ENGLAND, FRANCE, AND EGYPT. 97 



Modern civilisation appears to consist, with the Great States of 

 Europe, in having a great National Debt, and too often in repudiat- 

 ing it, and according to the monstrous doctrine of the Financiers of 

 Paris and London, Egypt had to be civilised. 



France considers that the First Napoleon introduced civilisation 

 into Egypt nearly a century ago, by his invasion and attempted con- 

 quest of Egypt ; but if the slaughter of the Egyptians and Mame- 

 lukes, the seizing of the hidden treasures, and the levying of an 

 indemnity can be called civilisation, then Napoleon was the most 

 barbaric civiliser the world has ever witnessed. 



Said Pasha was succeeded by Ismail Pasha, who was keenly alive 

 to the necessity of maintaining his semi-independence, won for Egypt 

 by Mehemet Ali. 



But Ismail Pasha was an extravagant and oppressive Khedive. 

 He threw himself into the hands of European speculators, who 

 advanced the Government of Egypt vast sums of money, at a ruinous 

 discount and rate of interest, and in a few years Ismail Pasha 

 contracted a debt of ,^90,000,000, of which sum only ;£'45, 000,000 

 was received by the Government at Cairo ; the remaining ;^45, 000,000 

 finding its way into the coffers and pockets of London and Paris 

 financiers. 



The gross annual revenue of Eg3T)t, of ;^8, 500,000, was raised by 

 every sort of oppressive taxation upon the people, and of this sum 

 ;^5, 700,000 went to pay the interest on the Loans. 



It is no wonder, therefore, that Ismail Pasha's financial difficulties 

 pressed heavily upon him, and consequently in 1875, at his earnest 

 request, the Government of Mr. Disraeli, despatched Mr. Stephen 

 Cave to examine into, and report upon Egyptian Finances, and he 

 was compelled to acknowledge that Egypt was in a desperate strait ; 

 that she suffered from the ignorance, dishonesty, and extravagance of 

 the Pashas, bringing her to the verge of ruin ; and he recommended 

 that England should send out a financier, to take employment under 

 the Khedive, as the Chancellor of his Exchequer. 



Accordingly, Mr. Disraeli appointed Mr. Rivers Wilson, but owing 

 to his scheme being too onerous for Egypt to bear, he was recalled, 

 and soon afterwards, he was succeeded by Mr. Goschen for England, 

 and M. Joubert for France, representing the Bondholders ; and the 

 result of their mission was, to recommend to their respective Govern- 

 ments the appointment of English and French Controllers, to be 

 maintained by England and France; and in 1879 the Marquis of 

 Salisbury, then Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, gave his 



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