244 



EGYPT. 



of their extortionate accumulations were con- 

 stantly seen and felt, were wrought up to a 

 dangerous pitch, after long years of repression, 

 by the sight of the ironclads in the harbor and 

 Arabi's warlike preparations. The Europeans, 

 who had all along clamored for intervention, 

 were more overbearing and exasperating in 

 their bearing than ever. On the llth of June 

 the mutual animosity culminated in riot and 

 bloodshed in the streets of Alexandria. 



ALEXANDRIA RIOTS. In an ordinary street 

 fight a Maltese stabbed an Arab. This inci- 

 dent drove the native population into a fury, 

 just as a few months before a riot was immi- 

 nent when a soldier was murdered by a sup- 

 posed Italian. The Arab population of Alex- 

 andria collected in mobs and soon worked 

 themselves into such a state of excitement 

 that they began to break up the chairs and 

 tables in the streets, and set upon every Euro- 

 pean who was found abroad. They burst into 

 shops and invaded the European quarter, but 

 were kept aloof by a fusillade from every house. 

 About seventy Europeans and six or seven hun- 

 dred Arabs were slain. The following day the 

 Khedive, at the suggestion of the Turkish com- 

 missioner, imposed upon Arabi Pasha, who was 

 the actual head of the military forces, the re- 

 sponsibility of keeping order. This arrange- 

 ment, which was announced to be only pro- 

 visional, completed the consternation of the 

 Europeans. They fled panic-stricken, and in a 

 few days all the wealthy residents had left 

 Egypt, while the streets of Alexandria were 

 filled with their starving dependents. On the 

 13th the Khedive proceeded with Dervish to 

 Alexandria. The powers sent more ironclads, 

 and labored with the Porte to have Turkish 

 troops sent to Egypt. The Sultan refused to 

 enter Egypt to execute the behests of the West- 

 ern powers, and still held aloof from the con- 

 ference. On the 16th of June, through the in- 

 tercession of the German and Austrian consuls, 

 the Khedive accepted a new ministry, which, 

 however, the dual powers refused to recognize. 

 Ragheb was retained as President of the Coun- 

 cil, and Arabi Pasha was again made minister. 

 Business was at a stand-still after the flight of 

 the Europeans. A large prpportion of the city 

 population were left without food or shelter. 

 The authority of the Khedive was effaced. He 

 acted under the directions of Dervish Pasha, 

 who was treated with respect. The Sultan's 

 agent was secretly fomenting the rebellion. 

 The only activity was in the bellicose prepara- 

 tions of the military. The government, as far 

 as it existed, was in their hands. The country 

 was aflame with the spirit of war. Arabi 

 Pasha by his speeches infused into the meek 

 fatalists of the Delta a holy ardor for the over- 

 throw of the foreigner. While he enlisted and 

 drilled soldiers, the conference wasted its time 

 in interminable negotiations with the Porte. 

 The Sultan sent a decoration to Arabi Pasha at 

 this time. Toulba Pasha, the commandant at 

 Alexandria, mounted guns and trained them 



upon the ironclads. With boundless energy 

 he constructed new forts and made thorough 

 preparations to resist any attempt to land 

 troops. 



MEETING OF THE CONFERENCE AT CONSTAN- 

 TINOPLE. The conference met June 23d, at 

 Therapia, on the Bosporus, in the villa of 

 Count Corti, the Italian embassador, and dean 

 of the diplomatic corps at Constantinople. 

 Their first act was to sign a self-denying pro- 

 tocol, whereby each power promised not to be 

 governed by its own interests, but to accept 

 whatever solution of the Egyptian question 

 the conference decided upon. The conference 

 next approached the delicate question of the 

 attitude of Turkey. They could not settle the 

 affairs of Egypt without the assistance of the 

 Porte, which had already formally declared the 

 conference to be useless, and which met their 

 overtures with the accustomed Fabian subter- 

 fuges of Ottoman diplomacy. The next acts 

 of the plenipotentiaries after the signature of 

 the protocol of disinterestedness were a resolu- 

 tion renouncing isolated action, and one ac- 

 knowledging the sovereign rights of the Sultan. 



BOMBARDMENT OF ALEXANDRIA. The Eng- 

 lish and French Cabinets saw that the Egyp- 

 tians and the Porte would succeed in ousting 

 them from the direction of Egyptian affairs, 

 and that the council of embassadors would ap- 

 prove the new state of things which was being 

 established in Egypt. Sir Beauchamp Seymour, 

 the admiral of the British fleet at Alexandria, 

 had instructions, dating from the 15th of May, 

 to land a force if necessary to protect the Khe- 

 dive. By the act of this commander, England 

 evaded the self-denying protocol and com- 

 menced a course of active intervention, while 

 pretending not to have broken the European 

 concert, nor to have departed from the engage- 

 ments entered into at the conference. Egyp- 

 tian soldiers to the number of 6,000, it was 

 estimated, had been busily constructing earth- 

 works and mounting guns since the 29th of 

 May. On the 6th of July, Sir Beauchamp Sey- 

 mour pretended to discover that the fortifica- 

 tions constituted a danger to his ships, and sent 

 an ultimatum demanding that the work upon 

 them should cease, or the fleet would open fire. 

 The Porte demanded through the Turkish em- 

 bassador at London that the bombardment 

 should be countermanded. Toulba Pasha, com- 

 mandant of the garrison, protested that no hos- 

 tile purpose was intended, and appealed to the 

 "well-known humanity" of tbe English com- 

 mander. The consuls of the foreign powers at 

 Alexandria, surprised and alarmed at the sud- 

 den belligerent announcement, begged the Brit- 

 ish admiral to withdraw his menace until they 

 had used their offices as mediators, but he held 

 to the ultimatum. Promises were given that 

 the works should be discontinued, and they 

 were apparently deserted in the day-time, but 

 it was seen that the guns were manned by 

 flashing the electric light upon them on the 

 night of the 8th, and a reconnoitering party 



