BOOKS OF THE DAY

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3136, 14 July 1917, Page 11

BOOKS OF THE DAY

With Kitchener in Cairo. By Sydney 4. Mosgley. V.n.G.S. (Casse'll and 'C".,' yer S.and W. Mackay). Mr. Moseley may he rnnicnibered as the author of ;i somewhat sensational book, "The Trutu About, the Dardanelles." many of t,ho statements in which havn been challenged, although on the other ham! the trifth of others un.? fully cv tahlishcd by tho Dardanelles Commission, The author wye for some years a. wellknown Cairo journalist, and bis latest book was written before tho irar. A preface was written by Sirry V»sha, then Egyptian Minister of Public Works, l>ut, Recording to fchn author, Lord Kitchener took great exception to certain passages in the preface,' And in the* book itsoli. nnil tho Egyptian official withdrew hit* .sluiro iu tho work. "Willi (his exception, the book is now issued, eo tho author nssiiree us, without revision.'or expurgation. 11 r. Moseley reveals himself «s a searching and very outspoken critic of what lift considers to liaro been tho faults and blunders—and injustices—of Iho Grower slid Kitchener regimes, but on I bo whole ho speaks very highly of l\"itchoner, especially of his cfl'orte to secure justice for the fellaheen. He specially .mentions tho regulation:! for the protection of tho fellaheen from the j rapacity of the neiircra. Village savings banks were ostablishod, tho Jegn.l rate of interest was limited to !) per cent—in. llsypt, so it seem*, quito a moderate rato! —and a. law was introduced whereby all holdings of fivo acres and lc>s in area. were rendered exempt from sci/.uro for debt. Kefcrenco is also made to the British Agent's direct, influence for good in education, sanitation, and other directions. Tho second part'of the book is devoted to crilici.-sin of what, tho author calls "Some. Ktrangn Happenings." Under this beading, the author deals in great detail with tho animated controversy which reigned so long in. Egypt as to tho wisdom of raisin™ tho Assouan Diun and altering tho drainage system of tho Delta. Tho question was very hotly debated, especially by Sirry I,'asha, and tho famous engineer, Sir William Willcocks. Mr. Morsely also devotes a good denl of space to tlie arrest, iu Cairo, under tho Capitulations, which,givo'extraordinary powers to tho Consuls of tho various European States interested in Egypt, of Uhveo Russian subjects. Mr. Moseley holds that a grave injustice was perpetrated, and insists upon the necessity for tho capitulation, being revised. In this particn.hr' instance he allots a certain amount of blame "to Lord Kitchener. The third section of the , book deals with oertain social and poltical abuses ■ existing in Egypt, such as the mistaken tolerance at one time accorded Iα women of immoral life; licenso given to'medical and legal quacks, and tho national vice of corruption by "backsheesh." At one time, under the Cromer administration, corrupt officials were severely dealt with. During tho Kitchener regime,, so Mr. Moseley seems to think, the old ovila began, to crop up again, and "the jealous watchfulness which characterised 'tho reformers of the old school— men who were chastened with worry and danger night and day—is nowadays being Eoinewhat rolaxed. Mr. Moseley has a short but interesting chapter on tho Egyptian Nationalists. Most of thorn are, be assures us, Egyptians only in name. Ho eajs: — "The majority of those who insist upon, theiv Egyptian nationality for political convenience are from a conglomeration of Eastern nations—a man, say, born in Syria, from a Groek mother and a Circassian father, who brought him over to Egypt when a lad! The more general typo of man \vho schemes for an "unfettered" Egypt is generally the bloated half-Turk, halfsomething else, whoso interest , ; in tho main are mercenary., and nothing etse. Ho has actually no more aesthetic sentiment about tho political state of Egypt than n. gamoose. Let him obtain unlimited fodder at the expense of others, end he will be content. It was individuals of this type who wrote the pages of Egypt's blackest history. Heaven forfond that we should permit them to. hold sway again." The author concludes by making seroral suggestions for the,improvement oftho Egyptian administration. His book, though allowance must bo made for certain personal prejudices and grievances, which may probably havo inOuenced the author's viewpoint, is in many wa.vs a inost interesting and valuable contribution to the history of modern Egynf. (Price 6s. 6d.) .