EGYPT. 



control of Egyptian officials, and are only 

 nominally subject to the Khedive. 



The desert regions are inhabited by Arab 

 tribes, whose chief occupation is breeding cam- 

 els. The Haddendowas, who inhabit the 

 mountains of the coast, speak a peculiar lan- 

 guage which is not Arabic. The Bishareens 

 live in the Nubian desert. Various other 

 tribes occupy the Blue Nile and Atbara re- 

 gions. The camel is the only means of trans- 

 portation across the Nubian desert between 

 Egypt proper and the Soudan. The inhabit- 

 ants of Sennaar are a peculiar race, but several 

 other tribes, each governed by its sheik, sub- 

 ject to the authority of the mudir of the dis- 

 trict, inhabit the region between the Blue and 

 White Niles. 



The revenue of the Soudan is collected by 

 the aid of troops through the mudirs and 

 sheiks, who exto'rt more than double the 

 legal taxes. There are numerous indirect tax- 

 es, besides the poll-tax, and a direct tax on 

 every head of live-stock. 



Slavery is universal throughout the Soudan. 

 About seven eighths of the population are 

 slaves. Their lot is not severe, and the force 

 of custom is generally stronger than the desire 

 for emancipation. The soldiers of the Egyp- 

 tian army with which the rule in the Soudan 

 is maintained, and the black troops stationed 

 in Lower Egypt, are liberated slaves. The 

 army of Sebehr was composed, and that of the 

 Mahdi is now made up, in great part, of the 

 same material. 



The products of the Soudan are various, and 

 some of them are valuable articles of com- 

 merce. The Arabs of the desert grow sheep 

 and goats as well as camels. The mountains 

 between Suakim and Berber are covered in 

 many places with senna. The chief supply of 

 gum-arabic comes from Kordofan and the re- 

 gions between the Atbara and Settite rivers, 

 where it is produced in the finest quality by 

 the thorny mimosas which grow in thickets. 

 Along the upper course of the Atbara, south 

 of Cassala, and in the country between there 

 and the Blue Nile, the dhurra-corn is so pro- 

 lific that a camel's load (500 pounds) costs less 

 than a dollar. Sesame, from which oil is ex- 

 tracted, a kind of millet called dochan, and 

 cotton are the other cultivated products. This 

 region, from Oassala through the ancient Meroe, 

 Sennaar, and on the borders of all the affluents 

 of the Nile, is capable of producing sugar, 

 spices, and all kinds of tropical plants, and is 

 peculiarly adapted to the cultivation of cotton, 

 as the rain falls profusely from May to Septem- 

 ber, after which there is neither rain nor dew. 

 Wheat is grown south of Khartoum. Ivory and 

 India-rubber are brought from the Central 

 African provinces on the White Nile. Feath- 

 ers come from the distant equatorial regions. 

 The feather, ivory, and senna trades are par- 

 ticularly affected by the interference with the 

 slave-trade. 



Finances. The total receipts for 1880, when 



the first budget of the International Commis- 

 sion of Liquidation was adopted, were 8,561.- 

 622 Egyptian pounds (the Egyptian pound is 

 approximately equivalent to $5), and the total 

 expenditures 7,911,622 pounds. The budget 

 for 1881 estimated the revenue at 8,419,421 

 pounds, and the expenditure at 8,308,870 

 pounds. The actual receipts were 9,229,965 

 pounds, and the expenditures 8,377,423 pounds, 

 leaving a surplus of 852,542 pounds. The bud- 

 get for 1882 estimated the revenues affected to 

 the public debt as 4,377,225 Egyptian pounds, 

 and the expenditures as 4,097,100 pounds, leav- 

 ing a surplus of 280,125 applicable to the sink- 

 ing fund. The service of the privileged debt 

 required 1,159,212 pounds, the unified debt, 

 2,223,927 ; total debt charge, 3,383,139 pounds. 

 The budget of non-affected revenues placed 

 the receipts available for the administration of 

 the Government at 4,336,223 Egyptian pounds, 

 and the expenditures at 4,366,868 pounds. A 

 supplementary budget provides for the em- 

 ployment of the expected surplus over the 

 estimates, amounting to 540,000 pounds. 



The provisional estimates for 1883 calculated 

 the total receipts at 9,012,010 Egyptian pounds, 

 and the total expenditures at 7,677,806 Egyp- 

 tian pounds. The ordinary budget for that 

 year states the receipts as 8,419,421 Egyptian 

 pounds, and the expenditures as 8,308,870 

 Egyptian pounds. The estimated yield of the 

 main sources of revenue in 1883 was, in 

 pounds sterling, as follows : 



SOURCES OF REVENUK. Amount. 



Land-tax, and other direct taxes 5,867,684 



Indirect taxes (comprising customs, post, and 



octroi receipts) 1,854,294 



Kailroads and telegraphs 1,193,545 



Miscellaneous receipts 389,104 



Total revenue of 1883 8,804,627 



The amounts required in 1883 to meet the 

 foreign obligations and the estimated require- 

 ments of the Government were as follow, in 

 pounds sterling : 



EXPENDITURES. Amount. 



Turkish tribute 678,397 



Public debt 3,748.164 



Administration of the government , 4,155,357 



Total expenditure of 1883 8,581,918 



The result of the first year of British protec- 

 tion and control was to embarrass the finances 

 to an extent unknown in the worst years of 

 misfortune and mismanagement. To a defi- 

 cit of 191,000 in 1882, was added one of 

 250,000 in 1883, which, with an additional 

 Soudan expenditure of probably 500,000, the 

 cost of the army of occupation amounting to 

 600,000, the Domains and Daira deficits of 

 400,000, and the indemnities awarded for 

 destruction of property in Alexandria and 

 elsewhere, created a floating debt of nearly 

 6,000,000. A new loan to cover this would 

 have to be added to the crushing public debt, 

 which was the main cause of Egyptian trou- 

 bles, before the first step could be taken to 

 carry out the expensive reconstructive reforms 

 which were promised by the English. 



