FRANCE 991 



fully established in the upper Sobat region. In Sennar in 1910 sparks of the old fanati- 

 cal spirit caused two outbreaks, promptly suppressed. These incidents were precipitat- 

 ed by the appearance of Halley's Comet, which the Sudanese connected with the comet 

 that heralded the advent of the Mahdi (Egypt No. i (1911) p. 75). 



The occupation of Wadai by France (see E. B. xxviii, 225) drew attention to the 

 question of the boundary between that Sultanate and Darfur, ruled by Sultan Ali 

 Dinar as tributary to the Sudan government. Negotiations were in 1912 entered into 

 with France for the fixing of the frontier, Sir Rudolf von Slatin (the Inspector General) 

 being the representative of the Egyptian and British governments. The completion of 

 the railway from Khartum to El Obeid (the capital of Kordofan) in 1911 not only gave 

 an impetus to trade but put the Sudan government in a position to control Darfur and 

 the western frontier generally. An event of considerable importance to the Sudan was 

 the visit paid to it by the King and Queen of England in January 1912, on their return 

 from India. Port Sudan was inspected, and at Sinkat the king^held a review at which 

 representatives of almost every tribe Arab and negro were present. 



Chief attention was concentrated by the administration on the economic, specially 

 the agricultural, development of the country. The experiment of growing cotton on the 

 Gezira plain, begun in 1911, proved entirely successful, while in the Tokar region near 

 Suakin the cotton output more than doubled during 1907-11. It has been conclusively 

 proved that sugar-cane can be grown along the Nile north of Khartum. The demonstra- 

 tion that the surplus waters of the Nile, not needed for Egypt, can be utilized in the 

 Sudan to render land agriculturally valuable 1 caused attention to be paid to the system 

 of land tenure. In the Sudan by Moslem law the land is " Kharaji," i.e. it belongs to 

 the original owners and their descendants, and the government is entitled to prevent its 

 alienation. This power is being used to protect the Sudanese from European speculators 

 in land. A cadastral survey showed that in the northern provinces nearly all the land 

 is in private ownership. In the south tribal tenure prevails. 



Port Sudan (on the Red Sea) being advantageously placed both for the European and 

 Eastern markets, external trade has made rapid strides. The value of exports (merchandise 

 only) rose from .977,600 in 1910 to .1,377,000 in 1911, an increase of 40 per cent. 

 Imports (exclusive of specie) rose from .1,348,000 in 1910 to .1,696,000 in 1911; of this 

 the British share was 46.5 per cent. Cotton goods and food stuffs (chiefly sugar and salt) 

 are the chief imports. The principal exports are cattle and sheep, gum and cotton (seed 

 and lint); other considerable exports being durra, dom nuts and dates. The ability of the 

 Sudanese to take advantage of the increased facilities for trade offered is marked, as the 

 railway returns, among other things, show. In the five years 1907-11 the profits on the 

 railways rose from .85,000 to .128,000. The live stock traffic rose from 98,000 animals 

 in 1910 to 172,000 in 1911. Nile traffic also grew largely and a floating dock was built at Haifa, 

 near-Khartum, in 1911. While goods traffic is mainly via the Red Sea, passenger traffic 

 still goes via Egypt. In 1912 a regular mail service between London and Khartum occupy- 

 ing only, nine clays was instituted. 



The financial situation is sound, as shown by the fact that for 1913 the Sudan govern- 

 ment renounced the contribution from the Egyptian treasury, which was E. 188,000 in 



1911 and .163,000 in 1912. In its stead the government took the Custom dues levied in 

 Egypt on goods for the Sudan, estimated at .85,000. The accounts for 19.11 showed a 

 surplus of .145,000, receipts being .1,664,000 and expenditure .1,519,000. For 



1912 the receipts and expenditure were both budgeted for at .1,710,000. 



The Reports by the British Agent on Egypt and the Sudan, published yearly as a par- 

 liamentary paper give the most trustworthy information concerning those countries. See 

 also the Consular reports on Alexandria, Port Said, &c: E. A. Wallis Budge, Cook's Hand- 

 book/or Egypt and the Egyptian Siidan, 3rd Ed. (London, 1911); J. Alexander, The Truth 

 About Egypt (London, 1911), useful information concerning the Nationalist parties. 



(F. R. CANA.) 



FRAffCE 2 



Population. The census returns of 1911 give the total population as 39,601,509, 

 showing an increase of 349,264 over the census of 1906 (39,252,245). The average .den- 

 sity is about 190 per sq. m. Fifteen towns contain over 100,000 inhabitants, and 134 



1 Irrigation schemes costing some 5,000,000 were in 1912 under consideration. 



2 See E. B. x, 775 et seq. 



