Part 12

The transit trade with the East, which formerly passed overland through Egypt, has been diverted to the Suez Canal, the traffic through which has little to do with the trade or shipping of Egypt. The number of ships using the canal increased in the 20 years 1880-1900 from 2000 to 4000, while in the same period the tonnage rose from 4,300,000 to 14,000,000. In 1905 the figures were:--Number of ships that passed through the canal, 4116 (2484 being British and 600 German), net tonnage 13,134,105 (8,356,940 British and 2,113,484 German). Next to British and German the nationality of ships using the canal in order of importance is French, Dutch, Austrian, Italian and Russian. About 250,000 passengers (including some 40,000 pilgrims to Mecca) pass through the canal in a year (see further SUEZ).

_Currency._--The monetary system in force dates from 1885, when through the efforts of Sir Edgar Vincent the currency was placed on a sound basis. The system is based on the single gold standard. The unit is a gold coin called a pound and equal to £1, 0s. 6d. in English currency. The Egyptian pound (£E.) is divided into 100 piastres, of which there are coins in silver of 20, 10, 5 and 2 piastres. One, ½, 1/5 and 1/10 piastre pieces are coined in nickel and 1/20 and 1/40 piastre pieces in bronze. The one piastre piece is worth a fraction over 2½d. The 1/40 of a piastre is popularly called a para and the native population generally reckon in paras. The legal piastre is called the piastre tariff (P.T.), to distinguish it from the ½ piastre, which in local usage in Cairo and Alexandria is called a piastre. Officially the ½ piastre is known as 5 milliemes, and so with the coins of lower denomination, the para being ¼ millieme. The old terms _kis_ or "purse" (500 piastres) and _khazna_ or "treasury" (1000 purses) are still occasionally used. Formerly European coins of all kinds were in general circulation, now the only foreign coins current are the English sovereign, the French 20 franc piece and the Turkish mejidie, a gold coin worth 18 shillings. For several years no Egyptian gold pieces have been coined. Egyptian silver money is minted at Birmingham, and nickel and bronze money at Vienna. Bank-notes, of the National Bank, are issued for £E.100, £E.50, £E.10, £E.5 and £E.1, and for 50 piastres. The notes are not legal tender, but are accepted by the government in payment of taxes.

The history of the currency reform in Egypt is interesting as affording a practical example of a system much discussed in connexion with the currency question in India, namely, a gold standard without a gold coinage. The Egyptian pound is practically nonexistent, nearly all that were coined having been withdrawn from circulation. Their place has been taken by foreign gold, principally the English sovereign, which circulates at a value of 97½ piastres. In practice the system works perfectly smoothly, the gold flowing in and out of the country through the agency of private banking establishments in proportion to the requirements of the circulation. It is, moreover, very economical for the government. As in most agricultural countries, there is a great expansion of the circulation in the autumn and winter months in order to move the crops, followed by a long period of contracted circulation throughout the rest of the year. Under the existing system the fluctuating requirements of the currency are met without the expense of alternately minting and melting down.

_Weights and Measures._--The metrical system of weights and measures is in official but not in popular use, except in the foreign quarters of Cairo, Alexandria, &c. The most common Egyptian measures are the _fitr_, or space measured by the extension of the thumb and first finger; the _shibr_, or span; and the cubit (of three kinds = 22-2/3, 25 and 26½ in.). The measure of land is the _feddan_, equal to 1.03 acres, subdivided into 24 _kirats_. The _ardeb_ is equal to about 5 bushels, and is divided into 6 _waybas_, and each _wayba_ into 24 _rubas_. The _okieh_ equals 1.32 oz., the _rotl_ .99 lb., the _oke_ 2.75 lb., the _kantar_ (or 100 _rotls_ or 36 _okes_) 99.04 lb.

_Constitution and Administration._--Egypt is a tributary state of the Turkish empire, and is ruled by an hereditary prince with the style of khedive, a Persian title regarded as the equivalent of king. The succession to the throne is by primogeniture. The central administration is carried on by a council of ministers, appointed by the khedive, one of whom acts as prime minister. To these is added a British financial adviser, who attends all meetings of the council of ministers, but has not a vote; on the other hand, no financial decision may be taken without his consent. The ministries are those of the interior, finance, public works, justice, war, foreign affairs and public instruction,[4] and in each of these are prepared the drafts of decrees, which are then submitted to the council of ministers for approval, and on being signed by the khedive become law. No important decision, however, has been taken since 1882 without the concurrence of the British minister plenipotentiary. With a few exceptions, laws cannot, owing to the Capitulations, be enforced against foreigners except with the consent of the powers.

While the council of ministers with the khedive forms the legislative authority, there are various representative bodies with strictly limited powers. The legislative council is a consultative body, partly elective,

## partly nominative. It examines the budget and all proposed

administrative laws, but cannot initiate legislation, nor is the government bound to adopt its suggestions. The general assembly consists of the legislative council and the ministers of state, together with popularly elected members, who form a majority of the whole assembly. It has no legislative functions, but no new direct personal tax nor land tax can be imposed without its consent. It must meet at least once in every two years.

For purposes of local government the chief towns constitute governorships (_moafzas_), the rest of the country being divided into _mudirias_ or provinces. The governors and _mudirs_ (heads of provinces) are responsible to the ministry of the interior. The provinces are further divided into districts, each of which is under a _mamur_, who in his turn supervises and controls the _omda_, mayor or head-man, of each village in his district.

The governorships are: Cairo; Alexandria, which includes an area of 70 sq. m.; Suez Canal, including Port Said and Ismailia; Suez and El-Arish. Lower Egypt is divided into the provinces of: Behera, Gharbia, Menufia, Dakahlia, Kaliubia, Sharkia. The oasis of Siwa and the country to the Tripolitan frontier are dependent on the province of Behera. Upper Egypt: Giza, Beni Suef, Fayum, Minia, Assiut, Girga, Kena, Assuan. The peninsula of Sinai is administered by the war office.

_Justice._--There are four judicial systems in Egypt: two applicable to Egyptian subjects only, one applicable to foreigners only, and one applicable to foreigners and, to a certain extent, natives also. This multiplicity of tribunals arises from the fact that, owing to the Capitulations, which apply to Egypt as part of the Turkish empire, foreigners are almost entirely exempt from the jurisdiction of the native courts. It will be convenient to state first the law as regards foreigners, and secondly the law which concerns Egyptians. Criminal jurisdiction over foreigners is exercised by the consuls of the fifteen powers possessing such right by treaty, according to the law of the country of the offender. These consular courts also judge civil cases between foreigners of the same nationality.

Jurisdiction in civil matters between natives and foreigners and between foreigners of different nationalities is no longer exercised by the consular courts. The grave abuse to which the consular system was subject led to the establishment, in February 1876, at the instance of Nubar Pasha and after eight years of negotiation, of International or "Mixed" Tribunals to supersede consular jurisdiction to the extent indicated. The Mixed Tribunals employ a code based on the _Code Napoléon_ with such additions from Mahommedan law as are applicable. There are three tribunals of first instance, and an appeal court at Alexandria. These courts have both foreign and Egyptian judges--the foreign judges forming the majority of the bench. In certain designated matters they enjoy criminal jurisdiction, including, since 1900, offences against the bankruptcy laws. Cases have to be conducted in Arabic, French, Italian and English, English having been admitted as a "judicial language" by khedivial decree of the 17th of April 1905. Besides their judicial duties, the courts practically exercise legislative functions, as no important law can be made applicable to Europeans without the consent of the powers, and the powers are mainly guided by the opinions of the judges of the Mixed Courts.

The judicial systems applicable solely to Egyptians are supervised by the ministry of justice, to which has been attached since 1890 a British judicial adviser. Two systems of laws are administered:--(1) the _Mehkemehs_, (2) the Native Tribunals. The _mehkemehs_, or courts of the cadis, judge in all matters of personal status, such as marriage, inheritance and guardianship, and are guided in their decisions by the code of laws founded on the Koran. The grand cadi, who must belong to the sect of the _Hanifis_, sits at Cairo, and is aided by a council of _Ulema_ or learned men. This council consists of the sheikh or religious chief of each of the four orthodox sects, the sheikh of the mosque of Azhar, who is of the sect of the _Shafi'is_, the chief (_nakib_) of the _Sherifs_, or descendants of Mahomet, and others. The cadis are chosen from among the students at the Azhar university. (In the same manner, in matters of personal law, Copts and other non-Moslem Egyptians are, in general, subject to the jurisdiction of their own religious chiefs.)

For other than the purposes indicated, the native judicial system, both civil and criminal, was superseded in 1884 by tribunals administering a jurisprudence modelled on that of the French code. It is, in the words of Lord Cromer, "in many respects ill adapted to meet the special needs of the country" (_Egypt_, No. 1, 1904, p. 33). The system was, on the advice of an Anglo-Indian official (Sir John Scott), modified and simplified in 1891, but its essential character remained unaltered. In 1904, however, more important modifications were introduced. Save on points of law, the right of appeal in criminal cases was abolished, and assize courts, whose judgments were final, established. At the same time the penal code was thoroughly revised, so that the Egyptian judges were "for the first time provided with a sound working code" (Ibid. p. 49). The native courts have both native and foreign judges. There are courts of summary jurisdiction presided over by one judge, central tribunals (or courts of first instance) with three judges, and a court of appeal at Cairo. A committee of judicial surveillance watches the working of the courts of first instance and the summary courts, and endeavours, by letters and discussions, to maintain purity and sound law. There is a _procureur-général_, who, with other duties, is entrusted with criminal prosecutions. His representatives are attached to each tribunal, and form the _parquet_ under whose orders the police act in bringing criminals to justice. In the _markak_ (district) tribunals, created in 1904 and presided over by magistrates with jurisdiction in cases of misdemeanour, the prosecution is, however, conducted directly by the police. Special Children's Courts have been established for the trial of juvenile offenders.

The police service, which has been subject to frequent modification, was in 1895 put under the orders of the ministry of the interior, to which a British adviser and British inspectors are attached. The provincial police is under the direction of the local authorities, the _mudirs_ or governors of provinces, and the _mamurs_ or district officials; to the _omdas_, or village head-men, who are responsible for the good order of the villages, a limited criminal jurisdiction has been entrusted.

_Religion._--The great majority of the inhabitants are Mahommedans. In 1907 the Moslems numbered over ten millions, or 91.8% of the entire population. The Christians in the same year numbered 880,000, or 8% of the population. Of these the Coptic Orthodox church had some 667,000 adherents. Among other churches represented were the Greek Orthodox, the Armenian, Syrian and Maronite, the Roman Catholic and various Protestant bodies. The last-named numbered 37,000 (including 24,000 Copts). There were in 1907 over 38,000 Jews in Egypt.

The Mahommedans are Sunnites, professing the creed commonly termed "orthodox," and are principally of the persuasion of the _Shafi'is_, whose celebrated founder, the imam ash-Shafi'i, is buried in the great southern cemetery of Cairo. Many of them are, however, _Hanifis_ (to which persuasion the Turks chiefly belong), and in parts of Lower, and almost universally in Upper, Egypt, _Malikis_. Among the Moslems the _Sheikh-el-Islam_, appointed by the khedive from among the _Ulema_ (learned class), exercises the highest religious and, in certain subjects, judicial authority. There is also a grand cadi, nominated by the sultan of Turkey from among the _Ulema_ of Stamboul. Valuable property is held by the Moslems in trust for the promotion of religion and for charitable purposes, and is known as the Wakfs administration. The revenue derived is over £250,000 yearly.

The Coptic organization includes in Egypt three metropolitans and twelve bishops, under the headship of the patriarch of Alexandria. The minor orders are arch-priests, priests, archdeacons, deacons, readers and monks (see COPTS: _Coptic Church_).

_Education._--Two different systems of education exist, one founded on native lines, the other European in character. Both systems are more or less fully controlled by the ministry of public instruction. The government has primary, secondary and technical schools, training colleges for teachers, and schools of agriculture, engineering, law, medicine and veterinary science. The government system, which dates back to a period before the British occupation, is designed to provide, in the main, a European education. In the primary schools Arabic is the medium of instruction, the use of English for that purpose being confined to lessons in that language itself. The school of law is divided into English and French sections according to the language in which the students study law. Besides the government primary and secondary schools, there are many other schools in the large towns owned by the Moslems, Copts, Hebrews, and by various missionary societies, and in which the education is on the same lines. A movement initiated among the leading Moslems led in 1908 to the establishment as a private enterprise of a national Egyptian university devoted to scientific, literary and philosophical studies. Political and religious subjects are excluded from the curriculum and no discrimination in regard to race or religion is allowed.

Education on native lines is given in _kuttabs_ and in the Azhar university in Cairo. _Kuttabs_ are schools attached to mosques, found in every village and in every quarter of the larger towns. In these schools the instruction given before the British occupation was very slight. All pupils were taught to recite portions of the Koran, and a proportion of the scholars learnt to read and write Arabic and a little simple arithmetic. Those pupils who succeeded in committing to memory the whole of the Koran were regarded as _fiki_ (learned in Mahommedan law), and as such escaped liability to military conscription. The government has improved the education given in the _kuttabs_, and numbers of them have been taken under the direct control of the ministry of public instruction. In these latter schools an excellent elementary secular education is given, in addition to the instruction in the Koran, to which half the school hours are devoted. The number of pupils in 1905 was over 12,000 boys and 2000 girls. Grants-in-aid are given to other schools where a sufficiently good standard of instruction is maintained. No grant is made to any _kuttab_ where any language other than Arabic is taught. In all there are over 10,000 kuttabs, attended by some 250,000 scholars. The number of pupils in private schools under government inspection was in 1898, the first year of the grant-in-aid system, 7536; in 1900, 12,315; in 1905, 145,691. The number of girls in attendance rose from 598 in 1898 to 997 in 1900 and 9611 in 1905. The Copts have about 1000 primary schools, in which the teaching of Coptic is compulsory, a few industrial schools, and one college for higher instruction.

Cairo holds a prominent place as a seat of Moslem learning, and its university, the Azhar, is considered the first of the eastern world. Its professors teach "grammatical inflexion and syntax, rhetoric, versification, logic, theology, the exposition of the Koran, the traditions of the Prophet, the complete science of jurisprudence, or rather of religious, moral, civil and criminal law, which is chiefly founded on the Koran and the traditions, together with arithmetic as far as it is useful in matters of law. Lectures are also given on algebra and on the calculations of the Mahommedan calendar, the times of prayer, &c." (E. W. Lane, _Modern Egyptians_). The students come from all parts of the Mahommedan world. They number about 8000, of whom some 2000 are resident. The students pay no fees, and the professors receive no salaries. The latter maintain themselves by private teaching and by copying manuscripts, and the former in the same manner, or by reciting the Koran. To meet the demand for better qualified judges for the Moslem courts a training college for cadis was established in 1907. Besides the subjects taught at the Azhar university, instruction is given in literature, mathematics and physical science. The necessity for a reorganization of the Azhar system itself being also recognized by the high Moslem dignitaries in Egypt, a law was passed in 1907 creating a superior board of control under the presidency of the Sheikh el-Azhar to supervise the proceedings of the university and other similar establishments. This attempt to reform the Azhar met, however, with so much opposition that in 1909 it was, for the time, abandoned.

In 1907, of the sedentary Egyptian population over seven years of age, some 12% of the Moslems could read and write, female literacy having increased 50% since 1897; of the foreign population over seven years of age 75% could read and write. Of the Coptic community about 50% can read and write.

_Literature and the Press._--Since the British occupation there has been a marked renaissance of Arabic learning and literature in Egypt. Societies formed for the encouragement of Arabic literature have brought to light important texts bearing on Mahommedan history, antiquities and religion. Numbers of magazines and reviews are published in Arabic which cater both for the needs of the moment and the advancement of learning. Side by side with these literary organs there exists a vernacular press largely devoted to nationalist propaganda. Prominent among these papers is _Al Lewa_ (_The Standard_), founded in 1900. Other papers of a similar character are _Al Omma_, _Al Moayad_ and _Al Gerida_. The _Mokattam_ represents the views of the more enlightened and conservative section of the native population. In Cairo and Alexandria there are also published several newspapers in English and French.

AUTHORITIES.--(a) General descriptions, geography, travel, &c.: _Description de l'Égypte_, 10 folio vols. and atlas of 10 vols. (Paris, 1809-1822), compiled by the scientific commission sent to Egypt by Bonaparte; Clot Bey, _Aperçu général sur l'Égypte_, 2 vols. (Paris, 1840); Boinet Bey, _Dictionnaire géographique de l'Égypte_ (Cairo, 1899); Murray's and Baedeker's handbooks and _Guide Joanne_; G. Ebers, _Egypt, Descriptive, Historical and Picturesque_, translated from the German edition of 1879 by Clara Bell, new edition, 2 vols. (London, 1887); Sir Gardiner Wilkinson, _Modern Egypt and Thebes_ (2 vols., London, 1843); Lady Duff Gordon, _Letters from Egypt_, complete edition (London, 1902), an invaluable account of social conditions in the period 1862-1869; A. B. Edwards, _A Thousand Miles up the Nile_ (2nd edition, London, n.d. [1889]); _Pharaohs, Fellahs and Explorers_ (London, 1892); H. W. Mardon, _Geography of Egypt ..._ (London, 1902), an excellent elementary text-book; D. G. Hogarth, _The Nearer East_ (London, 1902), contains brief but suggestive chapters on Egypt; S. Lane Poole, _Egypt_ (London, 1881); A. B. de Guerville, _New Egypt_, translated from the French (London, 1905); R. T. Kelly, _Egypt Painted and Described_ (London, 1902). The best maps are those of the Survey Department, Cairo, on the scale of 1:50000 (1.3 in. to the mile).

(b) Administration: Sir John Bowring's _Report on Egypt ..._ to Lord Palmerston (London, 1840) shows the system obtaining at that period. For the study of the state of Egypt at the time of the British occupation, 1882, and the development of the country since, the most valuable documents[5] are:

I. _Official._--The _Reports on the Finances, Administration and Condition of Egypt_, issued yearly since 1892 (the reports 1888-1891 were exclusively financial). Up to 1906 the reports were by Lord Cromer (Sir Evelyn Baring). They clearly picture the progress of the country. The following reports are specially valuable as exhibiting the difficulties which at the outset confronted the British administrators:--_Correspondence respecting the Reorganization of Egypt_ (1883); _Reports by Mr Villiers Stuart respecting Reorganization of Egypt_ (1883 and 1895); _Despatch from Lord Dufferin forwarding the Decree constituting the New Political Institutions of Egypt_ (1883); _Reports on the State of Egypt and the Progress of Administrative Reforms_ (1885); _Reports by Sir H. D. Wolff on the Administration of Egypt_ (1887). Annual returns are published in Cairo in English or French by the various ministries, and British consular reports on the trade of Egypt and of Alexandria and of the tonnage and shipping of the Suez Canal are also issued yearly.

II. _Non-official._--Lord Cromer, _Modern Egypt_ (2 vols., 1908), an authoritative record; Alfred (Lord) Milner, _England in Egypt_, first published in 1892, the story being brought up to 1904 in the 11th edition; Sir A. Colvin, _The Making of Modern Egypt_ (1906); J. Ward, _Pyramids and Progress_ (1900); A. S. White, _The Expansion of Egypt_ (1899); and F. W. Fuller, _Egypt and the Hinterland_ (1901). See also the works cited in _History_, last section.

(c) Law: H. Lamba, _De l'évolution de la condition juridique des Européens en Égypte_ (Paris, 1896); J. H. Scott, _The Law affecting Foreigners in Egypt ..._ (Edinburgh, 1907); _The Egyptian Codes_ (London, 1892).

(d) Irrigation, agriculture, geology, &c.: _Despatch from Sir Evelyn Baring enclosing Report on the Condition of the Agricultural Population in Egypt_ (1888); _Notes on Egyptian Crops_ (Cairo, 1896); Yacub Artin Bey, _La Propriété foncière en Égypte_ (Bulak, 1885); _Report on Perennial Irrigation and Flood Protection for Egypt_, 1 vol. and atlas (Cairo, 1894). The reports (_Egypt_, No. 2, 1901, and _Egypt_, No. 2, 1904), by Sir William Garstin on irrigation projects on the Upper Nile are very valuable records--notably the 1904 report. W. Willcocks, _Egyptian Irrigation_ (2nd ed., 1899); H. G. Lyons, _The Physiography of the River Nile and its Basin_ (Cairo, 1906); Leigh Canney, _The Meteorology of Egypt and its Influence on Disease_ (1897). Annual meteorological reports are issued by the Public Works Department, Cairo. The same department issues special irrigation reports. See for geology Carl von Zittel, _Beiträge zur Geologie und Paläontologie der libyschen Wüste_ (Cassel, 1883); _Reports of the Geological Survey of Egypt_ (Cairo, 1900, et seq.).

(e) Natural history, anthropology, &c.: F. Pruner, _Ägyptens Naturgeschichte und Anthropologie_ (Erlangen, 1848); R. Hartmann, _Naturgeschichtliche Skizze der Nilländer_ (Berlin, 1866); Captain G. E. Shelley, _Birds of Egypt_ (London, 1872). (F. R. C.)

_Inhabitants._