1874.1 Zbi [Delmar. 



dishes. A very little fish is obtained, but no meat, except on rare 



occasions, when a sheep is slaughtered and consumed, even to the entrails. 



The total cost of an adult peasant's subsistence in 1837 ranged from 1 to 



2i cents per day. It is now, 1874, 3^ to 7^ cents. So effectually does the 



government deprive the people of the means of subsistence, that says 



MacGreggor : "If the poor fellah does not secrete some of his produce, 



it sometimes happens that notJiing is left him at the conclusion of autumn 



to maintain himself and family through the winter." 



Navigable Rivers, 



The Nile is navigable by light draught boats from its mouths to the 



rapids or cataracts, about 600 miles above. The draught of water in the 



Rosetta mouth is five feet, and in the Damietta, eight feet, at low tide. 



During the inundation, the draught is often forty feet, and large vessels 



can ascend to Cairo. 



Navigable Canais. Miles long. 



Mahmoudy, Lower Egypt 50 



Ismai'lia, " " 61 



Beherah, " " 30 



Ibrahimieh, Upper " 93 



Beside these, there is the Suez International Ship Canal, 69 miles long; 

 the Bahr Yusuf, or ancient irrigating river of Joseph, some 300 miles 

 long ; and hundreds of irrigating canals, many of them of great size, not 

 to count innumerable runnels and ditches, for the purposes of irrigation. 



Railways. 

 The following table shows the progress that has been made in railways 

 in Egypt : 



Year. Miles. 



1863 245 



1871 654 



1873 736i 



In 1873 there were completed twenty-one railways, aggregating 786^ 

 miles, of which about 200 miles were double track ; also, in progress, 208 

 miles and a single railway of 600 miles to the Soudan. 



But with all this progress, says British Consul West, in 1867, "the 

 trade of Suez is on a most limited scale, and is almost exclusively confined 

 to the supply of the daily wants of its few inhabitants. The imports 

 from the Red sea or from India are all on account of the Cairo merchants, 

 and the goods are received here by native wakeeis, or agents, simply as 

 forwarding agents. The duty is paid on them, and notwithstanding the 

 line of railway between Cairo and Suez, they are ti'ansmitted not unfre- 

 quently on camels !" 



The Consul explains that there are several reasons for this singular 

 preference, neither one of which is creditable to the existing government, 

 which not only lords itself despotically over the people, but owns, mono- 

 polizes and administers the railways. 



First. " The natives avoid coming into contact with the government 

 officials," who manage the railways. 



