Abd al-Messih and his younger brother Rizqallah were later transferred to the Mixed Courts, and subsequently to the newly established Native Courts. The Mixed Courts of Egypt had been founded in October 1875 by Khedive Isma‘il. These courts were designed by Nubar Pasha to reform the chaotic nineteenth-century legal system, in which consulate courts competed with government tribunals and religious courts for jurisdiction. The Mixed Courts had codes based on a civil-law format, but with significant Islamic and local principles. Judges were appointed by the khedive from among leading Egyptian and foreign candidates. These courts heard disputes between Egyptians and foreigners and between foreigners of different nationalities. The Native Courts were set up in 1883, with mostly Egyptian judges and in 1949 the function of the Mixed Courts, the foremost judicial authority between 1875 and 1948, was transferred to the National Courts. Abd al-Messih eventually became a prominent judge in the Mixed Courts, and Rizqallah chef du parquet (prosecutor general) in the Court of Appeal. Both had great reputations for their ability, their keen sense of justice, and their integrity.
Abdallah, the younger brother of Marcus, after successfully passing his various examinations, was sent to Montpellier to study law. There the most flattering reviews appeared in the annual bulletins regarding the brilliant results he achieved. He was awarded five silver medals, and in the final year he won the gold medal and the prize of the city of Montpellier. He then entered the Faculté de Droit de Paris and was the first Egyptian ever to obtain the doctorate. He wrote two theses, one entitled “La compétence des tribunaux mixtes d’Egypte,” and the other “La province romaine d’Egypte.” The first was reviewed very flatteringly by the celebrated minister of foreign affairs, Tigran Pasha, in the Phare d’Alexandrie, a prominent daily political newspaper. The second was reviewed in the British press by Professor Archibald Sayce of Oxford University, who described it as a book worthy of a statesman. Abdallah rose to become conseiller royal to the Ministry of Communications, and later on was appointed senator in the Upper House of Parliament.
Marcus’s youngest brother Attallah, on graduating from the Patriarchal School, entered the State Railways. His sister married her first cousin, Wassef Pasha Simaika, a prominent judge who was to become the Coptic member in a number of cabinets.
The Simaikas
Al-Ahram fifty years ago (1890)
It gives great pleasure to all those with the progress of young Egyptians dear to their hearts to learn of the achievements of Abdallah Effendi Simaika in his studies at the Faculty of Law in Montpellier. Though not yet twenty-two years of age, he has excelled in every examination he has sat for, and has been awarded the highest honors and prizes.
We have already written on this young man’s intelligence and ability, and we are not surprised that in his final examinations for the Doctorate in Law he obtained four silver medals, the highest honor possible, and earned the praise of all his professors. We congratulate him and wish him further success.
Dr. Abdallah Bey Simaika is one of five brothers known for their learning, their uprightness, and their services to their country. His eldest brothers, the late Abd al-Messih Bey and the late Rizqallah, were prosecutors, then judges, in the Mixed Courts. They were later transferred to the newly established Native Courts. They distinguished themselves by their ability and integrity.
Marcus Pasha Simaika rose to become a senior official in the Railways Administration, and was subsequently appointed a member of the legislative council. He later founded the Coptic Museum and is its director. He is very active in the Committee for the Preservation of Arab Art, and has a leading role in the restoration and protection of Arabic and Islamic antiquities.
The youngest brother, Attallah, also entered the Railways Administration, and was sent on a mission to Europe to study the various railway systems.
The Ahram newspaper was correct from the very start in its judgment of Dr. Abdallah Bey Simaika. His “La province romaine d’Egypte,” which earned him the Doctorate of Law, is to this day a reference to scholars of the legal system in ancient Egypt.
When he reached the age of retirement, the government appointed him to the senate to benefit from his wide knowledge and experience. In the senate, he shone in discussions on various issues, especially in matters of education. His colleagues in that chamber would request him to present briefs on the subjects discussed, so they could study them carefully.
Dr. Abdallah Bey Simaika, like all his brothers, is active in the fight for Church reform and in the Coptic Community Council, as well as in the Tewfik Benevolent Society. He is still active to this day in Coptic community affairs, as if he were still a young man in his twenties.
In this way do patriotic families contribute to their country.
Al-Ahram newspaper, July 14, 1940
| 4 | The State Railways |
When Simaika graduated in 1882, Egypt was under British occupation. Gross financial mismanagement, first by the viceroy Said Pasha, and to a far greater extent by his nephew and successor, Isma‘il Pasha, had put Egypt well on its way to bankruptcy. Isma‘il’s extravagance and irresponsible spending in his quest for Egypt’s rapid modernization left the country deeply in debt to European bondholders. By 1876, 70 percent of the entire Egyptian state budget went to service the interest due on these loans, in effect handing over control of the Egyptian economy to the creditors. The British government sent a member of parliament to investigate these financial difficulties. Sir Steven Cave judged Egypt to be solvent on the basis of its resources, and stated that all the country needed to get on its feet was time and proper payment of the debts. However, European creditors would not accept this, in spite of Egypt paying the debt faithfully. The French were particularly insistent on foreign supervision, and the Caisse de la dette publique14 was established in 1876 to supervise loan repayment. After both external and internal pressure, Isma‘il was deposed as khedive in 1879, to be succeeded by his son Tewfik Pasha (1879–92).
All these measures led to widespread nationalistic resentment in the country, particularly within the army. In July 1882, Colonel Ahmad Pasha Urabi (1841–1911), one of the few high-ranking Egyptian officers at a time when Turco-Circassians still dominated the upper ranks of the army, took over the government after confronting Khedive Tewfik.
In the same month, the arrival of foreign vessels outside the port of Alexandria had incited some of its inhabitants to attack and kill foreigners and members of minority communities. Under the pretext of protecting the city’s minorities, the British Fleet bombarded Alexandria, and British troops landed on July 13, 1882. On September 13, 1882, Sir Garnet Wolsley with an army of twenty thousand troops defeated Urabi Pasha and the Egyptian army at Tell al-Kebir, occupying Cairo four days later. The British agent and consul general at the time was Sir Edward Baldwin Malet (1879–83). His telegram to the British cabinet on the situation grossly exaggerated the instability of the khedive’s rule and was pivotal in the decision to invade Egypt to protect the interests of the British bondholders and to guarantee British control over the Suez Canal route to India. With the British occupation of Egypt, foreign ‘advisers’ were appointed to all government departments. In fact, these advisers effectively ran the country.
The British occupation provided many job opportunities for a young man with language skills and a good education. On completing his studies at the Collège des frères des écoles chrétiennes, Simaika was offered a post as secretary to Emily Anne Beaufort, Viscountess Strangford, who had just opened a hospital in Cairo to treat wounded British and Egyptian officers of the Urabi campaign. Lady Strangford had come out to Egypt with a team of British medical doctors and nurses who had volunteered to help her in running the hospital. Named after Queen Victoria, this was the first European hospital to be established in Cairo. Helping her was Dr. Herbert Sieveking, who later published an article on the Victoria