A VOICE FROM EGYPT

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2636, 6 December 1915, Page 6

A VOICE FROM EGYPT

DISTINGUISHED EGYPTIAN IN WELLINGTON VISITOR'S IMPRESSIONS Visiting Wellington at tlio present tirno is a young and distinguished Egyptian, Mr. Georges Aziz Mabardi, who confesses thac he lias been prompted to visit Australia and New Zealand through many conversations lie lias had with Australian and New Zealand officers in Cairo. The loyal hearts in Egypt have evidently been, singing tlie praises of their native countries with soino effect, and for one Mr. Ilabardi confesses that lie i<j far from being disappointed. Being young and of a volatile disposition, he. says quite frankly that lie misses the freedom of cafe life, and finds th<> liome-life of these parts reserved, and that we take our pleasures somewhat soberly, if not sadly, but for the countries themselves he has the greatest admiration. He was impressed with the fat acres that cams under his attention in Victoria, and had been charmed with the beauties of Sydney and Auckland harbours. Mr. Mabardi is the eldest son of Mr. Aziz Georges ilabardi, who was secretary to the Khedive of Egypt-—the father of thoone who was recently deposed, and who is now a resident of /Pursey. His father died eight jcars ago in Geneva, ia which town our visitor has spent a good deal of time, and which lie considers even a more cosmopolitan centra than Cairo'itself. ' Egypt's Loyalty. Referring to tlie loyalty of liis countrymen in the present mix-up,' Mr. ilabardi said that there were at present half a million Egyptian, troops undergoing training in his couiitry under English 1 ' officers, who were going shortly to France to fight 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 Mohammodans of Egypt- would not ■ fight against theii: co-religionists of Turkey. It was against their creed. But they woro 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 had offered his services to General Maxwell; who was a personal friend of his, as an interpreter, as he spoke French, Arabic, Turkish, and Greek ,\vith equal fluency, but General Maxwell would not permit it, as he was convinced that the young man (Mr. Mabardi is only 21 years of age) would be shot as a spy, as ho spoke'all. the languages named better than lie spoko 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 thirty-three remained when he left, the others having either been killed"' in action or shot as Turkish spies. Creece arid Cailipoli. "The real King ;of Greece is Venizelos," said Mr. Mabardi. "He is worshipped by the people of Greece, and when he visited Cairo he was made much of by <all tlie wealthy Greeks, who are heart and soul with the Allies. The Allies have no need to fear. Grecco will never figlit against them. Why, tlio Bulgarians are the natural enemies of the - Greeks—they. are trained from the time they are babies, to liato tho Bulgars, -and .the Bulgar children are taught to hate the Greeks. Tho Greeks •outside—in India, London, Paris, New York, all very wealthy—have influence, and all that influence -as on the side of tho Allies. Oh ho, Greece will never fight against the Allies, that I promise you is so! The King? Ho has a wife who is the Kaiser's sister. Last year lie was ill—his illness, was caused through a knife 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 tho Dardanelles. But see, why did she not attack DedeagatcliP The place was 'poorly protected, and the distance not far from Constantinople; easy country, too. I don't know why she wont to Gallipoli—it was maid—mad!" Where Cotton is King. Mr. .Mabardi, is - a lawyer by profession, having qualified at Paris, where most of the students went from Egypt. But lie does not practice his profession; having ample inear s of his own. He is the fortunate' owner of some fifteen thousand rich acies of land on tlie banks of the Nile—some of the 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 yoar, but'his averages about seven ill 1 two years. Tho price of tho best Egyptian cotton ranges from 25 to 33 per cent higher in tho world's markets than the 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 the river might be bought- for, between £60 and £80. per acre, hut the best lands near Cairo have been sold fox as muoh as £2000 per acre. Mr. Mahardi has a railway station on his "estate, -and a 2000 horsepower cotton-pressing plant, with Deisel oil engines. -..Thanks ,to the oil-bearing lands at Port Said crude oil is cheap. It ranged from about lOd. to Is. Gd. for five gallons, what we would probably have to pay" 12s. or 13s. for in New Zealand; 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 witli 3d. or 4d. a day. The Kltohener Regime. Our 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 l)e the Allies who are .squeezed. Ho stated that Kitchener spoke Arabic like an Arab and Turkish like a Turk, and whon ho was in Egypt lie frequently wore tho Arabic costume, and went among tho people as one or themselves. At present thore are ali kinds of courts fo:: the administration of.justice—French courts for the French, English for the Er.glish, native for tho natives, and mixed courts for the settlements of disputes between persons of different nationalities. ' All this led to a certain confusion regarding the laws of tho land, and there had been some talk before ho left of constituting, a national court that-would be common to nil people, and so provide for a uniform and equitable law system.

Bio German ruse to foist the Kaiser 011 to the Moliammeclan people ns: a prophet with a mission to regenerate the world has not heon very successful. In somo places wliero Gorman gold had been at work and tlie people were ignorant and low-caste, the propaganda had been mildly successful, but it had not passed muster with intelligent Mohammedans in any part of the world.