EGYPT. 



255 



a brigade of fortress artillery, having a total 

 strength of 3,341 officers and men. The National 

 Guards number about 30,000. 



Commerce and Production. The chief com- 

 mercial product is cacao, of which 14,800 tons 

 were sent down to Guayaquil in 1897. Coffee is 

 cultivated also with success. Other agricultural 

 products are rice and sugar. The rubber trees 

 are disappearing from accessible parts of the 

 forest, but lately attention has been given to 

 replanting. Gold is washed profitably by the 

 natives, and an English and an American com- 

 pany are engaged, the one in crushing quartz and 

 the other in hydraulic mining. The country is 

 also rich in petroleum, coal, iron, lead, and cop- 

 per, and has some silver mines in profitable op- 

 eration. The chief imports are cotton and other 

 cloth and provisions. The total value of imports 

 in 1895 was 8,520,000 sucres. The exports were 

 valued at 11,562,740 sucres in that year, 10,889,- 

 190 sucres in 1896, and 12,176,280 sucres in 1897. 



Navigation. The port of Guayaquil was vis- 

 ited in 1897, by 190 vessels, of 265,208 tons, of 

 which 100, of 140,621 tons, were British. The 

 number of coasting vessels was about 2,000. 



Railroads and Telegraphs. An American 

 company in 1896 undertook to carry on to Si- 

 bambe the railroad long before completed from 

 Duran, opposite Guayaquil, for 58 miles to 

 Chimbo. 



The telegraph lines have a total length of 

 1,242 miles. 



Attempted Revolution. In January', 1899, 

 the exiled Clerical leaders collected a large force 

 beyond the border in Colombia for the purpose 

 of invading Ecuador, rousing their partisans to 

 insurrection and overthrowing the Alfaro ad- 

 ministration. The Government was fully pre- 

 pared. Its forces met the invading rebels at San 

 Ancaja on Jan. 23, and a pitched battle was 

 fought which lasted all day. The victory rested 

 with the Government, but only after desperate 

 fighting, with severe losses on both sides. More 

 than 600 men were killed and several hundred 

 mortally wounded. The insurgents in the end 

 were put to flight, leaving 400 prisoners in the 

 hands of the Government troops. 



EGYPT, a principality in northern Africa, 

 tributary to Turkey. The government is an ab- 

 solute monarchy of the Mohammedan type, 

 though the throne passes by the European law 

 of primogeniture, and the Khedive, or Viceroy, 

 is advised by a Council of Ministers. The reign- 

 ing Khedive is Abbas Hilmi, born July 14, 1874, 

 who succeeded his father, Mehemet Tewfik, on 

 Jan. 7, 1892. Since the intervention of Great 

 Britain for the suppression of the military revolt 

 of 1882 the country has been occupied by" a Brit- 

 ish army, and since Jan. 18, 1883, an English 

 financial adviser, who has a seat in the Cabinet, 

 exercises the right to veto any financial measure 

 and has a dominating influence in all important 

 acts of government. The events that took place 

 in 1881 and 1882, consequent upon the bank- 

 ruptcy of the Egyptian treasury, led to a con- 

 ference of the powers at Constantinople, where 

 the principal powers signed a protocol by which 

 they bound themselves to seek no territorial ad- 

 vantage or the concession of any exclusive privi- 

 lege. But England, owing to the progress of the 

 insurrection headed by Arabi Pasha, intervened 

 by force of arms, whereupon the conference dis- 

 solved. Since then successive prime ministers of 

 England have given assurances that Great Britain 

 would evacuate Egypt as soon as Egypt should 

 be able to maintain a firm and orderly govern- 

 ment. 



The Cabinet of the Khedive, which was con- 

 stituted on April 16, 1894, was composed in the 

 beginning of 1899 of the following members: 

 President of the Council and Minister of the In- 

 terior, Mustapha Fehmi Pasha; Minister of War 

 and Marine, Mohammed Abani Pasha; Minister 

 of Public Works and of Public Instruction, Hus- 

 sein Fakhry Pasha; Minister of Foreign Affairs, 

 Butros Ghali Pasha; Minister of Finance, Ahmet 

 Mazlum Pasha; Minister of Justice, Ibrahim 

 Fuad Pasha. 



Area and Population. The total area of 

 Egypt, including the desert regions, is 400,000 

 square miles, but only 12,976 square miles in the 

 valley and delta of the Nile are settled and cul- 

 tivated. The sedentary native population in 

 June, 1897, was 9,047,905; nomads, 573,974; for- 

 eigners, 112, 526; total population, 9,734,405, com- 

 prising 4.947,850 males and 4,786,555 females. Of 

 the foreigners 38,175 were Greeks, 24,467 Italians, 

 19,557 British, 14,155 French, 7,117 Aiistro-Hun- 

 garians, 3,193 Russians, 1,301 Persians, 1,277 Ger- 

 mans, and 3,284 of other nationalities. Not in- 

 cluded in the enumeration were Siwa Wahat, 

 with 5,000 sedentary Egyptians; Dongola, re- 

 cently reconquered, containing 53,037 sedentary 

 and 3,389 nomadic inhabitants; or Suakin, con- 

 taining 15,378 sedentary Egyptians and 335 for- 

 eigners. The increase in population since 1882 

 has been at the rate of 2.76 per cent, per annum. 

 The population of the principal towns in 1897 

 was: Cairo, 570,062; Alexandria, 319,766; Tantah, 

 57,289; Port Said, 42,095; Assiout, 42,012. 



Finances. The budget for 1899 makes the 

 total revenue E. 10,600,000, of which the land 

 tax produced E. 4,661,300, other direct taxes 

 E. 132,700, customs E. 900,000, tobacco 

 E. 1,000,000, octrois E. 210,000, salt 

 E. 183,000, fisheries E. 60,000, navigation 

 dues E. 57,000, stamps and registration 

 E. 38,000, various duties E. 32,000, railroads 

 E. 1,920,000, telegraphs E. 47,000, port of 

 Alexandria E. 145,000, other ports E. 2,000, 

 post office and postal steamers E. 116,000, 

 lighthouses E. 70,000, gold assay office E. 6,- 

 000, Ministry of Justice E. 480,000, various 

 ministries E. 25,000, exemption from military 

 service E. 100,000, interest on deposits .E. 30,- 

 000, Government property E. 95,000, Suakin 

 E. 12,000, deductions from salaries for pension 

 fund E. 62,000, transfer from reserve fund to 

 cover reduction of the land tax E. 216,000. 

 The total expenditure for 1899 was estimated in 

 the budget at E. 10,560,000, of which the civil 

 list of the Khedive and appanages required 

 E. 253,861, Council of Ministers E. 4,122, 

 Legislative Council E. 8,456, Ministry of For- 

 eign Affairs E. 11,116, Ministry of Finance 

 E. 87,147, Ministry of Public Instruction 

 E. 107,964, Ministry of Interior E. 394,195, 

 Ministry of Justice E. 395,623, Ministry of 

 Public Works E. 637,903, general expenses of 

 ministries E. 100,678, provincial administra- 

 tions E. 321,790, customs E. 77,246, coast 

 guard E. 96,143, octrois E. 27,295, salt, etc., 

 E. 46,810, fisheries E. 1,400, navigation dues 

 E. 2,297, railroads E. 956,726, telegraphs 

 E. 44,000; port of Alexandria E. 31,716, 

 other ports E. 3,565, post office and postal 

 steamers E. 107,589, lighthouses E. 27,076, 

 gold assay office E. 2,597, Ministry of War 

 E. 439,570, army of occupation E. 84,825, 

 Government of Suakin E. 120,517, pensions 

 E. 439,000, Turkish tribute E. 665,041, Daira 

 Khassa E. 34,000, Moukabala . E. 150,000, 

 interest and exchange E. 20,866, domains defi- 

 cit E. 60,000, expenses of Caisse de la Dette 



