The Egyptian opponents of judicial reforms have hit upon a
rather adroit method of defeating them. They say they are good reforms, and shall gradually be carried out, but that, as this is their intention, there is no need for an English Judge to supervise them, and impair the authority of the internal administration. If the Khedive accepts this argu- ment, the plan is, of course, given up, for the native Minister of Justice will only carry it out so far as it strengthens his own control over the country police. That officer, as a rule, is willing to punish crime, but he will not insist' that the Judges shall be pure of bribery, or that the police shall abstain from torture, or that the innocent shall not be arrested without strong presumptive evidence. He will not, above all, protect witnesses, who are now treated almost as if they were criminals. The steady, patient supervision of a trained European is the keystone of the entire plan.
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