48 Proposed Fellah Ministry [1891 



the English Chief of Police, an old military fogey whom I worked up 

 into unwonted action by telling him that the state of the country was 

 worse than either Greece or Asia Minor." 



The curious part of this episode, though I do not find it in my diary, 

 was Selim Bey's attitude in the affair. He was a native Christian 

 Judge, and had been a man of the law all his life, but it was with the 

 greatest difficulty that I could persuade him to report the attack made 

 on him to the police. " It would only put me on bad terms with the 

 neighbours," he said, worse than those he was already on, for he was 

 very unpopular, and it was only on my declaring that I would myself 

 report it that he consented to go in with me to Cairo. 



" 14th March. — The attack on Selim Bey has made a stir and his 

 house is guarded by the regular police. The Mudir has been there and 

 Baker Pasha. They have made nine or ten arrests, among them the 

 two Ghaffirs. Poor old Eid, our bozvab (gatekeeper), being one of 

 them. I found him sitting disconsolately among the prisoners with his 

 little child he is so fond of. I am sorry I troubled myself in the 

 matter, for I do not believe one of the arrested men had anything to 

 do with the business, but this is the fourth serious case round about us 

 in eighteen months, and last time they killed a man, and a woman died 

 of fright. Selim Bey's wound is rather serious, and the servant may yet 

 die; he is in hospital. The Mudir took from me a deposition, but it 

 was very meagre, and I had a difficulty in preventing the insertion in it 

 of things quite untrue." 



This affair put an end for the time to the night attacks. I came to 

 the conclusion later that the tolerance the bands had so long enjoyed 

 had been due to Riaz' tacit complicity joined to Baker's muddle-headed 

 incapacity (he was replaced soon afterwards). I took advantage of it 

 to draw a moral for Baring, and wrote a letter to him recapitulating my 

 arguments in favour of a fellah government, sending him a list of the 

 names of men of the fellah party who might make up a Reform Min- 

 istry. The list was drawn up in consultation with Sheykh Mohammed 

 Abdu and Mohammed Moelhi. These are the names : 



Hassan Pasha Sherei of Minieh. 



Baligh Bey. 



Emin Bey Fikri. 



Said Effendi Zaghloul. 



Ahmed Effendi Mahmoud. 



Ibrahim Effendi el Wakil. 



Mahmud Bey Shukri. 



Ahmed Bey Heshmet. 



Yusuf Bey Shoki. 



Sheykh Mohammed Abdu. 

 It is to be remarked that this list includes the name of Saad Zaghl >ul, 



