CHAPTER IIA. EGYPT. XCIX. THE status of Egypt with respect to her international relation is very peculiar (a). The conquest of Egypt was effected by Amrou, the General of the Caliphs, in 638 A.D., and from the death of Caliph Omar, in 644 A.D., it continued to be a province of the Arab empire under a Governor appointed by the Caliphs. This nominal subordination to the Caliphs appears to have continued while the government de facto was in the hands of various dynasties, who reigned under the title of Soldan or Sultan of Egypt. The last Sultan of the Memlook dynasty of Egypt, which had been established about 1250 A.D., was overthrown in 1517 A.D., by Selim I., the Ottoman Sultan of Constantinople. About this time the last of the Caliphs in Egypt died; the Caliphate of Egypt came to an end, and the title of Caliph was thenceforward assumed by the Sultan of Constantinople. Although Selim I. abolished the dynasty of the Memlooks, he preserved an aristocracy of that race nder the authority of the Viceroy, nominated by the Porte nated Pacha of Egypt. w Constitution, 24 Beys were created; and the Fomposed of sending tribute to Constantinople, 2.000 men in time of war. This quasi reMemlook aristocracy, was not wholly jod of the French invasion, at the During this interval, however, By Article XX. "the Treaties, Conventions, and inter"national arrangements of any kind whatsoever, concluded "or to be concluded between the Porte and foreign Powers, "shall be applicable in Eastern Roumelia as in the whole "Ottoman Empire. The immunities and privileges acquired by foreigners, whatever their position, shall be re"spected in this province. The Sublime Porte undertakes "to have observed there the general laws of the Empire for religious liberty in favour of all forms of worship." 66 66 By Article XXI. "the rights and obligations of the "Sublime Porte with regard to the railways of Eastern "Roumelia shall be maintained in their integrity." By Article XXII. "the effective force of the Russian corps of occupation in Bulgaria and Eastern Roumelia "shall be composed of six divisions of infantry and two "divisions of cavalry, and shall not exceed 50,000 men. It "shall be maintained at the expense of the country occupied. "The army of occupation will preserve its communications "with Russia not only through Roumania, in accordance "with arrangements to be concluded between the two States, "but also through the ports of the Black Sea, Varna and Bourgas, where they may, during the period of occupation, "organize the necessary depots. 66 "The period of the occupation of Eastern Roumelia and Bulgaria by the Imperial Russian troops is fixed at nine "months from the date of the exchange of the ratifications "of the present Treaty. "The Imperial Russian Government undertakes that "within nine months the passage of its troops across "Roumania shall cease, and the Principality shall be com"pletely evacuated." XCVF. Bosnia and Herzegovina.-By Article XXV. of the same Treaty it is provided that "the Provinces of "Bosnia and Herzegovina shall be occupied and administered "by Austria-Hungary. The Government of Austria-Hungary, not desiring to undertake the administration of the Sandjak of Novi-Bazar, which extends between Servia and 66 66 66 Montenegro in a south-easterly direction to the other side "of Mitrovitza, the Ottoman administration will remain in "force there. Notwithstanding, in order to assure the main"tenance of the new political state of affairs, as well as freedom "and security of communications, Austria-Hungary reserves "the right of keeping garrisons and having military and com"mercial roads in the whole of this part of the ancient Vilayet of Bosnia. With this object the Governments of "Austria-Hungary and Turkey reserve to themselves to come “to an understanding as to the details." Austria has lost no time in effecting a military occupation of these provinces. XCVG. By Article I. of the same Treaty "Bulgaria is constituted an autonomous and tributary Principality under the suzerainty of his Imperial Majesty the "Sultan. It will have a Christian government and a 66 "national militia." By Article II. the Principality of Bulgaria will include certain territories which are enumerated. By Article III. "the Prince of Bulgaria shall be freely "elected by the population and confirmed by the Sublime "Porte, with the consent of the Powers. No member of "any of the reigning houses of the Great European Powers "shall be elected Prince of Bulgaria. "In case of a vacancy in the princely dignity, the elec"tion of the new Prince shall take place under the same 66 conditions and with the same forms." By Article IV. " an Assembly of Notables of Bulgaria, "convoked at Tirnova, shall, after the election of the Prince, "elaborate the organic law of the Principality." 66 "In the districts where Bulgarians are intermixed with "Turkish, Roumanian, Greek, or other populations, the rights and interests of these populations shall be taken into "consideration in the question of election and the elabora"tion of the organic law." Article V. on religious liberty is important (c). It pro (c) Vide post, Art. lxii. vides "that the following points shall form the basis of "the public law of Bulgaria: 66 "A difference of religious beliefs or confessions shall not "exclude or incapacitate any person from the enjoyment of "civil and political rights, admission to public appointments, functions, or honours, or from the exercise of the various "professions and employments, in any district whatsoever. Liberty, and the public exercise of all religions, shall be "assured to all persons belonging to Bulgaria, as well as to strangers, and no obstacle shall be interposed either to the "hierarchical organisation of the different communions, or to "their connection with their spiritual heads." 66 66 66 66 By Article VI. " the provisional administration of Bul"garia shall be under the direction of an Imperial Russian Commissary until the settlement of the organic law. "An Imperial Turkish Commissary, as well as the Consuls "delegated ad hoc by the other Powers Signatories of the present Treaty, shall be called to assist in controlling the "working of this provisional régime. In the event of disagreement amongst the Consular Delegates, the majority "shall decide, and in case of a divergence between the majority and the Imperial Russian Commissary, or the "Imperial Turkish Commissary, the Representatives of the Signatory Powers at Constantinople, assembled in Con"ference, shall decide." 66 66 66 By Article VII. "the provisional régime shall not be prolonged beyond a period of nine months from the ex"change of the ratifications of the present Treaty. "When the organic law is completed the election of "the Prince of Bulgaria shall be proceeded with forthwith. "As soon as the Prince shall have been elected, the new organization shall be put into force, and the Principality "shall enter into the full enjoyment of its autonomy." 66 66 By Article VIII. "the Treaties of Commerce and of Navigation, as well as all the Conventions and arrange"ments concluded between Foreign Powers and the Porte, "and now in force, are maintained in the Principality of 66 Bulgaria, and no change shall be made in them with re"gard to any one Power without its previous consent. "No transit dues shall be levied in Bulgaria on goods "passing through that Principality. "The subjects and citizens ('nationaux') and commerce "of all the Powers shall be treated in the Principality on a "footing of strict equality." "The immunities and privileges of foreigners, as well as "the rights of consular jurisdiction and protection as estab"lished by the capitulations and usages, shall remain in "force so long as they shall not have been modified with the "consent of the parties concerned." By Article IX. "the amount of the annual tribute "which the Principality of Bulgaria shall pay to the Suze"rain Court-such amount being paid into whatever bank "the Porte may hereafter designate-shall be fixed by an agreement between the Powers Signatory of the present Treaty at the close of the first year of the working of the new organization. This tribute shall be reckoned on the "mean revenue of the territory of the Principality. 66 66 66 "As Bulgaria is to bear a portion of the public debt of "the Empire, when the Powers shall fix the tribute they "shall take into consideration what portion of that debt can, "on the basis of a fair proportion, be assigned to the Princi"pality." By Article X. "Bulgaria takes the place of the Imperial "Ottoman Government in its undertakings and obligations "towards the Rustchuk-Varna Railway Company, dating "from the exchange of the ratifications of the present Treaty. The settlement of the previous accounts is re"served for an understading between the Sublime Porte, "the Government of the Principality, and the administra"tion of this company. 66 "The Principality of Bulgaria likewise, on the other "hand, takes the place of the Sublime Porte, in the engage"ments which it has contracted, as well towards AustriaHungary as towards the Company, for working the rail |