428 PAPER IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 



EXPORTS. 



Cigarette paper is the only kind of paper exported from Egypt. 

 The countries to which it is shipped are Great Britain, Turkey, 

 Greece, Bulgaria, and the United States. It is not possible to state 

 the quantities, but the values in 1897 were, according to a govern- 

 ment publication, as follows: 



Turkey $2, 815 



Great Britain 189 



United States 400 



Bulgaria 285 



Greece 95 



The usual method of payment is by three-month bills. The duty 

 on all exports is i per cent ad valorem. Mails for Great Britain are 



landed at Brindisi and are sent from there by rail to their destination. 



t 

 THOMAS SKELTON HARRISON, 



CAIRO, February 23, 1899. Agent and Consul- General. 



MADAGASCAR. 



The population of the island of Madagascar is about 4,000,000; 

 of Tamatave, about 8,500. The capital, Tananarive, has some 

 100,000 inhabitants. The proportion of illiteracy is about 95 per 

 cent. The Hovas, former rulers of the island, are by far the most 

 intelligent of the native contingent. They are of an imitative turn 

 of mind and readily learn almost anything. 



CONSUMPTION. 



Paper is used here principally for wrapping parcels, though they 

 frequently substitute a large, broad green leaf, called "ravinalla," 

 for wrapping in the market, and another, called "hofa, " for inclosing 

 parcels for transportation on the backs of men to the interior. There 

 are no industries requiring the use of paper. There are no paper 

 firms, companies, or brokers. Three papers are published on the 

 island. There are no printers, except those in the government serv- 

 ice and a few taught by the missionaries for printing their Sunday- 

 school publications. There are no publishers on the island. The 

 consumption of paper is confined to the small shopkeepers Chinese, 

 Indians, and Creoles. A few of the larger English houses import 

 paper for their own use. There are no articles manufactured from 

 paper here. In my opinion, the consumption of paper is not likely 

 to increase for years. The French nation dominates trade of all 

 kinds by the prohibitory tariff laws. 



