AN EGYPTIAN VIEW.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVI, Issue 17038, 13 December 1915, Page 4

AN EGYPTIAN VIEW.

DISTINGUISHED VISITOR TO NEW ZEALAND.

Among tho visitors to New Zealand jit the present timo is a young and distinguished Egyptian, Mr Georges Azi?; Mabardi, who confesses that he has been prompted to visit Australia, and New Zealand through many conversations ho has had with Australian and Now Zealand officers in Cairo. The loyal hearts in Egypt have evidently been singing the praises of their native countries with some effect, and for one Mr Mabardi confesses that ho is far from being disappointed. Ho was impressed with the fat acres that came undor his attention in Victoria, and bad been charmed with the beauties of Sydney and Auckland harbours. Mr Mabardi is tlio oldest son of Mr Aziz Georges Mabardi, who was secretary to the Khedive of Egypt—the father of the one who was recently deposed, and who is now a resident of Turkey. His father died eight years ago in Geneva, in which town his son spent a good deal of time, and which he considers even a more cosmopolitan centre than Cairo itself. EGYPT'S LOYALTY.

Referring to the loyalty of his countrymen in the present mix-up, Mr .Mabardi tcld a Wellington reporter that there were at present half a million Egyptian troops undergoing training in his country under English officers, who were going shortly to France to light the Germans. When asked why they were not retained to guard the Canal, Mr Mabardi said that such an arrangement could not be, as the Mohammedans of Egypt would not fight against their co-religionists of Turkey. It was against their creed. But they were anxious to fight against the Germans, and as French was spoken almost as much as Arabic in Egypt they would be attached to the French army. When the / war broke out, Mr Mabardi offered his services to General Maxwell, who was a personal friend of his, as an interpreter, as he spoke French, Arabic, Turkish and Greek with equal fluency, but General Maxwell would not permit it, as he was convinced that tho young man (Mr Mabardi is only twenty-one years of age) would bo shot as a spy, as ho spoke all the languages named better than he spoke English. The risk was altogether too great. In support of General Maxwell's statement, Mr Mabardi says that of 160 interpreters that went from Egypt only thirtythree remained when he left, the others having either been killed in action or shot as Turkish spies. GREECE AND GALLIPOLI.

"The real King of Greece is Venozelos," said Mr Mabardi. "He is worshipped by the people of Greece, and when he visited Cairo he was made much of by all the wealthy Greeks, who are heart and soul with the Allies. The Allies have no need to fear. Greece will never fight against them. Why, the Bulgarians are the natural enemies of tho Greeks—they are trained from the timo they are babies to hate the Bulgars, and tho Bulgaf children are taught to hate the Greeks. The Greeks outside—in India, London, Paris, New York, all very wealthy—have inlluenco, and all that influence is on the side of the Allies. Oh, no; Greece will never fight against the \lli"s. that I promise you is sol The King? Ho has a -wife who is the Kaiser's sister. Last year he was ill -his illness was caused through a knite thrust in the abdomen 1" Mr Mabardi thinks that England made a great mistake in attacking Gallipoli. "" Not with a million soldiers in a million years could she force the Dnrdan"lles. ' But see. why did she not ni tack Dedeagatch? The place was poorly protected, and the distance not hv frooi Constantinople: easy country, too. I don't know why she went to Ciallipoli-it was mad—mad 1" WHERE COTTON IS KING. Mr Mabardi is a lawyer by profession, having qualified at Pans, where most of the students went from Egypt. But he does not practice his profession, having ample means of his own. He is tho fortumto .owner of some fifteen thousand rich' acres of land' on the banks of the Nile—some of tho richest land in the world—so fertile that it produces seven crops of the finest Egyptian cotton in two years. None of 'the Nile-washed' lands produces less than three crops a year, but his averages about seven in two years. The prico of tho best Egyptian cotton ranges from 25 to 38 per cent higher in the world's markets than tho American product, so that no return from any product in the world is surer. Under such conditions the price of land is high, according to position and fertility. Cotton lands high up tli3 river might be bought for between £f>o and £BO p>r aero, but the best lands near Cairo havo been sold .for as much as £2OOO per acre. Mr Mabardi has a railway station on his estate, and a 2000-horso-power cotton-pressing plant, with Deisel oil engines. Thanks to the oil-bearing lauds at Port Said crude oil is cheap. It ranged' from about lfkl to Is 6d for five gallons. Labour was cheap. The man who worked on the plantations received about one shilling a day. and the boys who were employed to pick the cotton were content with 3d or -Id a day. THE KITCHENER REGIME.

The visitor is an intense admirer of Lord Kitchener, who had done so much to regenerate Egypt, and has little doubt that when the big squeeze comes it will not be the Allies who arc squeezed. Vie stated that Kitchener spoke Arabic like an Arab and 'hirl ish like a Turk, and when be was m Egypt be frequently wore the Arabic eo«-tini'.o. ana' went among the people as one of themselves. At present there mv all kinds of courts for the administration of justice—French courts tor the French, English for tho lSaglisti, native for the natives, and mixed courts for the settlements of disputes between persons of different nationalities. All this led to a certain confusion icgarding the laws of the land, and there bad been some talk before ho left (,f constituting a national court that would be common to all people,, and so piovide for a uniform and equitable law system. . The German rose ♦o foist the Kaiser on to the. Mohammedan people as a prophet with a mission to regenerate the world has not boon very 6ijccess f i.l. In some olaces where German sold had' been at work and the peop'fi were ignorant and low-casts, the piopngwaualad been mildly sucoesshil, put it had not passed muster tnlh intelligent Vcham- | medans in any part of tne world.