EGYPT. 



245 



debt, to begin their work on the 10th of 

 Juno. This arrangement was not (satisfactory 

 to ail the holders of Egyptian obligations. 

 Private holders of securities, in England and 

 France, held that their interests had been 

 xirritiivd to those of a few head establish- 

 ments, and refused to accept the sixty-five- 

 year bonds as a fair payment for the securities 

 they held. Accordingly, another commission, 

 consisting of Mr. Goschen, M. P., as a repre- 

 sentative of the English, and M. Jonbert, as a 

 representative of the French bondholders, vis- 

 ited Egypt in September, upon the invitation 

 of the Khedive, to agree upon further and 

 more definite measures for securing their loans. 

 In November they effected an arrangement 

 which was deemed as satisfactory as could be 

 expected under the circumstances. It was 



agreed that the daira, or private debt of the 

 Khedive, be separated from the unified public 

 debt, and that the income occurring from the 

 moukahalah be applied to the loans etf' t< d 

 on short time in such proportion that the pay- 

 ment should amount to eighty per cent, or the 

 nominal sum ; that the rate of interest on the 

 treasury bills should be reduced to ten per 

 cent., and that a loan of 15,000,000 at five per 

 cent, should be issued, to be secured by the 

 receipts of the railways and the port dues at 

 Alexandria, the proceeds of which should be 

 applied to the payment of the loans of 1862, 

 1868, and 1878. After the cancellation of 

 these loans, the consolidated debt would be 

 reduced from 91,000,000 to 59,000,000. 

 This amount should for the future till 1885 

 bear six per cent, interest, and be yearly liqui- 



XXHEKBT ALI SQUARE, ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT. 



dated in the amount of one per cent. The ap- 

 pointment of a controller-general of revenue, 

 and a controller-general of the public debt 

 and audit, was provided for, who should be an 

 Englishman and a Frenchman, and to whom 

 should be given the nomination of the general 

 tax-collectors of the whole land, in entire in- 

 dependence of the Egyptian Finance Minister. 

 The Finance Minister, Ismail Sadyk Pasha, op- 

 posed this plan, and endeavored to awaken the 

 religious prejudices of the people against it. 

 He accused the Khedive of selling the land to 

 foreigners, in disregard of the religious feel- 

 ings of the native population. For this offense 

 he was arrested, deprived of his office, and ban- 

 ished to Dongola. He died suddenly while on 

 the way to that place. Prince Hussein, son of 

 the Khedive, was appointed to succeed him. 



The International Court of Appeal was con- 

 etituted in Alexandria, January 30th, under 



the supervision of President Zulsicar Pasha. 

 Dr. Lapennu, the Austrian representative in 

 the court, was unanimously chosen first vice- 

 president for the transaction of business. Pro- 

 vision was then made for the establishment of 

 three inferior courts, to sit at Alexandria, 

 Cairo, and Ismailia. The Belgian represent- 

 ative, Janssen, was chosen vice-president of 

 the court at Alexandria ; the Dutch represent- 

 ative, Stopelaer van Middleberg, of the court 

 at Cairo ; and the Dutch representative, Van 

 Bemmalen, of that at Ismailia. The courts 

 began their functions on the 1st of February, 

 with a large amount of business. More than 

 1,400 suits were transferred to them from the 

 so-called mixed tribunals of commerce, which 

 had hitherto existed in Alexandria and Cairo. 

 Besides these were carried up numerous cases 

 from the consular tribunals, and suits which 

 had been for a year awaiting the opening of 



