Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1897-08-24
coNptrson az r.yrr.
Op,n,on. 81 n Ns,,,. 90 IT.. stI,,sb
Occupation,


Lately the Cairo correspondent
Of the London Times forwarded
the following letter:
Hussein, son Of the we'll known
Moussa 81 Aksd, who was exiled
for deeds committed as an active
partisan OF the Arab Pasha re-
volt, has written remarkable
letter to the Mokattam, an Arabic
journal, in reply to attacks upon
the English occupation made by
another Arabic journal, the
Ahram. The following is a trans
lation:-
Desiring to show the enormous
difference existing between the
past and the present, ask you to
publish the following lines. Be
fore the occupation the State col
lected taxes of all sort, amounting
to Al Egyptian pounds (92.. ADJ
per feddan Tor acre., whist at
present it demands only II
pounds (30s. 3D. per feddan.
The Mamours could insult,
fog and imprison the Omdehs
with impunity. Today corporal
punishment is abolished, and not
even the simple laborer in the
fields can be arbitrarily molested
by the highest government offici-
al. Formerly, the official world,
from the Chief of the State down to
the lowest employee of the Admin.
istration, despoiled the fellaheen
of all that they possessed; but in
these days, thanks to the occupa-
ton, the inviolability of property
is assured and the Khedive him
self cannot take feddan of land
unless he buys it with the owners
consent aud pays for 1t III full.
The Administration and Palace
officials, as also their friends,
monopolized the Nile water to
irrigate abundantly their own
lands, without any regard for the
plantations of the unfortunate
fellaheen which for most of the
time were dried up. Actually
the poorest fellah enjoys the
same right of water as does
the highest State dignitary. Then,
the lives of private persons were
at the mercy of the administrative
authority, which put them to
death or exIleu them without any
form of law. Now, no one is above
the law. Public offices we're given
to the highest bidders, but today
are allotted to the most capable.
False accusations were the order
of the day, and, following upon
any mere scuffie, the notables of
the villages invariably paid ran
SONS to the Mudirs in order not
to be gratuitously accused of dis
turbing public order. Merchants
and manufacturers paid a profess
sional tax, which is now abolished.
The Finance Ministry was the
private chest of the Khedive, who
seized for himself and fsvorites the
public FUNDS and lands. At pre-
sent this ministry is worked indie.
pendently of the eaprices of the
Chief of the State. The Khedive,
public functionaries and their
friends compelled the fellaheen to
work 'en corvee' on their lands,
forcing them to dig canals, to
construct embankments and roads
for the benefit of large properties,
to the prejudice of small holdings,
which thus suffered from def
cheney of hands. As to the ad-
ministrative forced labor, it exist
ed all the year round. Today it is
enforced only in cases of public
danger. The growth of cotton,
which was limited, has doubled
under the aegis of justice and
equality before the law Hussein
ell Akad concludes with the fol-
lowing remarks:-'Such are the
benefits of the British occupation,
and l do not understand how the
pretended patriots who run count
err to the existing regime can deny
their existence, seeing that they
shine as the sun at MONDAY. The
pretended patriots would do bet
ter by keeping silence and leaving
the occupiers of the country to
complete their humanitarian
work.