Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VI.djvu/476

 468 EGYPT for the discussion of measures that he might wish to submit for approval ; but he remained as absolutely the ruler of the country as before. In the following year he obtained from the Porte several concessions on the hatti-sherif of 1841, which bound Egypt to an observance of the general laws of the Turkish empire, and of the treaties which it made with foreign powers. The sultan gave Ismail power to issue laws relating to the interior administra- tion, tolls, and taxes, and to conclude treaties with other powers in regard to general transit and postal affairs. Ismail thereupon asked for the appellation of aziz ul-Misr, sovereign of the land of Egypt, but the sultan granted him instead the title of khedive, substitute or vice- roy. His subsequent demands for an entirely independent legislation, and diplomatic repre- sentation at foreign courts, revealed that his .aim was gradually to render himself indepen- dent of the Turkish empire. He attempted to force the Porte into granting his request by threatening to withdraw his troops from Candia, and by demanding that his tribute should be reduced to the former amount, and that it should be remitted for the next five years; he even hinted that he might take pos- session of Candia if his demands were not com- plied with. It was through the interference of the foreign powers to check his ambitious projects that a war between the sultan and his vassal was prevented. Ismail advanced in 1868 into the countries of the Upper Nile, over which he extended his sway. In the autumn of 1869 he sent out an expedition under Sir Samuel' Baker to establish his rule in the lands bordering on the White Nile. In the same year he attempted to negotiate a neu- tralization of the Suez canal, as well as a loan, while inviting the different sovereigns to be present at the opening festivities. He re- ceived soon after an order to reduce his army to 30,000 men ; to countermand the ironclads and breech-loaders which he had ordered in France, or, if that was impossible, to transfer them to the Turkish government on payment of their cost ; -to abstain in future from all di- plomatic transactions and from making foreign loans ; and to submit for inspection the annual budget of the income and expenditures of Egypt. The khedive's reply was unsatisfactory; he made no concessions, and declared that he would make loans whenever and wherever he wished. The sultan was about to send a mes- senger to Cairo with the ultimatum to the khe- dive of obedience or deposition. England and France tried to bring about a more peaceful course, but the sultan declined all interference ; he was, however, induced to defer action until after the visit of the European princes at the opening of the canal. At this festivity 10,000 persons of all countries were entertained at the expense of the khedive. The empress of France, the emperor of Austria, and the crown prince of Prussia were present. Before the last guests had left Egypt a note arrived from the sultan presenting the alternative of submis- sion or war. Ismail had seen that he could not expect armed assistance from the European powers ; he therefore issued (Dec. 9) a firman declaring his submission to the will of the sul- tan. But in the following year he threw an- other loan on the European market, saying that he offered no other guarantee than his private treasury. The sultan thereupon cut off his credit by a public announcement to the effect that the loan proposed by the khedive had not the support of the laws of the coun- try. This and the subsequent Franco-German war obliged the khedive to abandon for a while his attempt to establish a recognized inde- pendence. He has since been busy in carry- ing out his other plan of getting under his control the whole country extending to Gondo- koro and the coast of the Albert Nyanza, about lat. 2 S., in which he has been served by Sir Samuel Baker. The constant wars between the several rulers of Abyssinia since the Eng- lish expedition afforded the khedive an op- portunity to push into that country, and estab- lish over portions of it a sort of military rule, on the pretext of protecting Egyptian trade. Through the other native territories he has drawn a military cordon, and opened roads for traffic. His intention is to transform those regions into an agricultural district ; he supplies the chiefs with seed, and holds them under obligation to furnish certain quantities of pro- duce. Thus he has made their stores of ivory, gums, hides, wax, gold, &c., more accessible ; and the railways and telegraphs which he is now rapidly building through Nubia, as well as his control over the Eed sea and the Suez canal, enable him to secure the wealth of these districts for the benefit of the lower provinces. These efforts of the khedive to secure the pros- perity of Egypt restored to him the confidence of the sultan, and on June 8, 1873, a firman was granted which not only confirms the priv- ileges enjoyed by his predecessors, but changes the position of Egypt from a province into an almost sovereign kingdom. The firman au- thorizes the khedive to make laws and inter- nal regulations; to organize every means of defence, and without restriction to augment or diminish the number of his troops ; to contract with foreign powers commercial treaties, and others regulating the position of foreigners and their intercourse with the government and the population; and to contract loans abroad in the name of the Egyptian government, with complete and entire control of the financial affairs of the country. The khedive is forbid- den to make treaties bearing on political mat- ters ; he can have no agents accredited at for- eign courts ; the money coined in Egypt must be coined in the name of the sultan ; the colors of the Egyptian army and navy must be in no way different from those of the Turkish forces ; iron- clad vessels must not be built without the per^ mission of the sultan. The khedive retains the privilege of conferring military promotions up