EGYPT AND THE

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 10667, 11 June 1902, Page 2

EGYPT AND THE

'Tax present condition .of Egypt and the Soudan, as disclosed in the report of Lord Cromer (Consul-General of Egypt) for' last year, speaks eloquently for the beneficent effects of British control, and of the progress in that vaat territory administered under the Anglo-Egyptian Convention of 1899. For several years the Egyptian revenue has' been considerably in excess of the Estimates; and deficits, notwithstanding heavy military, expenditure, are now changed into surpluses, which are, indeed, larger than they appear to be. The steady growth of the receipts and, simultaneously with the introduction of necessarily' costly reforms, the almost stationary, character of the disbursements during the past decade prove conclusively that Egypt is on the high road 'to prosperity. In every department of life there has been inch an advance ,as could not' have been made under an unguided native Administration. Irrigation and drainage have added enormously to the material welfare of the people, and will do so in yet greater degree as engineering science wins further successes. This will be completed in due course by the bold scheme of utilising the waters of Lake Tsana, in Abyssinia, or by one of the alternative projects outlined last yew bj Sir William Carotin. The en* tire cultivable v from the marshes of the 'White Nile to the Delta will then be relieved from the dangers of deficient seasonal floods, and will give a sure sustenance for a largelyincreased population. - Concurrently with this 'far-reaching work; the Government are year by year raising the level of civilisation, and of moral »p well as material well-being. Serious crime is kept down; slavery, for all practical purposes, may be said no longer to exist in .Egypt proper; justice is honestly and, on the whole, efficiently administered; and the country enjoys a liberal and, from the local standpoint, an effective system of education, both primary and secondary. Great progress hss been made in inducing the female inhabitants of Lower Egypt to> learn reading and writing, and an advance of this kind is certain to exercise a widespread influence over the whole people. The few remnants of Mahdists that exist are becoming assimilated with the local populations, and these tribes submit readily to the taxes imposed by the Soudan Government. To sum up the whole position, we cannot use more appropriate words than those of Lord Cromer himself:— "Broadly speaking, it may be said that all that is now required in Egypt is^to persevere in the course which has a!-* ready -been traced ont, and to introduce gradually into the existing system such improvements as time' and experience may show to be necessary. That system . . . has assured the prosperity of Egypt and the contentment ofthe vast majority of its inhabitants. ' Habit and custom are, year by year, contributing to place that prosperity and contentment on a more and more' stable basis."

On our first page will be found interesting wading matter under the following "Cable. News," "The West Indian Convulsions," 'Telegrams," "The Courts," "Football," "Commercial," and", other interesting reading matter.^ " Spurious half-crowns are in circulation in Sunedin. Mr George Harris* painter, of Nelson, died suddenly on Monday. He leaves a widow and eleven children. Hudreds of barracouta have recently been cast on the beach between Turakina and Bangitikei Eivers. Commissioner Junbridge, of the Police Force; arrived by the midday train yesterday, and left by the northern train this morning. The Frisco mail steamer Ventura yesterday ' brought to 'Auckland, 960 eighths sacks of flour, 36,985 quarter sacks, 4616 half sacks, and 273 barrels of flour. ''•"The Fighting Parson" still maintains "his reputation for patriotism. Last Sunday the church at Newton (Wellington) was decorated with flags, and the Bey. G. Bond preached a sermon on the text "He maketh wars to cease." It is reported that in one part of the Canterbury district two boys collected and Bold 5000 small birds' eggs, and received 2s per 100 for them. It took them four days to gather the eggs, their "bags" for each day being respectively 1400, 1500, 1200, and 900. In the same locality two boys the previous season made JHO by the same means. O. W. Little, editor of the North China Daily News, in an interview, says war between Japan and Bussia is considered inevitable, not only by the Japanese, but also by the Bussians and all residents on the Siberian coast. Enormous preparations are being made at Port Arthur, and in Siberia- fortifications are progressing and troops are being massed, and Japan is also ready. The Soudan Government is establishing armed posts on the Soudan-Abys-sinian frontier to protect the Soudan-, ese tribes against Abyssinian raiders. Rifles am* mjiMmnrffam *»«.«> igreadjr been issued to the Soudanese. The necessity of tW» measure hta already been explained to the Emperor Menelik, who consented to the arrangement, as ho admitted that he was unable to control the Abyssinian* on the frontier. , V A considerable quantity of frozen poultry is to shipped to South Africa by the Sussex. The freight from Wellington has been fixed at an amount that will be equivalent to nearly 6d per pair, or fully 3d less than New Zealand exporters have had- to pay when • shipping to the Cape via Australia. The freight for, poultry from New Zealand to London is only 4d per pair, which leaves the exporters a very fair profit. The Wellington Fresh Food and Ice Company has between 300 and 400 cases of poultry awaiting shipment to South Africa,

Two first offending "drunks" were convicted at the Police Court thi» morning and discharged. Messrs T. Bnmber and J. H. Keeling, J.s P., occupied the Bench. Strong man Sandow opens in Perth next month. His appearance in the colonies should sir* physical culture a big boom. Wanganui will probably be included in the New Zealand tour. The Westminster Gasette hears that Germany has invited England, the United States, France, and Russia to, enter info an international agreement preventing any single system of wireless telegraphy securing » monopoly. England replies in the affirmative. Portugal, the Standard's Lisbon correspondent understands, has adopted the Slaby-Arco system. A demand of quite a novel kind has arisen among the ladies of Maspachu- > setts. They are petitioning for the right to perform the marriage ceremony. Justices of the Peace are already , competent to do so; several women holtt commissions as Justices of the Peace; therefore, declares Boston, now as evar intent on life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, these 'women should be allowed the same privilege as their male colleagues. * A. report dated December,, 1901, from. De la Hey to Mr Kruger, says:— "We ire partly clad in skins, others in blankets or pieces of tents taken from J;he enemy; but for the greater part, we are dressed in khaki taken from the prisoners. 'We have still a fe+? cannon. The greater part of our Mauser rifles are replaced by Lee-Jletfordg, *nd~ I have seveial thousand men so armed. As for cartridges, I hive neither more nor less than last year, and I shall only run short when England.;discontinues to send supplies to South- Africa, tn this connection, the situation of De Wet and Botha is precisely the' same." The Auckland correspondent of the Chriatchuroh Press telegraphed to his paper a day or two ago as follows: — AAA A rumour is current that a death supposed to be from plague occurred 'here about a week ago, but' the ' health authorities are extremely, reticent on the matter. It is understood, however, that a suspicious case which terminated fatally' came under their notice, and that they have reported the circumstances and the result of a> bacteriological examination to the .Public Health Department." The' Chief Health Officer is absent in Christchurch, and the District Health Officer (Dr Valintine) states that he has no official information on the subject. - A rather peculiar case of family differences cante before the Stipendiary Magistrate at Wellington on Monday for the second time. Last week k young married woman was arrested there on an information, laid, by > her brother, in Otago, charging her with having stolen from Riverton <* watch and chain. She was remanded' till Monday. It appeared that the defendant claimed part ownership of the articles, and had disposed of them herb. Mr Herdman, counsel for the accused, stated that since the brother, 'had moved the police in the matter, he had written expressing regret f<# having set the criminal law in.' motiop, ana stating his wish to withdraw, the proceedings, on these grounds". , -iHt Herdman objected to a proposal made to remand his client to Invercargill. Under the circumstances Mr Haselden decided to remand the accused for a week, to appear then only if required. He declined to send the woman, to Inyercargill unless there was some reasonable suggestion of crime.