Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1882-10-20
ARABI.

The scientifically correct method which
the leader of a defeated party of rebels ough
to adopt, is to commit that modified form Of
suicide which consists in allowing himself tC
be killed in battle at the head OF his unfor
tunate troops. This course saves no end Of
trouble for the ylctors (Which of course ough
to be leading consideration if the vanquish
ed is true genteman) and gives the con
quercd party much better place in history
| The plan is of course more or less awkward
| for the gentleman chiefly interested, but af-
ter all long experience has proved it to be the
best. Certainly none who have tiled it have
ever beenknown TO complain; whereas by fol.
lowing acontraly plan large numbers fpromi.
nent citizens have come to grief Among these
latter uufortunates Arab bids fair to take his
place. The indications are that the court
martial now is session at Cairo and before
which Arab Pashl is being tried will find
the defeated chieftain guilty of treason to the
Khediveand that therapeutic will be prompt
ly hanged or otherwise disagrecably eXtcr-
minated. There is haste about the trial
which must impress Arab very favorably,
and which bodies him no good. And yet it
would appear that there has yet been no di-
rect evidence connecting Arab with the
massacre of last June. On the contrary it
has been shown that during the entire
campaign the Egyptian commander used his
utmost tndcavors to prevent the molcsiation
of European residents in Egypt and their
property. His oifcnsc was rebellion, not
against the Khedive, but against the foreign
domination over Egypt. His ideas were
patriotic and his purposes to certain cNtcn,
just. In another country he might have
gone down to pos,erity as a patriot
and his nations saviour. Bnt the
people Of Egypt are SET of g-
noble slaves. They are unworthy of free
dom. Their weapons dropped from their
nervelcss hands at the first onset of the
British soldiers and they scattered in ignom-
inious flight. The rebellion was not justified
by success, and therefore Arab is not
patriot but traitor and his opponents are
going to hang him. When he surrendered
to the British he did 50 with the understand
ing that he would be treated as prisoner of
war and, if tried ut all, it would be by otii-
GERS of the English army. If the English
government had not interfered Arab could
not have been deposed by the Khedive The
British stepped in, and under the prctext of
maintaining the Khcdivc as ruler of Egypt,
made war upon Arab and prosecuted the
campaign until the latter was prisoner in
their hands, with his army scattered all over
the desert. AS it was the British and not
the khedive's soldiers against whom Arab
fought. it was but natural for Arab to be-
lievc that in surrendering to Gen. Wolseley
the latter would refuse to turn him over to
the tender mercies of the Egyptians. But
Arab made little mistake in his calcula-
tons on this point, as he now undoubtedly
realizes and it now looks as if the British
were not less anxious fer his head than the
khedivc. At the same time they can i'll
afford to permit his execution. Christian
ity and common sense revolt from such an
act.