Arabi on the Egyptian Question.

Thames Star, Volume XIV, Issue 4381, 18 January 1883, Page 2

Arabi on the Egyptian Question.

The following are the points of a conversation which the specialcorrespondent of a London contemporary says he has had with Arabi:—"' Noae of you can understand Egypt or Egyptian politics. We in many ways resemble Mexico. You call yourselves the champions of liberty,.and would send us back into serfdom, You are great and powerful; but 1 cannot respect you. This Tewfik, in whose cause you have made so grand a display, is utterly contemptible—well-meanicg pos« sibly, like Louis XVI., but a prey to the worst advisers. He ia not so bad as his

father, I admit, nor so silly and useless as hit brother, but the wickedness of his counsellors make up for such deficiencies. You restore Tewfik io spite of the unanimous desire of a country to the contrary. On your head be our misery then. I do not lite you, bat I am obliged to respect your power; knowing what I know, I see how rain were my hopes, and caa only be proud to think miserable Egypt could stand against your strength for nearly sixty days. If you great European Powers jjho^jse^tQ^dictate 'we Have no option but To "bbey/^'Tfien | X gyp tain liberty is but a dream:!' ' Yes, , alas! since the so-called "champions of : liberty side against the oppressed. Two days before your bombardment Tewfik loaded me with honor, and called me friend. I have not, nor never had, 7any personal 'hatred against the Khedive. The Khedive is nothing in himself, but always the servant of another. If you like to give him a tutor who will whisper to him, all may go well; J but if, not, the Turkish ,and Circassian j regime- will be re-established, and the bastinado be rampant as .of. yore, and it will be your doing. What would I wish to do ? I would wish to be banished from Egypt for ever. My heart is sick of Egypt. I would live quietly in Europe^ with my family, and trouble no one any more, for my dream is passed and I was deceived. ' Quietly ?' " Ha, ha ! How could I live otherwise P Liars say that I filled my purse when in office. I am a very poor man; have only one little house near Zagazig, where I was born; my palace/ at Cairo is not mine—-was only lent to me as Minister. I am very poor indeed, and if you set me free shall have to work for my living and my family.' *'But! you will give us up lo our enemies—l feel a presentiment of that,' he concluded'quietly, ' and it wijl be all over—all.over.' ' When we declared war did yon think we were in earnest P' I asked idly.*-' No! 'replied Arabi, with emphasis, 'and that was one of the most dreadful moments in my life. Your Seymour sent me a message that he would bombard the city of Alexandria at eight next morning. I laughed, for I thought half the wealth of Alexandria was English, and they will surely not wreck their own property.; I lay awake all night thinking,- growing surer and more sure ; and dawn came, and eight o'clock struck, and there was no unusual noise, and I breathed freely and turned to sleep. At half past eight I heard the first gun, and it set me shivering, for I heard in it the knell of established hopes, and wondered who would win the victory.' ' You are a great nation,' he repeated presently. You can afford to be generous and great- to Cetewayo—a savage—and surely should be to me. Treat me as you have treated Cetewayo, and I will be satisfied.'" : . = • • • ■