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equal effect. A cachief who had not been long accustomed to the government of the viceroy punished one of his own servants with death. He was called before Mohammed, who asked him by what authority he had committed this outrage. He thought it enough to urge in his defence that the man was his own servant. True, retorted the pasha, but he was my subject; and, in the same breath, passed sentence that the culprit should be immediately beheaded, -an effectual warning to the rest of the grandees present. This act of severity has saved the lives of many of the Arabs, who, in former times, were sacrificed by their Turkish masters on the most trifling pretences.

In short, Mohammed is well spoken of by most European travellers, though in general they estimate his character by too high a standard, the principles and habits of their own countries. There is only one author whose impression was rather unfavourable :-"I sat in the divan," says he, "with my eyes fixed on him; I wanted to examine the countenance of a man who had realized in our day one of those scenes in history which, when we have perused it, always compels us to lay down the book and recover our selves. There he sat,-a quick eye, features common, nose bad, a grizzled beard, looking much more than fifty, and having the worn complexion of that period of life. They tell you he is not sanguinary; men grow tired of shedding blood as well as of other pleasures; but if the cutting off a head would drop gold into his coffers, he would not be slow to give the signal. His laugh has nothing in it of nature; how can it have? I hear it now,-a hard, sharp laugh, such as that with which strong heartless men would divide booty torn from the feeble. I leave him to his admirers."*

"In the usages of the table," says Mr. Carne, "he is still an Osmanli; knives, forks, and other useful appendages never make their appearance at his meals. About five years ago some English travellers were graciously received by him, and pressingly invited to dine. But not even in compliance with the taste of his guests would he depart from his own habits; for, wishing to show a noble lady particular attention, he took a large piece of meat in

* Scenes and Impressions, p. 176.

his hand, and politely placed it before her. Perfectly dismayed at the compliment, and the sight of the savoury morsel which rested on her plate, she turned to her companion, who was more used to oriental manners, and earnestly asked what she was to do. 'Eat it to be sure,' was the reply. She looked at the pasha; his fine dark eye seemed to rest on her with a most kind and complacent expression; and there was no help for it but to follow the excellent advice given her by her more experienced friend."*

That Mohammed Ali is a despot, and even in some respects a barbarian, cannot be denied; but there is, notwithstanding, in all his institutions so much of wisdom and patriotism that he unquestionably deserves to occupy a high place among those adventurers who have so well profited by revolutions as to place themselves on a throne. His ambition, though dishonoured by the means which he has occasionally found it necessary to adopt, is, upon the whole, of the right kind, and has all along been directed to the promotion of the national welfare rather than to his own personal aggrandizement. If he has died his hands in blood, it has been in that of the worst enemies of Egypt; and if he has in numerous cases had recourse to arbitrary government, his object, it must be acknowledged, has ever been the security and improvement of the distracted country over which it has been his lot to preside.

Recollections of the East, p. 288
Y 2

CHAPTER VII1.

The Actual State of Egypt under the Government of
Mohammed Ali.

Nature of Innovations-Members of Government-Household-Tenure of Land-Resumption of it by the Pasba-Condition of the People→ Army-Military Schools-European Arts-Canal of MahmoudiehIntroduction of Cotton Manufactures-Exportation of the raw Material to England-Fear of Plague-Silk, Flax, Sugar-Monopoly of Viceroy-Disadvantages of it-Caravans-Imports and Exports-Revenue and Expenditure-Population--Copts, Arabs, Turks, Greeks, Jews, and Syrians-Characteristics-Cairo-Houses-Citadel-Joseph's Well, Joseph's Hall-Necropolis-Tombs-Mosques-Palace at Shoubra Splendid Pavilion-Comparison of Egypt before and under the Government of Mohammed Ali-Future Prospects under his Suc

cessor.

In a country where the administration of law depends almost entirely upon the character of an individual, and where at the same time the nomination to the supreme authority is usually determined by intrigue or in the field of battle, the mere form of government cannot be of very much consequence. But the sagacity of the present ruler of Egypt, who is aware of the influence exerted on the minds of men by custom and the use of certain modes of speech, has dictated to him the expediency of innovating less in the outward structure of the constitution than in those internal parts whence all real power is derived, and by means of which it is diffused to the remotest extremity of the vast province of which he has assumed the command. Although virtually independent, he has hitherto continued a formal acknowledgment of that superiority which belongs to the head of the Ottoman empire; and while he wields the sceptre with as little restriction as the most arbitrary of oriental despots, he carefully preserves the appearance of only sharing with others the portion of a delegated authority.

The administration is in the hands of the following offi cers :—1st, The Kiaya Bey, who may be called the prime

minister; 2d, The Aga of the Janizaries, or chief of the war department; 3d, The Ouali, or head of the military police; 4th, The Mohtesib, or superintendent of the markets; and, 5th, The Bash-aga, or master of the civil police. In every district there is also a headsman, who is authorized to determine differences by arbitration, and watch over the peace and good order of his neighbourhood. All fees have been abolished, and competent salaries are appointed; and so effectually are these duties performed that the streets of Cairo are as safe as those of London, except on occasions, now almost never known, when the military break loose for want of pay, or to revenge themselves for some professional grievance. All criminal prosecutions are settled by a cadi or judge, who is sent annually from Constantinople, and assisted by a number of sheiks, or others learned in the law. A civil process is stated to cost four per cent. of the value in dispute; of which the cadi takes four-fifths to himself, and gives one-fifth to the lawyers who have aided him in the decision.

Besides the public officers now mentioned, there are others attached to the household of the viceroy, such as the treasurer, the sword-bearer, the inspector of provisions, the commandant of the citadel, and the superintendent of customs and excise, who in Egypt act under the immediate direction of the head of the government. There is also a body-guard, consisting of four hundred Mamlouks, to which may be added six hundred gentlemen of the privy chamber, as they are called, or yeomen of the palace. Including all the subordinate functionaries in the civil and military departments, the domestic establishment of the pasha comprehends not fewer than fifteen hundred individuals.

So numerous and rapid are the changes to which Egypt has been subjected under a succession of dynasties, and even of foreign conquerors, that it is extremely difficult to ascertain on what tenure the land was held, in the early ages of the monarchy, by the persons who devoted their labour and capital to its cultivation. We know that the Pharaoh who reigned in the days of Joseph transferred to the crown a large portion of it, by supplying to the famished peasantry a quantity of corn in return for their fields; and hence we may infer, that, prior to the date at which this

transaction took place, a distinct property in the soil was recognised by the Egyptian sovereigns. But during the long interval which has elapsed since the Macedonian conquest, it is probable that the territorial domain was occupied upon conditions similar to those which were implied in the ancient system of fiefs at one time universal throughout Europe, a certain portion of the annual produce being made payable to him whose sword, or whose influence with the monarch, had procured to him the feudal superiority.

Before the accession of Mohammed Ali, the representative of the sultan was satisfied with a miri, or land-tax, according to the quality and other advantages of the soil, and had even acknowledged in some of the occupants a right almost equivalent to that of a permanent owner. The present viceroy, however, has taken into his own hands the greater part of the territorial possessions; granting, in name of compensation, a yearly pension for life to the several moultezims, or proprietors, whom he has thus deprived, but leaving to them nothing which they can bequeath to their children or heirs. The lands which Mohammed has seized in the way now described belonged, generally speaking, to the Mamlouks, whom except in their capacity of soldiers he wishes to extirpate; 2dly, To certain establishments for feeding the poor, or for supporting mosques, fountains, public schools, and other national charities; and, finally, to the ancient class of feuars in whose management or principles he could not be induced to repose a sufficient degree of confidence. But it is added, that even the owners of those lands which have not yet been seized are not masters of their crops; they cannot dispose of any part of them until the agents of government have taken what portion they may think proper at their own price; and, in place of the established miri, all the families attached to the court are served with agricultural produce at half its value, while the pasha regulates the price of all that can be spared for exportation. Such a system will fully explain the observation of M. Mengin, that "the traveller sees with astonishment the richness of the harvests contrasted with the wretched state of the villages ;" and that, "if it be true that there is no country more abundant in its territorial pro

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