192 



EGYPT. 



and 150 field guns. The British army of occupa- 

 tion, which has remained in Egypt since 1882, has 

 a present strength of 5,553 men. 



Commerce and Production. The production 

 of cotton in 1899 was 5,888,810 kantars of 99 

 pounds, compared with 0.r>4:U28 kantars in 1898 

 and 5,879,750 kantars in 1897. The area under 

 cotton in 1899 was 900,000 acres; under sugar 

 <-ane, 67,120 acres; under wheat, 1,262,000 acres; 

 under maize, 1,592,000 acres. The total value of 

 merchandise imports in 1899 was E. 11,216,405, 

 against E. 11,033,219 in 1898; value of exports, 

 E. 15,351,908, against E. 11,805,179. The 

 specie imports were E. 4,515,917 in 1899, against 

 E. 2,730,116 in 1898; exports of specie, E. 1,- 

 502,485, against E. 1,891,513. The imports of 

 animals and animal food products in 1899 were 

 E. 389,243, against E. 389,011 in 1898; ex- 

 l-nrts. E. 69,556, against E. 59,585; imports 

 <>f skins and leather manufactures, E. 166,588, 

 against E. 179,287; exports, E. 68,666, 

 against E. 79,005; imports of other animal 

 products, E. 64,953, against E. 66,763; ex- 

 ports, E. 40,050, against E. 38,797 ; imports of 

 cereals and vegetables, E. 1,021,507, against 

 E. 1,273,212; exports, E. 2,670,098, against 

 E. 2,422,449; imports of provisions and drugs, 

 E. 321,481, against E. 284,021; exports, 

 E. 702,588, against E. 556,667; imports of 

 spirits and oils, E. 620,864, against E. 649,- 

 (.!)<; exports, E. 15,397, against E. 21,104; 

 imports of rags, paper, and books, E. 164,934, 

 against E. 145,074; exports, E. 15,521, against 

 E. 17,854; imports of coal, wood, and manufac- 

 tures of wood, E. 1,771,750, against E. 1,178,- 

 953; exports, E. 18,791, against E. 21,839; 

 imports of glass, stone, lime, etc., E. 331,018, 

 aigainst E. 240,031; exports, E. 1,388, against 

 E. 1,280; imports of dyes, etc., E. 240,059, 

 against E. 254,247 ; exports, E. 18,443, against 

 E. 16,533; imports of chemicals, E. 267,433, 

 against E. 224,552; exports, E. 19,287, against 

 E. 18,400; imports of textiles, mainly cotton, 

 E. 3.332,213, against E. 3,289,274; exports, 

 E. 11,669,337, against E. 8,512,867; imports 

 of metals and metal manufactures, E. 1,607,- 

 14, against E. 1,423,760; exports, E. 18,159, 

 against E. 13,975; imports of tobacco, E. 532,- 

 1184, against E. 539,629; imports of miscellane- 

 ous articles, E. 337,795, against E. 596,255; 

 exports, E. 15,213, against E. 24,824. Of the 

 total imports in 1899 the value of E. 9,945,165, 

 and of the exports E. 15,068,722, passed through 

 Ilic port of Alexandria. 



The distribution of the commerce is shown in 

 the table below. 



A national bank that was established in 1898 

 made advances as an experiment to fellahin of 



a number of villages at 10 per cent, per annum to 

 enable them to pay money lenders who charge 40 

 per cent, or more. The result was satisfactory, 

 and all the loans were repaid before the end of 

 the year. The incidence of the land tax has been 

 very unequal, but the Government decided to 

 postpone the consideration of the subject until 

 British officials become familiar with local con- 

 ditions. The first steps toward equalization were 

 taken in 1895, and since then substantial progress 

 has been made toward a reassessment. Progress 

 has been made also in reforming the administra- 

 tion of the Wakfs, or charitable and religious 

 trusts, precautions being taken that there shall 

 be no infringement of the law of Islam. In 1899 

 there was an unprecedentedly low Nile, and while 

 this caused a shortage of crops it facilitated the 

 construction of the Nile reservoirs, which were 

 pushed on with great rapidity. Drainage works 

 that have been carried out in lower Egypt have 

 been successful. The great dam at Assouan, 130 

 feet high and 80 feet broad at bottom, for the 

 storage of the superfluous water that comes down 

 during the five winter months, is expected to raise 

 the water level at the first cataract 50 feet above 

 the present low-water level and to fill a reservoir 

 extending 140 miles southward into Nubia. 

 About 1 2,000' laborers were employed on the dam 

 in 1899, which is built of granite laid in cement, 

 and has a length of 1| mile. The water will be 

 drawn out of the reservoir through 160 steel 

 sluice gates, each 22 feet high and 7 feet wide. 



Navigation. The number of vessels entered at 

 the port of Alexandria during 1898 was 2,454, of 

 2,555,396 tons; cleared, 2,428, of 2,559,876 tons. 

 Of the total number entered 729, of 111,481 tons, 

 and of those cleared 734, of 1,117,161 tons, were 

 British; French vessels entered numbered 125, of 

 263,778 tons, and 126 French vessels, of 265,314 

 tons, were cleared; 153 Italian vessels, of 281,373 

 tons, were entered and 153, of 279,426 tons, 

 cleared; 139 Austrian vessels, of 254,703 tons, were 

 entered and 140, of 261,125 tons, cleared; 847 

 Turkish vessels, of 151,461 tons, were entered and 

 95, of 188,971 tons, cleared; of Greek vessels 163, 

 of 66,781 tons, were entered and 155, of 63,755 tons, 

 were cleared; of Swedish and Norwegian vessels 

 36, of 59,221 tons, were entered and 34, of 57,809 

 tons, were cleared; of German vessels 27, of 52,230 

 tons, were entered and 27, of 54,754 tons, cleared; 

 of Egyptian vessels 82, of 85,547 tons, were en- 

 tered and 79, of 82,566 tons, were cleared: be- 

 longing to other countries were 58 vessels, of 43,- 

 881 tons, entered and 58, of 41,508 tons, cleared. 

 The number of steamers entered in 1898 was 1,522; 

 in 1899 the number was 1,342. Since the comple- 

 tion of docks, wharves, and quays and the open- 

 ing in 1894 of a new pass 300 feet wide and 30 





