CURRENT LITERATURE.

Hokitika Guardian, 25 August 1924, Page 4

CURRENT LITERATURE.

EGYPT AND THE ARMY. A tea weeks ago extracts Ironi a bock by I -.‘lit.-Colonel P. G. |*J./ooJ wore cabled in Aiisttalia eriliching ibc coo-1 la i ol the A.I.E. when in Egypt. Not unnaturally they mused a good deal of indignation, for his indictment seemed altogether too sweeping. The book in question. '•Egypt and the; Army. has now reached Atistralia,j and, as-oltcn happens in such cases, the remarks read in their full context arc loitiid to give rather a lill'erem impression. I.ient-Colonel Klgoud writes of flic dilliciilties against which - the authorities lmd to contend in the earlier months of the war. before they : had been able to "clean tip." At the L st, ip ilmes there is a large clement ot undesirables In such cities a- Cairo, . Alexandria, and Port Said. With the i euiieroitrai :on ol* tlu* forces in Egypt * all the riff-raff ol the Levant and North Africa swarmed into the rotin- i try. and it was impossible to bring < them immediately nmler control. I Drinking dens and haunts of viu* plied i their nefarious Irnflic in obscure alleys, \ where for a time they escaped notice. ( The troops, composed largely of raw, inexperienced youths, were exposed (o t severe temptations in their unuceus- ] touted surroundings, and il is not s surprising that a proportion succumb- t cd. The author devotes the greater i part of ti chapter to a description of tin* conditions prevailing in those days, and of the effects imcti the ’old'evs, but not once, in tin's connection, does a* specifically mention the Aitstraitms. ,S In the passage to which so much oh- , VI ection has been taken, tie is careful to

' limit the tipjdieation of his strictures. [ Ihe ofiemixes were "(lie exceptions. . and not the rule.” They were "a few I individuals.” "certain individuals,” "one type’—such phrases occur agni'i and again —and even for these he can lind excuses. Egypt pandered to their weaknesses; the Australian rate of pay was "colossal,” and they had motley to liurn. .Moreover, they could not understand why mililary nuthoritv should preach morality to the troops. They had eo.'i’e to fight. not to ii.-t.-n to t!:e teaehiiij; ef a Sunday selmol. And are we not hound in honesty ta admit that in the A.1.F., as in any oth.er large hotly of men. there were 1 some black sheep;' l!ut for the A.I.F. as a whole Colonel Elpood lias nothin.; hut admiration. "It was impossible," he writes, "to conceive more splendid specimens of humanity than the 'auk and file. Tall in stature, broad in chest, they looked what in physique they really were—supermen from another world. . . ."—here follow his animadversions noon the "wild men” —"Hut save for these lew individuals there were strangely attractive qualities in the Australian. His easy gnii and carriage, his devil-may-care plume j his simlpieity ami directness of

thought and speech, mid, lastly, hi l magnificent fighting spirit excited the admiration of Englishmen. At th“ heels of the male came ilia female, equally determined to {rive helping hands to tie Mother Country. Hearts of pold had these Australian women, pomp uncomplainingly day after da* on rounds of monotonous duty in hos. pitals and canteens. They were doinp no more than the women of England ; but they had travelled a long way to perform these menial tasks. Discomfort and hnrdship never frightened these gallant souls, fit mates for n race, of virile men. Elsewhere he speaks of

“the divine courage’’ of tlie Australian.*. Perhaps we have given disproportionate space to this subject, but in justice to the author it seemed well to remove misapprehensions. Colonel Elgood’s purpose is not to discuss the morals of the combatants, but to answer a question which had puzzled many. England lias been Egypt’s benefactor during the forty years of the occupation the English worked steadfastly and single-heartedly for the welfare of the Egyptians. They found the country bankrupt and in a state of chaos. The administration was inefficient and corrupt, the people wore impoverished and miserable. The wretched fellahin were the victims ot continual oppression and extortion uii the part of the official*. England changed all that. The finances were reformed and the administration purified, schools and universities wen founded. Groat irrigation works wen constructed, and the cotton industr established. The peasantry was pro tected from exploitation, and " axe prosperous. When the Egyptian: owed so much t" her v.liv are they s-. hostile to England:- Again, during th war Egypt suffered nothing; indee. the war was a source of great materia prelit' to her. Her people did not hav to *trd; • a single blow; the troops o Hritain and. the dominions did all ih fighting. Egypt was enabled to till'd nil' the unpopular suzersiuity cl lui key. Why then did Egypt in 1!>1G (boose to rebel ? Colonel Elgoud -up'dies the explanation of the ill-feeling that grew up against the English. 11 lies in the attributes of human nature and of Egyptian nature in particular. It is . a question whether the Egyptians are. as a nation, capable of gratitude. In a period of prolonged an ! increasing prosperiiv the memories oi the had old days are ell'acetl, and minor grievances are apt to he magnified. A people M a state of tutelage is acutely sensitive and is quick to perceive any suggestion of their inferiority even where none is meant. The Egyptians resented I heir exclusion from the higher parts in the civil service. English officials • were not always tacttul or sulliciontli careful to avoid wounding the Egyptians' suspootibilit ies. Military lonlrol which inevitably involves irksome restrictions, was absolutely necessary in Egypt, lull the Egyptians could not tie brought lo recognise this. Requisitioning is an invariable incident in war and the commander in his proclamation in November, lb'll, had expressly reserved the right to make such levies ii' j the military situation demanded. Hut the Egyptian objected to his feasts and I'ocdst nil's being taken even for lull value. Not that the Egyptians did not have some genuine grievances. In the ftlll proclamation the commander in chief had promised that Egyptians would not he called upon to give aid in tlie war with Turkey. They wore never required to take up arms, hut when voluntary enlistment failed lo j fill th.- ranks of the l.aliour Corps the (orveo was introduced and this was a breech of the spirit, at any rate, of ! the undertaking. Moreover, the re-

1 cruiting was accompanied by abuses. Each Mudir had to produce a fixed number of ie.cn from his province. The actual raising of them was left to the ; village sheiks, who chose their vic- ; thus as they saw fit, anil often seized the opportunity to nay oil’ old scores. So grievances real and imaginary accumulated. What with one thing and 1 another, public opinion became e.xasj berated, and the di-satislai l ion eul- . minated in the outbreak of l!)li*. [j Colonel Elgoud gives a number of interesting estimates of men who have played a leading part in guiding Ibe de-times of Egypt. We quote his uppraismeni of Kitchener, which shows the latter in rather a new light—indeed. since his death, many diifervnt ; Kitcheners have been presented to us: " With all his great qualities of mind and character, he was the most c.naff'oi ted of men. Military raid: counted : nothing in him: he was never too proud ! to learn from, or se. k advice (rein a ! junior. Hound any unique personality ! mill's grow no. and that oi Kitchener I did not escape the common tali', 'lo , tin* public the Sirdar stood first and ; ii leiiiusi as 1 lie tine nl inm iliseiplin- ; aria!!. As a mailer of lari lie was nothing ol Ihe sort. . . Actually the I i r.linhrv standard, el military conduit hared him. llis sliaroesi punishment ' of an oli’ending liritish i lliror was to ignore tin- unlnrl i.naie individual in the future. . . It is detihtiul indeed whether a Briti-h udicer can hcj ei.ine the conventional disiuplarian unj less liis ii'ilid i* wedded to pipeclay and polish. The pomp and circumstances, i u'.--I. of military life had no aitraenoiis for Kitchener. lie was an indill'erent tactician, anil possessed no eapaeitv lor handling large bodies ol troops. None the less he was a dour and merciless lighter in the field, though his preference lay in conquering physical rather than human obstruction. . . Kurd Kitchener had one transcendental quality of mind, which lifted him above ordinary men. llis incomparable imagination moved in a plane ol* iLs own. enabling him lo envisage clearly a situation before offers had detected its approach. With equal prescience lie would plan in advance methods whereby he proposed to vanquish the difficulties King across •he natli he intended to follow. In those intellectual (lights caution followed as an escort. for profound spiration wore the originalxlruioy ' ku thought and inspiration were the origin of hi* schemes.” LIGHTNING EFFECTS. You get the beneficial client of Dr Sheldon's New Discovery the instant von take the first dose. It soothes 'the raw and tender throat, protects it from cold germs, and clears the head. There’s nothing like it for preventing colds from fastening upon you. It “knot Us” the germ—clears the throat—stops the tickle.

WOMAN STEALS TO THROW AWAY BERLIN, July S. The unusual circumstances attending a series of thefts bv the wife of a wellknown Berlin hanker prompted the court ta institute :■ medical inquiry. H appears that the woman frequently .stole purses containing money from other women when shopping, but immediately throw the valuables away. She was even known to appear in court under a false name ns a witness, invariably giving evidence highly damaging to the owner of the property. The medical evidence showed that she suffers from an overmastering passion for gloating over tlie confusion and fear of her victims. Give once confessed her malady to a priest to get absolution, and was inconsolable at liis refusal. The court dismissed the case against her. hut the problem of removing the dangerous criminal tendenev remains.