EGYPT. 



231 



their trades before admission. Generally they 

 are selected from promising young workmen, 

 educated in the public elementary schools. 

 There are 230 students, who pay $7.25 for each 

 course. The fee is frequently remitted in cases 

 of unusual merit. These courses include arith- 

 metic, geometry, physics, chemistry, mechanics, 

 and other subjects of technical instruction, as 

 well as German literature and book-keeping. 

 In order to obtain admission to the school for 

 the building trades, students must have worked 

 at their trades for two years. There are four 

 winter courses, adapted to the special wants of 

 the pupils, and generally during the other six 

 months they work at their trades. The stu- 

 dents number 170, and the fees are the same as 

 in the School for Foremen. The Art School 

 has 110 students. The Higher Weaving School 

 at Chemnitz, which is one of several in Sax- 

 ony, appears to be the most important, and its 

 courses are attended by young men from all 

 parts of Europe, including the sons of large 

 manufacturers in England. It has a fine, com- 

 modious building, four teachers (of whom two 

 are practical weavers), and students varying in 

 number from 30 to 50. The course occupies 

 two half-years, and the fee is $65.50. Its in- 

 struction includes properties of materials used 

 in weaving, construction of looms, composi- 

 tion of patterns, drawing, etc. The Agricult- 

 ural School was begun in 1877 with 20 pupils; 

 in two years its numbers increased to 60, with 

 a prospect of still further increase. It is held 

 in the winter months, and is especially ser- 

 viceable to small land-owners and tenant- 

 farmers. Besides these schools there are others 

 for mechanical weaving, intended for hand-loom 

 weavers, held on Sundays, an evening-school 

 for practical tailoring, etc. 



It is believed by some that the educational 

 advantages in Germany have enabled its manu- 

 facturing population to compete successfully 

 with English workmen. Probably this may be 

 right, though, at the same time, the cheap- 

 ness of wages in Saxony must be taken into 

 account as an element in the problem.* 



EGYPT, a tributary of Turkey, in North- 

 eastern Africa. The ruler of Egypt, who has 

 the title of Khedive, is Mohammed Tevfik, 

 born in 1852, the eldest son of Ismail Pasha, 

 who resigned June 26, 1879. The eldest son 

 of the Khedive is Prince Abbas Bey, born 

 July 14, 1874. 



The area of the entire Egyptian territory 

 is estimated at 2,987,000 square kilometres, 

 with 17,400,000 inhabitants. Egypt proper 

 has about 1,021,354 square kilometres, with a 

 population of 5,517,627. The number of for- 

 eigners, in 1878, was 68,653, of whom 29,963 

 were Greeks, 14,524 Italians, 14,310 French, 

 3,795 English, 2,480 Austrians, 1,003 Span- 



* The average weekly wages of mechanics In a locomotive 

 and engineering factory in Chemnitz were, in 1870, as low 

 as $3.12 ; a few years later they were $4.32 ; at present they 

 are about $4.00. For similar work, in England, mechanics 

 receive $5.50 per week; and in the United States wages are 

 considerably higher. 



iards, 879 Germans, 752 Persians, 358 Rus- 

 sians, 139 Americans, 127 Belgians, 119 Nether- 

 landers, and 204 others. 



The population of the principal cities was 

 as follows in 1877 : 



Cairo 827,462 



Alexandria 105,752 



Damietta 82,780 



Rosetta 16,243 



Suez 11,827 



Port Said 8,854 



Port Said (in 1881) 18,294 



After a long period of disorder in the finan- 

 cial condition of Egypt, order has at last been 

 restored. In April, 1880, the Commission of 

 Liquidation, composed of members delegated 

 by the Governments of Germany, Austro-Hun- 

 gary, France, Great Britain, and Italy, met at 

 Cairo and framed a law, which was promul- 

 gated on July 17, 1880. The principal stipu- 

 lations of this law are 1. Payment of the 

 floating debt, 30 per cent in cash, and 70 per 

 cent in bonds of the new privileged debt ; 2. 

 Conversion of the so-called short loans (of 

 1864, 1865-'66, and 1867) into bonds of the 

 unified debt, with a reduction of the rate of 

 interest to 4 per cent. The debt on January 

 1, 1881, was as follows: 



Title of debt 



Unified debt at 4 per cent 57,776,340 



Privileged debt at 5 per cent 22,587,800 



Domain loans at 5 per cent 8,499,620 



Daira Sanieh loans at 4 to 5 per cent 9,512,870 



Total 98,376.630 



To this amount it is necessary to add a home 

 debt, which should be paid in fifty annual in- 

 stallments of 150,000 Egyptian pounds each 

 (1 Egyptian pound = $5), and the interest on 

 the shares of the Suez Canal, bought by Eng- 

 land in 1875, amounting to 200,000 annually. 



The budget for 1881 was as follows (in 

 Egyptian pounds) : 



RECEIPTS. 



Direct taxes 5,822,073 



Indirect taxes 1,568.737 



Kailroads and telegraphs 1,145,575 



Other receipts 



Total 8,419,421 



EXPENDITURES. 



Tribute 681,486 



Public debt 8,788,840 



Administration 8,888,544 



Total 8,808,876 



The military forces of Egypt comprise the 

 regular army and the irregular troops. The 

 regular army is composed of six regiments of 

 infantry, two regiments of cavalry of six squad- 

 rons each, one regiment of field-artillery, and 

 three regiments of artillery for fortresses, mak- 

 ing in all 15,000 men. The irregular troops 

 comprise seven mounted corps, each contain- 

 ing 4,000 men. 



The navy in 1880 comprised two yachts, one 

 frigate, one school-ship, four dispatch-boats, 

 two transports in all, ten steamers. 



The total value of Egyptian commerce in 

 1855 was estimated at 275,000,000 piasters 



