The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1910-02-27
Rv Ex.ATTACHE.

England made a mistake when. after
the departure of Lord cromer from
Egypt, she selected Boutres Pasha GhaH
as premier OF the Land Of the Nile In the
place Of Mustapha Pasha Fehmi. It is a
faux pas which would probably not have
occurred had Lord sCromer been still In
control at Cairo. Thanks largely to his
Indian training. he. with all his blunt
ness and brusquerie, showed great con-
slderation for the religious prejudices and
racial views of the natives. He was
aware of the strength of popular senti-
ment III matters of creed and caste and
took it into account during his quarter Of
century OF domination of Egyptian sf-
fairs.
His successor. Sir EIdon Gorst. while
more suave, lacks this appreciation and
understanding of the Oriental character
which contributed so greatly to the sue
cess OF the earIs administration. other
wise he would never have flown IN the
face of the bulk of the Egyptian nation
by forcing upon II as prime minister such
a man as Boutres. pitching upon him
solely because he promised to prove
more pliable and blindly submissive to
dictation from the British agency than
any other member Of the KhedivaI cab
met.
Lord Cromer inaugurated on the banks
of the Nile the system pursued by the
English in India, namely. of governing
wherever possible through native rulers,
dignitaries, and functionaries. with the
object Of diminishing the aversion which
the natives entertain for measures which
they look upon as of alien origin.
The population Of Egypt amounts TO
close upon 100000. or these, all but
about 6OO,OOO-that Is to say, about 90 per
cent-are Moslems. Many OF them are
exceedingly strict, and even fanatical,
followers of the prophet Indeed the
headquarters of the orthodoxy Of Islam
are at the great University of Fl Azhar,
at Cairo, which is 10 Mohammedans much
the same as the University OF Oxford is
TO the Church of England.
The remaining 10000 of the population
are Copts, who, protesting the very low
est form Of Christianity. have from time
immemorial been regarded not merely rs
Helots. but even as Pariahs, BY the ma
ton at large. Sir Eldon Gorst, IN lieu Of
a Moslem like Mustapha Pa
sha Fehmi through whom to administer
the government OF Egypt chose a mem
her OF this universally despised Coptic
and not content with com
polling the Egyptian people TO accept him
as premier, even insisted that he should
be intrasted with the regency OF the
country in the absence Of the Khediye
owing to the difficulty Of finding any one
of the princes OF the reigning family
sufficiently pliable to follow blindly Eng
lish direction.
Boutres Pasha has paid the penalty Of
this mistake OF Sir Eldon Gorst with HIS
life, The Khedivss recent pilgrimage TO
Mecca and Medina has given rise to a
revival Of Moslem fanaticism. During
his absence at the holy places OF Islam
the presence OF the Coptic pasha at the
head OF the government. not merely as
premier, but as regent, served 20 en-
phasize rather than assuage the distasta-
fuiness Of the British domination. And
A-oEs AZ GNAitioh " AllASa IL was LOUAQ
that Boutres had taken advantage OF his
regency to give sanction 20 several very
measures demanded by tbs
English. but Objectionable 20 public SEN
timent, such as the commission for plac-
ing the leaders OF the Nationalist party
under surveillance and the extension Of
The concession OF the Suez Canal Com
pany for more than hundred years. his
doom was virtually sealed, although po-
itical assassination is comparatively un-
known on the banks OF the Nile. he was
shot down by young Nationalist a week
ago while leaving the ministry Of foreign
affairs.
The statements contained in the cable
dispatches from Cairo 10 the effect that
he Khedive Is overwhelmed with grief
and the entire country sorrow-stricken
'ver the murder Of the pasta must be
received with q large grain Of salt, for
whatever the personal character OF Bou-
tres may have been, he was never popular
With those who were acquainted with
lin, while the very fact that he was one
II the despised Copts, who had been
'alsed to the highest Offices in the land
~ the unbelieving foreign "oppressor,'
vas enough to render him an object of |