The San Francisco call., 1906-06-10
MEDIEVAL
: JUSTICE
IN EGYPT
Trial by. Fire Is Still
Practiced Among
Tribesrnen.
Dreams Also Used as a
Means to Pass Upon
Suspects.
Lord Cromer Reports on
Strange Methods Of
the Country.
SPECIAL cAa1E TO TIE cAExA

LONDON, June 9-Lord Cromer's an
nual report on the finances. administra-
tion and condition of Egypt and the
Soudan was issued yesterday. AS usual.
it is full of interesting facts, dealing
with every aspect of Egyptian life.
: Much that is curious and interesting
regarding the customs and conditions of
the people of Egypt is to be Iound in
the report The peninsula of Sinai,
which figures so prominently in Bible
history, is one of the widest POI tions
of the Egyptian dominions- Among the
Bedoun tribes which inhabit it the
system of taking blood money and
hereditary vendetta" is still In full
force.
IF a man kills another in time of
peace, says the report. the relations
Of the murdered man. beginning from
the father to the fifth generation. nave
the right to revenge or pardon against
the receipt of blood money from the
murderer of from his near relatives to
the fifth generation
Should any one of the near relations
of the murdered man accept the blood
money, all the other relations are
obliged to accept. and revenge by she'd
ding of blood becomes illegal"
Blood money, according to Sinai laws,
is fixed at forty-one camels.
AToNEMENT FOR MURDER.
If the murdered man. was. of the same
tribe as the murderer, the latter or his
near relations. have to give a girl in
marriage to one of the murdered mans
relations. When she bears child she
is free to go back to her tribe or to
remain with her husband.
In the latter case the husband has to
pay the usual dowry, and to renew the
marriage. Five camels may be sLbsti-
tuted for the girl
Another strange custom in Sinai is
the testing by fire of suspected crimi-
nails.
The Judge places an iron pan jim the
fire until it is red hot He then wipes
it three times with his hand, and gives
1t TO the accused to touch three times
with his tongue. IT marks of burning
are shown on the tongue the accused
is pronounced guilty.
1t is thought that if the accused is
guilty, his tongue dries up from fear
oil being discovered and that it will be
burnt; but that if he is not guilty the
moisture on the tongue prevents it from
being burnt Two experts sit with the
judge to witness whether the tongue
Occasionally the Judge adopts dream
test, going to sleep and protesting to
see If the accused person is guilty or
not
crime, the report states. is on the in
crease. but it is a singular fact that
many cases of alleged attempted muir
der are in reality accidents
At weddings loaded guns are freely
discharged, and If any one is shot a
story of brigandage is invented Re-
Gently Bedouin. shooting at a jaekal,
missed and shot a sleeping guest A
complete story was subsequently con-
cocted attributing the act to robbers
COWARDICE OF wATCHMEN.
An amusing sidelight on village life
is given in some caustic criticism by a
Mr. Machell on the behavior of the vii
iage Watchman, or "ghafir'':
If the CHAIRS in general devoted less
OF their attention to their own safety.
and more to the repression of crime.
we should have little to complain Of
But preservation is the CHAIRS
first thought, and. upon the smallest
provocation, he will discharge his gun
In the hope of alarming a possible
assailant
The assailants are usually only one
shade less cowardly than the CHAIRS
iiiS So"diulCS ulSpldyeu on aDOtn S1QeS
is absolutely increoible. l always tell
people that if l had an Ezba (farm)
myself, ! should provide myself with a
shotgun and an Erment dog and should
feel absolutely safe in any part of
Egypt"
The following incident from the
nelghborhood of Dongola. related by
colonel Jackson. is illustrative of the
remarkable skill shown by native
~.
justice:
"A shop in Merowe was robbed dur
ing the night and case of sugar
stolen The ground in the vicinity is
composed of soft sand. The trackers
examined the spot early the following
morning, and soon picked up the tracks
OF Two men and donkey. which they
Ioiiowed to the Government stables
All the syces were paraded before the
trackers, who picked out the Cover
nors sycc and the syce O. the staff
oincer as the owners of the tracks The
oonkeys We're then mustered and the
trackers picked out the inspectors don
Key as the animal whose tracks they
mad followed The stables were
searched. and some loaves of sugar dis
covered. Further search was then made
and the remainder of the stolen sugar
was dug up close by. The two syces
were tried, and confessed. They stated
mat hnding the box was too heavy to
carry they had used the inspector
donkey.
ringer prints are already proving
very valuable aids in the detection OF
crime, and the records of no fewer than
$4,000 criminals are kept at the identi-
ncation bureau
constitutional reforms of a far reach
lng nature are proposed by Lord Gro
mer in this report.
me existing Legislative Council and
assembly in Egypt is only empowered
20 deal with laws applicable to local
subjects, legislation for foreign subjects
being conducted by diplomacy, in which
no fewer than fifteen powers are entit-
led to take part.
Lord Cromer's proposal is that legis-
lation by diplomacy should be abolished
ana separate council created, COM
posed wholly of subjects or protected
subjects OF the powers which were par
-