New-York tribune., 1922-03-12

reconquered by the Turks with The ais
Of the British and was restored once
more to Turkey
Ihe most important effect Of Ma
ocleon's expedition into Egypt was the
' interest which that country began Z,
arouse in the minds Of the Europeans
AT the beginning Of the second half Of
he nineteenth century French
Egyptian company was formed for the
construction Of the Suez Cara, ,~hich
vas completed and opened for traffic
n 1859. With the possibilities which
we're opened by the construction Of the
canal the interest of the Europeans in
Agypt increased greatly, and Egypt it.
self became q field of long and ;ntans.
rivalry between the British and the
French
Egypt Becomes Yassal
Under Turkish Empire
In tbs mean time an important
political change took place in the Egvp-
tan situation. In 1866 the Turkish
Governor General of Egypt received
me authorization OF the Sultan to as
aume the title OF the Khedive. In this
manner Egypt became & vassal state in
me Turkish Empire. The new ruler
began to- introduce reforms and
changes, but soon found himself face
to face with a hopeless financial situa-
ton. IN order to improve his coun-
frys national finance the Khsdiye
agreed, in 1875, to sell to the British
government l77,00o shares in the Suez
Canal, for the sum OF s20 .00O, 600.
IN this way Great Britain acquired con-
troll over the most important trade
waterway IN the world, but the money
which she paid to the government os
EGYPT was utterly insufficient to effect
any improvement in the. chaotic finsn-
clal condition OF the country AS re-
suit Of this g French British system OF
financial control was established in
Egypt, to last for 8 considerable
period.
In 1882 forrnidab Bile rebellion broke
out in Egypt under the leadership of
Arab Pasha. In view of the fact THAT
the interests and lives OF foreign popu-
iation in Egypt were jcopardized bv
this revolt, Great Britain proposed 10
France and to Italy joint military in
tervention in the affairs of Egypt. along
the lines Of similar action carried out
twenty years later in China in connec-
ton with the Boxer uprising. Neither
the french nor the Italians, however,
were willing to join in the British pro-
posal and Great Britain carried out the
expedition alone. Alexandria and Port
Said were occupied By the naval forces
'n'' t"""nS were larded. The battle of
tslel-Kebir decided the fate Of the
rebeiuon, for tac rebe. forces were
crushed and the leader Of the revolt.
Arab Pashs. was captured and exiied
TO Ceylon, where he remained until his
death.
British Assume Control
Through Consul General
Following the suppression OF the
Arabl revolt the government Of Fgvpt
was reorganized. 1t still remained
under the suzerainty of the Sultan Of
Turkey, with the Khedive as its
nominal ruler. But the actual ad-
mlnlstration OF the country's affairs
passed over to the British representa-
tive, official known as the Consul Cen
eral. The first British Consul General
was Lord Cromer, who remained the
incumbent Of that important Office for
nearly quarter of a century. and
whose name is inseparably connected
with the SAole modern period Of
Egypt's history.
At the very outset the newly or
ganized government OF Egypt had to
face another formidable revolt, which
broke out in the Soudan, under the
leadership Of Mahdi. This new revolt
lasted for several years, and was
marked at the beginning by The de-
struction ct the hands OF the rebels
of the forces Of the government of
Egypt and OF several successive expedi-
tions sent against Mahdi by the Brit
ash government. Inc Iail or hhartum
and the death Of General Gordon,
among the most familiar incidents Of
school histories, occurred during this
rebellion, which was finally put down
by Kitchener. But in the course OF
this rebellion Soudan was reduced to
ruins and is to-day still quite unre-
covered from the ravages wrought BY
the various military operations carried |
out at that time.
Following the rebellion Lord Cromer
proceeded with an insistent and en-
srgetic program of reform in Egypt.
HIS rule lasted until 1907, when he
dnally resigned. because of ii health.