Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1867-02-17

= the A0uEGaiH@ Pound Gudia-Et
Y Rigists Sustained by British Court
a Strange IEt.tOEy-
J Special Correspondence OF the woTld.I
: BOMBAY, December 26, 1Se6-A ca
whose history precedes the crusades, bI
whose subject matter IS in the presen
p has just been decided by Sir Josep
s Arnould, judge Of our supreme cour
% Undoubtedly, a more singular and mol
s historically Interesting litigation ha
never been determined by alegal tribuna
The plaintiffs were some four hundre
z families Of Bombay, the defendant, Ag
\ Khan, formerly a leader of the Persia
b ete'-, but since his submission man {
Z sporting habits, and remarkably fond G
) the turf. The task of reducing the exac
point IN controversy TO one sentence, a
E can be done in most suits, IL it wa
achieved by the attorneys, was not b!
the'fearned judge, and is "quite' be
yond the power of your correspondent
To begin at the beginning" would +,
70 travel reaTward on the plane OF thl
centuries that witnessed the Norman
conquest: whose records, handed dowI
to the present, confirm, by the truth o.
history aud the voice of law, that Aga
Khan, the qu9ndam rebel, and now
loyal " hOrse-racer, is the temporal
aud spiritual pontificate of a dynasty
older than the erusades. d
THE HISTORY OF THE GREAT CASE. VI
As I before said, so involved are the
facts that led to this suit, aud so far
reaching are the grounds on which they
are based, that it Is puZZling where to
begin. But IL we trace the date and the
circumstance Of the coming Of Aga
Khan among us, the litigation will
/ evolve Itself in easy order As far back
I "a 1888 Aga Khan was residing in the
Persian province Of Kernl4ff, as the ec-
Z kuowledged imam of tiN Ismailees
/ Therefore he and his subjects, in accord
ancs with r custom as old as TIE Dresses
Of Lebanon, eternally cOnformed their
I fSith TO the practices of those in au-
th0rity over them. But the shah was
retiring in disorder from HeTat. Aga
Khan resolved to make the discontinue
of the monarch his own opportunity.
He seized the province Of Herman,
openly proclaimed himself as the ruler
OF the realm and Of the Khojahs who
inhabit IT, After two years Of unsuc-
cessful struggle he was obliged to sue
eumh, aud fed TO VSGinde. Here were
three thousand families who so cordially
received him and believed in his claims
Of Eneal descent from Ali, that he was
able TO levy an annual tax OF oDe-tenth
Of the entiIe income OF each Of the fol-
lowers. This tax was, To say the least,
aumai0us at the same time when the
people were subject To British revenue.
In the Afghan war, Aga Khan raised a
troop Of light horse, and served with dis
tine ion under Gen. Mott. For glllantry
and efficiency ne was peusioaed by
the British government, and in 1915
came TO Bombay. Here he has ever
since resided He has enthusiastically
ruled the Kneiahs with great TigOr. The
city has always been well watched by
the agents of the Persian shah, who
reported miIutsy the movements of
Aga, 50 as 20 anticipate any sinister at
temrts of the Khan to possess again his
supremacy in Ksrman. 1t is well un-
derst0od, too, that the British authority
here have from time to time given him
gentle, but decisive intimatiOns that,
while in the territary and under the pro-
lection Of the crown, he must not either
attempt OI plan any designs hostile 20 the
cordial relations Of the empire with the
shah. OF course, as imam, he admins
tered upon the entire property Of the
sect, which is al-o an "oFdeF," and
is very wealthy. About six years ago, /
he esteemed the occasion ripe for the
promuigsti0n Of his full power, or at
least its test. So he com manded bis 4
people throughout tie whole of India no .
longer 10 profess secresy, but openly to .
avOw him their head and their adherence /
as reliEionists TO the Ismailee faith. The .
decree was signed the 2Oth of October. .
All bat 400 families ia Bombay Obeyed.
They rebelled. Either dissatisfied st his .
rule, or, IS is more likely, not wishing to
incur the repugnEnee With which the IS
malice sect Is still rearded-as the de-
seeudauts Of the order of assassius and
the original founder % free lOve-they
reoeilsd, aud appeaied to the supreme
court to have their affaiIs and their prop
erty administered by 8 lay committee.
This appeal put Aga Khan upon his de-
feDse to prove his Legitimacy Of pontifi-
cate authority over the knOjahs Hence
this suit.
HOW THE DEFENDANT WAS SUSTAINED.
The steps which led our honored JUS
tfCe Aruould .than whom purer juEist
and an ADLER man cannot be found on
any Of the colonial benches OF her ma
iesJy's courts, to decree in favor Of Aga
Khan are set forth at large, in the de-
gision Of the courts, sufficiently vOlumin-
Jus 10 form an ordinary quRTtO, and
avinciDg deep research and conscientious
analysis. Summarized as briefly as
sau be iuteliigibiy done, it appears
hat Aga Khan IS the lineal sue
'gssor IN authority Of the chief Of
Nsssiat, the original a" Old Man of the
who in the eleven th CEN
Jury Cunspired and almost Compassed
the assassination Of CUUr dc Lion.
Tracing this progression, it must be re-
mem bered that in 1880 twenty four
years subsequent 10 the Norman con
quest, Hassau bin Saba, a Persian
Saeeah, settled at AlaInut, q crag Of the
E,burE mountains, now known as the
NuItgse's Nest. At Cairo, Saba bad
adopted the faith of the ismaels, which
IS q belief in Mahomet so far as that
prophet himself is concerned, but which,
,uder the katimete caliphs, inouicated
a supreme obedience 10 the commands
= their imams or pontifis, who descend
lereditsrily through Ismail, the seventh
ascendant OF the author of the Koran,
They became the order of assassius,n ~
rom the fact that the founder insisted
lpOu such absOlutism of authority as to
leclsre assassination, If ordered himself,
N imperative duty, and high privilege
N the part Of his subjects to execute.
EO- only did the Ism2ilees hold their
ives, but all their goods and their entire
ervice and destiny at the disposal of the
small Immortality OF bliss after deah
ma instant security Of it by beariicstion
u life was the reward Of Il murder per
]etrated by command Of the ismail The
arge prevalence Of this horrid doctrine
,ud It's Cuter0ppiDg in practice became
% in'Oierebie that the caliph i'm l25S
egarded il with the bitteFest hostility,
md in 1858 HOlsgau, grandson Of
lengths Ehsn, the great Tartar con-
lueror, laid waste the city Of AlamUt
which Hassan bin saba had formed.
UE AsSASsINs CAST DOWN But NOT
DESTROYED.
Trampled out, beaten down, pro
Cribsd, psrsecuted upon sight to the {
leath, the adherents OF this strange and
nurleroUs doctrine, with s. tenacity Of
which only uuiHf0rmed human nature
g capable under the fires Of persecution,
es0lYed not to abandon their cherished
aith, not 10 assimilate themselves to the
niider branches of Alohsmmedanism ,
round them but, gathering courage iu .
LANCER and persistence in adversely, con ,
luled, without forsaking the tenets Of !
heir faith, externally 10 disayow its
characteristics, As did the
eWs theirs in Spain, bat at heart still To !
Nurse the ancient dogma, and sub rosa 1
till TO practice the oldeu horrors. As
'ersis became more and more Sheesh.
md permeated by negative theologic
deas, the prosecutions against the ASA
ms, now that they had apparently {
adopted gentler habits, abated, and they /
eem TO have been considered less as
dangerous than ss peculiar people, with {
whom iutermarri0ge and iLtermiuglilE,
not anomalous, were at least rare.
TITE INFLCENCE EXTENDS To INDIA.
Just three hundred and sixty years
Ifler the original establishment OF the
.rl.r a. Ala-nmL-lhlt Is in laGn-LLn .