.. 119,861 Decrease of expenditure proposed by the present Committee as compared The uncertainty which exists as to the future strength and organization of the Egyptian army renders it exceedingly difficult to frame a correct estimate of the expenditure under this head. We have had the advantage of consulting with Colonel Fraser on this subject. Colonel Fraser estimates that while the present British force remains in Egypt, and on the assumption that the country has returned to its normal tranquil condition, a force of about 5,000 men would be required for service in Egypt proper, of whom all, except two infantry battalions, would be mercenaries. Colonel Fraser estimates the cost of this force at £ E. 240,139, with an additional charge to the Pension List of from £ E. 3,000 to £ E. 5,000 a-year to meet the cost of pensioning from 90 to 100 Egyptian officers, who would have to be placed on the non-effective list. If none but fellaheen soldiers were employed, Colonel Fraser estimates that the cost would be reduced to £ E. 175,578, and that no addition would have to be made to the Pension List. The question of the composition of the army involves military and political considerations, into which we do not think it is our duty to enter; but, for the purposes of our calculations, we have adopted the higher figure of £ E. 240,139, and we have added £E. 5,000 to the charge for pensions, as contemplated by Colonel Fraser. Colonel Fraser considers that when the British troops are withdrawn, a force of about 11,000 officers, non-commissioned officers and men will be required for Egypt proper, and that the estimated cost of this force will be about £ E. 500,000 a-year. Reduction of expenditure proposed by the Committee as compared with £ E. 51,460 20,000 Nil. 51,460 The Committee which sat at Cairo under the presidency of the Minister of Finance recommended that the Ministry of Marine, hitherto a section of the War Department, should be abolished, and that certain services now under the direction of the Marine Department should either be abolished altogether, or transferred to the Steam-packet, Lighthouse, and Home Departments. This proposal was not adopted by the Egyptian Government, who proposed to maintain the existing organization, but to reduce the expenditure by £E. 31,460. It is very questionable whether, without a change in the present organization, so large a reduction of expenditure would be possible. We agree with the Cairo Committee in thinking that the Marine Department should cease to exist altogether as a separate branch of the War Department. We shall allude subsequently to some of the items of expenditure which, under our proposal, would be transferred to other heads of account. But we wish at once to deal with a question of some delicacy which arises in connection with this head of expenditure. The maintenance of His Highness the Khedive's yacht, the "Mahroussah," is very costly. The details of the expenditure for 1883 are not forthcoming, but in 1882 they were as follows: We understand that His Highness the Khedive proposes to reduce the expenditure for the future to £ E. 6,000. a-year. The yacht has very seldom been used, and we gather from the Report of the Cairo Committee that the boilers are in such bad condition that it is doubtful whether she is seaworthy. That Committee, therefore, suggested that the yacht should be sold. It cannot be doubted that the present condition of Egyptian finance renders it imperative to reduce all expenditure which is not absolutely necessary in the interests of the State. Under these circumstances, we venture to express a hope that the Khedive will afford another proof of the public spirit and generous disinterestedness which he has shown on so many previous occasions, and that His Highness will allow the yacht to be sold. The proceeds of the sale might, we consider, with propriety be credited to His Highness' Civil List. Increase of expenditure proposed by Committee over the estimate of 1880 36,585 The expenditure under this head has been steadily growing since 1880. The original estimate for 1884 amounted to £ E. 109,911. The Cairo Committee proposed to reduce this sum to £ E. 88,875. The whole of their proposals were not, however, accepted by the Egyptian Government, who eventually put forward a revised estimate of £E. 99,977. A thorough examination into the expenditure under this head would involve an inquiry into the existing educational system and into the educational requirements of Egypt. We do not feel ourselves competent to conduct any such inquiry. We propose, therefore, to confine ourselves to some general observations on this subject, and we shall merely propose some minor economies which can obviously be effected without interference with any of the essential parts of the existing system. In spite of the urgent necessity which exists for economy in all branches of the public service, we are unwilling to propose any considerable reductions in the grant for education. There can be no doubt that Egypt stands greatly in need of a good educational system. It is the want of any such system in the past which has, in a great measure, necessitated the employment of the numerous Europeans who are now serving the Egyptian Government. Whilst, however, on these grounds, we are prepared to accept the Budget proposed by the Egyptian Government, with certain minor modifications, to which we shall presently allude, we wish, at the same time, to express our opinion that the educational grant appears to be by no means well administered. We cannot think that, under the existing system, the Egyptian Government is obtaining results at all proportionate to the amount of money which it expends. Thus the central administration is far too costly. In 1883 it was estimated to cost £ E. 12,014, or 12 per cent. of the total estimate (£ E. 99,549). Again, the Cairo Committee pointed out that there were 364 professors and only 6,203 pupils, of whom only 2,022 were boarders and the remainder (4,181) day-scholars. This is in the proportion of 1 professor to 17 pupils. On an examination of the details of the Budget the extravagance of the present system becomes still more apparent. Thus at Alexandria there is a school affording tuition to only 100 pupils, but attached to which is a staff of 45 persons, viz., 1 director, 21 professors, 4 employés, and 19 servants. At the École Polytechnique there are 21 professors to 85 boarders. At the School of Law, 8 professors to 49 boarders. At the School of Languages, 6 professors to 25 boarders. At the School of Medicine there is a director, a sub-director, and 22 professors, besides some other officials, to 96 boarders. At the School of Midwifery there are 4 professors to 20 boarders. We cannot but think that the whole of these establishments have been fixed on a very extravagant scale. We consider that the whole of this subject requires thorough examination at the hands of a competent Committee, and especially that the proposal made by the Cairo Committee to transfer many of the primary schools to municipalities and villages merits attention. For our present purposes, however, we accept as the basis of our calculations the estimate of the Egyptian Government, with the following modifications. As we have already stated (p. 2), we are of opinion that a separate Minister of Education is not necessary, and that the Educational Department might with advantage constitute a branch of the Ministry of the Interior, with a Director-General at its head. No additional appointment of Director-General would be required. All that would be necessary would be to suppress the existing post of Under-Secretary of State and create a Director-Generalship on the same salary in its place. The abolition of the post of Minister of Education would involve an economy of £ E. 2,700 a-year. Further economies would certainly result from the transfer of the work of the Educational Department to the Ministry of the Interior. It is not possible for us to frame a very correct estimate of the savings which would result from this change, but we think we shall be justified in reducing the educational grant to £ E. 96,000, being a reduction of £ E. 3,977 on the estimate proposed by the Egyptian Government (£ E. 99,977). Our estimate will thus be £ E. 36,585 in excess of the amount for which provision was made in the estimates of 1880 (£ E. 59,415). Reduction of expenditure proposed by Committee as compared withthe esti- £ E. 46,020 29,721 29,981 16,039 The estimate of 1880 may be grouped under the following heads : The expenditure on the Census has now ceased. The estimate proposed by the Egyptian Government for 1884 is as follows: It will be seen, therefore, that whilst, as compared with 1880, the expense of the establishment has increased by £ E. 801, the miscellaneous expenses have been diminished by £ E. 5,100. For the purposes of our present calculations, we propose to accept the estimate of the Egyptian Government with certain modifications, to which we shall presently allude. In doing so, however, we wish to make the following remarks: In 1880 the number of the employés in this Department was 149. In 1883 it had increased to 181. The estimate of the Egyptian Government for 1884 makes provision for 151 employés. The Cairo Committee was of opinion that the number of employés might be reduced to 84, and the expenditure to £E. 18,938, thus effecting a saving of about £ E. 7,000 a-year. We have already stated (p. 4) that we do not think it desirable to make any sudden and large reduction in the number of employés in the different Departments, but that a normal standard should be fixed, and that as vacancies occur that standard should be gradually attained. We think it clear, from the report of the Cairo Committee, that considerable reductions can gradually be made in the establishment of the Minister of the Interior, as much of the work heretofore performed by the Ministry of the Interior will in the future devolve on the new Native Tribunals. The modifications which we propose in the estimate put forward by the Egyptian Government are as follows: We understand that the future organization of the Ministry of the Interior is now under consideration. The present Under-Secretary of State receives £ E. 2,500, and his Private Secretary E. 240 a-year, making a total of £ E. 2,740 a-year. We have made provision in our estimate for a sum of £ E. 3,000, to meet the expenses of any revised organization which may hereafter be agreed upon. Our estimate will, therefore, be £ E. 260 in excess of the amount proposed by the Egyptian Government. It will be observed that we have accepted the Egyptian Government's estimate of £ E. 3,100 under the head of Miscellaneous. The difference between this figure and the estimate of 1880 (£ E. 3,200) is mainly due to transfers of account. Reduction of expenditure proposed by Committee as compared with the £ E. 88,373 57,511 57,511 30,862 The expenses incurred under this head are on account of the caravan conveying the carpet to Mecca (about £ E. 19,000 in 1880), charities at Mecca and Medina (about £ E. 41,000), guarding the forts in the Hedjaz (about £ E. 11,000), subsidies to hospitals, &c. The Cairo Committee was of opinion that very large reductions might be made under this head by obliging the Administration of the Wakf to take over the greater part of the expenditure as being connected with religious and charitable objects. The Egyptian Government demurred to this proposal, but were prepared to accept an estimate of £ E. 57,511, being £ E. 30,862 less than the estimate for 1880. This economy of £ E. 30,862 is made up of the following items, which we give in round figures: Expenses handed over to the Administration of the Wakfs Saving by reason of fall in the price of wheat given away in charitable donations at £ E. 8,000 13,000 Saving by sending the "Holy Carpet," by sea instead of by land, as heretofore Total 31,000 In matters so intimately associated with the religious habits and institutions of the country, we have thought it advisable to accept the views of the Egyptian Government. We have, therefore, adopted their estimate without any modifications. We wish to observe that we consider that the expenses conséquent on protecting the forts of the Hedjaz should be transferred to the Budget of the Minister of War. In 1883 the estimated amount of this expenditure was £ E. 11,823. We have been unable to procure the detailed estimate for 1884, but we have been informed that it shows a considerable reduction on the figures of 1884. Increase of expenditure proposed by Committee over the estimate of 1880.. £ E. 250,074 318,473 320,000 69,926 We have had considerable difficulty in dealing with this head of account, owing to the absence of the detailed estimate on which the figure accepted by the Egyptian Government (£ E. 318,473) is based. It appears that the Cairo Committee proposed considerable reductions on the estimates originally framed by the Egyptian Government. Their proposals were not accepted by that Government. Eventually, Nubar Pasha offered to accept a lump sum of £ E. 300,000 for the expenses of the Department of Justice, exclusive of the expenditure on the Bureau du Contentieux, which was estimated to cost £ E. 18,473. Thus a total figure of £ E. 318,473 was entered in the Budget of the Egyptian Government. We consider that the system of taking a lump sum as an estimate is open to great objections, and although in the absence of detailed information we have been to some extent forced into the adoption of the same system, we propose, nevertheless, to enter into the details of our estimate so far as the information available enables us to do so. The expenditure under the head of Justice is classified under five sub-heads, viz.: 1. Central Administration. 2. International Tribunals. 3. Mehkémés. 4. Bureau du Contentieux (legal advisers). 5. Native Tribunals. The expenditure under Central Administration is again subdivided under two heads, viz. : 1. Establishment. 2. General Expenses. Looking, first, to the sub-head of Establishment, it is to be observed that in 1880 there were 65 employés at the Central Administration, costing £ E. 10,356 a-year. In 1883 the number had increased to 75, costing £ E. 14,447 a-year. Of this increase, £ E. 1,500 is due to the salary of the Minister of Justice having been increased from £ E. 1,500 to £ E. 3,000 a-year. The balance (£ E. 2,591) is partly due to an increase of 10 in the number of the staff, and partly to the fact that the pay of many of the employés was raised subsequent to 1880. The original scale of salaries appears to us to have been adequate, and we are of opinion that it should be re-established as vacancies occur. We consider that the following economies, which were recommended by the Cairo Committee, may be effected on this portion of the estimate: 1. The salary of the Minister (£ E. 3,000) may be struck out, as provision is made for his salary, now reduced to £ E. 2,700, under the head of Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 2. The post of Moufti, costing £ E. 600, may be suppressed. 3. The post of "Chef du Bureau Européen," costing £ E. 600 a-year, may also be suppressed. We believe that this has already been done. 4. Two posts of "Inspecteurs des Greffes des Mehkémés," &c., each costing £ E. 300 a-year, may also be suppressed. The work that these officers perform is financial, and may be taken over by the ordinary staff of the Financial Department. 5. Three printers, costing £ E. 126 a-year, may also be suppressed, the work of printing being now executed by the Financial Department. These economies amount altogether to £ E. 4,926. The original estimate of the Egyptian Government under this sub-head amounted to £ E. 14,949. Under our proposals, it will be reduced to £ E. 10,023. Turning to the general expenses of the estimate in 1880 amounted to £ E. 2,598. ment for 1884 amounts to £ E. 2,062. Central Administration, we find that the We accept this estimate, less £ E. 519, which was provided for temporary employés, consequent on the heavy work involved in preparing the scheme for the new Tribunals. The necessity for engaging these employés has now ceased. Our estimate for the general expenses of the Central Administration is, therefore, £ E. 1,543. Turning to the sub-head of International Tribunals, we find that the estimate of 1880 amounted to £ E. 132,043. In 1883 the estimate was £ E. 137,708, showing an increase over 1880 of £ E. 5,665. This increase of expenditure was, however, more than balanced by an increase of receipts. The original estimate for 1884 framed by the Egyptian Government amounted to £ E. 144,869. The Cairo Committee proposed certain reductions in this estimate. The Egyptian Government and the President of the Court of Appeal accepted reduc tions to the extent of £ E. 8,692, thus bringing the estimate down to £ E. 136,177. We consider that, as proposed by the Cairo Committee, this estimate may be still further reduced by £ E. 2,197, being the salaries of the native Presidents of the Courts, whose functions are purely honorary. These places may, as proposed by the Cairo Committee, be properly filled by high functionaries on the Pension List. On the other hand, the change which is about to be effected of transferring the criminal jurisdiction over Europeans to the International Tribunals will involve increased expenditure, which may be roughly estimated at £ E. 4,000. Our estimate under this head is therefore for £ E. 137,980, being £ E. 272 in excess of the estimate for 1883. Turning to the next sub-head, that of Mehkémés, we find that the original estimate of the Egyptian Government was for £ E. 37,050. This is £ E. 5,732 in excess of the estimate for 1880 ( E. 31,318). These Tribunals will now only have |