Cairo has been much excited during the week by the
arrest of certain Pashas and others on the charge of slave- dealing. The charge, which is founded on the purchase of .certain Soudanese slave-girls, is preferred by the Slave Department. The chief offender is All Pasha, the President of the Legislative Assembly, and, per se, the charge is likely to be sustained against him, as he used his house to lodge the slaves, and was therefore an accomplice of the slave-dealers. 'Though purchasing may not be an offence, dealing in any form most certainly is. It is curious to remember that only last year the Legislative Assembly recommended the suppression of the Slave Department. Ali Pasha, however, claims to be an Italian subject, and if the Italian authorities allow this claim, the Egyptian tribunals will have no power over him. It is difficult to think that the plea will be allowed, as Ali Pasha has always been regarded as a native, and has acted as one. Unless he had been a native, he could not have 'become a member of the Legislative Council. It is to be hoped that the Italian Government will in any ease refuse protection to this very undesirable subject. The other prisoners are to be tried by court-martial.
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