The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1912-01-15
La Marquise de Fontenoy
THE presence in this country of ar

THE presence in this country of ar
| American actress who figured
on the gtagc az Ola HUMPHREYS,
! but who now styles herself Princess
lbrahim Hassan," OF Egypt, In spite
/ OF the fact that ior marriage TO the
Egyptian from whom she Is now part
81, was never recognized IN Egypt,
, renders timely reference 20 The cdict
lately Issued by the Nhedive Of Egypt,
which vigorously restricts the Inherit.
ancc OF the lille of prince TO the sons
Of a Khcdve. and 10 their sons, In
order OF primogeniture. This decree
was Issued for the purpose OF putting
an end to the ridiculc created by the
extraordinary number OF soi-aisant
princes and princesscs or Egypt every
descendant OF the founder OF the
presen, Khedivial dynasty. namely
Nehomct All, not only In the male, but
also In the female Inc. assuming the
title OF prince and princess.
Now. lbrahtm Hassan, who married
Ola Humphreys at II registry In Lon
don, is not the eldest, but the second
son of tho late General Prince Hassun.
who wnH brother OF khed!ve Tcwnk.
and son OF khedlve Ismaii. Ibrahim
Hassan has therefore no right To tho
title of prince, even according to EEyp.
t!an law, the title being restricted to
his elder brother, Prince Aziz IInssan.
In ono word. were tho marriage OF Ola
Humphreys TO Ibrahim Hnssan ever so
legal in tho eyes OF the Law. OF her
husbands country. she would have no
vegtise OF right to the title OF prin-
cess.
Moreover. il is just a wcll that II
should be known that these titles OF
prince and princess. authorized b. tho
Khedive, are of doubtful legality even
at the very best; at any rate. as long
as Egypt remains part and parcel OF
the Ottoman Empire. dc jurc. and In
| n measure do facto. since tribute 10
| tho tune OF 100000 still continues 10
! lie paid BY tho Egyptian treasury to
| tic Sublime Porte every year. The
f! Khedive is regarded at Corstantinople,
| md, In fact. everywhere else in
/ Turkey. as a Vail, or Governor-Gen-
cral OF q province, which has received
| by degrees almost complete autonomy.
| and whoee own ofloe has been made
hereditary At the court of the Sultan.
| indeed. the Khedive ranks after the
Grand Vizier. and after the Grand
| Eunuch, while hia brother. Mohemet
| AL and his cousins, arc not recogniz-
| ca as princes" but merely as pashas.
| or ms beys, according to the military
rank which may have been conferred
uron them by the khedive. In the
| name OF the Sultan. or b. the sultan
dive to the Sultan is still further en-
| phasized by tho fact that while every
! petty German sovereign. and even the
| Prince of Monaco have orders OF
knighthood of their own TO bcstow. the
| Iihcdive has never been accorded any
such privilege. Tho only orders which
he can confer are the Turkish Orders
or the Osmanich and Of tho MedJidieh
and whenever he grants them TO any
one It is always understood that he
does so in the name OF the Sultan, his
pntent being to that effect.
! In Turkey itself, the titles Of prince
and princess arc restricted TO the sons
and daughters OF the Sultan. being
used as a mere matter Of courtesy.
They are also extended, in the same
way, to the. sons Of the Padishah, but
not 10 the offspring OF the latters
daughters. If the khcdivc himself
enjoys some personal consideration a;
Ccnstautlnoplc, IL is not because he
is the hereditary Viceroy of Egypt but
because his mother, the Dowaser ihc-
divah. happens ia he member of
tho Turkish imperial family. of which
he is therefore looked upon as kins-
man.
Only few weeks ago the ncwspap
ers announced the arrival OF prince
in Egypt from Constantinople. AS soon
as this was known on the shores of
the Bosphorus. some excitement en-
sued. 1T was known that none of the