Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1879-07-11
lSHMAIL j. OF EGYPT.
A Brilliant Career That Has Ended In
Brilliant Failure.

Being appointed Governor IN the year
1906, Mehemet presently revolted
against the authority of the Sultan and
by force of arms established himself rs
absolute master of the country. He
maintained his position for thirty-seyen
years. In February, 1S4l, making u
virtue Of necessity, the Porte recognized
his right to rule. An Imperial Haiti
Sheriff, issued under the guarantee of
the five great European powers, form
ally established the Viceroy upon his
throne, and made the succession heredi-
tary under the same rules as those
covering the Imperial succession in
Turkey. The title given to Mehemet
Ali and to his immediate successors
was the Turkish one Of Vail or Viceroy.
THIS was changed by n firman Of May
q, 1866, into the Persian-Arabic OF
Khidiy-el-Misr, or King of Egypt
whence is derived Khedive. This same
iirman changed the nature Of the sue.
cession. Instead of the eldest male Of
the family inheriting, the title passed
directly from father To son; and il is UNI
der this law that Prince Mohammod
Tewfk, second child and eldest Son of
the late Khedive, born November 10,
1862, now succeeds. Mehemet Ali,
n soldier by profession and statesman
by intuition, was the founder not only
Of q dynasty, but OF nation. He
created modern Egypt. Careless as to
means, Unsecured magnificent results.
Under his harsh but intelligent rule
great public works were undertaken for
the development Of the great
riches of tho country. In com
mon with that OF his sue
cessors, however, his policy did not in
cude the amelioration of tho wretched
condition Of his subjects; it had no
higher motive than that of increasing
the national wealth. Going mad in his
old age, Mehemet Ali was succeeded by
his soldier son, Ibraham Pasha, first as
regent, then for four months rs vice
roy. To Ibraham succeeded bis neph-
ew, Abbas Paah /, voluptuary and n
bigot, whose reign (1S48.64) Witnessed II
relapse into the old-time barbarism.
Said Pasha, third son of Mehemet Ali,
succeeded TO the throne in 1854 "a lib
eral-minded prince, who retrieved much
Of the mischief done by his predeces-
sors, but lacked the vigorous intelligence
md force Of character required to re-
viye very vigorously the spirit Of pro-
gress aroused by his father. His reign
was prosperous one, on tho whole;
and it long will be honorably remem-
bered as the reign in which was granted
the concession for the Suez canal. Said
Pasha died in Janunry, 1863, and with
the accession Of lsmail Pasha, the sec
ond son of Ibraham and the grandson
of Mehemot Ali, how epoch III the
political and social history of Egypt
began.
lsmail was born December 81, 1880.
Several lives were between him and the
throne and his succession seemed to be
highly improbable. But M nil Egypt
religiously believes though the belief
Inns been good deal shaken Of late,
and must be altogether uprooted by the
event Of yesterday Ismnil was born
under lucky star. II was his Kismet
to.rlilu over tho nation that his grand
father the glorious, founded. Even
when Said Pasha came to the throne,
lsnial was not in the race, for his
brother Aohmet--a man but little older
than himself of powerful constitu-
ton and regular habits had pre-
cedence over him. But Allah was
pleased to preoipilate II special train
upon which Achmet was travelling
through the draw of Robert Stephen
sons famous bridge across the Nile.
Down went tho train, fifty feet, into the
river, and Achmet was barred by death
from tho succession. Aud 40 when
Said Pasha died, january Is, 1868, Is
snail Pasha was the eldest male of the
limo Of Mehemet Ali and the crown was
his. His kismet was fulfilled and the
potency OF his lucky star was establish
ed.
Being firmly fixed upon the throne,
lsmail set himself vigorously, though
not wisely, to re-establishing tho policy
of internal reform and development in.
stituted by his grandfather. Ho invited
from prominent engineers tho sugges-
tons in regard to improvements in irri-
gation--the fundamental source of
Egyptian wealth-and acting upon these
suggestions, he built irrigation canals
and introduced upon the royal planta-
tons steam pumping engines in the
place OF the shndoof and saki; he devel-
opcd the culture of cotton and flax, and
caused to he erected mills for working
up the raw material; he introduced the
culture Of the sugar cane, and estab-
lished sugar houses and retinories; he
built 1900 miles Of railroads; ho built
public roads, and gave streets to his
cities; lie built telegraph lines; he
dredged roadsteads, built sea walls and
made harbors; he built lighthouses; he
provided Alexandria and Cairo with
gas and water works; he created NOR.
chant marine; he even encouraged pop.
ular education, and, finally, he built the
Su2 Canal. Leaving this Grandest
work of all out of the count, in the iiC-
teen years of his reign the khedive has
constructed public works that in round
numbers, are valued ut between
$l00,000000 and $l50,O00,000. In
the Same period, he has borrowed and
raised, in round numbers, Si50,o00,0 900;
and lie has contracted u lloat-
ing debt Of SEE, 600 600 more. His per.
sonal debts arc enormous. 10 pay tho
interest on tho huge funded debt and to