242 



EGYPT. 



keep the French ministry informed of the prog- 

 ress of the negotiations. Both Russia and 

 France had protested from the beginning 

 against the recognition of the right of Great 

 Britain to reoccupy Egypt. When the ne- 

 gotiations approached a conclusion the British 

 Cabinet ceased to hold any communications on 

 the subj ect w ith the French Foreign Office. The 

 Ottoman ministers, however, continued to con- 

 sult with the French minister at Constanti- 

 nople. The convention was promptly ratified 

 by the Queen of Great Britain, but before 

 finally approving the arrangement the Sultan 

 desired to hear the last word from France. 

 After an interview with the Count de Monte- 

 bello on June 19, the Sultan was presented by 

 him with a note declaring that the French 

 Government would not accept the situation 

 arising from the ratification of the convention, 

 and if the ratification were given it intended to 

 take measures for safeguarding its interests, prej- 

 udiced asthey would be by the rupture of the 

 equilibrium in the Mediterranean, while if the 

 ratification were refused it would preserve and 

 guarantee the Sultan against the consequences 

 of the non-ratification. The note concluded 

 with the remark that it is only the disinterested 

 policy of France that can safeguard the Otto- 

 man Empire in view of the encroachments and 

 ambitious desires of England. The Eussian 

 Government supported the attitude taken by 

 France, and the Sultan suffered the final date 

 fixed for the ratification, June 22, to go by 

 without confirming the instrument. The 

 British ministry, in compliance with the re- 

 quest of the Porte, directed Sir Henry D. 

 Wolff to remain in Constantinople for a few 

 days longer, and then granted further ex- 

 tensions of the period of ratification, but when 

 he had been kept in attendance on the Sultan 

 for a month, and it became evident that the 

 latter was determined to withhold the ratifica- 

 tion, and only wished to prolong the situation 

 indefinitely, he was ordered to return to Eng- 

 land, and accordingly sailed from Constanti- 

 nople on July 17. 



The Turkish Commissioner. Ahmed Mukhtar 

 Pasha, who accompanied Sir Henry D. Wolff 

 to Egypt in 1886, remained after the latter de- 

 parted to report to his Government on the po- 

 litical situation. His reports were entirely 

 adverse to British rule, which he considered to 

 have greatly retarded instead of advancing the 

 development of Egypt. In March he sent a 

 memorandum complaining that the British oc- 

 cupation had brought a swarm of adventurers 

 to the Nile valley, who only seek to make for- 

 tunes, and care nothing for the good of Egypt. 

 The higher officials, he said, are arrogant and 

 tyrannical in their demeanor, and pay little at- 

 tention to serious work. On the failure of 

 the Wolff negotiations he reported that the re- 

 sult had increased Ottoman prestige, and coun- 

 seled abstention from further negotiations 

 with England respecting the presence of Brit- 

 ish troops in Egypt. 



Neutralization of the Suez Canal. The provisions 

 in the Wolfi" Convention relative to the neutral- 

 ization of the Suez Canal were made the sub- 

 ject of negotiations between the British and 

 French Governments after the failure of the 

 convention. A convention was concluded in 

 October providing for the inviolability of the 

 canal and its ports, and the free passage of the 

 ships of all nations in time of peace or war. 

 The Khedive and the Sultan are charged with 

 the protection of its neutrality. An Interna- 

 tional Commission is created, consisting of the 

 consuls-general of the powers in Egypt, which 

 shall meet in time of war, and apprise the 

 Khedive if any danger exists that requires 

 him to take measures for protecting the neu- 

 trality of the canal. The commission will de- 

 termine the ports and territory that shall be 

 included in the neutralized zone. In time of 

 peace it will hold a regular session annually, 

 and formally record the continued observance 

 of the convention. Of the sixteen articles 

 composing the instrument, ten had been ac- 

 cepted by the powers at the Egyptian Confer- 

 ence of 1885. The convention, which is to be 

 submitted to all the powers for ratification, 

 stipulates that the canal is not to be subject to 

 blockade, and that no right of war shall be 

 exercised or act of hostility committed within 

 a radius of three marine miles from its ports 

 of entry. The International Commission will 

 be presided over at each meeting by the senior 

 diplomatic agent present. 



Benefits of English Rule. Under the super- 

 vision of Sir Evelyn Baring, the British con- 

 sul-general and adviser of the Khedive, the 

 administrative methods of India have been in- 

 troduced into Egypt, the authority of the 

 Khedive has been completely superseded, and 

 the ministry has been reduced to a mere in- 

 strument in the hands of the foreign adminis- 

 trators. This process has increased the hatred 

 of the Egyptians for their conquerors, but, on 

 the other hand, it has enabled the latter to 

 carry out reforms and improvements that off- 

 set to a considerable extent the additional bur- 

 dens imposed on the people. The land-taxes 

 were formerly collected at uncertain intervals, 

 and the officials often extorted more than the 

 amount of the tax. Now they are collected 

 monthly in amounts varying according to the 

 times of tho crops and the ability of the peas- 

 ants to pay. There is, consequently, a dimi- 

 nution of debt and usury. The use of the 

 kourbash and the bastinado by the tax-gather- 

 ers, once universal, is now interdicted. The 

 diminution of the conscription is felt to be a 

 relief by the peasantry, and the abolition of 

 the corvee where it was most oppressive saves 

 them from much loss and suffering. The bar- 

 rage has been completed, new canals have been 

 made, and old ones have been dredged out, 

 with the result that the productive area has 

 been enlarged, and expenses for steam-pump- 

 ing are much lighter. The administration of 

 justice is much improved. The sanitary con- 



