promotion of all those proposed. On meeting Barrois, Gorst said that he knew nothing of the merits of the different officials concerned, but had eliminated the promotion at the request of Scandar Pasha. At the insistence of Barrois, Simaika’s promotion was reinstated. When McPherson explained the matter to Simaika, he ended by saying, “No one will be more surprised at this than Scandar Pasha and it would serve him right.”21
Two years later, the board proposed appointing McPherson director general of accounts and audit. When this proposal was presented to the government, the members of the Caisse de la dette publique objected, saying that if a post of such importance were to be entrusted to a Briton, one of equal importance should be entrusted to a Frenchman. Lord Cromer responded, saying, “If there is no official in Railways who can fill this position, the Finance must send one of its high officials to fill the post and Mr. McPherson must return to India.”22
The Ministry of Finance proposed Boutros Pasha Mishaka for this new position, and it was arranged that he would work for three months with McPherson to familiarize himself with the work. At the end of this period, McPherson sent a confidential letter to the chairman of the board saying,
I have tried hard to explain Railway accounts working to Mishaka Pasha but he knows as little about these accounts after this lapse of time as when he first joined us. Railway accounts require a lifetime to know them thoroughly. I feel it is my duty before I leave to insist that Antoun Bey El Saheb should be pensioned off at once, that this post should be given to Simaika Bey, and I feel I must add that if there is a man in Egypt who can replace me efficiently it is he who not only knows the work thoroughly but who has over me the advantage of knowing the Arabic language and all the members of the staff, and who is unaware of my proposal.23
The chairman decided to act on McPherson’s suggestion. Simaika next received a visit from Mr. Bertrand, assistant secretary to the board, who said, “It has just been decided to put Antoun El Saheb on the retired list and to appoint you in his place. His class [i.e., pay grade] will be given to Missara Bey.”24
This angered Simaika, who wrote a confidential note to the chairman of the board stating that he had heard that it had been decided in principle to give him the post of Antoun al-Saheb, but that his grade and pay were to be given to Missara Bey. He wrote that the board members were the best judges as to the merits of the high officials under their control, but he did not think it fair that he should be given the responsibility of director general of accounts and audit and that the class and pay go to another official. He said he was quite prepared to undertake the duties of that other official and let him assume the work of chief auditor. The board reconsidered their decision and appointed him director general of accounts and audit on June 27, 1901, with the class attached to that post. He became the only Egyptian at the head of a department, and a very important one at that. It is to his credit that he thoroughly reorganized the accounts system of the Egyptian State Railways and the Port of Alexandria, rooting out deep-seated, endemic corruption and inefficiency in the process.
In 1899, the French attempted to challenge the British hold over Egypt and East Africa. They sent an expedition to Fashoda on the White Nile under Major Jean-Baptiste Marchand in a bid to gain control over the Nile River tributaries and force the British out of Egypt. This incursion was thwarted by Kitchener and a powerful flotilla of British gunboats. Tensions between Britain and France continued, however, until the Entente Cordiale was signed between Britain and France in 1904. France recognized Britain’s ‘special interest’ in Egypt, while Britain professed herself uninterested in Morocco. After the Fashoda incident and the subsequent Entente Cordiale, the French left the British a free hand in Egypt, and the British immediately assumed complete control of the administration of the country, deciding that all important departments should be effectively controlled by a British ‘adviser’ even if the titular posts were occupied by Egyptians. The one exception was the Antiquities Service, which had been headed by a Frenchman since Said Pasha had approved its creation in 1858 and appointed the French scholar Auguste Mariette as its director. The British conceded that the post of director of the Antiquities Service would continue to go to a Frenchman.
Soon after the signing of the Entente Cordiale, Major Johnston, chairman of the board of the Egyptian State Railways, sent for Simaika and hinted politely that the intention was to appoint a financial secretary to work with him. Simaika said he would welcome him as his subordinate, but after all the pains he had taken through the years to reorganize the Accounts and Audit Departments, entailing intense research and hard work, day and night, with continuous inspections all over the country, he did not think it fair, at the successful completion of his work, for a stranger to reap the rewards of this Herculean effort. However, it soon became clear that he would have to resign and relinquish his post of director general of accounts and audit in favor of a Mr. Sheppard, a former superintendent of the stores. But as this gentleman knew nothing of accounts, Simaika willingly agreed to remain in the service for two more years, in order to acquaint him with the work. So as not to embarrass Sheppard in front of his subordinates, Simaika would receive Sheppard in his house every morning before work. Simaika would study Sheppard’s papers and suggest actions and decisions.
In 1906, Simaika resigned his position of chief auditor, and at the age of only forty-two retired from government service, having served for twenty-three years. He was allowed to retire on an exceptional pension with the addition of eight years to his period of service. His behavior with Sheppard seems to have made a very favorable impression at the British Agency:
As a reward I was appointed a permanent member of the Legislative Council and of the Superior Council of Education and my candidature was put forward as the Coptic member of the cabinet.25
| 5 | Education and Legislation |
Simaika was appointed to the Legislative Council in 1906—the year of his retirement from the Egyptian State Railways—to fill the vacancy for a Coptic member that had occurred with the death of Basili Pasha Tadrus, a former judge of the High Court of Appeal. He was chosen by the British Agency in preference to Scandar Pasha Fahmi, who was strongly supported by both Khedive Abbas Hilmi II and Boutros Pasha Ghali.
My appointment in this important position came as a great surprise to me, knowing the claims of Scandar Pasha and his strong protectors. I felt it my duty to call on Boutros Pasha and to offer to relinquish this position in favour of Scandar Pasha. I submitted to Boutros Pasha in a private and confidential interview the Khedive’s desire to favour Scandar Pasha. Boutros Pasha replied, “I must tell you that Lord Cromer insists on your appointment. Besides he has decided to appoint you a member of the Superior Council of Education and I advise you to accept.”26
The Superior Council of Education
The first Superior Council of Education (SCE) was presided over by Saad Pasha Zaghlul, who had just been appointed minister of education. Its members were Mr. Douglas Dunlop, the secretary general to the Ministry of Education; two Egyptian ministers, Hussein Pasha Rushdi and Isma‘il Pasha Sirri; the financial adviser to the Egyptian government, Sir Henry Paul Harvey; the head of the Legal Department, M. De RoccaSera; the director general of Technical and Industrial Education, Sir Sidney Wells; and three members of the Legislative Council, Elwi Pasha, Abd al-Ghaffar Bey, and Simaika.
The SCE met regularly to examine the more important matters related to education in Egypt. Simaika worked harmoniously with his colleagues, and clashes were few. One of these confrontations occurred when discussing religious instruction in government schools. A proposal had been submitted by Zaghlul Pasha that marks obtained in examinations in Islamic religious instruction should be considered in the promotion of a student from one grade to a higher one. Before the meeting, Simaika gave notice to Zaghlul Pasha of his intention of opposing this measure. Zaghlul Pasha, who had no patience for discussion and was
