Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-01-22

est II. Crosby of New York served few
months. The present representatives of the
United States are Judge Bachelor and Som
erville Tuck of Maryland, an accomplished
scholar and linguist,
Like all the employees. of Egypt, the sala-
rieS of the foreign judges are twice as much
as those paid to the natives. In the upper
courts they receive 50. 80 year, and in the
bunals are not intended to produce a reve-
nue., they have not only paid all of their
own expenses, but have turned a handsome
surplus into the treasury every year, which
has grown rapidly with their business. They
cost t1oS,OO0, and the receipts last year We're
f521, GOO.
Lower Courts Corrupt.
While the higher courts of Egypt, both
foreign and native, are credit to the coun-
try and satisfactory to all concerned. the
lower court are corrupt, incompetent and
unsatisfactory, particularly in the country
districts Lord Cromer in discussing this
question in his last official report calls at
tention to the fact that until 1882 the peo-
pie of Egypt had practically no system of
justice whatever, and in trying to estab-
fish them the officials had to deal with
habits of thought, customs and morals
which were the growth of centuries. And
especially with population who were ac-
customed to disagreement and to whom
the action of a magistrate had always been
as great terror to the innocent as the
guilty; but he congratulates the public as
we'll as himself upon the rapid Improvement
which is apparent to every one having to do
with crime or litigation, and declares that
the problem is being worked out as rapid V
as competent agents can be found He does
not approve of the suggestion frequently
made that foreign judges should be sent to
the minor courts throughout the country,
and insists that 1t is much better to toler-
ate certain amount of inefficiency, injuS-
tice and corruption and to be content with
slow progress rather than eliminate natives
from the administration.
mention thisspofntS particularly because
1t applies TO our own problem in the Philip
pines with quite as much force as to Egypt,
ana Lord Cromer has set Gov. Taft eX-
cellent example i'll bringing as many natives
as possible into the public service. He
further says:
Our policy consists in using native agen-
cies to the utmost extent possible without
seriously impairjng the efficiency of the
service. do not admit that our policy has
failed. It. has succeeded quite as well as
could reasonably sbel expected. Twenty
years is short time in. the life of nation,
and it is only during the last twenty years
that the Egyptians have had a fair chance
of training themselves to be of service to
their country. 20 those therefore, who ad-
vocate a radical and, as l venture to think,
retrograde change, [ would counsel pa
tience; and to the young Egyptians who
have had no personal experience of the
abuses of the past ssand who are possibly
disposed to undertake tie difficulties in
volved in the government of their own
country, venture to give a word of friend
ly advice and that is, Ito be somewhat mod
crate in their estimate ofstheir own capac-
ties
The statistics show an increase of crime
in Egypt, but the police officials explained
that it is more apparent than real, and that
the larger number of arrests and convic-
tions reported for petty offenses is due not
to increased depravity or to a lower condi-
ton of morals, but to greater activity on
the part of the police and greater severity
in imposing the penalties of the law. Those
who are authorized to discuss this question
agree in the opinion that the morals of the
people are slowly, very slowly. improving,
and that the efficiency of the police and the
courts is much greater than it ever was.