244 Rhodes Exports Negroes from Egypt [1896 



him they were not good enough for service in the Egyptian army. 

 They had gone wi'th Cromer's consent but without his, the Khedive's, 

 permission. Their exportation was quite illegal. Cromer had apolo- 

 gized for the informality of not asking permission. The Khedive knew 

 nothing of what had become of the men, except that he had been told 

 they had been disembarked at Mombaza. Rhodes gave 'the men a 

 month's pay in advance and took their women and children with them. 

 The women were given a shilling each as bakshish. ' But this is not 

 all. A little befoie this happened a negro came to me and told me of 

 a case of slave dealing, of a man and woman who had been bought 

 by the sons of Prince Ibrahim for their harem. To prevent a scandal 

 I told the young men they must get rid of them. Whereupon they 

 went to Lord Cromer and threw themselves at his feet and begged 

 forgiveness. Cromer then took the two slaves and married the woman 

 to one of the soldiers who was given to Rhodes, and the man was sent 

 with the rest to Suez. Also they took one of my Shaggias (soldiers of 

 his bodyguard) who went away taking my uniform with him, but I 

 had him stopped and brought back.' 



" We stayed talking for three-quarters of an hour, and he made me 

 a number of pretty speeches when I went away. He was rather inquisi- 

 tive about a journey I had arranged to Siwah, which he had heard of 

 and seemed anxious to dissuade me from. I suppose he had heard 

 of it from his camel men. I also called on Riaz and Tigrane. 



" 2gth Nov. — A long letter from George Wyndham from South 

 Africa where he has been with Rhodes getting up a case for him for the 

 Parliamentary Committee. His letter is an interesting one written 

 at intervals of a long ride from Buluwayo to the Transvaal frontier. 

 The work done in South Africa is sickening, and seems likely to lead to 

 the destruction of the whole black race south of the tropics. The 

 Rinderpest has destroyed all wild animals, and is destroying their cat- 

 tle. The ' rebels ' are being blown up by dynamite in the caves of 

 the Matoppo hills, and their chiefs shot in cold blood, and while all this 

 is going on we are having meetings the whole of England over to 

 denounce the Sultan because he is destroying the Armenians. Was 

 there ever a nation like ours? Never, since the world began. 



" I had a long talk with Mohammed Abdu a few days since. He 

 has read my ' Nineteenth Century ' article about Armenia, and ap- 

 proves all I have said against Abdul Hamid. He looks upon him as 

 mad and to be deposed. He gave me an interesting account of his 

 own persecution at the Azhar by the old-fashioned Sheykhs of the 

 Ulema in the days of Ismail, especially by Sheykh Aleysh. He had, 

 he says, at one time, as many as 4,000 students who attended his lec- 

 tures, bu't the Conservative opposition was too strong for him. Still 

 there was a good deal of liberty of thought and speech at Cairo even 



