Page:The European Concert in the Eastern Question.djvu/138

 Egypt passes to thy eldest son, and after him to his eldest son, and in like manner as regards others, that is to say, that the succession is to proceed by primogeniture in the interests of the good administration of Egypt and of the welfare of its inhabitants. Again, as I have noted the care which thou bestowest on Egypt and the efforts thou art making for its prosperity, the greatness and importance of which are obvious to me, as well as the fidelity and devotion which thou hast always evinced to me, I have given thee my entire good grace and confidence, and, in order to give thee a striking proof of this, I have resolved to establish as law that the succession to the Khedivate of Egypt and its dependencies, with the Kaïmakamats of Souakin and Massowa, and their dependencies, shall pass, as aforesaid, to thy son, and after him, in conformity with the law of primogeniture, to the eldest sons of future Khedives. In the event of a Khedive leaving no male children, the Khedivate shall pass to his younger brother, and, in case he should not be surviving, to the eldest son of such younger brother. This rule is established definitely, and does not apply to the male children of the female line.

In order completely to insure the security of this order of succession, the Regency which shall govern Egypt in the event of a minority is regulated as follows: If, at the death of the Khedive, his eldest son is a minor, that is to say, if he is under 18 years of age, as by right of succession he will be actually Khedive in spite of his minority, his Firman will be immediately sent to him. If the deceased Khedive has, in his lifetime, appointed a Regency in a document which must be countersigned by two high functionaries, whose names shall appear as witnesses in the document, the Regent and the members of the Regency who have been thus named shall immediately take in hand the administration of affairs, and shall inform my Sublime Porte thereof, and my Imperial Government will confirm the Regent and the members of the Regency in their office. If the Khedive has not provided for a Regency during his life, one will be formed of the persons who may at the time be at the head of the departments of the Interior, of War, of Finance, of Foreign Affairs, of the Council of Justice, of the Army, and of the General Inspection. They