Ibrahim Pasha ridiculed bureaucratic receipt requirements as obstacles to supply

Evidence

Anticipating that the Director would answer saying that he could not issue such military equipment without having a receipt in exchange, he told him that if he was so concerned about proper proceedings, he should have forged a receipt and sent it to himself “so as to keep your books tidy.” He added that such silly bureaucratic excuses should not stand in the way of the execution of those important orders. — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 942

Categorization

• SHARE: Perfect anecdote for a historian friend working on Ottoman Egyptian military bureaucracy.