1903] French Regime in Tunis 77 



I think I may take some credit to myself for having made it ex- 

 ceptional by forcing Egyptian rights upon English public attention 

 in 1882, and by keeping up the publicity whenever these rights have 

 been freshly attacked. In France and Tunis no single voice is raised 

 by any Frenchman against his countrymen's iniquities in North Africa, 

 and crime is heaped upon crime, and so it would be here in Egypt 

 if the European colony were allowed to have its way. Fortunately 

 for Egypt there is practically no English colony, and our officials 

 live under fear of criticism in the London press and parliament, 

 otherwise we should have a purely military government at Cairo. 

 Already, in answer to what I published in the ' Manchester Guardian ' 

 last summer about the abuses prevalent in the Ministry of Justice at 

 Cairo, a move is being made by Cromer to get the Kourbash re- 

 introduced, but I think we shall be able to prevent this, or at 

 least to make it impossible for Cromer to do it on the sly. 



" Finally the Mufti told us the latest doings of the Khedive. 

 He has now gone in wholly for money making and speculation. 

 He has got Cassel (the King's friend) to lend him half a million 

 sterling for various schemes without interest, and he is projecting 

 a building venture at Ghizeh, for which purpose an exchange of 

 land is being proposed with the Awkaf, all to the Khedive's ad- 

 vantage. Abdu, however, as Mufti, has a veto on such transactions, 

 and he will not allow any swindling of the public purse. He has seen 

 the Khedive lately, who is ostentatiously friendly, but Mohammed 

 Abdu knows he is intriguing to get him deprived of his Mufti- 

 ship. The Khedive will not tolerate anyone who does not fear him. 

 The unfortunate Minshawi was, it seems, basely sacrificed by Abbas, 

 who had commissioned him to find the stealers of his cattle, but 

 who denied it when questioned by Cromer. 1 There is also a quarrel, 

 in which the Khedive is concerned, about some emerald mines on the 

 Red Sea coast. Cromer, to his credit, stoutly discountenances all 

 speculative mining. 



" 2.2nd Nov. — Rowton, poor fellow, is dead at his house in Berkeley 

 Square. 



" 2yd Nov. — Yesterday I sent the French edition of our ' Pil- 

 grimage to Nejd' to Mohammed Abdu to amuse him during Ramadan, 

 and later he came to see me. Speaking of Midhat Pasha, of whom 

 an account is given in the book, he told me Midhat was a man he 

 had never liked in spite of his sympathy with the constitutional 

 cause at Constantinople which Midhat had championed. Midhat, he 

 said, was a hot head, and very imprudent, especially in his cups, 

 for he had a habit of drinking, and this was the cause of his ruin. 



1 For an account of this episode see my pamphlet, " The Atrocities of Justice 

 in Egypt." 



