EGYPTIAN CRISIS.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 631, 31 December 1913, Page 5

EGYPTIAN CRISIS.

AVERTED BY KITCHENER ORDERS UP THE FLEET. London, Tuesday. The newspapers, in commenting on recent events in Egypt, taken in conjunction with the movements of the Mediterranean fleet last month, credit Lord Kitchener's strong hand with another notable success. It is authoritatively stated that a grave crisis was averted by a display of British force. Lord Kitchener, suspecting that the heads the Wakfs, a semi monastic Moslem order, were improperly administering the enormous trust funds in their control, announced his intention of taking the funds over and administering them for the purposes for which they had been originally intended. Moslem fanaticism was instantly aroused by the Nationalists, and the Khedive aggravated the danger by joining with the reactionaries. The British Government placed the circumstances before the Sultan of Turkey, who decided in favour of Lord Kitchener, and issued a firman at Constantinople to taac effect. Lerd Kitchener, acting with the greatest promptitude, hurried the Mediterranean fleet up to Alexandria, and landed 3000 bluejackets. It was officially given out that the men had come ashore to see the pyramids. The sailors marched through the streets of Cairo unarmed. Relations between Lord Kitchener and the Khedive are very strained, although it is said the trouble nas been apparently averted. The Sultan's decree was signed on November 20th, a few hours before the British fleet's arrival at Port Said was announced. On November 21st the bluejackets visited Cairo. Thß Khedive instantly concurred in | the Sultan's decision. The London newspapers in commenting on the fleet's sudden recall to Malta from the manoeuvres on November 10th interpret this as a indication that its presence on the Egyptian coast was then considered to be s matter of growingly urgent importance, but the announcement made on the 11th to the effect that the ships would go to Egypt on the 19th—the original date intended for the visitis interppreted to mean that tha Sultan's signature was simply deferred until the 2Uth.