Careful training of Tewfik by Ismail—Monogamy enforced on him—Thorough education—Originally not destined for the throne—Tewfik's personality—Great difficulties attending Tewfik's accession—Smouldering hate of the Arab against foreign rule—Incidents which complicated Egyptian affairs—Rapacity and exactions of the European comptrollers—The peasant robbed of his land—“Killing the goose that laid the golden egg”—“The Egyptian Commission” construed to be international by England and France—The last straw which broke the camel's back.
MAHMOUD TEWFIK PACHA, the eldest son of Ismail, ex-Khedive, was born of an Ikbal (favorite), in the palace of one of his queens. His queens being surrounded by young and pretty women, it often happened that the mother of his children was from among the latter. His eldest three sons were thus born. The law of the Prophet makes all those born in the seclusion of the harem legitimate. Under the powerful influence of his second queen, who was very beautiful, he determined to make her son, Ibrahim, though the fourth in age, his successor. It may be remarked that under the treaty between the Sultan and Mehemet Ali, the founder of the dynasty which was sanctioned by the great powers, the succession of the viceroyalty was secured to his descendants, meaning under the Mahometan law the eldest of the family. Subsequently Ismail with a large baksheesh induced Abdul-Aziz, then Sultan, to grant by a firman the succession to his immediate descendants. This arrangement was the more easily perfected because the Sultan had entertained the same plan for his own son, and was rather pleased with the precedent ; moreover, the large bonus from Ismail which filled his coffers was too agreeable an offering to refuse. But the proposition to still further change it to the fourth son was too radical, for the law had already been violated. The plan met with determined and serious objection from the Sultan, and particularly from the religious element, which had acquiesced only in bestowing the mantle upon the elder of the Khedive's immediate family. They raised a clamor about giving it up to younger son, and Ismail in consequence abandoned the idea. Several years intervened before the mother was acknowledged a queen and Tewfik declared the successor. Of medium height, like Ismail, compactly built, with a large, dark, placid eye, without much sparkle but amiable in expression, and with pleasing manner, he has the winning smile of his family. He is thirty-four years of age. With a dark brown complexion and black hair, he looks less like a Greek or a Circassian than any of the family, and could pass very well for a Copt in features and appearance. I once saw a large photograph of a Copt which was a remarkable likeness of Tewfik. He alone of Ismail's sons was not educated in Europe, but he was liberally instructed by Europeans in Egypt, and is accomplished in French, Arabic, and Turkish, with some knowledge of English. It may be said of Ismail that he gave his children no time for play ; both sexes were kept at their studies through their youth until they were disposed of in marriage, which was only at maturity, contrary to the custom among Mahometans, who frequently force children when very young into matrimony. In this respect even the Copt Christians follow their example, and bind boys and girls together at the early age of from six to ten years. Ismail's sons were educated for affairs of state, and the daughters in all modern accomplishments. At an early age Tewfik was a minister and privy counsellor, and in this way became conversant with the interior economy and necessities of Egypt. Those who knew him well say he was earnest in business, for his father, a man of sleepless energy, gave him no time for Oriental ease. He robbed his son's harem of the tempting luxury of numerous wives, confining Tewfik, as he did all the rest of the family, to the Christian rule of one man and one woman, being inexorable in this departure from Mahometan precedent. In 1873, at the time of the grand fêtes already alluded to, the marriage of Tewfik to Amineh Hannoum, the granddaughter of Abbas Pacha, was celebrated. Of high honor, and with all the instincts of a gentleman, Tewfik is said to entertain great regard for the accomplished and amiable young lady who is now dignified as his queen. It is asserted that in his domestic relations his life is spotless.
Courting the religious element, which has great strength with the masses, it has been often said that he was under its special control, and that he grovelled in the muddy water of effete and disgusting superstitions. No ruler of a Mahometan country as it is now constituted in Egypt can command a peaceful government, except by the strong arm of power, without a consideration for the people and their religion. Pressed on all sides by the advances of civilization, the religious element is alarmed and suspicious. Ismail, understanding this, did not fail to instruct Tewfik how important it was to have a good understanding with the ulemas and sheiks. He repaired mosques and beautified neglected tombs of saints, invited sheiks to sing the Koran in his palace, and regaled the chief men of the sects with fine dinners after Arab fashion. This was policy, yet it seems to have miscarried, for in all the recent movements the common people seem to have been more hostile than any other class. I do not think the religious element controlled him, as recent events indicate his apparent hostility to it. Knowing him for many years, I never saw in him anything like bigotry and intolerance, but always the instincts of a liberal-minded gentleman. I have often seen him at the Doseh, which is the yearly ride over a mass of writhing fanatics, a most inhuman and disgusting custom, practised on the return of the pilgrims from Mecca. Though really contrary to orthodoxy, it is a binding, unwritten law like that of Juggernaut in the Indies. Every one of the 400,000 people of Cairo who can do so witness it, looking upon the scene with dazed interest ; they consider it sacred simply because it is a time-honored custom. Many sects feel that it is one of the most useful elements in their religious ceremonies, and the ignorant believe their sheik too holy to injure a prostrate man by the tread of the horse in riding over him. Ismail, who had a contempt for this brutal exhibition, studiously avoided it, but finally fell from grace in the last year of his reign. Having struck at many of the superstitions of his people, they were sometimes suspicious of him, and I felt respect for his boldness and liberality. I was surprised to see him descend from his elevated position and apparently take a great interest in crushing the backs of the youth of his country under the tread of a horse ridden by a fanatic. I thought at the time when he yielded to this weakness that he too was seeking strength among this class of his people, making as it were a sort of rebound from the blows of his creditors, and coming back to first principles. It seemed to be a sort of preparation to meet coming events. Deserted as he was by European support when his money was gone, and no doubt seeing shadows in his path, he thought that by throwing the weight of his position in favor of this hideous spectacle he might regain popularity with his besotted people. Foreseeing the time when resistance should become necessary, it might be well to call to his aid the banner of the Prophet. This spectacle has been finally abandoned under Tewfik. Although better balanced than any of the other sons, I never thought Tewfik equal to his father, and have not been surprised at his failure in ruling a people so illiterate and fanatical, with its discordant elements complicated by the Anglo-French oligarchy. Good-natured and well-meaning, but in the iron grasp of the powers, he found it difficult to reconcile conflicting interests. The increasing jealousy of the Arab against foreign rule, which Ismail in his weakness had entailed upon Egypt, was becoming daily more aggressive. The material facts which have been related thus far mostly came under my own observation, and are sustained by the published official correspondence of the Consuls-General of England and France. The figures are all from published official records : where I have not read them I have given my authority. What will be further noted is based entirely upon the same authority. My conclusions are founded upon facts which have come from those entitled to confidence, who like myself were long residents, who were in Egypt at the time I left there in March, 1879, and who had the best means of learning the incidents which led to the late aggressive war. It is impossible to get to an understanding of this question without following it somewhat in detail, but this will be done as briefly as possible.
It has been already shown that foreign rule had created widespread alarm and discontent among all classes of the people, and consequently among the National party, which was becoming influential. The finances were unsettled, and there were the same difficulties as in the past in raising even a moiety of the interest demanded. It has never been questioned that Tewfik was a mere creature of the bondholders, and that he was expected to reinstate the comptrollers with greater influence than they had enjoyed under Ismail. In order to smooth his advent to power they were compelled to give up their demand for places in the cabinet. Thus far they permitted Tewfik to rid the new ministry of its most odious feature. They conceded this much to the clamor of Egypt, and by so doing they stultified themselves, for it was solely on this ground (so they pretended) that Ismail was removed. Nevertheless this did not subsequently prevent the most extraordinary exactions, and the application of a pressure even more exquisite in its cruelty than that formerly used. What added to the lamentations of the fellaheen was that through the forms of law Europeans by questionable means had come into possession of large tracts of land belonging to them. Under the rule of the whip and the bastinado they were left with life enough to regain strength sufficient to cultivate their small tracts of land ; but now they were driven from their homes with their starving families ; what trifling substance the miserable fellah usually had was soon eaten up, and they were reduced to beggary. If this loss had been the result of idleness or profligacy, like that of their rulers in many cases, it might be said that it was a just retribution ; but when it is considered that from necessity these people were forced to labor continually, first in preparing their lands for the next crop, then in working the canals for the general good, and lastly in unremitting cultivation afterward, there could have been no more shameful outrage than taking from them all they had, wherewith by any possibility they could gain a subsistence. Did the vulture eye of the creditor of the government see the slightest neglect, straightaway the mudir or sheik administered the kourbash by way of a gentle admonition, and so there was no rest for the children of Ishmael. There is no people in the world who are under greater subjection to the law of earning their bread by the sweat of their face. After the whip and the bastinado, which always accompanied the bondholder's tax-gatherer, had failed to bring sufficient revenue to pay their interest, it became necessary to resort to some new device to satisfy their rapacity. They had been killing the goose that laid the golden egg. In April, 1880, in pursuance of the demand, the Khedive appointed a European commission of several nationalities, in which England and France had the lion's share. Most seriously interested, Egypt was not allowed a voice, nor was Turkey given a seat. Though the intention in appointing this commission was to adopt a just system of land taxation, and bring under the rule certain lands that were believed to exist that had not been subjected to taxation, so that a reduction of taxes might be made beneficial to the oppressed fellah, they were no sooner installed than they assumed rights of a legislative character. They commenced by reviving the cadastré or land-revenue survey system, with its natural following, another horde of foreign officials, with a very good appointment, General Stone, at their head. To his credit be it said, Stone soon left this odious connection to those better prepared to do the bidding of the reigning powers.
The work of this commission was no sooner known than it was the signal for another influx of office-holders from foreign parts, who soon spread over Egypt and commenced, to the amazement of the people, wiping out the ancient landmarks of their property. This brand-new land-office was expected to effect the happiest results, by insuring metes and bounds to every inch of ground, under European survey, and in this way increase the revenue. The commission reduced the rate of interest on the nominal amount of the debt from seven to four percent. It was a mere pretence that it was done to relieve the fellah ; it was a deep design to repeal the law of the Moukabala, it being through the philanthropic show of kindness for the fellah that the commission was procured. The law, it will be remembered, was the rich legacy left by Sadik Pacha, the defunct minister of Ismail. It provided that by paying into the treasury one half the rent of the land for six years at once or by instalments, the owners were allowed to redeem it forever. Ismail solemnly pledged his faith and that of Egypt to hold this law inviolate, and the bondholders gladly seized upon the money to pay their interest. There were one million of these poor people who paid into the treasury $83,000,000, and after 1885 half of their land was to be, according to its provisions, free of taxation in perpetuity. In lending themselves to this swindling operation by repealing the law, the commission took out of the pockets of the landowner not only the enormous sum in hard cash which they had paid, but the additional $85,000,000 rental per year which they had redeemed ! To offset this gigantic robbery, the generous bondholders agreed to pay the sum of $750,000 per annum, which was a bagatelle, and to levy a tax upon their neighbors to pay it.
The five great powers who sat in judgment upon Egypt agreed to bind themselves by the decision of this commission. It was a sort of treaty among themselves, for it was so much the custom among these people to dispose of Egypt as the property of the foreign creditor that they never deemed it worth while to consult the Sultan or the Khedive in finishing their work. The Sultan had no voice in it, though Egypt was his province, as already stated, and Tewfik did not sign the agreement. The commission was entirely local in any view, and the Khedive paid its expenses. Under no construction, moral or legal, could it be any other than a simple law of Egypt, if the action of such an extraordinary commission as this could be dignified as a law of any kind ; certainly by no reasoning could it be forced upon the common-sense of the world as an “ international law” as claimed by them, nor was it a law of Egypt according to the constitution forced on Ismail which led to his abdication.
England, intent upon carrying out the designs of the late statesman who had seen that the time had come by a wise policy to plant the foot of Albion firmly on the banks of the Nile, did not hesitate to interpret the simple act of the Egyptian commission as the action of the five great powers ; and though the engagement was not signed by Tewfik, yet she considered Egypt as a party, and without further consideration adopted the ingenious term of her Consul-General, and dignified it as an “ international engagement.” It will be seen further on, that upon this pretext all Egypt was deluged in blood. It was not the threatening attitude of Arabi that brought on strife. It was simply that the Notables had proposed to vote upon that part of the revenue which had been assigned to the Egyptians ; any other consideration was an afterthought, to satisfy the indignant opinion of the world.
A power had grown up in Egypt, created by Ismail when he was in the height of his reign, filled with ideas of progress, of the advancement of his people, and of the future welfare of his country. Though he was, it is believed, deceived into surrendering an important element of his sovereignty in the adoption of the International Code, he could not present the plea of ignorance in granting a parliament to the Arab. It is likely that he did not foresee the important rôle it would be so soon called upon to play, when at the outset it was an unwieldy mass of ignorant sheiks, who rather disliked being called together at Cairo in grand, solemn conclave to vote upon questions of which they knew nothing, and to be laughed at by all Egypt for being so stupidly ignorant that they did not know what was expected of them. There is no doubt that at first their single idea was to know the opinion of the Khedive upon all the questions before them, and to vote accordingly. They had no thought of opposing him, and believed profoundly that their safety lay in executing his will by their votes.
Like the early English Parliament, the assembly soon learned its latent power, however ; and at this time, under Tewfik, the new Khedive, the Notables were only too willing to “ bell the cat” and vote the other way in a solid body. It then became “ the laugh that laughs not.” The Notables made respectful but firm demands for additional authority, in order that they might with more certainty legislate upon the unassigned revenues, over which they had the right of control. The comptrollers saw in this the design of clipping the enormous salaries of $25,000 and $30,000 for themselves and their foreign coadjutors, which were drawn out of the pittance allowed to conduct the Egyptian Government, and not from the half assigned to the bondholders. They then raised a cry of dismay at the temerity of the Notables, declaring that the country was on the road to ruin, and their ministry at once resigned, to produce an effect upon Europe. Cherif Pacha formed a new ministry, with the idea that it was good policy to have the Notables to play off against the military power, and thus produce an equilibrium in the politics of Egypt.
The comptrollers, however, seeing the glittering gold fast sliding out of their clutches, made haste to lay the matter before their royal agent, and ordered him to take a snap judgment on the refractory Notables, and to issue a decree that they should meet at once before they could have time to make a formal demand or he to grant the additional authority required. At this time a new power entered into the problems of Egyptian politics, in the person of Arabi Pacha, an obscure lieutenant-colonel, who only three years before had been in command of a regiment of 2500 men at Rosetta. This man was destined to play an important part in the tragedy.