The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1883-05-24
Fresh Egyptian TROUBLES.

There never was truer saying than
+Those who dance must pay the fid-
der. +" The English have had their
dance in Egypt and now the fiddler is
demanding his pay, and the payment
threatens to make serious trouble at
home and in Egypt. The little blaze of
glory which attended the defeat of q
few Ignorant, half-armed fellaheen at
Tel-el-Kebir and the capture and exile
OF their leader, Arab Bey, has faded
out, and now the English Government
and people are facing the consequences
of their dearly bought victory There
is, first, the cost of the war, which must
be paid, and that involves an expense
to the English Exchequer of about $18,-
900, 600, and to the Indian Exchequer of
nearly $6,000,000 This is the past
outlay, and to it must be added the cost
OF maintaining troops in Egypt since
the close of the war and for an indefinite
period to come, for the condition of the
country is as unsettled now as it was in
the days of Ismail Pasha The English
taxpayer viii pay his proportion after
much grumbling. So far as the Indian
proportion is concerned, that will be
squeezed out of the natives.
Meanwhile Egypt herself is in a most
unsatisfactory condition, and the tenn
per of the people is such that. to with
draw the troops would only be to invite
instant anarchy. Europeans could not
remain there day. Some of the ma
tives are living on the plunder they
collected during the war, others are on
. the verge of starvation. The banks will
make no advances to planters and with
out such advances the crops may prove
failures. The Egyptian officials can do
nothing to relieve distress or Improve
the situation. The fellaheen meanwhile
are crushed under burden of debt va
riously estimated at from $50, 600, 900 to
. $4,000, 600 and bearing eighteen per
cent interest. Their condition is thus
described by the London Spectator:
1--WE are informed that of all questions now
pending in Egypt the most urgent is that of
the indebtedness of the peasantry. Foreign
companies and foreign usurers have for some
time past offered their loans upon terms which,
to the poor fellahs always liable for taxes, or
arrears, or bdckSaisl, have proved too tempt
ing. They have taken money on the security
OF their lands so generally that If the MORT
gages are fofeclosed the majority of the poplI-
lation will be eyicted, and Egypt thrown into
/
the expectation of European courts and
anxious for the rice and sugar lands are dis
posed to evict; and SO grave is the situation
that the Governments is seriously advised to
take the tremendous step of declaring peas
ants lands unsalable. They will hardly 10
quite so far, because without lands to pledge
the peasantry could not in badyears pay their
fllll taxes; but it is certain that some very
serious step must be taken. "A land-nOrtgaEe
bank will be set np to lend money at low in
interest; but, as the loans must be very
limited, it is doubtful if this will suffice unless
the bank is preceded by some decree declaring
the peasants bankruptcy"
The despair of the situation is that
the Egyptian Government can not or
will not do anything to help the fella-
heen out of their troubles, and upon its
present theory of occupation the En-
glish Governments has no right to make
any permanent laws for Egypt OF any
kind, though it proposes to remain in
occupation for some time to come, and
Is organizing military and police forces
to maintain order. The English policy,
indeed, seems to be refinement OF
cruelty. Declaring that it has no power
to relieve the condition of the people, it
is organizing a force to prevent them
from taking any steps to relieve them
selves. As the Powers of Europe have
offered no objection to English military
occupation for an indefinite period, it Is
not likely that any serious objection
would be made to annexation. 1t
is little remarkable, therefore.
that the Government does not boldly
take the step and inaugurate the nee
essary reforms with some show of au-
thority. Unless something is done soon
it will have another Ireland ON its hands.
In one of his recent addresses Mr.. Glad
stone said: 1--WE are in Egypt for the
establishment of order and stability;
we are there for the improvement of the
institutions of the country; we are there
to secure as far as depends upon our
selves the fulfillment Of international
engagements, and we are there un-
doubtedly in principal degree in ref
erence to the freedom. and security of
the great passage by the canal from one
sea to another If he had added: 1--WE
are there to stay it would have been
guaranty for order. If the English
troops are to remain until all that Mr..
Gladstone announces is effected the oc-
cupation may as well be considered per-
manent. If they are there simply to
prepare the way for the payment of
bondholders then the war with Egypt
must 60 on record as National out
rage Chicago Tribune.