"Though appointed early in June, Count della Sala contented himself with preparations till August. He then left Cairo for Assiout; and, in early September, found himself at Assouan, the southernmost point of his beat. With his escort of four hundred infantry and sixty cavalry, and acting with energy and discretion, he had little difficulty in temporarily closing the line of the Nile. But all foresaw the effect of that proceeding, which merely diverted the traffic to the Red Sea. The Jellábs must have laughed consumedly at the naïve simplicity of Europeans, so strong in arms, so weak in wits. The result was, despite the new 'service,' an immense increase of activity in the slave-trade. Count della Sala complained (November 19th) to Riaz Pasha that his work had been misreported. The Berberine Governor-General of the Soudan declared that the 'slave-trade was to-day unknown on the coasts of Red Sea,' and the Ministerial newspapers (_Moniteur, Egyptien,_ etc.) assumed a tone of offended dignity. 'What right have people to complain when Egypt was never so active in the suppression of slavery, when we are spending £14,000 a year!' True, but notwithstanding the import notably increased, and people will look at _results_. To the boast that six hundred slaves (a mere handful) had been liberated, it asked how many slavers had been arrested _en flagrant délit_ and hanged. It had a right to show surprise when the answer was 'none.' "Thus we can perfectly appreciate the value of the following supplementary circular of July, 1880:-- "'MINISTÈRE DE L'INTÉRIEUR. "'Lettre-Circulaire adressée à tous les Moudirs. "Malgré les mesures rigoureuses, prises en vu d'empêcher la traité, et en dépit des peines prescrites à l'égard des Djellabes (marchands) qui osent encore se livrer à ce trafic, ces derniers ne reculent pas devant l'entreprise d'amener des personnes en qualité d'esclaves. "'Il est incontestable que les Djellabes ne continuent ce commerce que par ce qu'ils trouvent des acquéreurs qui achètent leur marchandise et qui entretiennent ainsi à leur profit une ressource de bénéfices considérables. Il est élémentaire, en effet, que faute d'acheteurs les Djellabes auraient depuis longtemps abandonné ce commerce, et comme conséquence le Gouvernement ne se serait plus trouvé dans la nécessité de surmonter bien des difficultés et de supporter tant de dépenses. On aurait évité aussi l'application des peines graves qui atteignent plusiers des Djellabes et autres dans le but de supprimer complètement la traite.