The consular courts are manned by Egyptians, who give testimony in Arabic, and the accused is translated for by a translator. Few Egyptian judges are involved in criminal cases, as 99 percent of the European residents in Egypt are either English, French, German, Greek, or Italian. The remaining 1 percent speak one or more of these languages fluently. It is certain that in criminal cases, for which we are concerned, there is a sufficient number of judges who speak English, French, German, Italian, and Greek, because the Egyptian government, under the patronage of the British government, only proposes legislation that fulfills this requirement, and the European Consultative Council only approves legislation that meets this requirement.

I have limited my discussion to the formation of courts that will replace the current consular courts. As for the original law by which these courts will be governed, it will be based on the declaration that I have suggested the British and Egyptian governments officially make, which is that the criminal legislation that is presented to the Council and is not approved will be based on the principles of "European laws, especially the laws of the Latin nations." While the criminal laws of European nations may differ slightly from one another, French, German, Italian, and others are judged according to the original laws and judicial procedures by which the consular courts are governed. Therefore, the situation will not change much for the European residents of Egypt, except for the British and Americans (1), for whom the change will be significant because the judicial procedures in their countries differ in many ways from those in Europe. It is not possible to maintain the status quo while maintaining a single criminal jurisdiction. However, I do not expect the British and American subjects to have strong grounds to complain about the change I am requesting, because one of two things must happen. Either the current legislative system, with its obvious flaws and shortcomings that they complain about, will remain, and they will continue to be subject to laws and judicial procedures based on principles accepted by European nations. The former is more acceptable than the latter, and this is clear to anyone. What I have mentioned is sufficient to allay the fears of Europeans residing in Egypt regarding the abolition of consular courts and their replacement by criminal courts appointed by the European Consultative Council, their jurisdiction, and their formation. In summary, the aim is to direct criminal jurisdiction, without which legislative reform cannot be achieved, and to rely on... (1) An estimate from 1897 shows that the number of United States citizens in Egypt was 392.