Show r THE REGENERATION OF EGYPT J L The empire-building empire that has been been going on in Egypt for twenty-five twenty years past is most interesting T It is but a few days short of twenty-five twenty years since f the the misrule and corruption of the Egyptian Government Govern- Govern rJ me ment broke out into an incipient revolution and resulted resulted re re- suited in the massacre of Europeans in Alexandria Great Britain always sharp to look after the interests interests inter- inter t t ests of her subjects sent Lord Seymour with a fleet and bombarded that city The nations of Europe generally generall except France approved of that bombard- bombard merit ment That was the beginning of British occupation in Egypt it was the beginning too of the redemption redemption redemption tion tion of that distressed countr country 1 The Suez canal wa completed in 1869 It was engineered by the great De Lesseps and built by Egyptian laborers France and the Khedive owned f the the control of the canal but Disraeli was sharp sharpE E enough to gather up the obligations owing by Egypt to English subjects and adding to th those se obligations It 1 i a large sum of British gold he bought the Khedives Khedive's rt interest which gave to England the control But for ij years ars yes es for ages the oppression of the people of Egypt pt by the rulers had been so great that the old country was seething like an angry ocean 2 In about 1882 revolts of a semi-religious semi character charac- charac ter jA ter broke out in lower Egypt Arabi Pasha th th head of of the Egyptian army determined to drive all Europeans Europeans Europeans Euro- Euro out of Egypt Simultaneously there was a 11 mighty rising in southern Egypt of the desert deseri tribe tribes against the Egyptians The country then was occupied occupied occupied pied by the British army the old native army was wasti ti disbanded and British officers were delegated to reorganize rc- rc organize and train rain a new force but they failed to put down the revolt A mixed Egyptian and Sou- Sou c danese army under Hicks Pasha was destroyed at El Gen Gordon was persuaded to go there to t try y to restore order but Gladstone in a little while came came into power did nothing to support Gordon f tand that t magnificent officer was vas was besieged at Khar- Khar The wrath of the British ki k- p people ople forced Gladstone at length t to send when too too late a detachment to the relief of Gordon A splendid army under Burnaby i the hero of the ride to Khiva Sir Edward Edward Edward Ed Ed- ward ward Stewart all under command of L rd V Wolseley Wolseley olse- olse ley lcy were sent up the Nile in 1884 1881 They tried to rt cross the Bayuda Bayuda- desert from froin Kori to At v A Abu u Klea they encountered a force of Dervishes ithe i t the e first that had ever eyer met a European arm army The They killed Burnaby Stewart saved the da day day- but was wounded and died of the wound later I Then c came mo news that that the Mahdi l had captured Khartoum and killed Gordon It was not only a British defeat but a mighty wound to British pres pres- tige It was at that time that Lord Lor Cromer was made General Consul and Minister in Egypt and hs ha set set about about regenerating regen things It was he who ex ex- extricated extricated Egyptian finance froni from chaos and began the ther r reform form of the army This latter er work was under Maj Kitchener Then began the improvements in inthe inthe inthe the agricultural conditions Serf labor was abolished abolished abol abol- irrigation works were planned and old canals and water courses were restored to use but trade and British and British prestige had to be restored in the Sou Sou- dan England took our advice and pushed a railroad I from Wadi Vadi Haifa up the Nile Nilo and nd across the desert included in the great bend of the Nile t to td l Abu I Hamed thence to Berber In a single battle Kitchener Kitche Kitche- ner overwhelmed the at took I Khartoum and gave it ba back k to Egypt then the great I I work of clearing the Nile and building the great dam began Egypt is fairly regenerated and will in ina a few years be producing more than it ever ver did I under the I In the meantime the road is being steadily pushed between Cairo and arid the Cape and Africa in a few years is to be Great treat Britain's greatest possession |