Page:EB1922 - Volume 30.djvu/997

Rh ooo), and tobacco (3,184,000). Much of the coal imported in 1919 and 1920 came from South Africa and Australia.

Alexandria is the principal centre of trade, taking normally over 90% of the total. Its share in 1913 was 91-8%. In that year Port Said had 1 1 % of imports and I % of exports. War conditions caused Port Said (and Suez) to obtain, temporarily, a much larger share 25% of the trade, but in 1919 Port Said had dropped to 18% of imports and under 4% of exports. In that year Alexandria took 87-9 % of the total trade.

The following table of the trade of Alexandria for 1913 and 1919, showing the chief importing and exporting countries, may be taken as showing the economic relations of Egypt as a whole. The most noticeable features of the table are the entry of Japan into the Egyptian market and the increasing competition of the United States. Japan first appeared as a customer in 1916.

(Values in round numbers of El,ooo.)

1913

1919

Imp't from

Export to

Total

Imp't from

Export to

Total

United Kingdom

7,700

13.500

21,200

21,800

40,000

61,800

Germany

1,500

4,000

5.5oo

ro

240

250

France

2,300

2,800

5,100

2,400

5.900

8,300

Austria-Hungary

1,900

1,700

3,600

Russia ....

900

2,200

3,100

United States

500

2,500

3,000

2,900

16,700

19,600

Italy ....

1,400

1,000

2,400

2,500

3.5oo

6,000

Turkey

1,900

500

2,400

Switzerland

130

I, OOO

1,130

430

650

i,o8

Belgium

1,100

IOO

1,200

Greece

500

50

550

1,900

700

2,600

British India

500

30

530

2,350

ooo

2,950

Japan ....

1,700

1,900

3,600

The share of the United Kingdom and of British possessions in the import trade of Egypt as a whole was 37-6 % in 1913 and 58-2 % in 1919. In the last-named year the United States came next with 6-1 % of imports, being followed by Italy, France and Greece. In 1913 the United Kingdom took 43-1 % of exports, Germany I2'8%, Austria 5-6 % and the United States 7-9 %. The British share of the exports in 1919 was 54-3 %, that of the United States 22 % and of France 7-7%. The increase of United States trade was largely due to the demand for cotton; of the ig2Otrop the U.S. took 35%, compared with 42% taken by the U.K. and 10% by France.

The value of merchandise in transit during 1920 was 13,000,000 as compared with 21,000,000 in 1913. It consisted almost entirely of coal and petroleum and passed largely through Port Said. Re- export trade (entrep&t), to which the geographical situation of Alexandria is peculiarly favourable, was valued at 2,500,000 in 1920 compared with 500,000 in 1913, and consisted mainly in the export of textiles, metal goods, kerosene, oil fuel and vegetable oils to adjacent countries of the Levant, notably Syria and Palestine.

Shipping. The tonnage of ships entering Alexandria in 1911 was 4,095,000, the British share being 39 %, Austria-Hungary coming next with 10%. In 1913 the tonnage was 3,718,000, a figure nearly maintained in 1914. During the World War the commercial ton- nage greatly dwindled and in 1918 was 738,000 tons, of which 527,000 tons were British. The British passenger services were completely disorganized and this traffic was in 1919 almost wholly absorbed by Italian companies, notably the Lloyd Triestino (formerly Austrian Lloyd). Including vessels in transit through the Suez Canal, but ex- cluding warships and all vessels on military service, the shipping figures for 1918 Alexandria, Port Said, Suez and all minor ports combined were: Steamers entered, 2,108; tonnage, 5,329,000; steamers cleared, 2,161; tonnage, 5,489,000. Sailing vessels en- tered, 422; tonnage, 20,000; cleared, 463; tonnage, 25,000.

War and post-war developments included the establishment of regular lines of cargo steamers by Japan, Norway and the United States. Trade with the United States was still, however, maintained mainly by British ships.

Railways, Telegraphs, etc. In 1915-6 the Egyptian railway system was prolonged from Salhia to Qantara on the Suez Canal, whence a line was built (originally for military purposes) across the Sinai Peninsula parallel to the coast, and was later continued to Jerusalem and Haifa. A steel swing-bridge over the Suez Canal at Qantara, completed in May 1918, gave through communication between Cairo and Jerusalem, but at the end of 1920 the Suez Canal Co. pressed for the demolition of the bridge on the ground of its inter- ference with the canal traffic. The bridge was taken down by May 1921 ; while the question of a permanent alternative means of transit was being studied, a floating transporter carried goods across the canal in the railway trucks without break of bulk.

The railways suffered severely during the war owing to heavy military demands and had not in 1921 recovered from the overwork and arrears of maintenance. There was no considerable renewal of permanent way in the period 1914-20. This caused increased use of the canals, notably the Mahmudia Canal, which runs from the Nile at El'Atf to Alexandria. It is open to navigation throughout the year

and has wharfage at Gabbari (the Alexandria goods station). In 1919 the building of short lines to give the Delta towns better access to Alexandria and Port Said was under consideration.

Wireless telegraph stations were erected at Cairo and Assiut and aerodromes laid out at Alexandria, Cairo and other towns, some of which served as stations on the trans-African route. In April 1919, a Ministry of Communications was formed, which took over control of railways, telegraphs, telephones, the post-office, ports and lights, etc., including air service. The telephone system had then recently been purchased by the State from a private company.

Irrigation. The task of raising the Assuan dam was completed in 1912. The regulator at the head of the Menufia Canal built about 1850 having suddenly collapsed in Dec. 1909, a new regulator had been built by Messrs Aird & Co. by July 1910, in time for the Nile floods. In 1912 extensive works for improving the irrigation and drainage of the Delta were begun ; their completion was delayed by the financial stringency caused by the outbreak of the World War.

In 1916 the Egyptian Government in conjunction with the Sudan Government began investigations for new irrigation works on a larger scale. The scheme, approved in 1920 after much criticism, in- cluded the construction of a dam at Gebel Aulia, near Khartum, with a storage capacity double that of the Assuan dam, and of a barrage near Nag Hamadi in Upper Egypt. The object as defined by Lord Allenby in 1920 was to " permit the perennial cultivation of the remaining waste or basin areas of Egypt, amounting to some 1,900,000 ac. which are now uncultivated, and 1,200,000 ac. which under basin irrigation produce one crop a year." The works were also intended to reduce danger from floods. (See SUDAN.)

Education. In 1917 census returns showed that 8 % of the population over five years of age could read and write as against 6% in 1907. These figures hardly reflect the desire for education among all classes. The provincial councils, which since 1910 have had part control of elementary education, showed in many instances keen interest in their work. A commission presided over by Adly Pasha, then Minister of Education, reported in 1918 that the exist- ing schools were inadequate and outlined a scheme for sites and buildings costing over 12,000,000, with an ultimate maintenance cost of some 2,000,000 a year. In 1916 higher elementary vernacular schools were established by the Ministry of Education; in 1920 the Ministry maintained 6 and the provincial councils 18 such schools. In that year the Ministry of Education had 54 girls' elementary schools increased interest by mothers in the education of their daughters was a feature noted by the authorities in the report for 1919. " A few years ago," it was recorded, " it was rare to find a mother taking a direct personal interest in the welfare of her daughter at school ; this was left to the father who . . . often had to overcome maternal opposition to (his daughter's) education." In 1917, 18 per 1,000 of the female population above five years could read and write compared with 3 per I, ooo in 1907. The corresponding figures for males were 85 per 1,000 in 1917 and 120 per 1,000 in 1907. In Feb. 1920 219,642 boys and 42,911 girls attended maktabs (elemen- tary schools) under Government control or inspection.

In secondary and higher education there were no great develop- ments during 1910-20, and no effective steps were taken to found the proposed State university. Much injury to education was caused by the strikes, for political reasons, which began among the students in many higher and secondary schools in March 1919.

Finance. The revenue in 1911 was 16,793,000, exceeding that of 1910 by 827,000 and that of 1907 (the highest figure pre- viously recorded) by 425,000. Expenditure in 1911 was 14,- 872,000. During 1913 the Domains loan was extinguished and the profit on the working of the domains became available for general purposes. The revenue had increased to 17,368,000 by 1913 and expenditure to 15,728,000. The effect of the outbreak of the World War was seriously to contract revenue and to necessitate great economies and the finding of new sources of income. The ac- counts for 1914-5 showed a deficiency of 1,468,000. The re- covery in the price of cotton and the expenditure of the British army stationed in Egypt, however, enabled the Finance Ministry to show a surplus of 1,165,000. By 1919-20 the revenue had risen to 33,677,000 in which year expenditure was 28,991,000. On April I 1920, the general reserve fund stood at 15,576,000. Mean- time, in 1917-8, the Egyptian Government had taken over charges amounting to about 3,000,000 incurred by the Egyptian Ex- peditionary Force. The budget for 1920 I (the financial year ending March 31), framed when cotton was at its highest price and trade increasing, was estimated to balance at the unprecedented figure of 40,271,000. This included a sum of 5,654,000 on new works. During the year the great fall in the price of cotton occurred, with a general contraction of trade, while food subsidies and emergency purchases of coal were a great drain on the revenues. The year closed with a deficit of 12,900,000. This was made good out of the general reserve fund, which in April 1921 was reduced to 3,- 000,000. The budget for 1921-2 was framed to meet the altered economic position. Revenue was estimated at 36,701,000, and expenditure at 38,682,000 with a draft on the general reserve fund to balance accounts.

The public debt stood on Dec. 31 1919 at 93,299,000 sterling, of which 5,282,000 was held by the Government and 88,017,000 was in the hands of the public. Interest on the debt was 3,550,000.