A.D. 1899. 3,000. The Khalifa met his fate like a man, and seeing that all was lost, seated himself upon a sheepskin with his chief Emîrs, and with them fell riddled with bullets. The Egyptian loss was 15 killed and wounded. It was claimed that the death-blow had been given to Mahdiism by the defeat of the Dervishes at the Battle of Omdurmân, and the destruction of the Mahdi's tomb, but this was not true, for as the power of the Mahdî was believed to have been transferred to the Khalifa ‘Abd-Allâh, the Dervishes regarded it as a real and living thing so long as 'Abd-Allâh was alive. Mahdiism did not die until he and his Amirs were killed by Colonel Wingate on the memorable morning of November 24. On December 17, Al-Obêd was occupied by Colonel Mahon, D.S.O. On December 22, Sir Reginald Wingate was appointed Sirdar and Governor-General of the Sûdân. * On March 4 of this year, Mr. John M. Cook, the late head of the firm of Thomas Cook and Son, died at Walton-on-Thames. The services which he rendered to the Egyptian Government were very considerable. In the Gordon Relief Expedition his firm transported from Asyût to Wâdî Halfa, a distance of about 550 miles, Lord Wolseley's entire force, which consisted of 11,000 British and 7,000 Egyptian troops, Soo whalers, and 130,000 tons of stores and war materials. In 1885, 1886 and 1896 his firm again rendered invaluable services to the Government, and one is tempted to regret, with Mr. Royle (The Egyptian Campaigns, p. 554), that, in view of the melancholy failure of the Gordon Relief Expedition, his contract did not include the rescue of Gordon and A. D. 1899. the Sûdân garrisons. He transported the wounded to Cairo by water after the battle of Tell al-Kebîr, and when the British Army in Egypt was decimated by enteric fever, conveyed the convalescents by special steamers up the Nile, and made no charge in either case except the actual cost of running the steamers. He was greatly beloved by the natives, and the Luxor Hospital, which he founded, is one of the many evidences of the interest which he took in their welfare. Thousands of natives were employed in his service, and it would be difficult to estimate the benefits which accrued indirectly to hundreds of families in all parts of the country through his energy and foresight. 1900. In January Osmân Diķna was in hiding near Tôkar, and Muḥammad 'Ali, the loyal Gamilâb Shekh, found that he had entered his country. Major Burges and Aḥmad Bey left Sawâkin on January 8 and 10 respectively, and a few days later they arrived at the Warriba range, which is about 90 miles to the south-west of Sawâkin; and there Osmân was seen apparently waiting to partake of a meal from a recently killed sheep. At the sight of his pursuers he fled up a hill, but was soon caught, and was despatched from Sawâkin in the S.S. "Behera," and arrived at Suez on January 25, en route for Rosetta, where he was imprisoned for some years. He has been released, and now lives at Gêli, a little to the north of Khartûm. On September 25 Slatin Pasha was appointed British Inspector of the Sûdân. On November 2 Major Hobbs opened a branch of the Bank of Egypt at Kharțûm. On November 29 Colonel Sparkes set out from Omdurmân to occupy the Bahr al-Ghazâl Province. On December 31st, 1900, the outstanding capital A. D. 1900. of the Egyptian Debt amounted to £103,710,000, of which £7,273,000 was held by the Debt Commissioners, leaving a balance in the hands of the public of £96,437,000. Debt 1901. Early in 1901, Tong, Wâw, Rumbek, Amadi, Kirô, Shâmbi, Dêm Zubêr, Forga, Telgona, and other places in the Bahr al-Ghazal Province were occupied. The revenue was £E.12,160,000 and the expenditure LE.11,396,000, leaving a surplus of £E.1,460,000 in excess of the estimates, which were E.10,700,000 and £E.10,636,000 respectively. The net financial result was a surplus of E.700,000. The balance standing to the credit of the General Reserve Fund was, on December 31st, 1901, LE.3,795,000, and on the same date the sum of £E. 1,287,000 stood to the credit of the Special Reserve Fund. to the extent of £445,000 was paid off in 1901, and on December 31st, 1901, the outstanding capital of the Debt amounted to £103,265,000, £95,000,000 being in the hands of the public. On March 1st postal savings banks were opened at 27 first class post offices; the rate of interest allowed is 2 per cent. per annum. The number of depositors was 6,740, and the amount deposited LE.87,000. Of Domains lands, 13,764 acres were sold for £219,000, leaving in the hands of the Commissioners 165,051 acres, valued at £3,330,454. Profit on railways amounted to LE.150,000. The new Port Said Railway was cost between E.350,000 and The profit on telegraphs was LE.12,000. Of salt, 52,221 tons were sold; the revenue was £E.223,000. The imports anounted to E.154,245,000 and the exports to estimated A. D. 1901. £E.15,730,000. The tobacco imported weighed 6,120,548 kilos. and the tambak 325,661 kilos. ; the quantity exported was 529,034 kilos., which is equivalent to 380,000,000 cigarettes. The profit on the Post Office was E. 28,000. About L.E490,000 were spent on irrigation works. On the Aswan Dam £E.900,000 were spent, and on the Asyût Barrage E.800,000. The total number of men called out for the corvée was 8,763 for 100 days. The Cairo roads cost in upkeep £10,772, and £127,00c were spent on public buildings. There was a general increase in crime, 2,382 cases being reported. Prison administration cost E.60,000. In Egypt slavery was practically non-existent. There were 23,477 in-patients in Government hospitals. The Zoological Gardens were visited by 52,711 persons, and the gate money amounted to LE.1,114. The fees paid by tourists for visiting the temples, &c., amounted to £E.3,213. On the preservation of Arab and Coptic monuments E.7,000 were spent. Lord Cromer reported that the year "was one of steady and normal progress . . The fiscal system has been placed on a sound footing. The principal irrigation works are either completed or are approaching completion. Means of locomotion, both by rail and road, have been improved and extended. The institution of slavery is virtually defunct. The corvée has been practically abolished. Although both the judicial system and the organization of the police admit of further improvement, it may be said that law and order everywhere reign supreme. The courbash is no longer employed as an instrument A. D. 1901. of government. The army is efficient and well organized; the abuses which existed under the old recruiting system have been swept away. New prisons and reformatories have been built. The treatment of prisoners is in conformity with the principles generally adopted in Europe; the sick man can be nursed in a well-equipped and well-managed hospital. The lunatic is no longer treated like a wild beast. Means have been provided for enabling the peasantry to shake themselves free from the grip of the money lenders. A very great impulse has been given to education in all its branches. In a word, all the main features of Western civilization have been introduced with such adaptations as have been necessitated by local requirements. Broadly speaking, it may be said that all that is now required in Egypt is to persevere in the course which has already been traced out, and to gradually introduce into the existing system such requirements as time and experience may show to be necessary." 1902. The revenue was LE. 12,148,000, the expenditure E.11,432,333, and the surplus LE.716,000, being LE.506,000 in excess of the estimate. The balance standing to the credit of the General Reserve Fund was on December 31st, 1902, E.2,931,000, and on the same date the sum of E.1,678,000 stood to the credit of the Special Reserve Fund. Debt to the extent of 527,000 was paid off in the course of the year, and on December 31st, 1902, the outstanding capital of the Debt amounted to L103,245,000, 94,471,000 being in the hands of the public. The Government lent to the |