Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-07-08
EGYPT AND THE EGYPTIANS
Interview with Sime9 Wolf, esq.,, late
U. 5. Consul General to Egypt-Inter-
esting Information as to the Situa-
ton ia that Country.

representative OF THE EVENING STAR called
last evening upon the late u. s. consul general tC
| Egypt and explained to that gentleman that THE
| STAR desired to know something OF the character
and status of the national party and It's leader,
| Arabi Pasha, OF the Khediye, Of the causes tina,
underfe the present trouble, and such other infor
nation of interest as in his judgment is important
and timely
Mr.. Wolf responded favorably, saying: Will
answer first as to the status and character Of the
national party; and this estimate Is based on per-
SOnal Information given to me by the leaders
themselves, and corroborated by an Englishman,
| Sir William BlOunt, friend of the national party
and its leader. in the London Times some months
ago.
| THE NATIONAL PARTY,
! then, consists
/ l., OF the learned class, the Arabic speaking
Mussulmans of Egypt, who have received an edu-
cation at the AZhar University, Or at the various
Schools OF Cairo and the provincial towns. The
| AZhar University numbers some 16 600 professors
| and scholars, Of whom all but five and twenty
| She!khs are members of the party.
2. or the Arab Or Egyptian merchants and
shopkeepers OF the towns, with the exception OF
| visitors for their trade.
3; or the artisans, who can many of them read
and who are all In the habit Of being read to, and
| SO discussing the news in the Journals
4. OF the village Sheikhs and their representa-
| tives, the members of the Egyptian parliament.
| themselves with the Mussumans In The present
| movement They number about half million.
9, or the army with the exception of very
1eW C1rcasSlan officers, and may be few secret
| adherents or Ismail OF Hahn.
z. or those OF the feltaheers who profess any
political views, that is to say, who live within the
| Intellectual radius Of the towns The mass OF the
actual lahorers are probably like the laborers OF
Europe, Indifferent to politics; but when LETT
them that Arab would In some way relieve them
| from the debts in which they are involved, and
OF at the hands of the Mudtrs They all detest the
Turks, but regard Europeans wen or ill according
to the specimens OF the class with whom they
| 8. OF the semi-Bedouin Arabs of the delta The
| true Bedouins Of the desert have little sympathy
| with the JeHdheen or with town politics. They
would join the army in time OF war, but would not
| serve In time or peace.
OPPOSED TO THE NATIONAL PARTY
| are:-
| 1. The viceregal family of Moaammed Ali and
their personal adherents These are principally
Turks or Circassians; but they incluie certain
rich men, native Egyptians, whose hopes of place
| are bound UP in the return Of Ismatl or Hahn,
and a few who identify themselves with the pres
ent & aiGeroy: Nc Mohamlned ham Tekik has made his
| cannot be counted upon as pne OF them. The
Egyptians who mix In Europea society are prin-
to include In it all those who seak French though
the rule IS not absolute. Some twenty-five OF the
Azhnr Shelkhs are attached to the fortunes OF
3 The CirclSSianS. These are. the desc IN 1antS
| OF the Circassian Beys ana Mameiukes who ruled
Egypt in the last century. They are class apart
speaking Turkish as their native language, and
Arabic With an accent They may easily be dis
tinguished by their fair. complexiens and regular
features; but few foreigners in Cairo stop to make
the distinction, important rs it Is, between them
and the true Egyptians Hence much Of the
anti-nationalist opinion reported by travellers
| derived from ''native" sources. The Circasstans
| and Turks are wealthy with the plunder OF for
mer regimes; but they do not together number
| $4,000
| 8. The Greeks They are the flnanciers ami
money-lenders of Egypt They number about
4. The Syrian Christians introduced partly by
Ibrahim Pasha, and largely within the last ten
years. They, too, are mOney-lenders, but on a
smaller scale Their true position or power is as
clerks and interpreters to the European officials,
| OF whom very few can speak Arabic, and to whom
They are the general retailers OF news, supplying
the European consulateS and newspaper cor
| respondents with intelligehce. and serving the
| Spectators on the stock exchange by spreading
| sensational reports
| 5. The European community. This may be
roughly divided as fOiloxss-1talianS, 1900:
French, IA 600; Austrtans and Germans, $500; Eng
lish, $780, other nattonalHsS 1.5O0 total, So 500
The Europeans are, speaking generally, violent
| almost without exception, bpeculators in Egyp-
| tian Stocks and they complain OF the revolution
/ as having caused them nnancial losses. The Eng
| lish have for the last seven years calculated on
Egypt as their political hertage, and are undis-
guisediy disappointed at movement which seem
] TO put on their day OF POSSESSION. Tho italians
are divided, many OF them siding with the nationr