EGYPT.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXI, Issue 1235, 12 May 1864, Page 5

EGYPT.

(From the own Correspondent of the Times of India.) Alexandria, February 20. The struggle between the Viceroy and the general European community is still proceeding. Really, except to an eye-witness, the obstacles thrown in the way of all progress by this unlucky Government, would be incredible. The monopoly of the railway for the advantage of the Viceroy and the reigning family, to the exclusion of all non-privileged persons, the waste and loss in the Custom-house, and the delay, amounting at times to a complete stoppage of business, the disgraceful corruption in both, the enormous price of every kind of labour, owing to the Government coruees; the scarcity of provisions; worse than all, the manifest ill-will of the Government towards Europeans, to whom indeed Egypt owes everything—all these things combined have caused a general movement of the foreign residents. Stimulated by the present high prices, the Viceroy is about to extend into Upper Egypt the dykes and embankments which now enable so large an extent of the delta to be planted with cotton. This embanking of the river has, however, its bad side. Formerly the waters at high Nile were allowed to

spivail uiu'ih cki.il merllie land, depositing everywhere !i;<- .N'iiiH' on which the fertility of Egypt depends. Hut wlk.mi the river is at its height, the cotton plant is in p<»i, and therefore the water must be kept off; there is, therefore, a greatly augmented deposit in the channel, which cannot fail in time to raise the bed of the river (just as we nee in the lower part of the Po), and which rapidly chokes flic canals. Probably there never has been more than two true mouths of the Nile, the present Rosetta and Damietta brunches; the other five (so-called) mouths were in reality only large canals, which have long since been filled up. Some of them pass through districts now deserted, but which only require that in which Egypt is most deficient, population, to become exceedingly productive. The exports continue enormously to exceed the imports. Still very much machinery is being brought in, and more is needed to supply the place of the oxen lost by the murrain. Yet when one considers the flood of money that has poured in upon the country, there is no proportionate solid and lasting benefit. The gold is hoarded, or the fellahs show its presence by purchasing expensive watches and chains for themselves; ornaments, bracelets, &c., for their wives, but few diamonds are bought by the fellahs j —others buy great quantities of wrought copper dishes, &c„ and household utensils, and the trade in white slaves and negroes has become very brisk. Instead of taking to wife one of his brown skinned countrywomen, the rich fellah, nowadays purchases for £300 to £600 a white Circassian slave girl. The price here of all the necessaries of life has risen extremely. There are apprehensions of an absolute scarcity. It would be strange indeed to see corn imported into Egypt. The "Viceroy has established large depots of grain, and in the delta a larger breath of wheat has been sown this year, because less burseem (clover) is required. The Egyptian wheat is naturally good, but is much lowered in value, owing to the way of threshing it by oxen and car. Enormously high wages are obtained by mechanical engineers—£3o or £35 (or even more) per month. Even unskilled labour is scarce, sometimes not to be obtained. In fact, Egypt, which a few years since was one of the cheapest countries in the world, is fast rising to the Indian scale of prices.