach us to excuse
those of peoples much less advanced and moreover much
less endowed by nature.

But it is to the universal corruption of morals
that M. de Saint-Hilaire attributes the general
misery of the people. Marriages, for instance,
among all classes, contracted without affection,
are dissolved without remorse :
Mutual consent is sufficient; and this consent is never
withheld by the woman, who is terrified at the idea of the
ill-treatment which is the infallible consequence of a re-
fusal. The separation then takes place in the same
manner as the marriage. The dowry, which amounts to
scarcely anything among the poorer classes, is easily paid.
The husband promises to make a provision for the chil-
dren, if there are any, and the parties may then marry
again. This second marriage takes place with nearly the
same formalities as the first, but the parties are generally
introduced to each other by female negotiators, and are
married again without having seen one ancther. Natu-
rally, in the case of a widow of one or more husbands, the
marriage portion and dowry are much less than in that of
a young girl.
If the woman (to suppose an impossible case) refuses
her consent to the divorce, the case is brought before the
Kadi ; and to obtain a legal separation it is only necessary
to prove that she has one of the defects indicated by the
law, which vitiates the contract. If the unhappy woman,
for instance, is con►icted of snoring, she is repudiated by
the full authority of the law ; and many faults equally
grave are, as may be imagined, not very difficult of proof.
Divorces thus take place with deplorable facility, and it
is not rare to meet with men who have been married thirty
or forty times. The number of divorces is in proportion
to the means of the husband.

To theso evils, established by custom, is
another serious one sanctioned by law—all
children are legitimate, and inherit the paternal
property by equal shares. This degradation
of marriage is one effect of polygamy ; and
polygamy, M. de Saint .Hilaire is of opinion,
has its origin more in the corruption of morals
than in any other cause yet ascribed :

I repeat that, in my opinion, the true cause of polygamy
lies far more in the corruption of morals than in the very
questionable influence of climate. To combat this cor-
ruption is the province of those who study and deplore it;
and it would be very unjust to despair of the East, and
imagine that the evil cannot be out-come. For my own
part, though I am not an extravagant optimist, I entertain
a firm hope of amelioration ' • and I think that, when we
recall the progress made during the last forty years in
Egypt, we may look forward to the future without much
distrust. It would indeed redound to the glory of Egypt,
semi•civilised as she is, to take the initiative on this point,
after having already set so many noble examples.

Some Turks and Egyptians, ho assures us,
tired of a harem, have contented themselves
with ono lawful wife, and have attempted to
bring up their children in a European man-
ner :

But further, they have attempted to produce their wives
in public, and with their faces uncovered. Not that they
would go into society, in our sense of the term ; for this, as
it exists in our salons, is unknown in Mussulman countries;
a void attributable to the harem, which is attended by a
multitude of painful consequences it would be useless to
enter upon. Some of these courageous Mussulmans may
have persevered in their laudable resolution, and have
remained faithful to the single companion of their choice,
but the attempt to exhibit (if I may use the word) the
poor women has been quite a failure. The very few, who
ventured to show themselves, were received in a manner
not at all calculated to make them desire to renew the
experiment. The popular manners still energetically
oppose this reform, simple as it appears. Perhaps the
necessary prudence was not used in attempting a change,
which would require all the power of a persevering and
wise Government.

This is too delicate a reform to be effected by
abrupt measures. Time is a great clement in
such fundamental changes. Lengthenedin-
tercourse with European nations, and, above
all, the establishment and extension in the
country of Christian colonies and European
commerce, arc the means through which we
may best anticipate such a reform.