246 



EGYPT. 



the new court. About 400 claims and com- 

 plaints of Europeans against Egyptians, or 

 against the administration of the Khedive's 

 estates and the members of his family, which 

 hitherto had been prosecuted diplomatically, 

 were awaiting final decision by commissioners 

 to be appointed by the European members of 

 the court, May 23d. While the court at Al- 

 exandria was engaged in hearing complaints 

 against the daira, or private estate of the 

 Khedive, its proceedings were interrupted by 

 the appearance of persons claiming to be 

 counsel of the viceroyalty. They protested 

 that, while the Khedive recognized the author- 

 ity of the court, he had not surrendered the 

 function of ranking the laws, and asserted that 

 the court was pledged to recognize every de- 

 cree of his as of legal force. In the category 



A STREET IN CAIRO. 



of such decrees were the new financial con- 

 vention and the arrangements made in con- 

 nection with it for the consolidation of the 

 floating debt, both of the state and of the 

 daira. They therefore protested against the 

 court taking proceedings or entering judgment 

 against the daira which should not be in ac- 

 cordance with his decrees in reference to these 

 matters. The Court of Appeal, May 24th, as- 

 serted its jurisdiction in the case of the daira, 

 and ordered judgment to be issued against the 



defendant (the Khedive). The Khedive, how- 

 ever, refused to permit the judgment to be ex- 

 ecuted against him, whereupon Mr. Hackman, 

 president of the Court of Summary Justice at 

 Alexandria, refused to hear any more cases, 

 closed the court, and resigned his office. Mr. 

 Anton iadis was appointed to succeed him. In 

 November the judges of the Court of Appeal, 

 by a majority of three-fourths, dismissed Mr. 

 Hackman. The vice-president of the court, 

 Mr. Lapennu, and Mr. Scott, the English 

 judge, however, declined to take part in this 

 proceeding. 



On the 4th of January, Rhazeb Pasha was 

 appointed Minister of Commerce. The ap- 

 pointment was in effect the creation of a new 

 office, as this bureau had previously been 

 joined with that of Foreign Affairs. 



At the same time Nubar Pasha resigned, or 

 was dismissed from, the office of Minister of 

 Foreign Affairs. The causes of the retirement 

 were not known. A number of reasons were 

 assigned for it, some of which were contradic- 

 tory to each other, and all of them speculative. 

 Nubar Pasha had proved himself to be one of 

 the most far-sighted men in the country, and 

 a valuable servant and adviser to the Khedive. 

 He was progressive in his views. He had 

 been largely instrumental in the production 

 of the plans for the reform of justice by the 

 institution of regular courts, which went into 

 actual operation almost simultaneously with 

 his retirement from office. Sherif Pasha was 

 appointed to succeed him as Minister of For- 

 eign Affairs. 



The ports of Zanzibar seized by the Egyp- 

 tians in November, 1875 (see ANNUAL CYCLO- 

 PAEDIA for 1875), were collectively known as 

 Bemader, or " the ports." They would be of 

 great service if they were in the hands of some 

 strong power, but the hold of tLe Sultan of 

 Zanzibar upon them was very weak. The ob- 

 ject of the Egyptian operations against the 

 district was to connect the country in which 

 Colonel Gordon was operating with the sea, 

 by means of the river Juba, the only naviga- 

 ble river on the east coast of Africa between 

 Capes Guardafui and Delgado. On the 13th 

 of January the Egyptians had evacuated Kis- 

 mayo and the Juba River country, and event- 

 ually withdrew their entire force. Mention 

 was made in the ANNUAL CYCLOPAEDIA for 

 1875 of the occupation of Harrar by the 

 Egyptians. Subsequently to this act the Sul- 

 tan of that country formed a conspiracy with 

 the Gallas to surprise the Egyptian garrison 

 at the capital, put them to deatn, and free the 

 city from foreign occupation. The Sultan had 

 a brother whom he had kept in prison for 

 fifteen years, on account of some former oppo- 

 sition against him, but had released him and 

 sought reconciliation with him, and had in- 

 formed him of this plan to deliver the city. 

 The brother, in revenge for the Sultan's for- 

 mer treatment of him, informed the com- 

 mander of the Egyptian garrison of the plot, 



