Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1882-08-05
THE EMBARRASSMENT OF TIE PORTE

The position of the Porte in regard to the
Egyptian war is one of great embarrass-
ment, and for several reasons. In the first
place the Sultan, as the Caliph of the
Faithful, is required to obey the orders If
Infldel Governments in declaring Arab
Easha rebel. In doing this the Sultan
must expose himself to very serious suspi.
cion and misunderstanding. Arab pre-.
tends that he is fighting to drive the
infidels out of Egypt. This is his main
support with the Mohammedans. But the
Conference insists that the Porte shall de.
clare him q rebel, and of course he will
then accuse the Porte of having deserted
Islam and gone over to The Giaours. The
Sultan no doubt fears the effect such an
assertion may have upon the reception of
the new false Prophet who is alleged to be
making his way through Upper Egypt at
the present time. The hold which the
Sultan has upon the Arabs as the represent.
alive of the Caliphate is by no means as
strong as that which he possesses over
other Moslem races. The Arabs are
Bourbons, and never forget or learn new
things. They have never forgotten that
the Sultan is Turk, and that though the
Ottoman Empire has endured many cen.
turies, it was originally founded on force
and usurpation. Therefore they are al.
ways liable to accept an Arab pretender
such as Ell Mehdi, and to repudiate the
Sultan's spiritual authority; and present
events seem to tend that way to consid.
cradle extent. In the second place it has
been ascertained beyond doubt that the
Sultan has been playing double game in
the Egyptian business; that he has been
in constant correspondence with Arab
while pretending to support the Khedive
and that when he sent Dervish Pasha to
Alexandria it was in the hope that he
might be able to assist rather than thwart
Arab. Documentary evidence of this
duplicity is now in the possession of the
English Government, and while the
knowledge that his game has been discov.
cred renders it more difficult for the Sultan
to resist the demands of the Conference.
the actual relations he has held with the
rebel commander make the denuncation Of
that parsonage very embarrassing. After
trying in vain to postpone action the
Porte has now proposed that the decree of
Arabs rebellion shall be made after the
Turkish troops have landed in Egypt II
Is not at all likely that this proposal will
be accepted. 1t is indeed more probable
that the Porte will seek to withdraw from
its promise to send troops, on the ground
that 1t cannot submit to let them be con.
troiled by the English. 1t is quite ap-
parent that the Sultan does not want to
come into collision with Arab, and under
the circumstances it may be questioned
whether any good moral effect can be sus-
tanned by the dispatch of Turkish troops
to Egypt. That they would be of little or
no use in putting down the rebellion
seems certain, and seeing how fsithless
the Sultan has been to his own professions
thus far, it ought not to surprise any one
greatly if they should refuse to fight when
they are on the ground. Ga the whole it
would be better for all concerned that the
Sultan should keep his soldiers at home.