It may reasonably be expected that the present work, a considerable portion of which is devoted to the intervention of England in Egypt, should not be brought to a close without some reference to the results attending it.

The military incidents, including the suppression of two formidable rebellions, the abandonment and reconquest of extensive territories, and the creation of a new national army, have already been mentioned.

Such of the political occurrences as were of sufficient general interest have also been touched upon. The effect of England's action in the Valley of the Nile, so far as it relates to the moral and material condition of the country, has yet to be dealt with.

It is no exaggeration to say that never in the pages of history has there been an instance of such rapid recovery as that of Egypt during the last seventeen years. Unfortunately the exigencies of space will not admit of more than a brief reference to the work which has been accomplished. For further and more complete information the reader would do well to consult Sir Alfred Milner's "England in Egypt," a book already more than once quoted in these pages. In every direction a transformation has taken place. Finances have been put in order; revenue has increased; taxation has diminished; additional land has been brought into cultivation; the cotton crop (Egypt's most valuable product) has been doubled; foreign trade has augmented; railway, postal, and telegraph services have been developed; the administration of justice and the prison system have been reformed; sanitary matters have been taken in hand; education has progressed, and lastly, the population has increased to an extent hitherto unknown.

In support of the preceding statements a few figures may ere be given with advantage. The augmentation of the revenue may be seen from the following table:—

A noteworthy circumstance in connection with the growth of revenue is that it has been accompanied by an important diminution of taxation. Taxes to the annual amount of £E.1,132,666 have been remitted since the commencement of the Occupation, and the burden of taxation per head of the population has been reduced from £E.1 2s. 6d. to 17s. 9d., a diminution of 20 per cent.

Whilst the revenue was steadily increasing, the expenditure was so well kept in hand that the chronic deficit which so long figured in Egyptian Budgets was replaced in 1887 by a surplus, and this, with the exception of the year 1888, has continued ever since.

The following table shows the general financial results obtained since the commencement of the British occupation:—

Out of the surpluses thus arising a "General Reserve Fund" has been created, by which the stability of the finances has been secured, and a fund provided for expenditure on productive public works, and for other beneficial objects. On the 31st December, 1898, the sum to the credit of the "General Reserve Fund" amounted to £E.3,893,000, of which £E.2,616,000 was pledged for the execution of public works. In addition to this Fund there is another Reserve Fund, consisting of the accumulated economies resulting from the partial conversion of the Public Debt, and destined to form eventually a Sinking Fund. This amounted at the last-mentioned date to £E.3,218,000.

The increase in the cotton crop, due mainly to extended irrigation, has been from 2,846,237 kantars181 in 1882, to 5,954,000 kantars in 1898.

The improvement in the Foreign Trade is shown by the fact that the value of the exports of merchandise increased from £E.10,418,213 in 1888 to £E.11,706,258 in 1898, and the value of the imports during the same period from £E.7,738,343 to £E.10,811,151. The Customs Revenue (which amounted in 1882 to only £E.624,312) was more than doubled between the dates above given, the returns in 1888 being £E.959,939, and in 1898; £E.2,040,000.182

The progress made by the railways, post office, and telegraph administrations since the commencement of the Occupation is shown by the following figures:—

According to Sir Elwin Palmer, 212 miles of new railways were opened between 1881 and 1897.

The advance made in regard to Education appears from the fact that the expenditure on Public Instruction in the fifteen years ending in 1897 increased by over 37 per cent., the number of Government schools rose from 29 to 51, and the number of pupils from 2,000 to over 11,000.

The increase in the population, before referred to, is the more remarkable when the drain occasioned by the repeated wars in the Soudan is taken into account. In 1882 the inhabitants of Egypt numbered 6,813,919, and in 1897, when the last census was taken, the population had risen to 9,734,405, showing an augmentation of no less than 2,920,486, or 43 per cent., in the space of 15 years.

It may be observed that Lane gives the population of Egypt in the time of the Pharaohs as between six and seven millions. A French historian, M. Mengin, puts the population in the time of Mehemet Ali as only 2,900,000.

Hitherto, mention has only been made of the advantages actually accrued to Egypt under British guidance. But if the gigantic irrigation works recently undertaken in Upper Egypt, known as "The Reservoir Scheme," fulfil only partially the expectations formed with regard to them, the benefits which the country will receive in the future will far exceed anything in the past.

These works, the foundation stone of which was laid in January, 1899, will consist of a huge dam and lock across the Nile at Assouan, and a similar, though less extensive, construction at Assiout—the whole to be completed in five years from 1st July, 1898, at a cost of £4,800,000—spread over 30 years.

By these works, the design for which, in its present modified form, is due to Mr. W. Willcocks, C.E., late of the Egyptian Irrigation Department, it is calculated that the failure of the cotton crop by reason of a low Nile will in future be avoided; 774,000 acres of land now imperfectly irrigated will receive perennial irrigation, other lands will get additional water, and 172,000 acres will be reclaimed from the desert.

The yearly increase to the wealth of the country is estimated at £E.2,608,000, and the direct annual benefit to the State at £E.378,400. In addition to this it is reckoned that the sale of such of the reclaimed land as belongs to the Government will realize a sum of £E.1,020,000 to the exchequer.184

Whilst dealing with prospective benefits, it is impossible to avoid some reference to the advantages to Egypt which may eventually arise from the opening up of the reconquered provinces of the Soudan to trade and commerce.

The future government of these vast regions was provided for by the Soudan Convention, made between the British and Egyptian Governments in January, 1899. Under this the British and Egyptian flags are to be used together, both on land and water, in the Soudan, and the supreme military and civil command is to be vested in an officer termed the Governor-General, nominated by Khedivial Decree, on the recommendation of the British Government. The Governor-General is alone to have power to make laws, and until otherwise provided the whole country will be under martial law.

The orderly administration of the country having been thus provided for, it only remains to wait and see the results. Though years may elapse before these realize the hopes formed, it is impossible not to believe that a territory which, under the most adverse circumstances, has produced such riches in the past, should not, under the present improved conditions, develop into a prosperous dependency of Egypt. Even should this not prove to be the case, the mere rescue of such a vast territory from barbarism will ever remain a triumph for the cause of civilization well worth the cost.

Whilst every one must recognize the beneficent work which has been accomplished in Egypt under England's guidance, there may be persons inclined to doubt whether it can be regarded as permanent. To this there is but one answer, viz., that England can never permit the country which she has rescued to drift back into a state of ruin and chaos. This may be thought to imply an indefinite prolongation of the Occupation. Such, however, does not of necessity follow. It may well be that the direction of Egyptian affairs will have to be left for some time in the hands of the Power under whose influence so much has been accomplished. Until the reforms effected have had time to consolidate, withdrawal would jeopardize the edifice so laboriously erected, and be the worst of calamities. But the progress which the country, under an enlightened ruler, is daily making, joined to the growing intelligence of the people, encourage the belief that the moment will arrive when England may declare her mission on the banks of the Nile at an end, and leave to a regenerated Egypt the control of her own destinies.