p. 324 | Alexandria by Editor

Seventh-day Adventist Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Jul 20, 1882

Alexandria.

By Editor

In our last issue we stated that the English Admiral Seymour had threatened to bombard Alexandria within twenty-four hours, unless the warlike preparations of Arabi Bey were discontinued. Accordingly, he opened fire on the forts, and the battle continued two days, when the Egyptian commander and his forces fled from the city, under cover of a flag of truce. The Egyptian loss was very great; the English loss was comparatively slight. Before he left the city, Arabi Bey opened the prisons, and the convicts commenced to burn and plunder, and Alexandria is now a mass of smouldering ruins.

Admiral Seymour is now in command of the city, and order is restored, but what the next move will be nobody can tell. The position of Arabi Bey is not exactly known, but he is thought to be well entrenched in the interior.

Thus far England has acted with the assent of other powers. A London dispatch says:—

"Public opinion favors the seizure of Egypt by England, although this intention is not openly advocated, and the bombardment of Alexandria may therefore be regarded the first step to military occupation, which is intended to separate Egypt from the Government of the Sultan, and turning it into an English province."

This may be England's real object, although it is denied. Should it prove to be so, the other powers will doubtless enter a protest. The events of the next few days will be awaited with much interest.