Barbour County index., 1910-06-15

face upon 1t as they could, and pre-
tended that the sultan brought the
new order of things about of his own
free will The massacres of Adana
and vicinity and the deposition of the
old sultan, "Hamid, the Accu!sed.'
however, made it difficult for the Mo
hammedan Bourbons to save their
face in any such way, and they have
accepted the new sultan and the
Young Turks" with the best grace
they could
1t is interesting to note how many
legacies in Egypt were left by the
French to the English. 1t was a
French scholar, Francis Champollion,
who taught the world how to read
easily the hieroglyphic story of an
cient Egypt. which has made this land
the happy hunting ground of archie
ologists and students of ancient lore.
The irrigation schemes, which have
so wonderfully augmented the pros
perity Of Egypt. were inaugurated by
the French. though of course greatly
enlarged an improved by the latest
science. under British administration.
THE educational system" says an
Italian writer in 1.-The Emancipation
of Egypt" 'is thoroughly French;
and through the schools the language
Of France has spread until 1t may be
said, without fear of contradition that
French is still the predominant Eu-
ropean language of that land of
innumerable tongues. French is the
tongue generally affected by the
upper classes; and perhaps a
striking and not generally known il
lustration of how French has sunk
into the very soul of the country is
that it is even used by British officers
in their official reports-yet another
anomaly in this home OF anomalies.
The English language is, however.
surely elbowing the French even out
of this stronghold, and in Egypt, as il
so many other countries, is becoming
the commercial language of the peo-
pie. French, however, will long hold
sway in polite society in Egypt
1t is said that more than $500,o0O,OOO
of European money is invested in
Egypt, the majority of which comes
from the stocking leg of the ever
thrifty French peasant. But the most
notable example of French skill and
daring enterprise is the Suez canal,
the blue ribbon which cut through
Egypt and reduces the distance be-
tween Europe and India and the far
east by thousands of miles. Until the
Panama canal is completed, the Suez
canal will remain the greatest feat
of human audacity and engineering
skill which the world has ever known
This canal was French in inception
and design and execution, and though
the English own the majority of the
stock, and, through their occupation
of Egypt, control it to a large extent,
it will forever stand as a monument
(if a canal can be said ito STANDBY
of French ingenuity and energy.
The latest statistics show the
enormous use made of the canal by
modern commerce. During October
last, 36S vessels passed through the
canal, and from the 1st of January
to the 31st of October, 3,541 vessels
made the same journey. The receipts
for October were almost $2,14O,OOO,
and for the first ten months of 1909
more than $20,000,000. The canal
pays 16 per cent. dividends upon the
stock-all it is allowed to pay by law
though it is said to earn double that
amount.
The ship on which we sailed, the
Cleveland Of the Hamburg American
line, was the largest passenger ship
that ever passed through the canal.
and was barely able to scrape through,
with less than a foot of water be-
tween her and the bottom of the
canal. The enormous tolls that are
charged are indicated by the fact that
it cost the Hamburg American line
$4,000 to take this one ship through,
and the United States government
was said to be mulcted over $1,000,0O0
for the passage of our fleet of war
vessels on their return from the
orient
What about the future of Egypt?
A question more easily asked than
answered. The British occupation is
supposed to be only temporary, but
it's temporary character is not as yet
visible to the naked eye. 1t seems to
be growing more permanent and sta
BILE every day, and the other powers
seem to be acquiescing with better
grace than could be expected. Even
France, which might be supposed to
show some wounded pride at the fact
of Britain falling heir to the results
of all her work in Egypt, seems to be
satisfied with the arrangement, and in
return for being allowed a free hand
in northern Africa in the countries
comparatively near her own shores.
has formally and explicitly renounced
objections to the long or short occu-
patton of Egypt by Great Britain.
1t is evident that to protect her vast
possessions in India and the farther
east England must control the canal
and allow no hostile power to occupy
Egypt; but an Italian writer, who dis
o1Iicoc himself under tha initials "a