The National tribune., 1884-10-09
THE EGYPTIAN MuppIE.

them, or what the English Government expects
Wolseley or Chinese Gordon to do.
In order to have any comprehension at all of
the state Of affairs ii is necessary to go back to
the beginning Of the century. At that time
the fertile valley of the Nile with its popula-
tion of 100000 was adependency of the Turk
ish Empire, but governed by the Mamelukes,
who were perhaps the finest body of hor5emen
that the world has ever seen. They were Cir
cassians, captured or bought, or obtained some
way when boys and persuaded to become sol
diers, and trained up to the management of
horses and the babitual use Of arms. They
never intermarried with the Egyptians, but
bought wives of their own tribes, and it is quite
singular that very few of their children reached
maturity, so that the body of Mamelukes had
to be continually recruited from the borders OF
the Black Sea- 1t was thoroughly military
order, and ruled the weak and ignorant fell
labs of the Valley Of the Nile with rod of iron
taking from them nearly the entire produce of
their labor. 1t acknowledged the Sultan of
Turkey as its suzerain, and paid tribute to
him.
AT the time that Napoleon made his famous
Egyptian campaign the 'Aamelukes fought him
with desperate courage, and all that marvellous
horsemanship and unrivaled cavalry tactics
could do against body of admirably trained
infantry was done by them. Napoleon is said
to have remarked that if he could have united
the Mameluke cavalry with the French infantry
he could have mastered the world.
About this time the greatest figure in
Oriental history Of the century appeared on
the scene. Among the Turkish troops sent TO
Egypt to resist Napoleon was youth who had
been employed in a tobacco shop in Albania
named Mehemet ALI He soon developed un-
usual military ability, and by the time the
French were expelled from Egypt by the as
sistance of the Engligh he had become leader
of the native forces. This leadership he main
tanned and strengthened, turning fDally
against the Turks and driving them from the
country The Mamelukes were the only OBJ
stacle to his attainment of supreme power, and
after years of fighting and diplomatizing he
finally inEcigled 47o chiefs into the citadel of
Cairo, closed the gates and ordered his Albanian
infantry to fire upon them. Only one escaped,
hey, who leaped his horse frora the rarnparts
and alighted unigjnred, though the animal
was killed by the fall. This was the signal
for general slaughter Of the Mamelukes
throughout Egypt, and only few escaped to
the upper waters Of the AileAFbere they at
tempted 70 regain their power, but without
success.
Mehemet Ali administered the affairs of
Egypt with wonderful ability. He carried on
extensive wars and twice defeated the Turks,
who attempted to regain Egypt, with great loss.
and would have dismcmbered the Turkish En-
pire had it not been for the actual armed inter-
ference Of Great Britain. He attempted to in
mind, and it was the dream of his life to re-
habilitate Egypt and erect it into grand in
dependent kingdom such as it had been in the
centuries at the dawn OF history. His success
ors were also men of ability, and they carried
forward the work that he had so well begun,
and developed the national resources of the
country and made improvements that were
quite wonderful for sluggish. non-progrossive
Orientals
The present muddled condition Of affairs
springs from causes connected with the admin
istration of Mehemet Ais grandson, Ismail
Pasha- who, while not so able an executant as
lis great progenitoE, was man Of very pro-
grAssipe ideas. 1t was he who gave the con-
session TO De Leeseps for the Suez Canal, and
who sided inJ It's construction, though it was
strongly opposed by England and his nominal
lord, the Sultan Of Turkey, at England's In
stigation- Ismaii Pasha had great ideas az IL
the industrial and commercial development
of the country. He encouraged Gotten and
sugar planting, aud at the time of our great
rebellion had vast area Of country planted
in cotton, expecting to make the Valley of thu
Nile succeed that Of the Mississippi as the great
cotton country OF the world. His expectations
however, were not realized He spent enor
nous sums for improved sugar making ma
chinery. and also TO build opera-houscs hotels
steamers for the Nile, ctc., in order to max
! Cairo and Alexandria attractive to European
} travellers and advertise Egypt to the world
He also did much towards developing az arm,
which, it viii be remembered, he ofiiccret
! principally with men who had been distin
guished in our civil war, at the head of whom
e were Gems. Loring and Stone the former
rebel and the latter Union officer, He sen
expeditions to the south, and reduced grea
deal Of the country around the upper waters {
the Nile TO his power.
AL this, Of course, cost an immense sum
money, which he borrowed Of the English an
French. Payday came to the Khedive as
does to almost everybody in the world, and b
= was not ready for payment. A great deal
trouble ensued, which led to his abdicatio
in faTor of his son Tewfk, the presel
Khedive, and the Institution of JON
J. Commission by England and France,
reform the financial administration an
4 Al II