The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1882-08-11
THE WAR.
The Egyptian Side of 1t.
Springfield Republican.

has been fully set forth In the Republican,
and was in particular OIL the morning of the
bombardment. Egypt is an immense and rich,
but msgoyerned country. 1t is nominally
subject to Turkey, and pays tribute fixed
in 1866 at f720,0 900; at the same time the
Sultan gave the ruler the title of Fradive,
or king instead of viceroy, and fixed the de-
cent In the family of Mehemet Ali from ia
ther to son. In 1878 the Sultan further con-
ceded to the Khedive the right of fixing the
size of his own army and treating with for
| eign powers. So much for the relations of
Egypt and Turkey. But Ismail L.. the late
khedive, now living on pension of 100000
at Rome, was great spendthrift, and also
had IDEAS of the development of his country.
Consequently he ran up debt of f4o0, ,0O0,-
600 against Egypt and a private debt of $780,
| 000,0o0 against his own enormous private es
tate. OF course he defaulted on his interest
1T was inevitable. III 1t had been great
power, the creditors, who took their own
risk of lending to this wretched, half bar
| barrie despotism, would have had simply to
whistle for their pay. But being a weak
power, with fat land England and France
took up the cause ofthe bond holders against
Egypt, and appointed regular receivers to go
| to Alexandria and take charge Of the govern
ment. Two controllers general" were ap-
pointed, one by France and one by England,
to 90 there and take the whole charge of the
revenues and expenditures-the most lnfam-
Gus proceeding in history since the partition
Of Poland. These controllers general were
Aiguieres and Maign Barring. Ismail was a
sleepy fellow, but he "kicked," and they
| kicked him ont august 8, 1870, and his son
Tewfik, twenty years old, became nominal
Khediye in his place. Then the controllers
| general thought themselves in snug place;
they began 10 turn out the old Arabic offci-
ais and bring Englishmen from India and
Frenchmen from Marseilles TO fill places at
$4,000 year. In short, rs in Pharaoh's
time, the lean kline came up out of the Nile
and threatened to eat up everything, till this
Arab, native of vigorous character, rose
and demanded different state of things. A
| rude parliamentary chamber was called to-
| gether with Arab; SO did the army, so did
the Arabic scholars, until he came to this
open rupture with the Khedive.
We observe that General Grant says we
ought to sympathize with England, because
England would develop the country. So she
| would develop 1t as she has developed Ire
| land, perhaps even as she has developed
India. But she would also fasten on the
| miserable, poverty-stricken. down-trodden
people of Egypt debt of 500 per capita,
which they did not create, and which was
| not created for their benefit, and which
| would never be paid II England did not stand
over them with eighty-one ton guns. Every
| instinct of human rights, of the rights of
nationality, protests against this new asser-
| ton of military power for the purpose Of
collecting private debts, In itself an outrage
/ Gus, unprecedented and brutal extension of
| the purposes for which war is justifable by
one civilized power on another. General
Grant ought to be ashamed of himself for
| advocating 1t. We can see some excuse for
spolIation where Germany says to France !:
! "Giye me two provinces containing your
| greatest fortresses," or where Russia, Prussia
and Austria divide Poland to suppress q
conflagration. But never before this era has
great nation put forth its imperial power
| to throttle a weaker one, because its inter-
est in Lombard street is in default and Its
bonds below par. Did not the Rothschllds
and Lombard street know that they were
lending to mere name and nothing else
when they took Ismail's bonds OF course
they did. We believe In the payment oi
national debts, where the people have In.
Cured these debts and had the benefit oi
them. But the enforcement of their pay.
ment has never been recognized as proper
exercise of power of one nation TO another
and could not be tolerated to-day between
equal powers. If England, for instance, In
) response to the demands of the London com
mittee of Virginia bondholders, should pro-
pose TO send controller general to Rich
mond to take charge Of the revenue OF tina
State, our minister at London would be in
, structed to demand his passports ut onc'
and war would ensne. 1t was said in 1s7:
or about that time, that Bismarck contem
plated bringing diplomatic pressure TO bea
on this country In behalf of the holders o
southern state bonds, but If he did he wa
too wise to ever broach the subject to on
minister. 1t is safe to say that any propo
stion of the kind would be taken as mos
offensive by any American government.
England would to-day collect the debts o
her citizens from South American powers b.
the same receivership she has established II
Egypt, II she did not know that the United
States would not tolerate II. Fl
There is one other subject TO which al
explanation Is pertinent here, and that
the suez canal. The viceroy Said in 1856
proposed to Ferdinand de L-sseps to do thi
. great work, and in 1869 twas opened ninety
two miles In length, connecting the Mediter
ranean and Red seas from Port Said to Suez
. II Is from ten to twenty rods wide ant
, twenty-six feet deep, SO as TO accommodate th'
largest steamships. Its excavation was no
difficult. IL cost about SS0,000,0 900, whicI
| was raised In shares subscribed by th
Egyptian government and by French CAPT
talis,s. The Egyptian government had nearl.
$4,000 900 invested, but soldout TO Englan'
In 1875 for about s200O0,0oO. The cana
was opened in 1870 and in 1872 began to pa
profit. In 1873 the tonnage OF vessel
passing through 1t amounted TO s,se9,OC
four -fifths being British vessels. and the rev
enue was fl,251,oO0, about fioo,oOs y Q
which was profit above expenses. Eng'an'
purchased her interest In this canal for th
! legitimate purpose Of protecting her dires
! route to India, and she has right TO protes
! the canal. But Alexandria Is one hundre
. miles from the Suez canal, and Arab has nc
!, menaced that property. In fact Englan
could have filled the canal with iron clads
she liked without molesting Arab. Neithf
could Arab have arrested the flow Of con
,nerce, which the British admiral for som