Gross become possessed of the land by an arbitrary and high-handed proceeding for Nr. 11060. 7 l. per acre, have since relet it at more than one-third the fee-simple per britannien. annum; and according to the statement of the natives, when the crops do not 28. Apr.1895. suffice to pay the high rent, not only is the entire crop distrained, but the unfortunate tenants are beaten as well. || In ordinarily good years the produce would be worth 5 7. per acre, the rent, P. T. 250, would be exactly half of the gross produce, leaving 2 l. 10 s. per acre for seed, labour, and other taxes. It is not surprising that there should be in the district a noumerous colony of poverty - stricken families residing in the tombs, with which the neighbouring hills are honeycombed. Note 7. The Resurvey for Reorganization of the Land Tax. The following extracts illustrate native feeling on the subject of the land tax, and the necessity of reforming it in the direction of equalization, i. e., the abolition of exemptions: No. 8.- A Notable, Talka, Province of Gharbieh, is a Member of the Chamber of Notables, owns 250 acres, pays P. T. 163 land tax per acre. December 24, 1882. Q. How are the Notables elected. A. The village Sheikhs write to the Mudir, each nominating a candidate for election to represent his district. The Mudir assembled the Sheikhs, and announces to them the number of votes for each candidate, and invites them to declare which shall bo elected. They usually name the candidate whom the Mudir has stated to have received most votes. But the Mudir is not bound to indorse their choice. He often substitutes a protégé of his own. He often receives from the Government an intimation as to who he has to fix upon. The nominee of the Government is elected as a matter of course. || Q. How often do the Chambers meet? A. When summoned. They are usually summoned in December. | Q. What is their function when summoned? - A. First to pass the Budget, i. e., that part of it which does not affect the external debt; beyond that they discuss various points relating to finance. | Q. Can you mention some of the points discussed?A I may mention that, if summoned now, we intend to debate the question of the immunities enjoyed by the privileged lands, and to propose that all should be taxed alike. Also the question of sinecure pensions, which we regard as a costly abuse. Q. Are Europeans exempt from taxation? A. They are not exempt from the land tax if they own land, but they are exempt from taxes on cattle, horses, carriages, servants, in fact, everything except land. | Q. When was the land tax last fixed? — A. It was fixed twenty years ago, at the commencement of Ismail Pasha's reign, or towards the close of Saïd Pasha's reign, I am not sure which. || Q. Was it increased? A. It was nearly doubled. Nr. 11060. britannien. Note. In reply to a series of questions, he explained that during the Gross- American war cotton rose enormously in price, and that cotton-growing in 28. Apr.1895. Egypt became exceedingly profitable, and land doubled in value, and in con- . sequence the land tax was raised. The tax then imposed remained unchanged to this day, although the price of cotton relapsed. No. 7. Evidence of Sheikh and Notables of Tafana-el-Azar, Province of Gharbieh in the Delta. December 22, 1882. We bless England for her intervention; we refused to carry out the orders of Arabi. There is comparatively little debt here; we have always set. our faces against the usurers; we lend money to our villagers ourselves on moderate terms when we think they need it. If you want to know our opinion on all questions of reform summon us together, summon all Notables throughout Egypt together in one great assembly, and ask us our views. We would abolish all exemptions on Oushurieh lands. || We condemn the sheep tax. We do not consider our present land tax too high; we pay here P. T. 163 per feddan; prices of almost all produce are higher now than formerly. [ During the rebellion boys used to run through the villages crying, "No more usurers. No more debts. No more taxes. Welcome to Arabi". They were set to do it. The villagers who had nothing for Arabi to take were beaten. The neighbouring townland is 2500 feddans. There are debts of about 10000 due to usurers on it. Note. The houses of these and other Sheikhs whom I visited in the Delta were more handsomely appointed than those of large farmers in England. The floors in many instances were laid down with expensive carpets, and refreshments were brought in on gilded trays with a covering of gold brocade. The Sheikhs themselves often ride good Arab horses. Most of them were manifestly well-to-do; I did, however, meet with instances where they had been impoverished by the usurers, but the outward signs of prosperity were limited to the Sheikhs and Notables. The dwellings of the rank and file of the peasant proprietors were squalid, and gave the idea of poverty. Note 8.- Irrigation. A complete system of irrigation would include three reservoirs on a moderate scale instead of trusting to a single reservoir on the vast scale proposed for that at Assouan. || This would be a safer method and more effective, though more costly. The first would be constructed at Assouan as proposed, the second at Gebel Silsilis, the third either above Siout or between the first and Second Cataracts. These would all be at comparatively low level; then as an important auxiliary, the great natural depression of Wady Rayan might be availed of if it were found that the three dams already mentioned did not Gross hold up sufficient water. It has been objected to the latter site that the Nr. 11060. desert basin might render the water conveyed into it too salt for use, but the britannien. neigbouring desert lake of Birket-et-Kerun is only slightly brackish, notwith- 28. Apr.1895. standing that it is fed by the exhaust water of the Fayoom irrigation system; this exhaust water carries with it an excess of salts for the reasons explained at p. 9; no fresh water enters this lake, the water is not renewed, but is subject to rapid evaporation. || The Rayan reservoir, on the contrary, would be renewed annually at high Nile, and there would be an alternate influx and outflow every few months. Moreover, it has been proved that water containing as much as 1 per cent. of salt can still be used for irrigation purposes. But in order to impregnate a lake with a superficial area of about 100 square miles, and more than 40 yards deep, with 1 per cent. of salt, an enormous mass of this mineral would be required. A single square mile of the surface, 40 yards deep, would contain more than 120 000 000 of cubic yards of water, and would require more than 1 200 000 cubic yards of salt to impregnate it to te extent of 1 per cent. || The entire lake therefore would require more than 100 000 000. Where is this vast bulk of salt to come from? This objection may be dismissed as chimerical. The desert itself is not so salt as is supposed, for after a few showers I have seen grass and other herbage spring up with surprising rapidity. || The real objection is the cost, exceeding 3 000 000 l., for it would require a canal of very large calibre to convey into the basin enough of the flood water to fill it within the few weeks that high Nile lasts. Moreover, a portion of the canal would have to be cut through a plateau (of no great height) which intervenes. || Should it prove, however, that the three reservoirs in the channel of the Nile held up sufficient water, the Rayan scheme would be unnecessary. || The cost of the reservoirs above referred to, exclusive of Wady Rayan, would be, according to very careful estimates which have been made, about 4 500 000 l., with another 500 000 7. for new canals; total, 5 000 000 7. || This sum could be raised by loan provided the consent of the Powers were obtainable. No public loan ever made would be so reproductive. || Gebel Silsilis would form an admirable site for a great reservoir, but that the river bottom does not offer a very sound or reliable foundation. || This difficulty might be met by using the rocks, which at this point hem in and narrow the channel of the Nile on both banks, as abutments for a dam having the form of a horizontal arch with its crown up steam; such a construction, supported by the natural abutments of solid rock above referred to, would resist almost any amount of pressure that could be brought to bear on it. Note 9. The Privileged Lands. For the information of those who are but little acquainted with the details of Egyptian problems, I may mention that the history of these exemptions is as follows: Early in the century Mehemet Ali offered a premium britannien. Nr. 11060. on the reclamation of waste lands in the shape of greatly reduced land tax. || Gross- This well-meant concession, however, paved the way to mischievous abuses. 28. Apr. 1895. The privileged lands formed a distinct category, called "Ousurieh". || Gradually, by Court favour and influence, wealthy land owners succeeded in getting their lands transferred to the coveted list until the acreage mounted up to 1300000 feddans, or not far from a fourth part of the entire cultivated area of Egypt. Needless to say but a very small proportion of the Ousurieh owed their exemption to reclamation; they are to be found in every province and townland of Egypt, and consequently have given rise to a more universal discontent and sense of wrong than any other grievance whatever, the more so, as the deficit on the privileged properties were made up by burthening the rest of the agricultural population with increased taxes. || Of course, the difficulty of dealing with this serious and widespread evil has been greatly increased by the fact, that in the multitude of cases in which these favoured lands had changed hands an enhanced price had been paid for them in consideration of the reduced tax, but where the reduction had been due solely to Court favour, no Government guarantee had been given that the reduction should be permanent. || In many cases the lands transferred to the exempted category had belonged to peasant proprietors, and until taken from them had paid the full tax; the purchasers of such lands took them at their own risk. || On the other hand, the small percentage which owed their original exemption to reclamation deserve careful consideration | Naturally, the possessors of the privileged lands, who mostly belong to the influential class, may be expected to oppose a reform which will abolish their privileges. || The task of grappling with these difficulties might well daunt the most ardent reformer, and may be compared to the labours of Hercules; nevertheless, this formidable task has been undertaken, by the British Administration; it has been appropriately intrusted to the section of the Finance Department which was engaged in the resurvey mentioned and explained in the body of my Report. || The Special Commission appointed to carry it out had already made a beginning before I left Egypt, and, as stated above, the proposed changes had been so far submitted to with a better grace than might have been expected. It probably has been long perceived to be inevitable. || Few improvements we could make will give more universal satisfaction to the peasant proprietors throughout Egypt, or contribute more to its financial progress and prosperity and our popularity. H. Villiers Stuart. Bündnisse, Verträge, Konventionen etc. Nr. 11061. SCHWEDEN, NORWEGEN und ARGENTINIEN. Handels- und Schiffahrtsvertrag zwischen den vereinigten Königreichen Schweden und Norwegen und der Republik Argentinien. Wien, 17. Juli 1885. 17. Juli 1885. Son Excellence le Président de la République Argentine et Sa Majesté le Roi de Suède et Norvège également animés du désir de contribuer au dé- Nr. 11061. Schweden, veloppement des relations d'amitié, de commerce et de navigation entre la Norwegen, République Argentine et les Royaumes Unis de Suède et de Norvège ont ré- Argentinien. solu de conclure à cet effet un Traité, et ont nommé pour leurs plénipotentiaires, à savoir: || Son Excellence le Président de la République Argentine, le Docteur Michel Cané, Envoyé extraordinaire et Ministre plénipotentiaire de la dite République à Vienne, et Sa Majesté le Roi de Suède et Norvège, le Sieur Henri Akerman, son Envoyé extraordinaire et Ministre plénipotentiaire à Vienne; Lesquels, après s'être communiqué leurs pleins pouvoirs, trouvés en bonne et due forme, sont convenus des articles suivants : Article 1. Il y aura amitié perpetuelle entre la République Argentine et ses citoyens d'une part et les Royaumes Unis de Suède et Norvège et leurs sujets d'autre part. Art. 2. La liberté de commerce sera réciproque entre tous les territoires de la République Argentine et ceux des Royaumes Unis de Suède et de Norvège. Les citoyens et sujets des Parties Contractantes pourront, en toute liberté et sûreté, se rendre avec leurs navires et cargaisons dans tous les parages, ports et rivières de l'un ou l'autre Etat où il est ou serait permis d'arriver aux nationaux et aux navires et cargaisons de tout autre pays étranger. Ils pourront pénétrer sur les mêmes points, séjourner et résider dans une partie quelconque de ces territoires, y louer et y occuper des maisons et magasins pour leur résidence et leur commerce; trafiquer en produits de toute nature et en marchandises de toute sorte en se soumettant aux lois et régléments du pays et ils jouiront en toute chose et toujours sur la même reserve de la protection la plus complète et de la plus entière sécurité. || De la même manière, les navires de guerre, les bâtiments marchands, les malles et les paquebots des Parties Contractantes pourront entrer en pleine liberté et sûreté dans tous les ports, fleuves et lieux dont |