 In October 1879, he appointed Sa'id Talhuq, a Druze from Mount Lebanon, as "qaimmaqam" and gave him authority over a Druze gendarme and established an appeals court and new administrative council.He demanded that the Druze sheikhs pay 10,000 Turkish liras to compensate for the expedition's expenses and give consent for the construction of a road between Jabal Hauran and Lajat to facilitate the construction of an Ottoman garrison in the latter region.The Druze sheikhs rejected the demands, and Ibrahim al-Atrash opposed the appointment of Talhuq and was incensed at Midhat Pasha's administrative reforms.