The War 223
with due regard to his own interests and enmities. The
old evils of denunciation and corruption again disturbed
the villages. Victims fought or fled. The whole country
population was upset. Time-expired conscripts returned
to take vengeance on the Omdeh. The Egyptian Govern-
ment gave no reason for thus preferring corvee to con-
scription. But we may assume they did not wish to render
their own conscription odious for no benefit to Egypt;
while they saw no objection to rendering the British odious
by restoring the corvee for their benefit. If this was so,
we cannot justly complain. For if the military emergency
forced us to recall our undertaking not to require military
service from the Egyptians, we could have offered some
quid pro quo to Egypt that would have got us all the
camel drivers and camels we wanted.
But the commandeering of camels and donkeys caused
almost as much complaint as the conscription of young
men. The wastage was extravagant, and the agriculture
of Egypt suffered accordingly. Purchase soon failed to
produce animals, and pressure had to be applied. Those
of the poorer peasantry which could least well be spared
were, of course, the first to be taken. There were
difficulties and delays in distributing compensation, and,
as a matter of fact, no compensation could make up to
the fellah for the loss of his cameL
Another measure that caused a revulsion of opinion was
the Disarmament Act (May 17, 1917). There was a
precedent for this in a measure of 1904, when an out-
break of brigandage had called for special repression.
But there does not seem to have been any particular
justification for its revival during the war. Yet it was
enforced with considerable severity by domiciliary visits,
which are even more objectionable in the East than in
the West. An Englishman's house may be his castle,