EGYPT. 



277 



be extended to the entire administrative and engi- 

 neering department of the commission. It is, how- 

 ever, understood that the provisions of this article 

 shall in no wise affect the right, belonging to the Sub- 

 lime Forte as sovereign, to send as heretofore her 

 men-of-war into the Danube. 



ART. VIII. The high contracting powers renew 

 and ratify all stipulations of the treaty of the 30th of 

 March, 1856, as well as their appendixes, which are 

 not cancelled or modified by the present treaty. 



ART. IX. The present treaty shall be ratified, and 

 the ratifications shall be exchanged, within six weeks, 

 or sooner, if possible. 



EGYPT, a dependency of Turkey, in North- 

 ern Africa. The ruler bears the official title 

 of Khedive,* the Arabic equivalent for Vice- 

 roy. This dignity is now hereditary in the 

 family of Mehemet Ali. The present Pacha 

 of Egypt is Ismail (born in 1816), who fol- 

 lowed, on January 18, 1863, his brother Said 

 as the fifth Viceroy of Egypt. A Council of 

 State (created in 1856) is at the head of the 

 administration. It consists of the princes of 

 the ruling family, four generals, and four dig- 

 nitaries. Its president is Sherif Pacha. 



The area of Egypt is 659,000 English square 

 miles. It has about 8,000,000 inhabitants, 5,- 

 215,065 inhabiting Egypt proper. The chief 

 cities are Cairo, 313,383 inhabitants; Alex- 

 andria, 238,888; Damietta, 60,000; Tantah, 

 55,000. 



The total receipts for the year ending April 

 2, 1870, according to the official budget, 

 amounted to 1,469,000 purses, and the total 

 expenditure to 1,177,811 purses (500 piastres 

 = 1 purse, 20 piastres = 1 American dollar). 

 The public debt amounted, in January, 1871, 

 to 31,575,000. The navy in 1870 consisted 

 of 12 steamers, 13 yachts, 2 frigates, 2 cor- 

 vettes, 4 screw gunboats, and 1 aviso. The 

 value of the commerce of Alexandria with 

 foreign countries was, in 1870 : imports, 485,- 

 200,000 piastres ; exports, 742,000,000. 



The imports and exports of Egypt from Sep- 

 tember 9, 1869, to September 10, 1870, were 

 as follows : 



The movement of shipping, in 1870, was as 

 follows : 



On January 1, 1871, the length of the rail- 

 roads in operation amounted to 711.5 miles; 

 that of the roads in the course of construction 



* See ANNUAL CTCLOP^JDIA for 1869. 



to 148 miles. Of these roads, 286 miles have 

 double tracks. The only private road is that 

 from Alexandria to Ramie. The line from 

 Cairo to Suez has been abandoned. 



The Egyptian mail, in 1870, forwarded 888,- 

 581 letters, and 91,240 newspapers, to places 

 in Egypt, and 132,461 letters and 47,989 news- 

 papers to foreign countries. The Austrian 

 mail brought 161,212 letters from Europe, and 

 12,360 from the Levant. The Italian post 

 brought 160,000 letters and 172,000 news- 

 papers, books, and pamphlets, from Europe, 

 and forwarded 121,000 letters, and 10,700 

 newspapers, etc., to Europe. 



The receipts of the Suez Canal, from No- 

 vember, 1869, to December 31, 1870, were 

 6,707,115 francs ; the receipts during the first 

 seven months of 1871, 7,682,807 francs. The 

 movement of shipping in the Suez Canal, in 

 1871, was as follows: 



Total 502 [443,709 



The relations between the Khedive and the 

 Sultan during the first months of the year 

 were any thing but friendly. The Khedive 

 was suspected of making extraordinary prepa- 

 rations for achieving his entire independence. 

 According to a report published in the Augs- 

 Iturger Zeitung of March llth, the fortifications 

 along the coast were nearly completed. Be- 

 sides several fortifications west of Alexandria, 

 great care had been bestowed upon the de- 

 fence of the bay of Aboukir, where two large 

 and strong forts have been erected, which are 

 to be brought into connection by railroad with 

 the interior of the country. The American offi- 

 cers, who, in 1870, were engaged (about 25 in 

 number), are all the time occupied with drilling 

 the army. Besides the divisions which have to 

 guard the coast from Alexandria to the east, and 

 besides advanced posts near El Cantara, on the 

 road to Syria, and near Isma'flia, the bulk is con- 

 centrated on the coast not far from the Sweet- 

 water Canal and from the railroad to Ismaiilia, 

 where a camp had been established in a very 

 favorable strategical position. A railroad, 

 which can only serve for strategical purposes, 

 has been begun, in the direction of El Cantara, 

 and was to be completed by the beginning of 

 June. It was believed that the Khedive was 

 not altogether innocent of the insurrection of 

 the Arabic tribes in Yemen. The Porte, on 

 the other hand, had concentrated a large force 

 in Yemen, which, it was inferred, might at some 

 future time be easily employed against Egypt. 



In the progress of the negotiations, the Porte 

 sent a special commissioner to Cairo to make 

 five complaints. The first charge referred to 

 the increase of the army above the number of 



