706
EGYPT
replace the one that had been disbanded and to allow of a portion of the British garrison being withdrawn. In this work Sir Evelyn Wood had shown much sound judgment as well as great capacity for military organization, and had formed an efficient force out of very unpromising material (see above, under Army). His colleague in the Department of Public Works, Sir Colin Scott Idoncrieff, had been not less active. By mitigating the hardships of the corvee, and improving the irrigation system, on which the prosperity of the country mainly depends, he had conferred enormous benefits on the fellaheen, and had laid the foundation of permanent budgetary equilibrium for the future. Not less active was Sir Edgar Vincent, the Financial Adviser, who kept a firm hold on the purse-strings and ruthlessly cut down expenditure in all departments except that of irrigation. The activity of the British officials naturally produced a certain amount of discontent and resistance on the part of their Egyptian colleagues, and Lord Granville betwlea* was obliged to declare very plainly that such resistBritisb ance could not be tolerated. Writing (January and native 1884) to Sir Evelyn Baring, he said: “It should be officials. ma(je c}ear to the Egyptian Ministers and Governors of Provinces that the responsibility which for the time rests on England obliges H.M. Government to insist on the adoption of the policy which they recommend; and that it will be necessary that those Ministers and Governors who do not follow this course should cease to hold their offices.” Nubar Pasha, who continued to be Prime Minister, resisted occasionally. What he chiefly objected to was direct interference in the provincial administration and the native tribunals, and he succeeded for a time in preventing such interference. Sir Benson Maxwell and Mr Clifford Lloyd, who had been sent out to reform the Departments of Justice and the Interior, after coming into conflict with each other were both recalled, and the reforming activity was for a time restricted to the Departments of War, Public Works, and Finance. Gradually the tension between natives and foreigners relaxed, and mutual confidence was established. Experience had evolved the working principle which was officially formulated at a much later period: “ Our task is not to rule the Egyptians, but as far as possible to teach the Egyptians to rule themselves. . . . European initiative suggests measures to be executed by Egyptian agency, while European supervision controls the manner in which they are executed.” If that principle had been firmly laid down and clearly understood at the beginning, a good deal of needless friction would have been avoided. The international difficulty remained. The British position in Egypt was anomalous, and might easily give rise to international complications. The Sultan national well protest against the military occupa‘pro'blems. tion of a portion of his Empire by foreign troops. It was no secret that France was ready to give him diplomatic support, and other Powers might adopt a similar attitude. Besides this, the British Government was anxious to terminate the occupation as soon as possible. With a view to regularizing the situation and accelerating the evacuation, Sir Henry Drummond Wolff was sent to Constantinople in August 1885 on a special mission. On 24th October of that year he concluded a preliminary Convention by which an Ottoman and an English High Commissioner, acting in concert with the Khedive, should reorganize the Egyptian army, tranquillize the Sudan by pacific means, and consider what changes might be necessary in the civil administration. When the two Commissioners were assured of the security of the frontier and the good working and stability of the Egyptian Government, they should present reports to their respective
[political HISTORY.
Governments, and these should consult as to the conclusion of a Convention regulating the withdrawal of the English troops. Mukhtar Pasha and Sir Henry Drummond Wolff were appointed Commissioners, and their joint inquiry lasted till the end of 1886, when the former presented his report and the latter went home to report orally. The remaining stipulations of the preliminary Convention were duly carried out. Sir Henry Drummond Wolff proceeded to Constantinople and signed on 22nd May 1887 the definitive Convention, according to which the occupation should come to an end in three years, but England should have a right to prolong or renew it in the event of internal peace or external security being seriously threatened. The Sultan authorized the signature of this Convention, but under pressure of France and Russia he refused to ratify it. Technically, therefore, the preliminary Convention still remains in force, and in reality the Ottoman Commissioner continues to reside in Cairo. The steadily increasing prosperity of the country during the years 1886 and 1887 removed the danger of national bankruptcy and international interference, and induced Sir Evelyn Baring to widen the area of Preform. administrative reforms. In the provinces the local administration and the methods of dispensing justice were still scandalously unsatisfactory, and this was the field to which the British representative next directed his efforts. Here he met with unexpected opposition on the part of the Prime Minister, Nubar Pasha, and a conflict ensued which ended in Nubar’s retirement in June 1888. Riaz Pasha took his place, and remained in office till May 1891. During these three years the work of reform and the prosperity of the country made great progress. The new Egyptian army was so far improved that it gained successes over the forces of the Mahdi ] the burden of the national 'debt was lightened by a successful conversion; the corvee was abolished; the land tax was reduced 30 per cent, in the poorest provinces, and in spite of this and other measures for lightening the public burdens, the budgetary surplus constantly increased; the quasi-judicial Special Commissions for Brigandage, which were at once barbarous and inefficient, were abolished; the native tribunals were improved, and Mr (afterwards Sir John) Scott, an Indian judge of great experience and sound judgment, was appointed judicial adviser to the Khedive. This appointment was opposed by Riaz Pasha, and led to his resignation on the plea of ill-health. His successor, Mustafa Pasha Fehmi, continued the work and co-operated cordially with the English officials. The very necessary reform of the native tribunals was then taken seriously in hand. The existing procedure was simplified and accelerated; the working of the Courts was greatly improved by a carefully organized system of inspection and control; the incompetent judges were eliminated and replaced by men of better education and higher moral character; and for the future supply of well-qualified judges, barristers, and law officials, an excellent school of law was established. If the progress made in this direction is maintained, the Native Courts may some day, under proper European control, replace the anomalous Mixed Tribunals, and remove all necessity for the inconvenient consular jurisdictions, which are at present protected by the Capitulations. Meanwhile the reforming activity has been extended to Prisons, Public Health, and Education, and has attained very satisfactory results without ruffling the religious susceptibilities of the people. Only once since the retirement of Riaz has the policy of teaching the Egyptians to rule themselves led to friction with the native authorities. In January 1892 the Khedive Tewfik, who had always maintained cordial relations with Sir Evelyn Baring, died suddenly, and was
