EGYPTIAN JUSTICE.

Evening Post, Volume LXXI, Issue 142, 16 June 1906, Page 9

EGYPTIAN JUSTICE.

1 In his j.nnn;tl .report on Egypt and the ; Soudan, Lord Oroiner su^g-esta the adl visab'.eness of creatiiig a ssparate ,coun- ! cil composed wholly of subjects or- protected subjects of the Powers whicli we» parties to tiro treats** under which the judicial re-forms of 1b76 w«ps accomplished. Legislation proposed to this council by th* Egyptian Government ap- ! proved by majority of th.it body, wid promulgated 'by the E*Tptt>n Government, with the assent of his Britannic Majesty's Government, would lie binding , on all foreigners resident in E^ypt. ' ,' "It will be observed," adds Lord Cromer, " that, undzr tho proposal mud» above, the Poirers, with tho exception of Great Britain; will cwse to «xereise any legislative functions. This, in fact i 3 the cardinal point of the whole plan! So long a 6 legislation is, as at present, conducted b> diplomacy, and go lonjt as fifteen separata Powers ecch possess the right of liberuai veto on each new legislative'proposal, I regard any attempt ti, introduce th* reforms, of which thr> coua-' ■ try stands .so much in need, as practically hopeless. THE TEST OF FIRE ' * Describing methods of justice- in th* Sinai Pemnaula, the report says;— "Tht. judge' ,who deals -in all criminal css«j waera no witnesses are forthcoming is termed 'El •Mubashaa.' H* "tests the suspected person by fire, by. water; or by dream. Testing by fir<j is carried out .in th* following * manner :— Tho judge places' an iron pan in tho fire until it 13 red .hot 1 . Ho then wipes it three tucea with his hand, and gives it to the j accused to touch three times with- his tongue. ,If marks of burning are shown on tho tongue, the accused is pronounced guilty. It is thought that if *ac ac:ns>ed is guilty his tongue .dries up from fear of being discovered, and tlir.t it will' be burnt,' bat that it he is not guilty themoisture on the tongue prevents it" from being burnt. WITCHCRAFT OR HYPNOTISM. The test by water is described as follo\t s : — Tho Mnbuuhaa sits with the accused and the spectators in a circle, wit a a copper jug. full of water, placed in t&o centre. This jug is then mado to' appear to move round the circle by means of witchcraft cr hypnotism. If "the jut? j- returns back to the judge, the accused i 3 pronounced not guilty, but if tho Jug j stops opposite tho accused he is prci nounead guilty. A.s regards testing by dream, the Mubaihaa sleeps, and sees ill a, dream if the accused is guilty or nut. THE EGYPTIAN DOGBERRX. j An amusing sidelight on village Jifo w given in some caustic criticism by a Mr. 'Machell on thn behaviour of tho tillage watdhman, or phafir: — "If tho ghafirs in general ' devoted less of their attention to their own safety, and more to the repression of crime, we should have little, to complain of. But selfpreservation is the trhafir's first thought, and, upon the smallest provocation, he I will discharge his gun in the hope of | alarming a possible assailant. .Tho .assailants' are usually only ono ihada'teSK 1 cowardly 'than the ghafirs. The cowardice displayed on both sides h abso- ! lutely incredible. I always tell peoplethat, if I had an Ezba (farm) myself, I should' provide myself with a ihot-gun and an Erment dog, and should feel absolutely safe in any part of Egypt." NATIVE TRACKERS. The following incid-srit from the «eiglibourhood of Dongola, related by Colonel j Jackson, is illustrative of the remarkable skill shown by native trackers in bringing guilty parties to iustice :— "A shop in M-erow* was, robbed during tbt> ; I night, and a case of sugar stolen. The ! ground in the vicinity is composed of soft sand. The tracked examined the spot <»arly the following morning, and soon picked up the tracks of two men J and a donkey, which they followed to ] tho Government stubles. All the syces j were paraded before the tracke'ia, who picked out the Governor's syce and the | syce of the sta2 officer as the owners of i the tracks. The donkeys were then j mustered, and the tracker 3 picked out i the inspector's donkey as the animal whose tracks they had followed. The j stables were searched, and some loaves J of sugar discovered. Further search was then made, and the remainder of the stolen sugar was dug up close by. The two syces were tried, and confessed. They stated that, finding the box was too heavy to carry, they had used the iEcpoctor's donkey."