This System
Began With The Early Emperors, Who Thought That, By Depriving The
Provincial Governors Of The Administration Of Justice,
And placing it in
the hands of a learned man sent periodically from Constantinople, and
quite independent of the governors,
They might prevent the latter from
exercising any undue influence over the courts of law, at the same time
that the consequences likely to result from the same judge remaining in
office for any length of time were avoided. But manners are very
different throughout the empire from what they were three hundred years
ago. In every town the Kadhy is now under the immediate influence of the
governor, who is left to tyrannize at pleasure, provided he sends his
regular subsidies to the Porte. No person can gain a suit at law unless
he enjoys credit with the government, or
[p.234] gives a bribe to the judge, which the governor shares or
connives at, in return for the Kadhy's compliance with his interests in
other cases. The fees of court are enormous, and generally swallow up
one fourth of the sum in litigation; while the court is deaf to the
clearest right, if not supported by largesses to the Kadhy and the swarm
of officers and servants who surround his seat. These disorders are
countenanced by the Porte: the office of Kadhy is there publicly sold to
the best bidder, with the understanding that he is to remunerate himself
by the perquisites of his administration.
In those countries where Arabs flock to his court, the Kadhy, who
generally knows but little of the Arabic language, is in the hands of
his interpreter, whose office is usually permanent, and who instructs
every new Kadhy in the modes of bribery current in the place, and takes
a full share of the harvest. The barefaced acts of injustice and
shameless briberies daily occurring in the Mehkames, or halls of
justice, would seem almost incredible to an European, and especially an
Englishman.
The Kadhy of Mekka has shared the fate of his brother judges in other
parts of the empire, and has been for many years so completely under the
influence of the Sherif, that all suits were carried directly before his
tribunal, and the Kadhy was thus reduced to spend his time in
unprofitable leisure. I was informed by the Kadhy himself, that the
Grand Signior, in consideration of the trifling emoluments of the
situation, had, for some time back, been in the habit of paying to the
Kadhy of Mekka one hundred purses per annum out of his treasury. Since
the conquest of Mohammed Aly, the Kadhy has recovered his importance, in
the same proportion as the influence of the Sherif has been diminished.
When I was at Mekka, all law-suits were decided in the Mehkame. Mohammed
Aly seldom interposed his authority, as he wished to conciliate the
good-will of the Arabs, and the Kadhy himself seems to have received
from him very strict orders to act with circumspection; for justice was,
at this time, tolerably well administered, at least in comparison with
other tribunals; and the inhabitants were not averse to the new order of
things.
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