The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1879-04-12
THE EGYPTIAN FAMINE.
The Suffering ana Distress Incident
ETheretO In Upper Egypt

A correspondent OF the London Times
writes as follows: Having just returned
from an excursion through the Said from
Stout TO Luxor, venture to ask your leave
to call thelattention OF your readers to the
awful state of distress In which we found the
people. cannot help thinking that since It
Ia by the encouragement that leaders In Eng
land have gieen to the Khedive to spend the
bread-money OF his unhappy people on dis.
tant wars and private extravaganees, 1t will
be but fair that they should have an opportu-
nifty, II they desireit, Of doing something TO
hundred miles through the more remote dis
triets. Everywhere the most heartrending
state of poverty was revealed Taxation
having taken from the Arab every reserve
prosperity the failure Of the dourra crop,
through the excessive iDundation OF this
year deprived him Of any possible means Of
subsistence.
Near the sugar factories the famine was
proportionately greater, as the drain upon
the resources of the people Is, Of course, heav-
Ter where large area OF land mas been seized
for a crop which returns nothing to the
actual cultivator, and whose forced labor In
the fields and factory deprves the peasant OF
his most valuable time. 1t was sad, In the
midst of SO much want, TO see men driven
with whips to labor for the English bond
holder. while the fields were lying untitled,
and the repeated asseverations OF the French
superintendent that EVERY man was paid
once month in silver" only showed by his
vehement emphasis that such payment was @
| new and remarkable feature. In the town Of
How we saw men actually die In the street
but the skeleton children were the most
shocking sight. When children are reduced
| to skin and bone the famine must indeed be
sore In the land. In ono place we saw boy
gnawng the husks OF sugar-eane left In The
fields.
Atevery village the cry OF the mourners was
heard as we passed. Nopen can describe the
condition Of the crowd which used every day
to assemble as we took our luncheon on thu
| roadside. Our very crumbs and the oil O
sardines were greedily seized. At Denders
we reached the rivers bank and crossed II
! Keneh. We were much impressed at the
sight OF a passing steamer belonging to thu
Khedive, which looked to our eyes glarine
and OsteUtatiously. magnificent after thu
scenes we had witnessed among his High
ness subjects We were told that the TIVE
| Englishmen were on board. mo doubt, W.
remarked they will survey the country
through an operas Ass and return thinking
they know all about it.
At Keneh we found the worst of the distress
was over; but few weeks before q kind
hearted native gentleman, whose name
dare not mention, fed as many as seven thous
and starving persons for some days. w
heard in several places OF similar acts 0
charity; AMI but that | am afraid OF involv
ing any of my informants In unpleasantness
with the authorities, ] could give ehapte
and verse for many particulars or the famine
to which | can only allude, At one place thu
Cooks tourists fed one thousand people will
bread. The first news we heard when WI
reached Luxor was that the Viceroy hat
given magnificent entertainment to tn,
Europeans at Cairo. 1t Is Of course but RICH
that money should be spent in Cairo, but tn
account OF these festivities Jared unpleas
antly on our leelhgs alteI Inc scenes we h nay
next heard that the Khedive had vent tw
Englishmen to investigate the reports OF The
distress, and few days later came the new
that they had repsrted: 'The accounts 0
the distress in Upper Egypt are greatly eS
aggerated."