Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1882-08-16
The Esypiial as n Soldier.

| CORES pOndent VINO has had considerable
experience in eastern wars:
"A not unimportant element in the
consideration of the Egyptian question is
the value of the Arab as fighting mrlerial.
or the courage Of the wretches who beat
out the brains of so many Europeans
caught by surprise and unarmed in the
late Alexandria riots. one NAV Judge by
an incident "hich took place in the course
of them.
"On the great square of Alexandria
some two hundred Of these patriotic pro.
testors against the rule of the foreigner
we're engaged in hunting Europeans,
when four of the attendants of the tribunal
rushed out of their sanctuary with drawn
swords, and the whole two hundred took
to precipitate flight, leaving the square
empty of all but the dead and wounded,
and the four messengers of Justice. With
nut some firm assurance Of the support of
mustaiiz Or hizam it is quite certain that
none of the rabble would ever have dared
to raise a hand against foreigner. A
kourbash is quite enough for the courage
Of an Egyptian SnoGn Q" an QEainaery oGeAsslQqP1
Ali has given him prestige which, like
the scent of the roses, fingers long after
the organization is shattered. 1t is true
that once Egyptian soldiers defeated Turk
sh, but the latter were in much lower
state Of discipline than nov, while the
former were ruled with n rigor, of which
the following incident, related by a veteran
who remembered Mehemet Ali, will give
an example: A milkwoman came to the
Pasha one lay complaining that one of his
soldiers had robbed her of the milk she
was bringing into camp. The soldier was
identified and denied having taken the
milk. What did he do with it?' asked
the Pasha. Drank it, was the reply.
At sign the mans head was of bis body.
and his stomach being opened was found
full of milk. Co said the Pasha 10 the
Mortified milkwoman, paying her the value
of her milk, but if he had not taken il
your head would have paid for it
Needless to say this Draconian rule
has long since passed away, and the Egyp.
tian soldier to-day is perhaps the most
cowardly and degraded regular in exist
ence. In the late Russo Turkish war they
could not be brought to face fire, and We're
kept in reserve for depot duty. In the
Cretan insurrection Of 1866 the Viceroy's
guard was sent to the island to aid in the
subjugaton Of the Christians, but on the
first encounter 1000 of them, attacked in
an entrenched position by about l,500 ILL.,
armed Cretans, were driven into theil
ntrenchments, their access to the water
sources cut of, and they surrendered
uncon !itionally after the defeat of another
division, which had marched to their relic
the total being 5000 men, with artillery
and considered the best troops in th,
Egyptian army. In n subsequent affair
under Mehemet Kiritly Pasha, when tn,
Egyptians were to cover the retreat of th
main army, they broke and hcd precipi
lately at the first attack of the insurgents
and squads of them, lost in the complica
ted byways and broken ground OF th'
pass of Krapi, threw down their arms ant
7 were butchered without resistance by tn
Cretans. At 1.-THE assault of The conven
Of Arkadi the only use the Egyptian
could be put to was to be put in from
t with the bayonets of the Turkish regular
behind them and no alternative of safety
They were thus driven into the breach
! covering the Turks by their bodies.
] This was the testimony of one Of th
Italian officers in command of them, an
e nothing was more common than for tn
Cretans to send an Egyptian prisoner ava
1 contemptuously, saying that it was lik
t butchering sheep to Kill the Egyptian;
e They are capable only of the smples
? evolutions and their officers know littl
g more about the science of war than tn
\ privates. The former are fond of lin
d uniforms and gewgawry. but they actuall
s are never exercised in any movements {
g warfare; there is no conception of orgar
g ization, and if necessity arose for actio
it is not too much to say that the soldier
could not find their cartridges, their of
GERS their commissariat,no the commanC
s ers their officers. Nothing but the mo.
e inconceivable blunders could ever Civ
2 them q military advantage, and the sligb
o est menace toward llanking movemer
9 would put the entire army to rout withou
u firing shot. A division from India lane
u ing at Suez and marching ON Cairo woul
'' see the defenders of Alexandria in instar
$ retreat, and distribution of few pound
r would set the whole Of the Bedouin tribe
to plundering the regulars. With th
y exception ol the Copts and small numbe
of the better classes OF the inhabitants {
lower Egypt, there is nothing to form
g self governing nation; while anythn
like representative government or mill al
l. efficiency must be theresult Of generation
a of development, "-PaN Mall Gazette.