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THE 
 
 RIGHT OF LANDED PROPERTY 
 IN EGYPT. 
 
 YAOOUB ARTlN BEY (since created Pasha), 
 
 Librarian and Treasurer of the Institute. 
 
 Printed under the auspices of the Ministry op Einance at Cairo 
 IN THE Year 1883. 
 
 Translated from the, Original French, and now published, with the Permission 
 
 oj the Author, by 
 
 EDWAED ABBOTT VAN DYOK, OF CAIRO. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 WYMAN & SONS, 74-76, GREAT QUEEN STREET, 
 
 linooln's-inn fields. 
 
 1885. 
 
THE EIGHT OF LANDED PliOPEETY IN EGYPT. 
 
EG--5ri=Ti.A.:isr insrsTiTXTTE. 
 
 THE 
 
 RIGHT OF LANDED PROPERTY 
 IN EGYPT. 
 
 BY 
 
 YACOUB ARTlN BEY (sincb created Pasha), 
 
 Librarian and Treasurer of the Institute. 
 
 Printed under the adspices op the Ministry op Finance at Cairo 
 IN THE Year 1883. 
 
 Translated from the Oriyiiwd French, and now published, with the Permission 
 of the Author, by 
 
 EDWARD ABBOTT VAN DYOK, OP CAIRO. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 WTMAN & SONS, 74-76, GREAT QUEEN STREET, 
 
 lincoln's-inn pields. 
 
 1885. 
 
LOKDON : 
 
 ■WTMAK AND SOUS, PEISTEES, GBEAT QUEEN 3TEEET, 
 
 IIHOOlK'S-lHlf TIEIBS. 
 
PEEFAOE. 
 
 TXAYINGr had the honour to be chosen as a Fellow 
 of the Egyptian Institute, I have endeavoured to 
 betoken my gratefulness to this eminent assembly, by 
 laying before it a work relating to a question hitherto 
 very little dealt with. To be sure, the study of this 
 question was rendered difficult by obscurity in the texts, 
 and confusion in the regulations on the subject; but the 
 position I held in the Government Administration, as 
 Secretary of the Commission of Inquiry into the Land- 
 tax, rendered the task relatively easier for me than for 
 any one else. 
 
 I, however, did not at all wish to undertake so im- 
 portant a work without recurring to the counsel of 
 Monsieur Bellaigue de BughaSj whose special know- 
 ledge has aided me greatly. M. Bellaigue de Bughas, 
 with his wonted affability, was not satisfied with giving 
 me advice ; he also had the kindness to trace me out a 
 plan. Had I been able to follow it in its entirety, the 
 research I undertook would have comprised questions 
 under the following heads : — 
 
 I. — Assessment op the Land-tax. 
 
 Ushuri Tax : 
 
 Abadiah lands and tchiflik lands. 
 Oussiah lands. 
 
 Vegetable-garden lands, orchards, and 
 woodlands. 
 
VI ON LANDED PEOPEETY IN EGYPT. 
 
 Kharddji Tax : 
 
 KHaradji lands. 
 Mazroiif lands. 
 Vegetable-garden lands, orchards, and 
 
 woodlands. 
 Olidali lands. 
 Eizqua lands. 
 
 Increase and Decrease in the Object Taxable ; Ex- 
 emption from Taxation : 
 
 Parcels destroyed by the Nile. 
 Parcels formed by the Nile alluvium. 
 Lands become unproductive; lands exempted 
 
 from taxation for other causes. 
 Lands expropriated for reasons of public 
 
 good. 
 Lands whose area is found to be greater or 
 
 less than the measurement. 
 Lands newly taxable, other than those 
 
 formed by Nile alluvium. 
 
 II. — EeCOVEEY OP THE TaXES. 
 
 Collection of tlie Taxes ; Prosecution for Bach- 
 taxes ; Remission of Taxation. 
 
 III. — Accounts (Comptabilit6). 
 
 IV. — Assessment op the Date-teee Tax. 
 
 V, — Various Peovisions. 
 
 Bight of Ffoperty; Mode of Transmission and 
 Conveyance ; Title-deeds. 
 
 Ushuri lands. 
 
 Oussiah lands. 
 
 Kharadji lands. 
 
 Fees for deeds of conveyance. 
 
PRIUFACK, VU 
 
 Lands escheating to the State, and Sale of State 
 
 Lands. 
 Grant of Lands with Bights of Property thereto. 
 Wakf Property. 
 Public Works. 
 Cadaster (Land Survey). 
 
 YI. — Dues on City Peopeett. 
 
 Unfortunately, it was impossible for me to keep 
 wholly to this plan, because it would have given too 
 great a development to my work, and because, further- 
 more, it took in certain questions, such as "Wakf, City 
 Property, etc., upon the examination of which I could 
 not have entered, as the documents for this part of my 
 task were absolutely lacking me. 
 
 Much to my regret, therefore, I have had to limit 
 myself to trying not to deviate too greatly from the 
 lines that had been so kindly marked out for me, and I 
 have divided my researches as follows : — 
 
 PAET FIRST. 
 
 The Mahommedan Law (Shaeaa) on Landed Peopeety 
 
 ACOOEDING TO THE HaNAFITE RiTB. 
 
 I. — Right of Peopeett. 
 
 Constitution of the Land : 
 
 Ushuri lands. 
 Kharadji lands. 
 
 Alteration in the Constitution of the Land. 
 
 II. — Assessment of the Land-tax. 
 
 Ushwi-i lands. 
 Kharadji lands. 
 
Vm ON LANDED PEOPEETY IN EGYPT. 
 
 Gardens and Orchards. 
 
 Increase and Decrease of the Object Taxable: 
 
 Lands become unproductive in whole or in 
 
 part. 
 Exemption from Taxation by reason of 
 
 Buildings, Sovereign Favour, etc. 
 Lands expropriated. 
 Lands newly Taxable. 
 
 III. — Recoveey of the Taxes. 
 
 Collection of the Taxes. 
 Prosecution for Bach-taxes. 
 Tax-collectors ; Tax-receivers. 
 Remission of Taxation. 
 
 IV. — Vaeious Peovisions. 
 
 Lands escheating to the State, and Concession of 
 
 the same. 
 Measiires of Superficies and Measures of Capacity. 
 
 PART SECOND. 
 
 Landed Peoperty in Egypt. 
 
 I. — Constitdtion oe the Right of Landed Peopeety. 
 
 Bizqua lands. 
 
 Oussiah lands. 
 
 Abadiah lands and, Tchiflik lands. 
 
 Athariah lands (Kharddji). 
 
 II. — Assessment op the Land-tax. 
 
 Kharddji lands : 
 
 Ohdali lands. 
 Eirdah Tax. 
 
PRE]!"AOt. IX 
 
 Ushuri lands : 
 
 Abadiah lands. 
 Tchiflik lands. 
 Oussiah lands. 
 
 Tithe of the Date-tree. 
 
 Increase and Decrease in the Object Taxable : 
 
 Parcels destroyed by the Nile; parcels 
 formed by the Nile alluvium. 
 
 Lands become unproductive ; lands ex- 
 empted from taxation for various 
 reasons. 
 
 Lands expropriated for reasons of public 
 utility. 
 
 Lands whose area is greater or less than the 
 measurement. 
 
 III. — Eecoveky op the Taxes. 
 
 Collection of the Taxes. 
 Prosecution for Back-taxes. 
 Remission of the Taxes. 
 
 IV. — Various Pbovisions. 
 
 Lands belonging to the State. Lands escheating 
 to the State, and Grant or Sale of such Lands. 
 
 Abadiahs granted, with Exemption from all Taxa- 
 tion, upon Condition of Worhs, and Planting of 
 Timber-trees, the Delivery of the Title-deed of 
 Bight of Property being made subordinate to the 
 fulfilment of these conditions : 
 
 Woodlands. 
 Grardens. 
 
 Abadiahs granted, without Title-deed of Bight of 
 Property, tvith Exemption from Taxation. 
 
X ON LANDED PROPERTY IN EGYPT. 
 
 Abadiah Lands leased, and Jcnown nowadays under 
 the name of Mazroufs. 
 
 Grant of La.nds escheated to the State. 
 
 Orant of Lands coming within the Domijiium of 
 the State, in consequence of their Abandonment 
 by the Holders. 
 
 Grant of Lands, in consequence of Denunciation 
 of Excess of Area over Measurement. 
 
 Lands belonging to those of the Military Galling. 
 
 Grant and Sale of State Lands, with Bight of 
 Property thereto. 
 
 Lands the Sale of vjhich is Forbidden. 
 
 Cadaster or Land Survey. 
 
 In giving in the First Part an outline of the Moslem 
 Law (Sharaa), so as to establish a parallel between the 
 primitive legislation and that which now regulates the 
 Eight of Property in Egypt, I have tried to follow the 
 same division as that which I have adopted for the 
 Second Part. I wanted thus to facilitate comparisons 
 and reconcilements between the two legislations. 
 
 It may, perhaps, be found that in the Second Part 
 things are repeated and said over again ; but I beg the 
 reader not to lose sight of the fact that this essay, now 
 brought together in one volume, is made up of parts 
 which were read at several diflFerent times, and that 
 during the course of some of those readings I had to 
 revert to points already dealt with. 
 
 My honoured fellow-members of the Institute were 
 so kind as to encourage me by deciding that my research 
 should be published in extenso ; this decision is a token 
 
PEErACE. 21 
 
 of their good feeling towards me, and I beg the reader 
 to grant me his indulgence too. 
 
 I will not close this Preface without here thanking 
 all those who were so good as to give me a helping 
 hand, and make known to me their views and opinions. 
 I shall specially name Monsieur F. Mazuc, who, with 
 a willingness for which I am thankful to him, always 
 bestowed upon me his valuable advice, and Monsieur 
 N. Imjes, who helped me to gather together and arrange 
 all the documents that have served as the basis of my 
 work. 
 
 Lastly, I must render thanks, both in my own name 
 and in that of my fellow-workers, to His Excellency 
 Haidar Pasha, Minister of Finance, who, with a view to 
 sparing the limited means of the Institute, has seen fit 
 to have this volume printed at the expense of his de- 
 partment. I likewise express my thankfulness to Sir 
 AiJckland Colvin, upon whose proposal this measure was 
 adopted, and whose enlightened good-will has never 
 failed those who occupy themselves with questions of 
 interest to the administration of the country. 
 
 YACOUB ARTIN BEY 
 
 (Since created Pasha). 
 
 Cairo, September, 1883. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 Preface 
 
 page 
 
 PART FIRST. 
 
 The Moslem Law (Sharaa) on the Right of Landed Property 
 according to the Hanafite Rite. 
 
 I.— RIGHT OF PROPERTY ... 
 
 Constitution of landed estate 
 
 Ushuri lands 
 Kharadji lands ... 
 
 Ohansre in the Constitution of land 
 
 II.— ASSESSMENT of the LAND-TAX 
 
 Ushuri lands ... 
 
 Kharadji lands 
 
 Gardens and orchards 
 
 Increase and decrease of the object taxable — 
 
 Lands become wholly or in part unproductive 
 Exemption from taxation, by reason of buildings, 
 
 Sovereign favour, &c. 
 Lands expropriated for public good 
 Lands newly taxable 
 
 III.— RECOVERY OP the TAXES 
 
 Collection of the taxes 
 Prosecution for recovery of back-taxes 
 Tax-gatherers, receivers 
 Remission of taxation 
 
 11 
 13 
 15 
 
 15 
 
 16 
 17 
 18 
 
 19 
 
 19 
 22 
 24 
 24 
 
XIV ON LANDED PBOPBBTY IN EGYPT. 
 
 IV.— VARIOUS PROVISIONS page 26 
 
 Lands escheating to the State, and grant of such lands ... 26 
 Measures of superficies or area ; measures of capacity or 
 
 hoUow measures ... ... ... ... ... ... 28 
 
 PART SECOND. 
 
 Landed Property in Egypt. 
 
 I.— CONSTITUTION op the RIGHT of LANDED 
 
 PROPERTY IN EGYPT 37 
 
 Rizqua lands ... ... ... ... ... ... . • ■ 53 
 
 Oussiah lands... ... ... ... ... ... ... 54 
 
 Abadiah and tchiflik lands ... ... ... ... ... 56 
 
 Athariah lands (kharadji) ... . ... ... ... 59 
 
 IL— ASSESSMENT op the LAND-TAX 72 
 
 Kharadji lands — ... ... ... ... ... ... 76 
 
 Ohdah lands 79 
 
 Firdahtax 83 
 
 Ushuri lands— 98 
 
 Abadiah lands ... . . ... ... ... ... 98 
 
 Tchiflik lands 98 
 
 Oussiah lands ... ... ... ... ... ... 98 
 
 Date-tree tithe ... ... ... ... ... ... 117 
 
 Increase and decrease of the object taxable — .. ... 123 
 
 Parcels destroyed by the N.ile; parcels formed by 
 Nile alluvium 123 
 
 Lands become unproductive ; lands exempted from 
 the tax for various reasons ... ... ... ... 1 27 
 
 Lands expropriated for reasons of public good ... 133 
 
 Lands whose area is greater or less than the 
 measurement ... ... ... ... ... ... 140 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. XV 
 
 III— RECOVERY or the TAXES page 143 
 
 Collection of the taxes ... ... ... ... ... 143 
 
 Prosecution in recovery of back-taxes ... ... ...159 
 
 Remission of the taxes 165 
 
 IV.— VARIOUS PROVISIONS 169 
 
 Lands belonging to the State ; lands escheating to the 
 
 State ; and grants or sale of such lands ... ... 169 
 
 Abadiahs granted with exemption from all taxation upon 
 condition of planting them with timber-trees, the 
 delivery of the title-deed of right of property being 
 made subordinate to the fulfilment of these conditions 170 
 Woodlands or forests ... ... ... ... ... 170 
 
 Gardens ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 172 
 
 Abadiahs granted, without title-deed of right of property, 
 
 with exemption from taxation ... ... ... ...174 
 
 Abadiah lands leased, and known nowadays by the name 
 
 of mazrouf ... ... ... ... ... ... 176 
 
 Grant of lands escheating to the State ... ... ... 183 
 
 Grant of lands coming within the dominium of the State, 
 
 by reason of abandonment by their holders ... ... 185 
 
 Grant of lands in consequence of denunciation of excess 
 
 of area over measurement ... ... ... ... 192 
 
 Lands belonging to military men ... ... ... ... 194 
 
 Grant and sale of lands of the State, with right of property 195 
 Lands whereof the sale is forbidden ... ... ... 200 
 
 Cadaster or Land Survey ... ... ... ... ... 203 
 
 Measures of superficies, their relation to the mfetre ... 218 
 
 Comparative table of cultivable lands of Egypt ... ... 219 
 
 Measures of capacity ... ... ... ... ... 222 
 
 Weights 222 
 
 Appendices. 
 
 1^0. 1. Decree granting to the donees of abadiahs the right of 
 
 usufruct in such lands, with right of inheritance by 
 their descendant heirs 224 
 
 ]v;i'o. 2. Decree confirming exemption from taxation in behalf of 
 
 abadiah lands, and authorising the grantees to dispose 
 thereof in full right of property 225 
 
XVI ON LANDED PEOPEETY IN EGYPT. 
 
 No. 3. — Decree extending the tithe (ushur) to oussiah lands page 227 
 
 No. 4. — Decree distinguishing cases wherein the tithe must be 
 collected in kind or in money, and fixing the mode of 
 valuation of the tithe in money ... ... ... ... 228 
 
 No. 5. — Decree prescribing that grants of oussiah lands shall no 
 more be deemed to have escheated until the extinction of 
 all male and female descendants of the grantees ... 228 
 
 No. 6. — Letter of the Finance Minister, setting forth that the 
 sur-tax of 10 per cent., intended for public works, is 
 applicable both to the ushuri and to the kharadji taxes 229 
 
 No. 7. — Law granting to foreigners the right of real property 
 
 within the Ottoman Empire ... ... ... ... 231 
 
 No. 8.— Chronological Table 248 
 
 Table A.— Cadaster of 1813 250 
 
 Summary of Table A 259 
 
 Table B. — Kharadji taxes in 1867 260 
 
 Table C. — Numbers of palm-trees ... ... ... ... ...261 
 
PAET FIEST. 
 
 The Mohammedan Law (Sharaa) on Landed Property, 
 according to the Hanafite Rite. 
 
 n^HE fixity of tenure of landed estate and the equitable 
 -*- assessment of the land-tax should be placed fore- 
 most among the causes that contribute mainly toward 
 the wealth of a country. 
 
 These important questions must necessarily have com- 
 manded the attention of the founders of Islam, and that 
 is why all the laws on landed estate, established by them 
 in the years that first followed the Hegirah, had already 
 acquired their character of immutability during the 
 course of the second century and after the fixing of the 
 four orthodox Rites. 
 
 Under the Arab domination, Egypt had been either 
 successively or simultaneously subjected to all four of 
 these Rites ; it was not until after the Ottoman conquest 
 that the Hanafite Rite prevailed exclusively ; and if, 
 during the period of over three centuries that this con- 
 quest lasted, the Sharaa often remained a dead letter, in 
 consequence of political revolutions, it was invariably 
 brought again into vigour as soon as the sovereign could 
 regain his power. 
 
 This law, then, is an interesting subject for study ; and 
 this is why I have undertaken to inquire into its origin, 
 explain its economy, and determine, lastly, under what 
 form it is applied in Egypt even to this day. 
 
 The first part of the work I have the honour to sub- 
 mit to you will be devoted to the examination of the 
 
 B 
 
2 ON LANDED PROPEETT IN EGYPT. 
 
 Sharaa, according to the Rite of the Imam el A'azam 
 Abou Hanifah, in so far as it relates to landed property, 
 to its assessment, and to the collection of the taxes. 
 
 This expose has been partly drawn from a book of 
 judicial judgments, highly esteemed and daily used by 
 jurisconsults of the Hanafite Rite, entitled El FaMwa el 
 Alumgmah, and better known in the Arabic tongue under 
 the name of El Fatdwa el Hindiyah. I have also con- 
 sulted the Tableau General de I' Empire Ottoman, of M. 
 Muradgea D'Ohsson, which contains a French translation 
 of the Moslem Code, called Multaqua elAbhur, by Ibrahim 
 Halabi. 
 
 I.— RIGHT OF PROPERTY. 
 
 The fourth chapter of the Military Code, in D'Ohsson's 
 work, which treats of conquered countries, begins as 
 follows : — 
 
 "All conquests made while bearing arms and all 
 advantages obtained over the enemies of the State, are at 
 the entire disposal of the sovereign. He is master of 
 the fate of the vanquished people, as well as of the 
 strongholds and cities of the conquered countries. He can 
 distribute the lands thereof to his soldiers as military 
 feofs, or give them to Moslems, on condition that they 
 shall pay the yearly tithe of their produce to the State ; 
 such are the lands called decimal. He can, moreover, 
 leave to their former non-Moslem owners the rural lands 
 situated in countries that submitted voluntarily, or that 
 yielded by capitulation, or that were reduced even by force 
 of arms, by laying a tribute upon these lands, either 
 fixed or proportionate to their yearly increase ; these are 
 the tributary lands." 
 
 In the Fatdwa el Alumgmah, in the chapter on clearing 
 and tilling, it is expressly said that he who brings a piece 
 of land under cultivation is by right its owner, and, if 
 he abandon it for a time, he has the right, on his return, 
 
RIGHT OF PEOPBETY. 6 
 
 whatever may have been the duration of such abandoning, 
 to enter into possession, even when another had occupied 
 the land and put it under cultivation. 
 
 The Sharaa does not permit the sale or conveyance of 
 a piece of land without the express consent of the owner, 
 except for causes of public utility. 
 
 It authorises bequests, by last wills, of landed estate, 
 for all classes of subjects, both Moslems and non- 
 Moslems, within the limits of testamentary rights. 
 
 In cases where the sovereign, for reasons defined by 
 the law, sees the necessity for transferring his non- 
 Moslem subjects from one part of his empire to another, 
 he is bound to grant them, in the country whither he 
 sends them, the equivalent of the lands he makes them 
 abandon. 
 
 Such are the principles established by the Sharaa ; and 
 if one bears in mind that the law gives, without distinc- 
 tion and in a general manner, the name of mulk to 
 property and that of mdlih el ardh or ssdhhib el ardh to 
 the proprietor, one is authorised to conclude that the 
 Sharaa recognises to all Moslem or non-Moslem pro- 
 prietors of lands, whether ushuri or kharadji, the abso- 
 lute right of property in the very substance of these lands. 
 
 Constitution op Landed Estate. 
 
 Landed property is divided into two categories : — 
 
 (a) Decimal or Ushuri estate. 
 
 (b) Tributary or Kharadji estate. 
 According to the Sharaa, every Arabian land is ushuri; 
 
 that which, by right of conquest or otherwise, becomes 
 Moslem land, is of right kharadji and is susceptible, 
 under certain circumstances, of becoming ushuri. 
 
 UsHTJEi Lands. 
 
 The ushuri lands are such of right, or are made ushuri 
 by the conqueror. 
 
 By conqueror one must understand the Imam, or 
 supreme head, the Khalifah, Sultan, or Commander of the 
 Believers, in whose name the conquest is made ; and by 
 
 B 2 
 
4 ON LANDED PEOPERTY IN EGYPT. 
 
 this clause the conquest of a non-Moslem country by- 
 Moslem arms. 
 
 Lands ushftri of right are the lands of Arab countries 
 properly so called, — that is to say, the lands of the 
 countries of Tihamah, the Hhidjaz, the Yaman, the Tayif, 
 the Oman, the Bahrayn, and those of the territory of 
 Mecca. According to the Imam Mohammad, a disciple 
 of Abou Hanifah, the Arab countries extend from 'Azib 
 to Mecca, and from 'Aden ' Abyan to the highest (furthest) 
 stone of the Yaman, and compries Mihrah and all the 
 Sawad el 'Iraq. 
 
 The Sawad of the 'Iraq includes the space comprised 
 between the lowlands of Moussoul and the territory of 
 Abadan, and also the region between the mountains of 
 Hhilwan and the highest lands of Kadicyah, bordering on 
 the territory of 'Azib, belonging to Arabia Proper. 
 
 The territory of Bassrah, although outside of these 
 limits, is also ush^ri of right. 
 
 In a word, all the lands of Arabia Proper, and a large 
 part of those of Mesopotamia, are of right ushilri, be 
 they held by Moslem or non-Moslem owners. 
 
 As to the lands made ushClri by the sovereign, one 
 must distinguish those that he is bound to create ushtiri 
 from those that he can constitute such at his will and 
 pleasure. 
 
 The lands that are of right constituted ushuri after 
 conquest are, on the one hand, those of countries con- 
 quered from non-Moslems and divided among the 
 Moslem conquerors ; and, on the other hand, the lands 
 of a country whose inhabitants in becoming Moslems, 
 pass, of their own free will, under the sway of 
 Islam. 
 
 Still, after the conquest of a non-Moslem country, if 
 the ruler has several times changed his mind as to the 
 constitution to be given to the lands of the conquered 
 country, the law causes the inhabitants of such country 
 to avail themselves of the most favourable constitution, 
 and it makes their lands ushuri, without imposing upon 
 them the obligation of becoming Moslems. 
 
 All these distinctions are made for non-Arab countries. 
 
EIGHT or PROPBRTr. 5 
 
 whose lands are irrigated by tlie water of rivers. These 
 rivers, moreover, share in the constitution of the soil 
 they water. Thus all the streams of Arab countries 
 are denominated "water of the ushur," and all others 
 " water of the kharadj," 
 
 All lands which are made fruitful by rain-water alone 
 must likewise be constituted into ushuri, whatsoever be 
 the religion of the owner, for rain-water is also con- 
 sidered as water of the ushAr. 
 
 Such are the cases in which a ruler is bound to make 
 the lands of a conquered country ushiiri. 
 
 But, if, after the conquest of a country, the inhabitants 
 become Moslems before the conqueror has come to a 
 decision regarding them or their property, he remains 
 free to constitute their lands ushuri or to leave them 
 kharadji. 
 
 A primordial principle lies at the bottom of these 
 provisions of the law ; it is this, that, to own a piece of 
 land constituted ushuri, the owner must be a Moslem ; 
 the exceptions to this rule contemplate the owners of 
 lands within the boundaries of countries whose lands are 
 irrigated by rainfall only, 
 
 Kharadji Lands. 
 
 All lands, other than those of Arab countries, watered 
 by rivers other than the rivers of ushur — non-Arab rivers 
 — are kharadji. 
 
 To state the principle still more precisely, one can say 
 that the kharadji constitution is applied to the lands of 
 non-Arab countries, and to the lands of countries 
 irrigated by non-Arab rivers, even though the inhabit- 
 ants, after the annexation of these countries to Islam, 
 whether bjr conquest or by peaceful acquisition, had not 
 been dispossessed of their lands, notwithstanding they 
 had not embraced Islamism. 
 
 Alteration of the Constitdtion of Land. 
 
 When the Islamic arms, or a capitulation, or a free- 
 will annexation, have for the first time placed a 
 
6 ON iANDED PEOPBETY IN EGYPT. 
 
 non-Moslem country under Moslem rule, and, when 
 the ruler in whose name the conquest has been made 
 or the treaty concluded has given a constitution to the 
 lands of such country, this constitution is unchangeable, 
 except in the following two cases : — 
 
 1st. If a piece of land, situated in a country watered 
 by a non-Arab stream, and constituted ushuri by the 
 first conqueror in favour of a Moslem, is bought by a 
 non-Moslem subject, subjected to payment of the capi- 
 tation tax, it becomes, ipso facto, kharadji land. 
 
 2nd. If the kharadji lands of a country should, from 
 any cause, happen to be no longer irrigated by the 
 water of kharadj (water of non-Arab rivers), and should 
 be rendered fruitful by water of ushur only (water 
 of Arab rivers, or rainfall), such lands would, ipso 
 facto, become ushuri, whatever the religion of the 
 owner. 
 
 We see, then, gentlemen, from what precedes, that, 
 according to the Sharaa, every Moslem, or non-Moslem 
 individual subjected to the capitation tax, can become a 
 landowner in Moslem countries ; that in Arab countries, 
 and in those countries whose lands are watered by rain- 
 fall, iihe land is of right ushuri in its constitution for all 
 subjects, both Moslem and non-Moslem. 
 
 That, on the contrary, in those countries whose lands 
 are irrigated by the water of non-Arab rivers, the 
 Moslem alone has the privilege of owning a piece of 
 land constituted ushuri at the first Islamic conquest, 
 without, however, enjoying the right of changing a 
 kharadji land into ushuri, for the sole reason that he has 
 acquired it. 
 
 We see, too, that the non-Moslem subject, subjected 
 to the capitation tax, can in such country be the owner 
 of kharadji lands only ; that his non-Moslem religion 
 exercises an influence over the constitution of ushuri 
 land, which becomes kharadji as soon as it passes over 
 into his possession, but would again become ushiiri if 
 bought by a Moslem. 
 
 And, lastly, we see that the constitution given to a 
 piece of land by the first conqueror remains unalterable. 
 
EIGHT OP PEOPEETT, 7 
 
 SO long as the country has not been re- conquered by a 
 non-Moslem power. 
 
 . As for a country which, after having been wrested 
 from Islam, again falls under its sway, it is placed again 
 under the regime that had been granted it at the time 
 of the first Islamic conquest, unless the new conqueror 
 should judge best to act otherwise, and the owners, both 
 Moslems, as well as non-Moslems subjected to the 
 capitation tax, are reintegrated in their rights.* 
 
 * The law makes, for countries whose lands are made fertile by 
 river water, as well as for the tenure of such lands and the assess- 
 ment of the tax, very minute distinctions, that appear to be contra- 
 dictory. In order to understand these contradictions, it mu&t be 
 remembered that the Sharaa was not fixed and written until toward the 
 end of the second and beginning of the third century of the Hegirah — 
 the ninth century after Jesus Christ. Indeed the Koran — " the word of 
 God" — was not collated and arranged, as we now have it, by the Khalifah 
 Omar Ibn el Khatt^b, until about six or seven years after the death of 
 the Prophet — the sixteenth or seventeenth year of the Hegirah — whereas 
 his hhadUha (aphorisms), which are, so to speak, the second layer in the 
 foundations of Mohammedan religion and law, were not gathered and 
 commented until toward the third century of the Hegirah in the book 
 entitled El Djdmi il SaMh (Correct Collection), by Abou Abd Allah 
 Mohammad el Boukhari, b. 194 A.H. and d. 256 A.H. = 870 J.O. 
 
 On the other hand, the four fathers of the Rites universally recog- 
 nised by Islam as orthodox, to wit : — 
 
 1. El Imam el A'azam Abou Hanifah el Na'amsto., b. 80 and d. 150 
 A.H. 
 
 2. Abou Abd Allah Malik Ibn Ans Ibn Abou 'Amr, el Asbahi el 
 Madani, b. 99 or 101 and d. 179 A.H. 
 
 3. Abou Abd Allah Mohammad Ibn Idris el Shafeei, b. 150 and 
 d. 204 A.H. 
 
 4. Ahmad Ibn Hambp,l el Shaybani, el Marouzy, b. 164 and d. 241 
 A.H. 
 
 These four fathers, I say, were not able to fix, define, and codify the 
 Moslem law until about 150 to 200 years after the Flight (Hegirah) of 
 the Prophet. 
 
 They were, furthermore, all four bom about the close of the period 
 when the Arabs had conquered the whole of the Moslem world such 
 as we know it to-day. Before the death of the first of these fathers 
 of doctrine, dissensions and civil wars had already begun to rend the 
 Moslem empire and had everywhere sown the seeds of decay. 
 
 During this period of about two hundred years, which preceded the 
 codification of the laws by the fathers of Islam, the law had, therefore, 
 not been formed, neither fixed ; each khalifah, nay, more, every con- 
 quering general, was himself at first a companion of the Prophet, then 
 
ON LANDED PEOPBKTY IN EGYPT. 
 
 II.— ASSESSMENT OF THE LAND-TAX. 
 
 UsMri Lands. — The ushur is, properly speaking, the 
 tithe or tenth ; consequently the tax due by a piece of 
 ushuri land is the tenth part, in kind, of its gross yield. 
 
 a companion of his companions ; in these characters, and by tradition, 
 each one of them believed himself authorised, for the greater glory of 
 Islam, to take, in legal cases, such stet.s and make such disposal as 
 seemed to him most likely to insure the triumph of the cause of IsMm. 
 
 The doctors, when collecting all these decisions of the companions of 
 the Prophet and of their immediate successors, could not give to these 
 decisions that unity and agreement which the holy book should have 
 stamped them with. 
 
 Those earliest Moslems acted, on the other hand, in conformity with 
 the acts of the Prophet himself or based themselves upon his 
 aphorisms. Now, it could happen that some of the Prophet's acts or 
 some of his aphorisms, unknown to some of his companions, should be 
 known to others. All could not, therefore, act after the same manner 
 in the same circumstances, and this more especially because the 
 decisions were often made iii countries distant one from another, in 
 cases not identical, and among people whose genius, manners, and 
 customs were quite different. This is the source of the seeming 
 contradictions that can be found even in one and the same Rite. 
 
 The four teachers of the four Rites could not all four know the 
 causes that had dictated such or such a decision to the traditionists 
 who had preceded them ; and here is, I think, the cause of the 
 divergences that exist among the four Rites. 
 
 Each of the four doctors did what he could to bring all the accom- 
 plished facts known to him into harmony with the teachings of the 
 sacred book and with those aphorisms that he judged to have been 
 certainly handed down from the Prophet. 
 
 When he met with a contradiction, he, doubtless, endeavoured to 
 explain it by reference either to the holy book or to the aphorisms ; 
 and, if he did not succeed, he tried to explain it logically ; in cases 
 where this logical explanation could not be found, and as he could not 
 overlook a fact given by tradition, he made an exception of it, which 
 in the course of time became a principle. 
 
 In the question now before us, we know that the Khalifah Abou 
 Bakr, on coming to power, found himself face to face with a general 
 rising of all the Arab tribes, and that he spent the three years of his 
 khalifate in putting down that rising and in bringing all those Arab 
 tribes again into the bosom of Islam. 
 
 At every new conquest he followed the example of the Prophet 
 whose place he had just taken. He conciliated the habits and customs 
 of these peoples, and, like the Prophet, he granted to the Moslem and 
 non^Moslem Arabs the right of possessing their lands upon condition 
 of their paying the tithe of the crops, namely, the ushur — a system of 
 
ASSESSMENT OF THE LAND-TAX. V 
 
 The land itself does not, therefore, owe anything, but 
 each crop or each yield of such land owes the tithe. 
 It is, therefore, a tax upon the revenue, the proportion 
 
 taxation to -which they were accustomed from of old, perhaps since the 
 immigration of the Jews into Arabia six or seven centuries before the 
 Hegirah. 
 
 It is thus that all the lands of Arab countries and of countries 
 inhabited wholly by Arabs were declared to be ushdri in essence or 
 ushuri by right. 
 
 Under the Khalifah Omar, the Moslem arms invaded the Persian 
 Ir4k, Syria, and Egypt. This great khalifah, in pushing the Moslem 
 Arabs outside of Arabia, wished to conquer the peoples and their 
 countries so as to derive therefrom the greatest possible gain for Islam 
 and the Moslems ; his policy, too, seems to have been to change 
 nothing in the constitution of the countries he conquered. Those 
 countries, governed by the Persians, and the Byzantines, were coli- 
 sidered by the latter as farms that ought to yield the greatest possible 
 revenue ; their inhabitants might hence be subjected to taillage and 
 to forced labour (corvee) at pleasure ; and this is why we see all those 
 inhabitants receive the Arabs as liberators. 
 
 The Khalifah Omar did not encourage their conversion to Islamism 
 and continued to look iipon them as conquered peoples owing their lives 
 to him. He taxed their lands as kharadji, thus keeping up the usages 
 and customs in vigour before the conquest. 
 
 These first-conquered non-Arab countries were all countries whose 
 lands were watered by rivers ; hence the general principle that all non- 
 Arab countries whose lands are fertilised by the water of a non-Arab 
 stream are kharadji. 
 
 A second political principle of the Khalifah Omar appears to have 
 been, not to encourage his soldiers and Arab warriors to settle in the 
 countries that they had conquered : still he had to make some grants 
 of lands to Moslems ; these grants were made, either exempting the 
 lands from all taxes, or imposing the ushur upon them. 
 
 After the death of that great khalifah, however, his successors made 
 new conquests ; but then the Arabs remained in the conquered countries 
 and settled there. Now, as they were Moslems and conquerors, they 
 could not own land under the same conditions as the non-Moslem and 
 conquered people. 
 
 The khalifahs, therefore, or the generals acting in the name of one 
 of them, using as their authority the example of the Khalifah Omar, 
 granted or distributed lands among their armies, constituting such 
 lands ushuri, like those owned in Arabia by these conquerors. 
 
 Later on, the conquered people, in becoming converted to Islam, 
 assimilated themselves to the Arab Moslems, and claimed to own 
 their lands by ushuri title ; and they obtained this form of concession 
 at the time of the conquest under the successors of the Khalifah 
 Omar. 
 
 But when these conversions multiplied, the khalifs, fearing a de- 
 
10 
 
 ON LANDED PEOPBRTY IN EGYPT. 
 
 of whicli is fixed at 10 °j^, and a tax according to the 
 value of the product, seeing that it is collected in 
 kind. 
 
 crease in their revenues, established the principle that, once the conquest 
 of a country had been accomplished and the land constituted, the 
 Moslem religion Of the owner or of the buyer could not render a 
 parcel of kharadji land ushuri ; whilst a parcel of ushuri land acquired 
 by a non- Moslem became ipso facto kharadji. 
 
 When the conquests were extended northward in Asia and in the 
 north of Africa, where the lands are watered and fertiKsed directly by 
 rainfall, the conquerors were obliged to establish a new legislation. 
 
 The lands were less productive, their cultivation required more 
 trouble and labour, and they were, without doubt, taxed with the tithe 
 by the Greeks, the Persians, or the Tartars. 
 
 Moreover, the large number of people conquered at a time obliged 
 the conquerors to act with a certain reserve towards non-Moslems : let 
 us remember, too, that the constant policy followed by the khalifs 
 during the two first centuries of the Hegirah was to change nothing in 
 the usages and customs of the countries at the time of the conquest ; 
 the changes came about slowly with the slow conversion of the people, 
 who, at the same time that they adopted the religion and the law, 
 adopted also the language and habits of the conquerors. 
 
 The lands of those countries were, therefore, constituted ushuri ; 
 and non-Moslems in such countries had laid upon them the Djizyah, a 
 word which was confounded with the word kharadj, this latter being 
 understood in the sense of capitation, which attaches to the former ; 
 in this way there was established, in those countries whose lands were 
 all constituted ushuri, a legal difference between the Moslem and the 
 non-Moslem individual. 
 
 The primordial principle flowing naturally from what we have just 
 been saying is this : — 
 
 1st. — Every country, whose lands are fertilised directly by rain, 
 and the lands of Arab origin, are of ushuri constitution. 
 
 2nd. — Every country, whose lands are fertilised by the waters of 
 streams other than countries of Arab origin, is kharadji. 
 
 These two principles may appear more clear and simple if presented 
 in the following form : — 
 
 1st. — Every land fertilised by rain must pay the tithe on its crop. 
 
 2nd.— Every land fertilised by the water of a stream must pay the 
 kharadj (tribute or tax) thereon. 
 
 Beyond these two principles, all the provisions of the law may be 
 considered as exceptions, having their source in the acts of the Prophet, 
 in those of his companions and their disciples, or in the disposals made 
 by the latter in the period which followed upon the appearance of 
 Islam until the fixing of the holy law, Sharaa, which, in sanctioning 
 these disposals, transformed them into principles. 
 
 If, now, we look for the material reasons which, outside of political 
 reasons and traditions, could have brought about this classification of 
 
ASSESSMENT OP THE LAND-TAX. 11 
 
 Kharddji Lands, — The taxes on kharadji lands are of 
 two sorts : — 
 
 {a) The KharddJ Mouhdsamah — proportional tax — 
 which consists in this, that the owner owes a part of his 
 crop, like in the ushuri tax ; it differs from the ushuri 
 tax in this, that option is left to the ruler to augment or 
 diminish the portion to be taken of the crop, without, 
 however, that the proportion shall ever exceed one-half 
 or be less than one-fifth of the gross yield. 
 
 Into this category come the lands fit for growing 
 saffron, cotton, &c., called costly crops, as well as lands 
 not enclosed within walls, but planted with fruit trees, 
 kitchen plants, or vegetables. 
 
 (b) The Kharddj Wazifah, or Muwazzaf — fixed tax — 
 is due on the land itself from the moment that the latter 
 is susceptible of cultivation, whether the owner cultivate 
 it or not ; it was fixed once for all by the Khalffah Omar 
 at one hafiz* of the produce, and one dirhamf in silver 
 for each unit of the measure of superficies in use in the 
 country where the land is situated ; it is exigible either 
 
 lands, or rather this diflference in the assessment of the land-tax, 
 between lands fertilised by river water and those fertilised by rain- 
 fall, we believe we ought to resolve the problem by saying that : — 
 Those countries whose lands are fertilised directly by rainfall require 
 no considerable outlays for public works. The State is bound at the 
 most to take care to execute a few works of art for the drainage of the 
 overflow of this water and the dykes of rivers, in such a way as to 
 avoid inundations hurtful to agriculture ; moreover, these works not 
 being absolutely necessary but in very low valleys, plains, or deltas of 
 rivers, the State has its outlays amply made good by the more con- 
 siderable tithe it realises from a crop richer than that of mountainous 
 countries, where these works are but rarely needed. 
 
 Whereas, in countries whose lands are fertilised by irrigation with 
 river water, the cutting of canals both for irrigation and for drainage, 
 the building of bridges and locks, the maintenance of the dykes and 
 ditches for preventing disastrous inundations, and, above all, the yearly 
 dredging of the canals to keep them from filling up, make it that the 
 tithe, as the assessment of the land-tax, would not be enough to enable 
 the State to provide for the costs of the public works. By public 
 works we mean those especially necessary in agriculture to insure the 
 fertilisation of the lands. 
 
 * Measure of capacity. f Silver coin. 
 
12 ON LANDED PKOPEBTY IN EGYPT. 
 
 in kind, or in money, according to the value of the pro- 
 duce, and for each agricultural year. 
 
 In no case is the sovereign authorised to augment the 
 rate of this tax once it had been fixed at the time of the 
 first conquest by Islamic arms. This principle is pushed 
 still farther, for, if a sovereign, after the conquest of a 
 country, had established the kharadj wazifah on the lands 
 at a rate less than the rate determined by the Khalifah 
 Omar, it is not permitted, either to him or to his 
 successors, under whatsoever title nor for any cause,, to 
 augment this primitive rate, unless with the free consent 
 of all the proprietors. 
 
 We have already seen that it Was formally forbidden 
 to change the constitution of a parcel of kharadji land 
 into ushuri, or of one ush<iri into kharadji, or at least 
 that this alteration cannot be made except under certain 
 express conditions. It is equally forbidden to change 
 kharadji lands that are wazifah into moukasamah, and 
 vice versa, unless the sovereign orders it with the consent 
 of the owner, as is done for the modification of the 
 kharadj wazifah. 
 
 Still, the augmentation of the rate of the kharadj 
 wazifah and the alteration of the kind of kharadj are 
 only authorised, even with the consent of the owners, if 
 the country had been conquered at the first by Islam by 
 force of arms ; but, if the country had been annexed 
 peaceably by capitulation or treaty of peace, the kharadj 
 wazifah may not be augmented, nor the kind of khar&dj 
 changed. This prohibition is absolute. 
 
 Nor can the kharadj wazifah of parcels of land in a 
 commune be equalised or established according to the 
 categories to which the parcels belong nor according to 
 the yield of each one, not even at the request of the 
 pwners, if the country had been originally conquered by 
 force of arms. To make such changes in the assessment 
 of the land-tax of a commune or of a country, it is 
 necessary to know for certain how, at the epoch of 
 the conquest or annexation, the land-tax had been 
 assessed upon the lands of the communes ; if there 
 is any abuse or if time has brought about changes, 
 
ASSESSMENT OF THR LAND-TAX. 13 
 
 things must be put back to wliat they were at the 
 beginning. 
 
 Here is an example that I have found in the book 
 followed by me. 
 
 "A company has bought a piece of property con- 
 taining orchards and arable lands ; if one of the partners 
 have bought the orchards and the other the lands and 
 they want to know the kharadj due by each, the taxes 
 are apportioned as follows : — 
 
 " If the kharadj of the orchards and that of the arable 
 lands were quite clearly defined before the conclusion of 
 the sale, this distinction shall be taken as the basis for 
 making the division of the taxes. 
 
 "If the kharadj of the orchards and that of the 
 arable lands are confounded without distinction in a 
 single sum, one must go back to the origin. In this 
 case, if the orchards are known to have always existed 
 as such, and the arable lands as arable lands, the basis 
 to be taken is the kharadj of each separate constitution, 
 and each separate kharadj shall be apportioned fro rata 
 for each kind of land." 
 
 You see, gentlemen, that it appears clearly from this 
 judgment reported by Kadi Khan that the principle of 
 the constitution of the lands never changes, and that in 
 case of litigation one is obliged to go back to the origin, 
 and establish the taxes according to the immutable rules 
 of the constitution of the land laid down by the Sharaa. 
 
 Gardens and Oechards. 
 
 Grardens and orchards have a special assessment. 
 
 Fruit orchards, in which the trees are planted one 
 near the other, in such a way that the land can produce 
 nothing else but the fruit of these trees, and that are 
 enclosed within walls, owe yearly, for each unit of 
 measure of superficies in use in the country where they 
 are situated, ten dirhams in silver. 
 
 Gardens, producing vegetables and eatable plants, &c., 
 along with products of fruit trees, or without the latter, 
 and which are enclosed by walls like orchards, owe. 
 
14 ON LANDED PROPERTY IN EGYPT. 
 
 yearly, five dirhams in silver for each unit of superficial 
 measure. 
 
 These taxes are collected in money, and, in certain 
 cases to be indicated by us further on, in kind. 
 
 Except in that which regards the rate of the tax, 
 when this rate is different, gardens and orchards are put 
 under the category of kharadji land paying the khar&dj 
 wazifah, and are subjected to all other provisions appli- 
 cable to such land. 
 
 Two principles for assessing the land-tax are, therefore, 
 admitted by the Sharaa, to wit : — 
 
 1st. The principle of the collection of the taxes upon 
 the value of the crop itself. These are the taxes on the 
 ushuri lands, that are fixed, once for all, at one-tenth of 
 the crop, and the taxes on the lands of kharadj mouka- 
 samah, which vary between one-fifth and one-half of the 
 value of the crop. The former of these taxes can be 
 applied to the privileged class only, — that is to say, 
 according to Moslem law, to the Moslem ; the latter falls, 
 as a matter of principle, on non-Moslem subjects. 
 
 2nd. The land-tax is another principle admitted by 
 the Sharaa, and is put upon the lands of kharadj 
 wazifah ; here we meet with the real land-tax. Every 
 arable piece of land is burdened with a fixed tax ; and, 
 in order to demonstrate that it is the earth, and not the 
 crop that this earth produces, which owes the tax, the 
 judicial sentence adds : " whether the owner have or 
 have not put it under cultivation." 
 
 To sum up, it results, from what has preceded, that 
 the Sharaa assesses the taxes on land under three 
 different forms : — 
 
 i. Under the form of a fixed tax on the crop. 
 
 li- „ ,, variable tax on the crop. 
 
 iii- J J ,, tax upon the ground, or land 
 
 itself, determined by unit of 
 measure of superficies. 
 
 It must be remembered, at the same time, that the 
 one or the other of these modes of assessment, when 
 
ASSESSMENT OF THE LAND-TAX. 15 
 
 once established, at the first conquest of a non-Moslem 
 country by a Moslem prince, can, in law, be no more 
 replaced by another mode. 
 
 Increase and Dborbasb oe the Object Taxable. 
 
 Lands become wholly or in part unproduetive. — 
 Ushuri lands, and those whose kharadj is mouka- 
 samah, cannot be included in this chapter; for, as has 
 been already said, these lands owe no tax, save in so far 
 as they have yielded a crop ; it is, in fact, the crop that 
 is subjected to a tax, and not the land, which, according 
 to the terms of the Sharaa, remains free from all impost 
 if it have yielded nothing, be this lack of yield the 
 result of the owner's will or negligence, or be it caused 
 by vis major. 
 
 The taxable object being the crop itself, the tax rises 
 or falls according to the abundance or paucity of the 
 yield of the land. 
 
 Some learned jurisconsults, however, have held that, 
 if a piece of land of these categories is fit for the grow- 
 ing of a rich crop, such as saffron, cotton, &c., and the 
 owner has only grown grain upon, it, he owes the tax 
 upon the rich crop as though he had raised cotton, 
 saffron, or the like. 
 
 The collection of El Hdfi, wherein this opinion is men- 
 tioned, adds, to be sure, immediately afterwards, in 
 addressing the judges and jurisconsults, that " it is well 
 to know all this, but one should not pass judgment upon 
 this question, for fear lest the unjust and the tyrannical 
 should covet the goods of others." 
 
 As for kharadji lands whose kharadj is wazifah, if the 
 rate of this tax cannot be augmented, as we have seen 
 above, it may be diminished and put into harmony with 
 the production of the soil, if this soil is exhausted and 
 incapable of yielding the normal crop, so that the tax 
 shall have become too heavy a burden upon the land. 
 
 Moreover, the law, in applying this tax to lands fit for 
 cultivation only, recognises thereby the right to accord 
 an exemption of tax to arable lands previously taxed 
 
16 ON LANDED PEOPEETY IN EGYPT. 
 
 ■whicli, for one reason or another, might become un- 
 productive. 
 
 Exemption pkom Taxation because op Building, Favoub 
 OP THE Sovereign, &g. 
 
 The construction of a barn-house or hostelry, — in a 
 word, the erection of any building whatever, upon a 
 piece of land, — frees this land from the tax, if the land 
 belongs to the one who builds upon it ; but, if one buy a 
 piece of land with intent to build thereon, he owes upon 
 it the kharadj wazifah, although he cannot derive from 
 it the benefit of a crop by reason of the building he has 
 placed on it. 
 
 In a city (Massr), where the three branches of public 
 power are to be found together, — judiciary power 
 (Hhukm Sharay), political or administrative power 
 (Hhukm Siyaci), and executive power (Hhukm Shurati), 
 — the transformation into tilled land of the site of a 
 house subjects the land to the ushuri tax, if the city be 
 ushAri, and if the owner be a Moslem ; and to the 
 kharadji tax, if the owner be not a Moslem. But, in a 
 kharadji city, the land, formerly the site of a house, 
 and thus transformed into tilled land, is kharadji, what- 
 ever be the religion of the owner. 
 
 If a part only of the land, formerly the site of a 
 house, become cultivated, this part owes neither ush<ir 
 nor kharadj, and continues to form an integral part of 
 the house. 
 
 A parcel of land transformed into a cemetery is, in 
 law, exempt from taxation. 
 
 A woodland or forest, a marsh or swamp, and para- 
 sitical plants covering a piece of land exempt it from 
 the tax ; it is the same if the parcel be salty or brackish. 
 In all these cases the exemption is accorded only when 
 it is demonstrated that the land cannot be improved 
 or cleared. If clearing is possible, the owner is 
 bound to pay the tax, even though he should leave it 
 untilled. According to Kadi Khan, lands which are, by 
 their situation, beyond the reach of the water of irriga- 
 tion, are also free from the tax. 
 
Assessment op the land-^ax. 17 
 
 It is well understood that all these provisions are 
 applicable only where the kharadj of the land is wazifah. 
 
 The sovereign, or his absolute lieutenant, — " abso- 
 lute " here means him upon whom direct judiciary, 
 religious, and political powers have been bestowed, — 
 can exempt kharadji land of either category from all 
 tax in favour of the owner ; but he cannot exempt the 
 owner of a parcel of ushuri land from the tithe unless 
 he makes good to the treasury of the usliur the deficit 
 arising out of such exemption, by collecting an equal 
 sum from the treasury of the kharadj. 
 
 The public treasury (bait ul mal) is divided, according 
 to the Sharaa, into two distinct treasuries : — 
 
 1st. The Moslem or ushuri treasury, where is depo- 
 sited the produce of the tithe of lands constituted 
 ushuri ; this treasury served to maintain the members 
 of the family of the Prophet and the Moslem poor. 
 It was, hence, a treasury of appanage and succour in 
 favour of Moslems only. 
 
 2nd. The kharadji treasury, where were deposited 
 all taxes coming from the kharadj taxes of both sorts, 
 to serve for the needs of the sovereign, the administra- 
 tion of the State, and the defence of Moslem territory. 
 
 The first of these being, therefore, so to speak, a 
 privileged treasury, a sacred deposit, it could not have a 
 deficit ; and, if the favours granted by the Sultan should 
 cause a falling- off", the other treasury was bound to make 
 it good and itself bear the loss. 
 
 BXPROPEIATBD LaNDS. 
 
 As a general rule, Abou Hanifah does not admit that 
 the powers that be or authorities have a right to expro- 
 priate save in the single case where the expropriation is 
 profitable to the public interest. 
 
 Howbeit, the State can expropriate non-Moslem pro- 
 prietors by ordering their transfer without their consent. 
 True, this transfer can be ordered only for two well- 
 defined reasons, namely : — 
 
 1st. If the non-Moslems to be transferred have not 
 
 c 
 
18 ON LANDED PROPERTY IN EGYPT. 
 
 themselves sufl&oient strength to defend themselves 
 against the aggressions of enemies inhabiting adjacent 
 countries. 
 
 2nd. If the Moslem State have reason to feaf the 
 treason of these non-Moslems. 
 
 But it is expressly stated, in the judgment which 
 authorises these kinds of expropriation, that the ruler 
 who ordains the transfer of non-Moslem subjects, sub- 
 jected to the capitation, is bound to grant them, in the 
 country where he is about to instal them, the equivalent 
 of the lands he makes them abandon. 
 
 I am inclined to think, gentlemen, that we here find, 
 in embryo, the principle of the right to indemnity for 
 expropriation for reasons of public good ; for, evidently, 
 the care for the general security of the empire, which, 
 according to Abou Hanifah, justifies expropriation with- 
 out consent of the owners, is essentially profitable to 
 public interests. 
 
 Lands Newly Taxable. 
 
 "We have seen that all the lands of countries conquered 
 by Islam from non-Moslem people were constituted either 
 ushuri, or kharadji of two sorts, by the sovereign in 
 whose name the conquest was made. 
 
 " At all times the sovereign is free to dispose at his 
 pleasure of the waste and unoccupied lands of his empire, 
 but he must, in the interests of the State, constitute 
 them kharadji, without regard to the religion of the 
 grantees." 
 
 Howbeit, in a ushuri country, land cleared by a 
 Moslem ought to be constituted ushAri, and that 
 cleared by a non-Moslem kharadji. If the cleared land 
 is situated in a kharadji country, it is kharadji in consti- 
 tution, whatever be the religion of the clearer. 
 
 A parcel of arable land, paying the kharadj wazifah, 
 that is transformed into a vegetable garden or fruit 
 orchard, owes the kharadj wazifah until such time as 
 the fruit-trees and plants shall begin to bear, and until 
 such time as the value of their yield shall be at least 
 
RECOVERY OF THE TAXES. 19 
 
 equal to twice the tax established for such kinds of 
 growths. Then, and only then, may the kharadji taxes 
 we have mentioned be leAded — namely, ten dirhams 
 or five dirhams, according to the kind of garden or 
 orchard yielding an increase. 
 
 But, if the yield of such gardens or orchards exceed 
 twice the tax of the kharadj wazifah, without reaching 
 twice the kharadji tax of orchards and gardens, half the 
 crop produced is levied. 
 
 III.— RECOVERY OF THE TAXES. 
 
 Collection op the Taxes. 
 
 The same parcel of land cannot be at the same time 
 burdened with the ushuri tax and with the kharadji tax, 
 whether wazifah or moukasamah. 
 
 The land-taxes, on all kharadji lands whose kharadj 
 is wazifah, are due, as a matter of principle, by the 
 owner, or by his heirs, if he die without having paid 
 them, — and this, whatever be the religion of the heirs, 
 their age, and condition, — that is to say, whether they 
 be free persons, or slaves holding authority from their 
 master to acquire property in their own name. 
 
 The taxes are due at the end of the year according 
 to the author we follow ; still, he himself states further 
 on that Abou Hanifah declares that they may be due at 
 the beginning of the year, but " upon condition that the 
 cultivated land, whose taxes have been paid, remain in 
 the possession (occupancy) of its owner for a year from 
 the day when the payment took place." 
 
 This question is thus under controversy ; still, we 
 shall soon see, in speaking of the tax-collectors, that the 
 book called El MouhhU states precisely that the tax 
 must be collected in proportional parts at the end of each 
 crop, in such a way that, at the end of the agricultural 
 year, the whole of the tax shall have been recovered. 
 
 c 2 
 
20 ON LANDED PEOPBRTY IN EGYPT. 
 
 Kadi Khan likewise states, in the collection of his 
 Fatdwa (" parere") that the taxes are collected at the time 
 of the harvest, according to the climate of the country 
 where the land is situated. 
 
 Any how, the question here is one relating only to 
 the tax of lands whose kharadj is wazifah — that is to 
 say, fixed. As for the owners of ushuri lands and 
 kharadj moukasamah lands, as they only owe the 
 taxes upon the yield of the land, they can evidently pay 
 them only after the crop has been gathered. 
 
 The owner of a piece of kharadji property, who is a 
 non-Moslem subject, subjected to the capitation, and 
 who becomes a Moslem, still owes the kharadj on the 
 same. The Moslem who becomes possessed of a parcel 
 of kharadji land is bound to pay the same taxes on such 
 property as were fixed upon it before he became the 
 owner. 
 
 We have already seen that a non-Moslem subject, sub- 
 jected to the capitation, who buys a piece of ushiiri land, 
 changes, by reason of his dissentient religion, its consti- 
 tution, and that it becomes kharadji. 
 
 We have also seen that the State can transfer owners, 
 who are non-Moslem subjects, subjected to the poll-tax, 
 from one part of the empire to another, upon the express 
 condition of giving them lands equivalent to those they 
 are forced to leave. Such emigrants owe the kharadj 
 of the lands they occupy after the transfer ; as for the 
 lands the sovereign makes them give up, even though 
 a Moslem or non-Moslem subject should become the 
 proprietor of the same, whether by purchase or other- 
 wise, he owes thereon the kharadj paid by the non-Moslem 
 subjects, subjected to the poll-tax, who were the pro- 
 prietors before the transfer. 
 
 The kharadj wazifah is due only once for each 
 (agricultural) year, even though the land be capable of 
 yielding several annual crops. 
 
 The ushur and the kharadj moukasamah are due on 
 every crop yielded. 
 
 Lands made wakf owe also the taxes, be they ush^lri 
 or kharadji. 
 
EBCOVEEX OF THE TAXES, 21 
 
 A parcel of ustiiri or of kharadji land, bought as a 
 speculation, likewise owes the kharadj or the ushiir ; the 
 speculator is not bound to pay the commercial dues (so 
 much per centum on the value of the things put up for 
 sale). 
 
 We have seen that, as a matter of principle,* the 
 owner of a piece of kharadji land is alone responsible for 
 the taxes due by that land ; he continues to be respon- 
 sible if the land has been wrested from him, if he has 
 leased it out, or given it in loan. 
 
 Nevertheless, if, by the will of the sovereign, the taxes 
 have been paid by the lessee or borrower, these cannot 
 fall back upon the proprietor to recover from him. 
 
 In the case where a proprietor has been despoiled of 
 his land, the amount of the taxes of the year is due by 
 the despoiler, if the one despoiled cannot prove his right 
 of property. 
 
 If the land despoiled, lent, farmed out, or leased, is a 
 fruit orchard or vegetable garden, or if the arable land has 
 been transformed into such a garden or orchard, the tax 
 becomes due by the despoiler, borrower, farmer, or 
 lessee. 
 
 If the land is ushuri, the State is free to exact the 
 taxes of the lessee, of the farmer, of the borrower, or of 
 the owner of the property. 
 
 If a piece of ushiiri land is despoiled, the owner is 
 considered as having leased it, and the despoiler is bound 
 to guarantee the rental. 
 
 In all these cases, where it is a question of a despoiler 
 of the property, the veritable proprietor has the right of 
 recourse against the despoiler, if the latter has worn out 
 or impaired the land during the time he held it unjustly. 
 
 The taxes on every parcel of land sold are not exigible 
 of the purchaser imless it has been in his possession for, 
 at least, three months. 
 
 If the parcel has been sold with its crop, and the 
 la;tter be ripe, ready for reaping, or on the thrashing- 
 floor, the buyer owes the taxes thereon. 
 
 * Or, at the heginiung.— Translator's Note. 
 
22 ON LANDED PEOPERTY IN EGYPT. 
 
 The author of El Fatdioa el Eindiah, whom we follow, 
 says that this distinction is made for lands kharadj wazi- 
 fah if the tax is collected at the end of the year, as ought 
 to be regularly done ; but if the sovereign gathers the 
 taxes in advance, at the beginning of the year, such a 
 practice being arbitrary and unjust, the kharadj is due 
 neither by the seller nor by the buyer. 
 
 Prosecution fob Arrears. 
 
 If, for any reason, the fiscus has not claimed the taxes 
 from a tax-payer, the latter is bound to distribute the 
 amount in works of charity ; but, if these alms are made 
 after that the fiscus has demanded payment, the tax- 
 payer in such a case owes the tax. 
 
 If a Moslem, the owner of a kharadji parcel, has for 
 any reason not paid his taxes for one or more years, he 
 owes them for all those years, according to the best 
 authority ; but some of the doctors say that he would 
 not owe them but for the year in which they had been 
 demanded of him. As for the non-Moslem proprietor, 
 the very silence of the law proves, according to the 
 general opinion, that he must be treated like the 
 Moslem. 
 
 A proprietor who has not been able to pay his taxes 
 loses none of his rights over his property. 
 
 The sovereign has the right to prosecute for arrears of 
 taxes. 
 
 To this end he can rent or lease the land of the tax- 
 payer who has not paid the tax, or who has emigrated 
 from inability to make good the arrears. 
 
 He can also cause such lands to be cultivated at the 
 cost of the public treasury ; in this case the value of 
 the taxes is paid into the treasury of ushur. 
 
 In all these cases the excess of the revenue (after 
 collection of the back taxes, the tax of the current 
 year, and the various expenses) must be kept and held 
 at the disposal of the proprietor, whether he have emi- 
 grated or be present, and ought to be delivered to him 
 whenever he calls for it. 
 
RECOVERY OP THE TAXES. 23 
 
 If the sovereign can find neither renter nor lessee, 
 or cannot cause such land to be cultivated at the cost of 
 the State, he can cede it to whomsoever binds himself to 
 pay the taxes. 
 
 If the State does not find the means of recovering the 
 arrears due, not even by this latter measure, the 
 sovereign, according to the opinions of the Imams 
 Mohammad and Abou Youssuf, can ofiier the land for 
 sale, deduct from the selling price the taxes in arrear, 
 and hold the surplus at the disposal of the owner. Abou 
 Hanifah, as we have seen above, does not allow anyone 
 at all to sell the land of another without his consent, 
 except for cause of public good. The question of the 
 seizure of real estate would then be contested, unless the 
 opinion of Abou Hanifah, the father of the Rite, be 
 admitted as outweighing that of his disciples. * 
 
 In any case, the sovereign cannot seize the soil or land 
 itself of a tax-payer owing back taxes, or having emi- 
 grated, until a year after the falling due of the totality of 
 the tax, or until a year after the emigration. 
 
 In order to insure the regular receipt of the taxes, the 
 law has laid it down as a principle : — 
 
 1st. That the owner of a parcel of kharadji property 
 cannot dispose of his crops until he have paid the taxes 
 due on such crops or on the property itself. 
 
 2nd. That the proprietor of a parcel of ushuri pro- 
 perty also has not the right to dispose of his crops before 
 having paid the tithe. 
 
 In the first case the law gives the sovereign the 
 absolute right of seizing the crop ; but it would seem 
 that the sovereign has not the right of seizing the crop 
 of a parcel of ushuri property, for, in the book entitled 
 El Zdhiriah, it is said that the owner of a piece of ushuri 
 property must not dispose of his crop before having paid 
 the tithe due thereon; but the juridical judgment adds 
 that, " if he does dispose of it, he renders himself respon- 
 sible for the tithe." 
 
 * In practice, when, in judicial cases, two disciples are agreed, their 
 opinion outweighs that of the master. 
 
24 ON LANDED PEOPBRTY IN EGYPT. 
 
 Gathbeees and Reobivebs of the Tax. 
 
 The collector, says the book entitled El Mouhit, must 
 be an honest official, good and just toward the tax- 
 payers. 
 
 In a work written by Ibn Abi el Eabi'a, for the instruc- 
 tion of the Abbasside Khalifah el Muatassim Billah, we 
 find the following passage : — 
 
 " The collector of taxes should be acquainted with the 
 course of the rivers and streams, the measures in use, 
 both of superficies and of capacity (hollow measures), 
 the seasons of the year and the movement of the sun 
 in the zodiac, with mathematics, with the sciences of 
 embankments and dykes, of bridges, and of administra- 
 tion, with that which each kind of land ought to pay, 
 with agriculture and commerce, and, lastly, with the 
 rights and duties of the bait ul mal." 
 
 The qualifications required of functionaries intrusted 
 with collecting the public moneys should, therefore, 
 consist in their honorability and capacity. 
 
 The author of El Mouhit recommends these officials, 
 in accordance with the law, to collect the kharadj wazifah 
 in proportionate parts after each crop, so that at the 
 end of the year the tax-payer shall find he has paid all 
 the taxes he owes without having found the obligation 
 to pay a too heavy burden. 
 
 As for the tithe and the kharadj moukasamah, if the 
 law says nothing about them, it is because the collection 
 of these taxes is fraught with no difficulty for a good 
 official, of the qualifications that- the law requires of the 
 sovereign to employ, seeing that both these sorts of tax 
 are to be collected at the end of each harvest or crop. 
 
 Remission oe Taxes. 
 
 The taxes on lands whose khar&,dj is wazifah are re- 
 mitted if the lands have suffered from inundation or 
 drought, or from such meteorological accident as is 
 beyond the power of the owner to guard against or 
 ward ofi". 
 
RECOVERY OF THE TAXES. 25 
 
 If, however, the crop has been gathered before the 
 occurrence of any of these accidents, the taxes are to be 
 required. 
 
 The tax is also due in full if the inundation or meteo- 
 rological accident have not overtaken the lands during 
 the course of the last three months of the agricultural 
 year. 
 
 Nevertheless, if the accident has destroyed only a 
 part of the standing crop, the State collects the whole 
 of the tax in cases where the value of the part of the 
 crop saved is equal, after deduction of the costs of 
 cultivation, to twice the amount of the tax established. 
 If, on the contrary, the value is less than double the 
 tax, the State can only exact the half of the crop saved, 
 whatever be the quantity inned. 
 
 Upon ushuri lands, and upon those whose kharadj is 
 mouk^samah, if the standing crop is lost, the taxes 
 are not due; but, if the loss has occurred after the 
 gathering in, the portion of such crop belonging to the 
 proprietor owes no tax, but that part which belongs to 
 the hirer (renter, or lessee) is not at all relieved, and 
 it is the proprietor of the land who is responsible for the 
 payment. 
 
 In all these questions of prosecution and recovery of 
 taxes, it will have been noticed that the law endeavours 
 to place the tax-payer as much as possible beyond the 
 reach of arbitrary prosecutions, and, above all, of judicial 
 sales. It is curious to find in a book of law, such as 
 the one we follow, advice in the matter of agricultural 
 economy. 
 
 El Hindawi himself makes the statement, taking it 
 from another collection, entitled El Wadjiz, whose 
 author, el-Kurdi, is one of the luminaries of jurispru- 
 dence. The passage is as follows : — "Moslem sovereigns 
 ought to imitate the acts of the Caesars, when such acts 
 are worthy of praise and commendable in themselves. 
 The Caesars, namely, when their tax-payers were over- 
 taken by some cause impossible to foresee and ward off, 
 and lost their harvests, came to their aid by advancing 
 them funds out of the moneys of the State to supply 
 
26 ON LANDED PROPEETT IN BGTPT. 
 
 their needs ; and the process of reasoning in so acting 
 was this, — the tiller of the soil being their partner, 
 inasmuch as he is their co-beneficiary, it would not be 
 right not to come to his aid when he suffered losses." 
 
 IY.__VARIOUS PROVISIONS AND 
 DISPOSITIONS. 
 
 Lands eeveeting to the State and Q-eants op such Lands. 
 
 The lands of a deceased proprietor revert to the State. 
 I think that the Sirddj el Wahhddj, which quotes this 
 judgment from Abou Yousuf, understands by it the law 
 of escheat. I must, however, say that I cannot support 
 my opinion by any text ; it rests simply upon induction. 
 
 Another point which is still obscure to me is the 
 principle of the joint and several responsibility — solidarity 
 — of the community [commune) for the payment of the 
 taxes. I find a judgment wherein it is said : — 
 
 " A community (commune) owns lands whose pro- 
 prietors (occupants) are dead or have emigrated ; the 
 inhabitants of the commune find it impossible for them 
 to pay the khar^dj of these lands, and wish to give them 
 up to the Sultan, etc " 
 
 But immediately after follows another judicial sen- 
 tence, declaring that, " if the Sultan desires to acquire 
 lands of this nature, he must first sell them to a third 
 party, and then re-purchase them from him." 
 
 The sovereign, who, everywhere in the law, is the 
 State,* with all the prerogatives attaching to this im- 
 
 * The sovereign was called the Emir el Mou'minin, Commander of 
 the Faithful ; and in this character, if not in law, at least in fact, he 
 was the bait ul mal — the State. Moreover, as their attributes were 
 only theoretically defined, the khalifs, in very early times, substituted 
 their' will and pleasure, and their persons in place of the law and 
 instead of the State. 
 
VAEIOUS PROVISIONS AND DISPOSITIONS. 27 
 
 personal being, such as we are taught by the Eomans 
 to consider it,* — the sovereign, therefore, is not the 
 pro:prietor of lands unoccupied, abandoned, or left with- 
 out owner after the death of the holder. 
 
 Why can he not become the proprietor ? and, in order 
 to become the proprietor, why is he obliged to resort 
 to a subterfuge ? Is the community {commune) consti- 
 tuted into a body corporate ? 
 
 These are so many obscure questions which others, 
 whose authority is greater than mine, will, I hope, be 
 able to answer. As for myself, I think, according to all 
 the principles laid down by the law, that every pro- 
 prietor is responsible for the taxes of his lands; that 
 the sale of lands without the consent of the proprietor 
 is forbidden ; that the joint and several responsibility — 
 solidarity — of the community (comynune) in matters of 
 taxes does not exist ; that it was, perhaps, adopted for 
 some local or temporary necessities. As for the question 
 of the right of property, I look upon it as sufficiently ex- 
 plained by the second principle. 
 
 Let us, however, continue the analysis of the judg- 
 ments that still remain for us to notice on this subject. 
 
 We find that the lands of those who have emigrated, 
 as well as those whose owners have died, can be rented, 
 given in lease, and, lastly, sold by the sovereign, and 
 that the community (commune) is responsible for the 
 taxes on lands abandoned by reason of the emigration of 
 the occupant. 
 
 But even here the law obliges the sovereign who has 
 leased the land of an emigrant to hold in reserve the 
 amount remaining over from the lease, after recovery of 
 the taxes owing to the State, and to deliver it to him 
 whenever demanded. 
 
 The State, isays the law, can itself cause such sorts of 
 lands to be cultivated with the moneys of the public 
 treasury, thus substituting itself for the lessee. In this 
 case only are the revenues of these lands given over to 
 the ushuri or Moslem treasury. 
 
 * See La Cite Antiqtce : Fustelde Ooulanges. Ninth edition, livre v. 
 "'aris, 1880. 
 
28 ON LANDED PROPERTY IN EGYPT. 
 
 Besides, as soon as the proprietor who emigrated or 
 who abandoned his land returns and claims his property, 
 and proves that his means enable him to put it under culti- 
 vation and bear the charges upon it, he has the right to 
 be reinstated in occupancy. 
 
 Still, in order that the State may lay hold of land 
 abandoned by the owner, the abandoning or emigration 
 must date back one whole year. 
 
 You see once more, gentlemen, that there is no ques- 
 tion of judiciary sale nor of solidarity of the commune ; 
 quite the contrary, the law seems to fully establish the 
 right of property, since, after having seized the property, 
 the State is bound to hand it up to the proprietor as 
 soon as he claims it ; and, lastly, the State holds the 
 proprietor responsible, seeing that it gives him back his 
 own only upon the guaranty that he is able to cultivate 
 it and pay the taxes. 
 
 Measures op Area ok Supeepioies, and Measures of 
 Capacity, or Hollow Measures. 
 
 Before finishing the First Part of this Work, it is best 
 to give a few words of explanation on the measures of 
 superficies and capacity adopted by the jurisconsults in 
 legal matters. 
 
 We have seen that the Imam Mohammad speaks of the 
 djarlb* as the unit of superficial measure used in the 
 collection of taxes of lands, whose kharadj is wazifah and 
 had been fixed once for all by the Khalifah Omar. We 
 have also seen that the Sheikh ul Islam Khawhar Zadah 
 is of opinion that the unit of measure of superficies in use 
 in each country is the one that ought to be adopted by 
 the jurisconsults of such country, and that this is the 
 opinion which has prevailed. Still, it is not amiss to 
 know the relation of the djarib to modern measures. 
 
 It is stated that the djarib is a square, whose sides are 
 
 * It is so in the original 'Frenoh.—Translator's Note. 
 
MEASUEES OP AREA OE SUPERFICIES. 29 
 
 each' 60 cubits long; these are royal cubits of seven 
 hand-breadths, that is to say, longer by one hand- 
 breadth than the common cubit. 
 
 I suppose that this is the shara'y or black cubit 
 reckoned by our learned colleague, Mahmoud Bey (now 
 Pasha) el Falaki, in his pamphlet, Le Systeme Metrigue 
 Actuel de VEgypte (Copenhagen, 1872), at 0-4932 metres, 
 and by Don Vasquez Queipo, at 0"5414 metres. I have 
 adopted the measure given by Mahmoud Pasha; it seems 
 to me to approach nearer to the measures used by the 
 legists. 
 
 Now, the djarib being 60 cubits X 60, we have as the 
 equivalent measure the following : — 
 
 1 djarib = 875-6864 square metres ; from -which it 
 results that 4*79 djarlbs, or 4f djaribs = 1 Egyptian 
 f addan of our day of 333-g- square kassabas, that is to say, 
 4200-8329 square metres, — the linear kassaba being 3-55 
 metres. 
 
 The quafiz is the measure of capacity or hollow 
 measure. 
 
 It is said that the Imam Mohammad, in speaking of 
 the quafiz, had in mind the sa'a cU, equivalent to eight 
 
 rattles, measure of the Irak, which is the same measure 
 as four amna (plural of mann). 
 
 The rattle equals, according to V. Queipo, 0-408 litres, 
 and the mann = 0-816 litres; both measures, multiplied, 
 the first by 8 and the second by 4, give exactly 3-264 
 litres for the sa'a. 
 
 If we reduce this hollow measure to Egyptian measure, 
 according to the scale given by Mahmoud Pasha, we 
 find that 
 
 1 sa'a= 1-g- quadah ; and if we now take into considera- 
 tion that the tax due was one sa'a and two handfuls, and 
 if we convert this tax into money of the present time, 
 reckoning the value of an ardabb of wheat at P.T. 100, 
 we will find that one djarib paid P.T. 1 and 16 paras, and 
 by adding to this sum one dirham, equalling about P.T. 3, 
 we obtain, as the total amount of the tax, P.T. 4;f§. By 
 applying this calculation to the faddan, we would have 
 for this measure of area about P.T. 26 of taxes. 
 
30 
 
 PART SECOND. 
 I.— Landed Ppoperty in Egypt. 
 
 The exceptional situation of Egypt, between Africa, 
 Asia and Europe, its natural wealth and the mildness 
 of its climate, have from all time excited the covetousness 
 of those peoples who have held the preponderance of 
 military and commercial power in the Mediterranean. 
 Without even mentioning the conquerors who have 
 appeared one after the other in this country before the 
 rise of Islam, we can, after that epoch, count about 
 fourteen dynasties, which, in the space of twelve cen- 
 turies, have by turns conquered, lost, re-conquered, and 
 ruled over Egypt. 
 
 Indeed, as soon as the first khalifs had brought 
 Arabia under their sway, and conquered Syria and a large 
 part of Persia, they turned their eyes toward Egypt, 
 which, by opening to them the gates of Africa, was to 
 insure the victualling of the cities of Mecca and Medina, 
 and give them the monopoly of the India trade. 
 
 One can say that the whole of the northern part of the 
 African continent was then nominally obedient to the 
 Byzantine emperors. The rotten state that that empire 
 had reached is known to my hearers. 'Amr Ibn il 'Ass 
 had only to show himself in order to become master of 
 Egypt, where intestine dissensions, fomented by religious 
 hate, divided the Copts and the Greeks. It is true that 
 the latter fought the Arabs more than once ; the citadel 
 of Babylon and the town of Alexandria are noted for the 
 strong resistance they offered ; but, receiving no succour 
 from the metropohs, finding themselves surrounded by 
 enemies, the deadliest of whom were their subjects of 
 yesterday, and, moreover, seeing that the Arab forces, led 
 
LANDED PROPERTY IN EGYPT. 31 
 
 by men of great valour, grew every day, tBe Greeks tad 
 to give way to numbers, and were beaten and ousted. 
 
 The taking of Alexandria, in 641, marked the date of 
 the decisive conquest ; since that epoch Egypt has 
 remained under Moslem rule. During the first years of 
 the Hegirah, Egypt was governed by governors, who 
 were very closely watched by the elective khalifs, who 
 succeeded the Khalif Omar. 
 
 Under both the Omayyade and Abbasside dynasties, 
 the khalifs changed the governors of Egypt almost every 
 year. The control exercised over those officials became 
 weaker as the empire grew in extent and in proportion as 
 the seat of government was removed farther off by transfer 
 from Damascus to Bagdad ; then, too, those governors 
 acted most often like true despots during the very short 
 time that they were in Egypt, whither they had been 
 for the most part sent only that they might enrich them- 
 selves in recompense for the services they were deemed 
 to have rendered to the khalifs. 
 
 This state of things continued until the year 868, the 
 epoch when, owing to the weakness of the reigning 
 Abbasside khalif and to the troubles of the empire, the 
 Governor of Egypt, Ahmad Ibn Touloun, succeeded in 
 making himself independent. 
 
 Egypt cannot be a really independent country but under 
 the condition of possessing other countries from which 
 to draw that which it lacks. Touloun, the first Moslem 
 prince who had governed Egypt as an independent 
 sovereign, did not fail to feel this necessity, and he took 
 Syria. 
 
 But his dynasty could not hold its own against the 
 khalifs, who, aided by their powerful vassals, re-conquered 
 both Syria and Egypt in 905. 
 
 About thirty years later, that is to say, toward the 
 year 934, the governor, Ikhshid, finding himself in like 
 conditions and circumstances as those of Ibn Touloun, 
 made himself likewise independent. He took Syria, and 
 followed in everything the example of Ibn Touloun. 
 Howbeit, the dynasty founded by him had even less dura- 
 tion than that of his forerunner. But this time Egypt was 
 
32 ON LANDED PEOPEETY IN EGYPT. 
 
 to be finally lost by the khalifs of Bagdad — the new 
 conquerors were to come from the "West. 
 
 The powerful family of Obeid Allah, known under the 
 name of the Fatimites, which then held, together with 
 the large islands of Europe, all the coast of Africa on 
 the Mediterranean, and whose galleys ploughed the length 
 and breadth of this sea, having failed in its endeavours 
 to conquer the countries of Western Africa, turned its 
 eyes toward Egypt. 
 
 The last scion of the family of Ikhshid was at that 
 time struggling against palace intrigues and embarrass- 
 ments of internal policy. He was also carrying on 
 unfortunate wars in Syria against his own governors and 
 against petty rulers who had sprung up out of the 
 feebleness of the Abbasside empire, and whom he had 
 himself allowed to prosper. 
 
 Djawhar, the general of El Mu^zz, was hence able to 
 make himself master of Egypt almost without resistance, 
 and the Imam himself went and settled there as early as 
 the year 969. 
 
 His successors extended their dominions in the direc- 
 tion of Syria, and thus formed an Egyptian empire, 
 whose power, from Cairo, extended over all Egypt, the 
 north of Africa, Syria, and Arabia. 
 
 This dynasty has left its traces in Egypt above all by 
 founding the City of Cairo and the Academy of Bl Azhar, 
 which became celebrated, even during the lifetime of its 
 founder, El Quaid Djawhar, throughout the whole Moslem 
 world, for its eminent professors, whom the sovereign 
 had drawn to it by his largesses. This too is the 
 dynasty that for the longest time occupied the throne of 
 Egypt really and without interruption. It reigned about 
 two centuries. 
 
 Toward 1170 Salah ed Din, at first sent, with his 
 uncle, to the aid of the Fatimite khalif, by the Atabeg 
 of Aleppo, Mahmoud Ibn Zingui, to fight King 
 Amaury lY. of Jerusalem, rendered himself independent 
 on the death of his master, overthrew the last Fatimite, 
 and united Arabia and Syria to Egypt. 
 
 His dynasty reigned in Egypt till the year 1250, 
 
LANDED PEOPERTT IN EGYPT. 33 
 
 when the sceptre fell — pardon an expression that might 
 seem improper in speaking of the Bast — to the distaff. 
 The Queen Shadjarat el Durr, who had already for some 
 time been ruling in the name of her minor son, reigned 
 in her own name, and at last associated with herself the 
 Mamelouk Aibeg, whom she married in 1250. He was 
 the first of those princes who, in two principal families, 
 gave to Egypt that series of sultans, some proud, 
 chivalrous, and bold, others bloodthirsty and tyrannical, 
 but all restless warriors, that ruled over this land for 
 about two centuries. 
 
 Under their sway, which lasted from 1250 to 1516, 
 Egypt passed, sometimes from a most miserable condition 
 to a state of the greatest prosperity, and at other times 
 from that of fear-inspiring strength to extreme weakness, 
 without any transition, and, so to speak, by enchantment. 
 
 In 1516 the Sultan Salim, after having killed the 
 Sultan El Gouri in Syria, and in Egypt itself made a 
 prisoner of the Sultan Touman Bey, put an end to the 
 independence of Egypt by joining it to the Empire of 
 the Othmans. 
 
 Here comes in an event of importance from the stand- 
 point of Islamism in general. 
 
 All the dynasties that had followed one another in 
 Egypt, since the days of Ahmad Ibn Touloun, had been 
 de facto independent ; nevertheless, all of them, with the 
 exception of the Fatimite dynasty, had recognised the 
 spiritual power, so to speak, of the Abbasside khalifs. 
 In the Friday prayers the name of these khalifs was 
 associated with that of the reigning Sultan ; the coins 
 were often struck with the joint stamp of the Sultan and 
 of the Khalif. These are the two prerogatives which 
 in Moslem law characterise sovereignty and prove the 
 submission of the prince to the KhaHf, and thereby the 
 unity of the Empire of Islam, which is a fundamental 
 dogma. 
 
 These independent princes, carrying their submission 
 still further, often got their investiture granted by the 
 Khalif of Bagdad ; and, when they waged war against 
 him, they were always wont to declare that it was done 
 
 D 
 
34 ON LANDED PROPEETY IN EGYPT. 
 
 against tlie feudatory princes who held the khahf under 
 their tutelage. They then appeared as liberators, com- 
 bating the enemies of the khalif. 
 
 This state of things continued until 1258, the date of 
 the taking of Bagdad by the Tartars of Houlagou, 
 which marks the end of the Abbasside dynasty. 
 
 Al Zahir Bybars, at that epoch Sultan of Egypt, 
 recognised Ahmad as heir to the khalifate, and, under 
 the name of Mountassir Billah, he installed him at 
 Cairo, rendered him sovereign honours, and even tried to 
 re-conquer Bagdad in his name from the Tartars ; but, 
 not succeeding, he kept him with him, and thus acquired 
 great preponderance throughout all Moslem lands. 
 Howbeit, despite all the honours they paid him, Bybars 
 and his successors held Ahmad and his heirs in a state 
 of absolute dependence. 
 
 At the time of the Ottoman conquest, the spiritual 
 khalif was Mohammad el Mutawakkil 'ala Allah. He 
 was taken to Constantinople by the Sultan Salim, then 
 shortly afterwards sent back to Cairo, where he died in 
 such complete obscurity that I have been unable, with all 
 my efforts, to discover either the date of his death or the 
 place of his burial. 
 
 This last khalif of the Koreish family gave up all the 
 holy relics intrusted to his family, and divested himself 
 of the title of khalif in favour of the Sultan Salim, who 
 thenceforth transmitted both relics and titles, as well as 
 the prerogatives attaching thereto, to his successors. 
 
 I have said, gentlemen, that this event was of great 
 import in the eyes of the Moslems. Indeed, the people 
 are obliged to follow, at least oflBcially, the Rite observed 
 by their Imam or supreme commander, from whom flows 
 all power. Even as he is the chief head of the armies, 
 so is he also the supreme head of justice and of religion — 
 in a word, he is the likeness, or, according to graphic 
 Eastern speech, the shadow of God on earth. He is the 
 source of the fullest powers, both worldly and religious, 
 both temporal and spiritual. 
 
 Now, many khalifs had followed the Shafi'ite Rite, 
 others the Hanafite. 
 
LANDED PEOPERTT IN EGYPT. 36 
 
 The feudatory princes in Egypt gave preference to the 
 one or to the other of these Rites, according as it was 
 professed by the reigning lihalif. 
 
 The Fatimites, who since their downfall have been 
 considered by the doctors of this country as heretical,* 
 claimed that they followed the Sha&'ite Rite. 
 
 The Ayoubites, in bringing Egypt under the suzerainty 
 of the Bagdad khalifahs, followed the same Rite as those 
 khalifs. 
 
 Bybars, having the khalif in his power, either from 
 over-great piety, or so as not to be obliged to follow the 
 Rite of the khalif whom he had created, who in point of 
 fact was his subject, or for other reasons, ordered that 
 the four Rites should be officially recognised, and repre- 
 sented by four supreme judges. In this way lawsuits, 
 administrative questions or other causes, were settled 
 by majority of votes, or by one of the judges according 
 to the Rite to which he belonged, when it suited the 
 sovereign to give preference to his opinion. 
 
 The Ottoman sultans, as a fact, re-established the 
 unity of Rite by sending to Cairo a supreme judge of 
 their Rite, the Hanafite. For about three centuries past, 
 this has been the official Rite in Egypt. But the Mame- 
 louks, in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, often 
 paid no attention to the judgments of this supreme 
 judge ; they did not even consult him when it suited 
 their interests not to do so, and addressed themselves 
 either to the shaikh of the Azhar mosque, who is 
 always a Shafi'ite,t or to other law doctors of some Rite 
 
 * They were considered as heretical because they called themselves 
 khalifs and did not recognise the spiritual power of the Abbasside 
 khalifs. Moreover, they claimed to belong to the family of the 
 Prophet, tracing back their genealogy to Hussain, son of Ali and of 
 F3,timah, the Prophet's daughter, whence their title of Fatimites. 
 This pretension was called in question by the Sunni orthodox doctors. 
 As for them, they considered themselves orthodox Moslems of the 
 Shafi'ite Rite. 
 
 t The only instance of a Hanafite shaikh of the Azhar mosque, 
 to my knowledge, is that of Shaikh Mohammad el Abbissi al 
 Mahdi, at present the shaikh of the mosque and also mufti, 
 appointed by the Khedive Ismail at the death of the Shaikh el 
 
 D 2 
 
36 ON LANDED PEOPEETT IN EGYPT. 
 
 other than the Hanafite; for they had themselves re- 
 established the council of four supreme judges, in spite of 
 the presence of the Hanafite judge sent by the Sublime 
 Porte. 
 
 At the beginning of the century, Mohammad Ali re- 
 established the chief Hanafite judge, who was, as before, 
 regularly and yearly sent by the Sublime Porte. By 
 this means he regularised justice, instituting mahkamahs, 
 small and great, which were all furnished with Hanafite 
 kadis. All questions, in government, have been, there- 
 fore, regulated, since the beginning of the century up to 
 our days, without interruption, by the juridical sen- 
 tences rendered according to this Rite. 
 
 In reminding you, gentlemen, by this rapid glance, of 
 the many and radical revolutions through which Egypt 
 has passed since its conquest, my purpose has been to fix 
 your attention upon the following salient facts : — 
 
 1st. Not one of these dynasties has followed upon its 
 forerunner without a conquest brought about by force 
 of foreign arms, nor without overrunning the country 
 with foreigners, the most of whom knew not the language 
 of the country, its laws, usages, and customs, and often 
 too not even its religion. 
 
 2nd. Might having always made Right, all institutions 
 were upset from top to bottom at each conquest. 
 
 3rd. The jurists of the different Rites and different 
 epochs, being obhged to put the divine and traditional 
 law in accord with accomplished facts or with the will of 
 the conqueror, have had, no doubt, to stretch this un- 
 changeable law, and have by veritable forced construc- 
 tions sought to give the law effect when it was no longer 
 possible for it to check the abuses created by the con- 
 quest, or by the usages and customs of the conquerors 
 who took Egypt. 
 
 In the midst of this chaos, brought about by so many 
 conquests, to which the aboriginal race has always 
 
 'Aroussi, who was the last elective shaikh, if one considers as 
 irregular the appointment, made under pressure (from the rebel officers, 
 Urabi, Tulba, and Abdul Aal), of the Shaikh el Ambi.bi. 
 
EIGHT OP LANDED PROPEETY IN EGYPT. 37 
 
 remained foreign ; in the presence of so many laws often 
 contradicting one another and destroying what had been 
 estabhshed to establish new principles of administration, 
 in their turn to be overset by others ; in one word, in the 
 midst of so much obscurity, we have tried to find out 
 whether it is possible to trace out, by means of a few 
 indices, the constitution of the right of landed property 
 in Egypt. 
 
 I crave your indulgence, gentlemen, for a work that I 
 myself consider very incomplete, but which I hope may 
 be hereafter completed by others more fitted than myself 
 to deal with such an arduous question. 
 
 I.— CONSTITUTION OF RIGHT OF LANDED 
 PROPERTY IN EGYPT. 
 
 Was Egypt conquered by Islam by force of arms ? 
 
 Some historians and chroniclers say Yes; for the reason, 
 they contend, that, if the citadels and fortresses that pro- 
 tect a country offer resistance to the arms of Islam and 
 are taken by assault, the whole country must be classed 
 in the category of those conquered by force of arms. 
 
 Others say the contrary ; because, they assert, the 
 Copts, the aboriginal inhabitants of the land, did not 
 defend themselves, and, what is more, put themselves 
 into communication with the Arabs, even before their 
 entrance into Egypt, to get from them the Amdn and an 
 advantageous treaty of peace. 
 
 As the historians cannot help us to clear up this ques- 
 tion, we must rest upon tradition to give us some light. 
 
 Now, the doctors of all four orthodox Rites agree in 
 declaring that Egypt was conquered by force of arms. 
 
 We, moreover, see in all the mosques of Egypt, that 
 the Imam officiating at the public Friday prayer mounts 
 the pulpit with a sword, that is to say, either with a real 
 sword or with one of a wooden blade. From this we 
 can, without hesitation, gather that, from all time, the 
 
38 ON LANDED PROPEfiTT IN EGYPT. 
 
 Moslems have looked upon Egypt as a country conquered 
 by force of arms.* 
 
 This point being settled, it becomes important to 
 know whether the population remained Christian, or if it 
 became converted to Islamism at the time of the conquest. 
 On this point all, both historians and traditionists, are at 
 one in acknowledging that the majority of the population 
 continued to profess Christianity, even during several 
 centuries after the conquest. 
 
 Again, we know that the soil of Egypt is made fruitful 
 by the water of a river, which is not Arab, and whose 
 waters are, therefore, kharadji. 
 
 The inhabitants were not reduced to the condition of 
 slaves ; they, on the contrary, found favour in the eyes 
 of the Khalif Omar. They agreed to pay the capitation 
 tax that was imposed upon them by 'Amr Ibn el 'Aas, 
 and, lastly, they kept their property and lands, says 
 El Syouthy, the same as they had held them before the 
 conquest. 
 
 These circumstances make it that all the lands of 
 Egypt, without exception, must be considered as kharadji, 
 that they are so in fact, and will be so without any 
 exception. 
 
 But into which category of kharadji are we to put the 
 lands of Egypt ? Were they made kharadji wazifah or 
 kharadji moukasamah ? The right of property in the 
 substance, was this granted in mulk to the Egyptians 
 subjected to the poll-tax ? 
 
 No, gentlemen, the right of property in Egypt was 
 constituted on bases altogether different from those of 
 other countries conquered by Islamic arms. 
 
 The law, the Sharaa, has sought to define this consti- 
 tution ; but the traditions left us by the fathers of the 
 four orthodox Rites, about the second century of the 
 
 * In other countries the officiator mounts the pulpit, raising up his 
 hands in the attitude of prayer, or carrying a piece of paper, or else a 
 copy of the Book par excellence (Koran), to show that the country 
 was taken by Islam at the spontaneous demand of the inhabit9,nts, 
 by treaty of peace or by religious conviction. 
 
EIGHT OF LANDED PEOPEETY IN EGYPT. 39 
 
 Hegirah era, present sucli great divergences that it is 
 impossible for us to make them agree. 
 
 I will limit myself to giving you the translation of a 
 passage from the work entitled Bahmat ul TJmmahfi 
 Ikhtildf il Aimmah* written by Shaikh 'Abd el Rahman 
 el Kuraishi el Shafi'i el Othmani, in the year 943 of the 
 Hegirah = 1536 A.J.C. 
 
 This book gives on all questions of the Sharaa the 
 points where the opinions and rites of the four fathers 
 disagree and and are contested. 
 
 This is the passage : — 
 
 " Chapter on Spoils and Booty. 
 
 " Question : Booty, taken by force of arms in the 
 Irak and in Egypt, shall it be distributed among the 
 conquerors or not ? 
 
 " Abou Hmitfah has said : The commander is free, 
 according to his good will and pleasure, 1st, to divide 
 it among the conquerors ; 2nd, to leave it in the posses- 
 sion of the inhabitants of the country, subjecting such 
 inhabitants to the kharadj ; 3rd, and lastly, to oust the 
 inhabitants, and colonise the country by introducing 
 foreigners, who, in such case, are themselves subjected 
 to the kharadj. 
 
 " But the commander can in no case create [the whole 
 country] wakf,t in favour of the Moslem commonwealth, 
 neither can he create it^wakf in favour of the conquerors. 
 
 " Two opinions of Ibn Malik are reported : — 
 
 " 1. The Imam has no right to divide up the Irak and 
 Egypt among the conquerors ; for the very fact of the 
 conquest of these countries has made them wakfs in 
 favour of the Moslems. 
 
 " 2. The Imam is free to divide the booty among the 
 conquerors, or to make it wakf in favour of the welfare 
 of the Moslems. 
 
 " j&Z Shafi'i has said : — 
 
 " The Imam is bound to make the division among the 
 * The divergent opinions of the masters — chief-doctors or fathers, — 
 a source of mercy to the nation. 
 
 t Property of mortmain, belonging to establishments of piety, 
 public utility, or philanthropy, of which the revenues are intended to 
 supply the costs of administration and maintenance of such estab- 
 lishments. 
 
40 ON LANDED PROPEETY IN KGtTPT. 
 
 conquerors, unless they freely consent to its being 
 created wakf in favour of the Moslems, and give up their 
 rights, in which case the Imam can make it wakf. 
 
 " Here, according to Ahmad Ihn Eambal, are three 
 opinions : — 
 
 "1. The most probable is that the Imam can do with 
 the booty that which seems to him to be most profitable, 
 and, according as he thinks best, distribute it, or else 
 make it wakf. 
 
 " 2. The second opinion is the same as that of the 
 Shafi'ite Rite. 
 
 "3. And the third is that, by the very fact of the 
 conquest, the country becomes wakf." 
 
 Tou see, gentlemen, what considerable divergences of 
 opinion exist between the doctors when it is a question 
 of embracing an accomplished fact within the confines of 
 the law, which by its nature is immutable. We are 
 brought, then, to seek outside of the law the reasons that 
 led the Khalif Omar to act in Egypt in a manner so 
 difierent from that which was usual at that same epoch in 
 other countries that Islamism was subjecting to its arms. 
 
 Says the Baron Jechereau de St. Denis, in his History 
 of the Ottoman Empire, from 1792 to 1844 : " It appears, 
 according to some documents which history has handed 
 down to us, that, as early as the times of the Pharaohs, 
 the right of property in the soil belonged to the sovereign, 
 and that it was in accordance witli this principle, slightly 
 modified, that this country was governed by the kings of 
 the Ptolemaic dynasty and by the Romans." 
 
 Indeed, one would have to search far back into 
 antiquity to discover the reasons that have brought 
 about (a) the establishment of the undivided community 
 of property among the inhabitants of each commune ; (b) 
 the joint and several responsibility (solidarity) of the 
 inhabitants of one and the same commune toward the 
 State in the payment of the tax ; (c) the yearly allotment 
 of the lands among the members composing the com- 
 mune ; {d) lastly, the right of the State to own the 
 substance of the land. 
 
 My attention has been drawn to a passage in Genesis, 
 
WGHT OF LANDED PROPEETT IN EGYPT. 41 
 
 which, indeed, would tend to prove that the constitution 
 of the right of real property in Egypt dates very far back. 
 Let me quote this passage : — 
 
 Gen. xli. 53—67 : " 53. Then were fulfilled the seven 
 years of plenty that was in the land of Egypt. 54. And 
 the seven years of hunger began to come, as Joseph had 
 said ; and there was hunger throughout all the countries ; 
 but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. 55. And 
 when all the land of Egypt hungered, and the people 
 cried out to Pharaoh for bread, Pharaoh said to all the 
 Egyptians, Go to Joseph, and what he says to you do. 
 6(5. And the hunger was over the whole face of the earth ; 
 and Joseph opened all wherein there was food and sold 
 to the Egyptians ; and the hunger grew stronger in the 
 land of Egypt. 67. And all the world came unto Egypt 
 to Joseph to buy wheat, for the hunger was very strong 
 throughout all the earth." 
 
 Gen. xlvii. 13-26 : " 13. And there was no bread in 
 all the earth, for the hunger was very strong ; and the 
 land of Egypt and the land of Canaan famished, because 
 of the hunger. 14. So Joseph gathered all the silver 
 found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan 
 through the wheat that they bought ; and Joseph came 
 with the silver to the house of Pharaoh. 15. And when 
 the silver had given out in the land of Egypt and in the 
 land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph, saying: 
 Give us bread, for why shall we die before thee, for there 
 is no more silver ? 16. And Joseph said, Bring your 
 cattle, and I shall give you instead of your cattle, if there 
 be no more silver. 17. So they came to Joseph with 
 their cattle ; and Joseph gave them bread instead of the 
 horses, and instead of the sheep and cows and asses ; so 
 he fed them with bread that year in exchange for all 
 their cattle. 18. And when that year was ended they 
 came to him in the next year, and said to him. We do not 
 hide from my lord that, as the silver is exhausted, and 
 the animals and cattle are with my lord, there is nothing 
 more before my lord but our bodies and our land. 19. 
 Why shall we die before thine eyes, we and all our 
 land together ? buy us and our land with the bread, so 
 
42 ON LANDED PEOPBETY IN EGYPT. 
 
 shall we become we and our land slaves to Pharaoli ; and 
 give seed (for sowing) that we live and die not, and that 
 our land become not a desert. 20. So Joseph bought all 
 the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, seeing that the Egyptians 
 sold every one his field, for the hunger became strong 
 upon them ; thus the land became Pharaoh's. 21. And, 
 as for the people, he removed them to the cities from one 
 end of Egypt to the other. 22. But the land of the 
 priests he did not buy ; for there was for the priests an 
 allowance from Pharaoh ; so they ate their allowance 
 which Pharaoh gave them ; therefore, they did not sell 
 their land. 23. So Joseph said to the people, I have 
 bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh ; here is 
 seed for you that ye sow the land. 24. And it shall be, 
 at harvest, that ye shall give a fifth to Pharaoh, and the 
 four parts shall be for you, seed for the field and food for 
 you and for him who is in your houses, and food for your 
 children. 26. And they said, Thou hast made us to live ; 
 would that we should find favour in the eyes of my lord, 
 and be slaves to Pharaoh. 26. So Joseph made it 
 binding upon the land of Egypt unto this day, — the fifth 
 is Pharaoh's ; but the land of the priests alone did not 
 become Pharaoh's." 
 
 You know, gentlemen, that Joseph lived about the 
 seventeenth century B.C. ; hence the custom which, 
 according to Grenesis, had acquired force of law (verse 
 26) was already in practice about three centuries before 
 the date of Moses' death. 
 
 It is more than probable that this state of things per- 
 petuated itself, and that each new conqueror, finding laws 
 in force that were against the conquered people and in his 
 favour, took care to change nothing ; and thus it is that 
 these laws have held their own to our days. 
 
 M. Fustel de Coulanges, in his book entitled La Cite 
 Antique (Hachette, 1881, ninth edition), livreii. chap, vi., 
 under the heading, " The Eight of Property," says : — 
 
 " It is known that there are races who have never got 
 so far as to establish among them the right of indi- 
 viduals to real property ; others have reached this point 
 only after long and painful struggles. Indeed, it is no 
 
EIGHT OF LANDED PROPERTY IN EGYPT. 43 
 
 easy problem, at the original formation of commonwealths, 
 to know whether the individual may take the substance 
 of the earth as his own, and establish so strong a bond 
 between his being and a piece of ground as to be able to 
 say, This land is mine, this land is as a part of myself. 
 The Tartars conceive the right of property when it has to 
 do with flocks and herds, but they no longer understand 
 it when it relates to the soil. Among the ancient 
 G-ermans, according to some authors, the land belonged 
 to no one ; every year the tribe assigned to each one 
 of its members a lot to cultivate, and the lot was changed 
 the next year. The German was owner of the harvest, 
 not of the land. It is still so among a portion of the 
 Semitic race and among a few Slavic peoples." 
 
 One must believe that the Egyptian is one of these 
 races of which M. de Ooulanges speaks, " who have 
 never got so far as to establish among them the right 
 of individuals to real property," or that the many and 
 frequent conquests of Egypt by foreigners have checked 
 the development of the genius of its inhabitants, or have 
 turned its course, seeing that it is less than a century 
 since the right of real property — under the influence of 
 the civilisation of Aryan races — has begun to be altered 
 in Egypt through the will of the sovereign, and in spite 
 of the Egyptian himself. 
 
 Lastly, gentlemen, whatever may have been the right 
 of real property in the ante-Islamic epoch, at the time 
 of the conquest of Egypt by the Arabs no kharadj or 
 tax was laid directly upon the land or upon the crops; 
 no land was distributed to the Moslems who had helped 
 in its conquest; no land was taken away to form the 
 fifth, as the part of the booty falling, according to the 
 law, to the khalif. Quite the contrary, the conquerors, 
 having confiscated the lands belonging to the Greeks 
 killed during the war, or exiled and dispossessed after 
 the taking of Alexandria, apportioned these lands be- 
 tween the existing communes, and then distributed them 
 among the Christian Egyptians of these communes to be 
 cultivated by them. 
 
 According to El Makrizi, the Khalif Omar declared that 
 
44 ON LANDED PEOPEETY IN EGYPT. 
 
 the revenues of Egypt should serve to keep up the 
 Moslem armies; acting, therefore, towards Egypt like 
 the Roman emperors, who had declared this country an 
 imperial province, the khalif declared it a " province of 
 the Moslem armies." 
 
 All, therefore, tends to make us believe that the Arabs 
 changed nothing of what they found established in Egypt. 
 They preserved the constitution of the right of real 
 property such as it was established under the Byzantines, 
 even as they preserved the same administration of the 
 country and the language of its inhabitants for a long time 
 after the conquest. 
 
 'Amr Ibn el ' Aass was satisfied with exacting from the 
 Copts a tribute, amounting to 12,000,000 dinars a year, 
 and the obligation to lodge every Moslem traveller for 
 three consecutive days. This tribute was called kharadj ; 
 "it was calculated," say the historians, "at the rate of 
 two dinars a head on the male inhabitants, between the 
 ages of twelve and sixty years." 
 
 We ought, therefore, to consider these 12,000,000 
 dinars as the tribute exigible, as the budget of the net 
 revenues, the conqueror leaving to the administrative 
 authorities of the conquered country the care of appor- 
 tioning among the inhabitants this tribute, to which had 
 to be added, I think, the budget of the expenses of 
 administration. 
 
 Indeed, the historian. El Syouthy, tells us what was the 
 usual manner of procedure in apportioning this tax. I 
 translate the whole of this passage : — 
 
 " Ibn 'Abd el Hakim says : — When 'Amr Ibn el 'Aass 
 was definitely appointed G-overnor-general of Egypt, he 
 left the imposts just as they had been fixed by the Qreehs. 
 
 " These imposts were established as follows : — If, by 
 reason of the abundance of the crops, a commune became 
 rich, and the inhabitants increased in number, the imposts 
 were increased proportionately to the wealth of the 
 commune. 
 
 " If the population had diminished, and if the country 
 for any reason had grown poorer or was totally ruined, 
 the imposts were lightened in proportion with its poverty. 
 
RIGHT OP LANDED PROPERTY IN EGYPT. 45 
 
 " The following is the manner of procedure for estab- 
 lishing the quota of each commune : — The principal 
 inhabitants and the experts of the province met and dis- 
 cussed the plenty or scantiness of the crops. "When they 
 agreed and declared, for example, that the province was 
 prosperous, they laid upon it a certain sum. This being 
 done, they went from district to district, and from 
 village to village, and discussed with each proprietor, 
 whom they taxed according to the abundance or poorness 
 of his crops, and according to the importance of each 
 parcel of land ; and it is thus that the tax of the province 
 was apportioned. 
 
 " When this was done, the council returned to the seat 
 of government of the province, and occupied itself with 
 the gathering of the kharadj of the communes, and of the 
 lands, upon the bases agreed upon. 
 
 " The taxes of a certain number of faddans were 
 kept to serve for the maintenance of the churches,* baths, 
 and hostelries ; a sum was also kept for the maintenance 
 of Moslem guests, of the governor, or of the sovereign, 
 who might visit the country. 
 
 " When this work was ended, aU the industrial 
 labourers and artisans of the district were taxed, and they 
 were taxed equitably according to what they could pay. 
 If a widow was engaged in commerce or industry, she 
 was taxed according to her means like a man. 
 
 " If in a commune the tribute was not covered, this 
 tribute was apportioned over every faddan in the com- 
 mune ; and to each member of the commune was given 
 the number of faddans he wished to cultivate in accord- 
 ance with his means. 
 
 " When once the division was made, if one of the 
 villagers could not cultivate the part that he had asked 
 for, and complained of the greatness of the tax, the 
 number of faddans he wished to give up was taken from 
 him, and if, among the members of the commune, culti- 
 vators were found who wished to have a greater number 
 of faddans than had been obtained by them at the time 
 
 * Christian churches of the Coptic inhabitants of the country. 
 
46 ON LANDED PBOPEBTY IN EGYPT. 
 
 of the apportionment, they were given the lands that 
 had been given up by cultivators of the same commune. 
 
 "If, at the time of the division of the lands, dis- 
 agreements or quarrels arose that could not be settled, 
 then the lands of the commune were divided up into 
 equal parts among all the inhabitants. 
 
 " The divisions were made by kirats (twenty-fourth 
 parts)." 
 
 It appears clearly from this passage that the right of 
 real property, as we understand it, did not exist in Egypt, 
 and we see that, from the very time of the conquest, the 
 inhabitant of the country, the Egyptian, the cultivator, 
 did not possess the substance of the land, which belongs 
 to the commune, and by extension to the sovereign, that 
 is to say, to the State. 
 
 On the other hand, we know that the Khalif Omar 
 confiscated the lands owned by the Grreeks, the ancient 
 masters of the country, as well as the State domains, in 
 order to distribute them among the communes, and that 
 he then granted, to some persons, estates the lands of 
 which were exempted from all taxation. 
 
 Were these lands freehold estates ? I cannot say ; but 
 in after-times the Omayyad and Abbasside khalifs also 
 made similar donations, and these lands became freehold 
 estates, if not in the full acceptation of the word, at least 
 estates transmissible to the heirs of the holders. These 
 lands were called, in the singular number, qit'a or iqt'a, 
 and in the plural, iqta'at, to distinguish them from the 
 lands whose substance belonged to the commune, to the 
 bait el mal, to the State, to the sovereign, and which 
 were, without doubt, always known under the name of 
 kharadji. 
 
 When Ahmad Ibn Touloun seized the sovereign 
 power, he too exercised this royal right, this regalian 
 right. 
 
 After him, every conqueror, following the example of the 
 Khalif Omar, the first conqueror of Egypt, has arrogated 
 to himself the right of ownership in the substance of the 
 earth, the right to confiscate to his good or to the good 
 of his partisans the real property acquired by gracious 
 
EIGHT OF LATSTDEU PROPEETY IN EGYPT. 47 
 
 gifts, by inheritance or otherwise under the vanquished 
 dynasty. 
 
 The Sultan Salim himself ousted all the Mamelouks 
 from the lands they held, and even from those that they 
 had inherited, in order to distribute them, in usufructuary 
 holds, and in full right of property to the soldiers he 
 left in Egypt or to those Mamelouks who were his 
 partisans. The lands which he thus granted, with right 
 of property, were called rizqua. 
 
 Thus then, from the conquest by the Arabs down to the 
 nineteenth century, there have always been in Egypt two 
 sorts of lands — the lands, let me use such an expression, 
 of quasi full freehold, exempt from taxation, and the 
 lands granted in usufruct taxed with the kharadj. The 
 substance of all these lands, however, remained the 
 property of the bait el mal, the sovereign, the State.* 
 
 The governors of Egypt, on behalf of the sultans, 
 maintained intact the institutions created by the Sultan 
 Salim and his son, the Sultan Suleyman ; but step 
 by step, as the Empire grew weaker, the power of 
 the Mamelouks, who were Ottoman subjects, grew 
 greater and greater, until, toward the middle of the 
 seventeenth century, all authority was concentrated in 
 the hands of that one among them who, under the name 
 of Shaikh el Balad, ruled in fact, whereas the pasha 
 sent by the Sublime Porte had no longer any power 
 at all. 
 
 Stripped of its products and of its gold by Constanti- 
 nople, impoverished by continual intestine wars between 
 the Mamelouks, by the absolute want of security, and by 
 the falling-off of the trade with the far East, which had 
 taken the route of the Cape, Egypt found all its institu- 
 tions shattered, and more especially those relating to real 
 property ; which had depreciated, seeing that the public 
 works were wholly neglected, and that anarchy reigned 
 everywhere, so that the tilling of the lands was abandoned 
 
 * See Genesis, chap, xlvii., how, without doubt, in ancient Egypt, 
 in Persian Egypt, in Greek and Roman Egypt, these distinctions like- 
 wise existed. 
 
48 ON LANDED PEOPBETI IN EGYPT. 
 
 by a people, wlio lay at tlie mercy of their arbitrary 
 masters. 
 
 With such a state of things the means of getting money 
 were wholly lacking. And it was then that the system 
 of iltizams was introduced,* a sort of general lease, such 
 as was still in existence at the beginning of this cen- 
 tury. 
 
 I cannot tell precisely from what epoch these sorts of 
 farm-leases date ; it is highly probable, however, that 
 they were originally introduced, but in a better supervised 
 and regulated form, by the Sultan Salim himself, for their 
 system has several points of analogy with the farming 
 of the tithes and other rentals such as was and still is 
 practised in Turkey. But in time, and anarchy favour- 
 
 * The concessions of theiltiz&ins were made by the rouzn&mah ; but 
 the enjoyment (occupancy) was not given to the moultazim until he 
 had paid the halwan, that is to say, the whole of the tax (miri) due 
 upon the farm-lease conceded to him. At the closing of the bids at 
 auction of these sorts of concession, the rouznamah delivered to the 
 one getting the award a taxtt (title-deed of lease) and a namikah, 
 which was nothing but a written order, addressed to the notables and 
 inhabitants of the villages composing the farm, by which they were 
 told to recognise the authority of the new farm-holder, obey him, and 
 pay him the taxes fixed in the agreement of award of farm-lease. The 
 total amount of these taxes included the yearly rental that the 
 moultazim was bound to pay into the treasury. 
 
 The amount fixed for the first and lowest bid of the auction was 
 equal to five times the yearly remission granted to the concessionary, 
 this remission being itself calculated at five times the lease that would 
 have had to be paid on the oussiah lands, the enjoyment (occupancy) 
 of which the moultazim had with exemption from tax as indemnity 
 for the outlays occasioned him in the collection of the taxes, the 
 expenses of the hostelry, and other charges. The iltizam was convey- 
 able by sale or by grant. 
 
 In case of sale, it was necessary, in order to be valid, that the 
 lessee should be still alive forty-one days after the date of his having 
 asked and obtained the consent of the rouzncimah to his conveying his 
 rights to a new moultazim. 
 
 At the beginning of our century, the farm-lease had become one 
 during lifetime, and the concession did not escheat to the State until the 
 death of the moultazim. Still, some of them obtained, by paying an 
 indemnity to the treasury to be determined by agreement with the 
 ruler, authority to constitute their concession into wakf, and thus 
 render it transmissible to their heirs — as trustees or administrators of 
 the wakf — without further interference from the rouznamah. 
 
BIGHT OF LANDED PROPBRTY IN EGYPT. 49 
 
 ing change, the primitive system underwent considerable 
 modifications. 
 
 Be this as it may, the working of the iltizam system 
 at the commencement of this century was as follows : — 
 
 An individual took in farmage (lease), for one or more 
 years, the taxes of the lands of one or more communes, 
 paying in advance the rentals of one year; the award was 
 made by auction bid or by private arrangement through 
 the rouznamah, which did 'not deliver the taxit, or title 
 establishing the right of lease, except upon the order of 
 the shaikh el balad, the chief of the Mamelouks. 
 
 When once the lease was obtained and the tax paid, 
 the moultazim (farmer or lessee general) endeavoured, 
 at his own risk and peril, to reahse the amount he had 
 advanced to the treasury, both capital and interest, the 
 rate of interest being fixed by the farmer generat him- 
 self, there being no law regulating the matter. 
 
 Theoretically, or rather as a question of principle, the 
 State had to aid the moultazim in realising the advance 
 made by him ; but in times of continued trouble, such 
 as those through which Egypt passed during the seven- 
 teenth and eighteenth centuries, the moultazim was, as a 
 matter of fact, left to himself, and he could thus deal as 
 hardly as he liked with the peasant, who, having no way 
 of redress against the oppressor, could only hope that 
 another and more powerful moultazim would succeed in 
 ousting the first one. 
 
 A certain area of the lands by iltizam was allowed 
 gratis to the moultazim for his personal gain, and in 
 order to cover the costs of his concession, such as 
 expenses of hostelry, subsidy for maintenance of 
 mosques, schools, baths, &c. These kinds of lands 
 were exempted from all kinds of tax, and, furthermore, 
 the peasants of the commune were bound to cultivate 
 them by pi-ess-labour (corvee) for the good of the 
 moultazim. These lands were termed wassiah or 
 oussiah. 
 
 The iltizams (leaseholds) were in no way hereditary ; 
 but if the moultazim had children or white slaves — 
 Mamelouks — old enough to take his place, and if he had 
 
 E 
 
50 ON LANDED PROPEETY .IN EGYPT, 
 
 succeeded in renewing his farm-lease from year to year, 
 or from period to period, until such time as his son was 
 able to take his place, the son could substitute himself 
 for his father on condition of continuing to renew the 
 lease yearly as in the past. 
 
 The peasants, therefore, owned no land. 
 
 The moultazims themselves were not sure of keeping 
 their iltizams, or leaseholds, unless there were no richer 
 competitor, or unless they had the protection of power- 
 ful friends. 
 
 As for the rizquas — lands within the dominmm of the 
 proprietor — there were hardly any more of these sorts of 
 lands in the hands of private persons, the greater part 
 having become wakfs of the mosques. 
 
 No one, therefore, was a landowner in Egypt; each 
 one enjoyed the usufruct of the land he billed only up to 
 the moment wherein he was ousted by his personal 
 enemies or by the enemies of his partisans. 
 
 Mohammad Ali at first followed in the tracks of his 
 forerunners; and, after his wars with the Mamelouks 
 and their massacre at the Cairo Citadel, he confiscated 
 all the lands that they had taken by iltizams, by way of 
 rizquas, or otherwise. 
 
 But as soon as the country had got somewhat quiet, 
 and when his position had been officially recognised by 
 the Sublime Porte, the Great Pasha quickly saw that 
 fixity of tenure was the foundation upon which he had 
 to raise up the edifice of his dreams, if he wanted to 
 impart to the regeneration of Egypt that solidity that he 
 wished to see it acquire. 
 
 I beg you to remember, gentlemen, that the Rite in 
 force was officially, and had for a long time been, the 
 Hanafite ; that Mohammad Ali reinstated it exclusively 
 in vigour ; and that the opinion given by the doctors of 
 this Eite concerning the lands of Egypt is, as we have 
 already said, the following : — 
 
 "That the Commander [of the Faithful] is free to 
 divide the lands of Egypt among the conquerors ; to 
 leave them in the possession of the inhabitants, while 
 subjecting the latter to the kharadj ; or, exiling them, to 
 
BIGHT OF LANDED PEOPBETY IN EGYPT. 51 
 
 colonise the country anew and siibject the new colonists 
 to that tax. But that one can in no case -make tbelands. 
 and the entire country into wakf in favour of the 
 Moslems or in favour of the conquerors." 
 
 You have, moreover, noticed that the law, according to 
 the Rite of the Imam el A'azam* Abou Hanlfah, if it 
 does not clearly say that in Egypt the right of jp'ro- 
 perty in the substance, as distinguished from the right 
 of usufruct, ought to belong to the holder, it at least 
 expressly forbids the making of the lands of this country, 
 at one sweep, into wakf; that is to say, that it formally 
 forbids the bait el mal, the State, the sovereign, from 
 becoming in a general manner the absolute and unalter- 
 able proprietor of the lands, from becoming a pro- 
 prietor upon whom the right of possession is fixed 
 inalienably. 
 
 Basing himself, therefore, in all he did upon the 
 letter and spirit of the law, interpreted by the doctors 
 of the Rite in force, which we have seen to be the 
 Hanafite, Mohammad Ali initiated his agrarian reforms 
 by ordering the making, with the means then at his dis- 
 posal, of a general survey — general cadastre — of all the 
 cultivated area of Egypt. He watched this work with 
 great attention, and the best proof I can give of 
 the correctness of what I say is, that nearly every- 
 where in the archives of the moudiriahs the gontags 
 (cadastral registers) bear the impression of Mohammad 
 All's own seal. 
 
 He then divided all Egypt into moudiriahs, these 
 into markazes or quissms, and these again into nahiahs. 
 He everywhere established administrative or executive 
 governors and receivers or gatherers of the taxes ; and, 
 suppressing the iltizams or leases of the taxes, he 
 distributed the lands of the communes among the 
 inhabitants of the same, so that every able-bodied land- 
 tiller had nearly an equal portion of land. This distri- 
 bution was made throughout all Egypt, and the part 
 
 * I.e., the greatest, the chief, the highest Imam. 
 E 2 
 
52 ON LANDED PROPERTY IN EGYPT. 
 
 falling to eacli tiller was somewliere between three 
 and five faddans. * 
 
 In each cormnune he granted to the shaikhs el baladf 
 whom he had created a certain quantity of land exempt 
 from all taxation, as indemnity for the service he exacted 
 of them, as well as to make up for the costs of reception 
 of government officials, who might pass through or stop 
 in the village. These lands were called masmouh el 
 mashdyikh and masmouh el masstaiah. 
 
 We have seen above that the moultazims had lands, 
 called oussiah, that were like the masmouhs of the 
 shaikhs el balad. The moultazims, while losing their 
 ntizams, nevertheless, kept, in general and during life- 
 time, their oussiah land. 
 
 The consequence of this agrarian reform, of this dis- 
 tribution of lands surveyed and registered (cadastred), 
 was that, for the first time since the Moslem conquest, 
 the Egyptian peasant held in his own name a fixed 
 and bounded parcel of land inscribed in the official 
 registers. 
 
 This progress was both real and immense ; still it was 
 incomplete. As a fact, the beneficiary holder was not 
 
 * M. Mengin, in his Histoire de VEgypte sous Mehemet Ali, says : — 
 "In order to establish, the apportionment of the land-tax, it was 
 necessary in almost every province to divide the lands into three 
 classes, according to their fertility." 
 
 The lands divided among the fellahs were taken from each of these 
 three categories, in order that each one should receive an equal share 
 both as to quality and quantity. This accounts clearly for the cutting 
 up (into small parcels) of kharadji landed estate in Egypt, which 
 afterwards, and in our days, has been continually subdivided, by reason 
 of the laws of inheritance which obtain in this country, and by reason 
 of the laws on the Status Personalis. 
 
 I Mayors, burgomasters, agents of the administrative Government ; 
 an unremunerated trust or office of State, the holders of which were 
 in theory or principle appointed by the Viceroy, on the nomination 
 of the inhabitants of the commune, but who were, in fact, appointed in 
 consequence of the public notoriety that such or such an individual 
 enjoyed in his commune. This is why they were also called notables. 
 An omdah is a pillar of strength and support, an authority, a notable, 
 of somewhat greater consideration than the ordinary shaikh of a 
 village. 
 
EIZQUA LANDS. 53 
 
 yet the owner of the substance, he was only in a certain 
 way a usufructuary holder for life. 
 
 It now remains for us to follow the development that 
 this species of progress has continued to receive up to 
 our day. 
 
 RizQTjA Lands. 
 
 These lands were, as we have seen, gratuitous gifts 
 made, in the name of the sultans, by taxit (title of pos- 
 session issued by the rouznamah), setting forth that the 
 donee had the absolute right of property in the substance 
 of the land thus ceded to him, which was at the same 
 time exempt from taxation. 
 
 Mohammad Ali Pasha respected these grants, which 
 were made in the name of the Sultan, as to the right 
 of property, but he put upon them the kharadj tax; 
 still he granted to the holders, as indemnity, an allowance 
 called fayiz, inscribed on the books of the rouznamah, 
 and withdrew from them the right to make these lands 
 into wakf. 
 
 The law on the right of landed property, of 28 Zil 
 Hiddjah, 1858, withdraws from them, by its 26th article, 
 all right of property in the substance of the land they 
 hold, and, says the said article, " every private person 
 or pious establishment that shall be possessed of a 
 rizqua shall become the inalienable possessor thereof if 
 he have possessed it during the period of five years pro- 
 vided for in this article ; and, if he have regularly paid 
 the tax thereon, the usufruct of these lands shall belong 
 to him, and they shall be inscribed in his name." 
 
 The said law does not speak of the fayiz (allowance) 
 attaching to these lands. It is probable that this 
 allowance ceased to be paid at the death of the holder. 
 The government, therefore, in 1858, considered these 
 grants as for lifetime only. The clearest proof of this 
 is that the same law, modified and published in 1875, 
 does not even speak of them, these sorts of land having 
 entered into the category of usufructuary kharadji 
 property. 
 
 Besides, as has been already said, these lands were 
 
'54 ON LANDED PBOPERTY IN EGYPT. 
 
 very few at the beginning of this century. Since 1858, 
 they have ceased to exist in the hands of private persons 
 under the primitive conditions of rizquas, and, if there 
 are still any left, they are possessed by a few " pious 
 estabHshments," by way of wakf or property of mort- 
 main, and cannot be sold. 
 
 OussiAH Lands.* 
 
 When Mohammad Ali confiscated the iltizam lands 
 (leasehold lands) in order to divide them among the 
 cultivators, he left the moultazims, during their lifetime, 
 in the enjoyment of the usufruct of the oussiah lands, 
 exempting these lands from every tax. More than this, in 
 order to indemnify them for the loss of the capital ad- 
 vanced by them for securing these "concessions — which 
 capital was appropriated by the State — he accorded them 
 a pension (" %iz ")t attaching to the land. This fayiz 
 was inscribed at the rouznamah office, with the restric- 
 
 * In consequence of the prohibition made by Mohammad Ali Pasha 
 of granting the commwnes in leaseholds (iltizSms), the Government with- 
 drew all grants. The majority of the moultazims of Lower Egypt, 
 and those of the moudiriah of Guizah, consented without opposition 
 to give up the rights that these grants gave them, and lose the capital 
 they had paid into the State for taking possession of their iltizims. 
 In order to indemnify them, they were left, during lifetime, in the 
 enjoyment of their oussiahs exempt from all taxation, and they were 
 allowed, during lifetime also, an annual rent or allowance, which was 
 inscribed at the rouznamah. These oussiahs were, furthermore, left 
 out of the land survey (cadastre) that the Government was then 
 making. The moultazims of Upper Egypt, who were for the most 
 part Mamelouk Beys or powerful chieftains of tribes, refused to 
 accept this withdrawal of concessions, and recourse was had to arms 
 to bring them to terms. They were overcome, and many of them 
 were killed. The survivors emigrated, or endeavoured to obtain pardon 
 by offering their submission, but they did not succeed. All the 
 usufructuary lands held by the rebels were confiscated to the State, 
 and the oussiahs of Upper Egypt, as well as those of the few 
 moultazims of Lower Egypt who had not submitted from the 
 beginning to the viceroy's order, were entered upon the cadastre, 
 and merged with the other kharS,dji lands. 
 
 t The word fHyiz means interest, yield, overflow. 
 
 The amount of the fayiz inscribed in the rouznamah office in the 
 
OUSSIAH LANDS. 55 
 
 tioB that the whole, both land and fayiz, should escheat 
 to the State at the death of the beneficiary. 
 
 Nevertheless, the holders of these sorts of lands, in 
 order to secure the enjoyment of their rights to their 
 heirs, often constituted their oussiah lands into family 
 wakf. 
 
 The Decree of 13 Eamadan, 1855, says so clearly, and 
 it adds that, " in order to obviate this state of things, 
 it accords to the beneficiaries of oussiah lands the right 
 to transmit them by inheritance to their descendants of 
 either sex, until the extinction of the family of the 
 grantee. After which, only, shall these lands as well as 
 the fayiz attaching to them escheat to the State." 
 
 Article 24 of the Law on the Right of Landed Property 
 of 28 Zil Hiddjah, 1858, confirms this decree, and says 
 that, when these lands shall escheat to the State by lack 
 of all heirs, they shall be granted as kharadji lands, 
 under the conditions of Articles 3 and 5 of the same law. 
 
 The Decree of 2 Shaaban, 1859, explains the one before 
 it, and says, that the oussiahs are transmissible only by 
 inheritance to the descendants of the grantee in the order 
 of heirship (according to the Sliaraa) . 
 
 The Law on Landed Property of 1868, as modified and 
 promulgated in 1875, confirms Article 24 of that of 1858, 
 by its 15th article. 
 
 The Law on the Moukabalah of 1871 authorises the 
 owners of oussiah lands to pay the moukabalah, and 
 
 name of the owner of a parcel of oussiah land was the sum acknow- 
 ledged by the moultazim himself as representing the net profit of his 
 iltizam. 
 
 At the time that Mohammad Ali Pasha decided upon the suppression 
 of the iltiz&ms, he asked of the moultazims a note of their profits less all 
 expenses. They, thinking that this was asked of them with a view to 
 raising ,the farm-lease, showed the minimum figures. The pasha 
 thereupon allowed them a rentage equal to these profits, in compensa- 
 tion for the withdrawal of the concession, and also as indemnity tor 
 the loss of the capital they had paid in ; which capital, as has been 
 already said, was retained by the State. 
 
 The kharadji taxes upon the oussiah lands in Upper Egypt went 
 to the payment of the fayiz attaching to the oussiah lands of Lower 
 Egypt and of the moudiriah of Guizah. 
 
56 ON LANDED PEOPBRTY IN EGYPT. 
 
 profit of the advantages of this law as to the full right of 
 property in the land, as well as of other financial advan- 
 tages accorded by this law, by making the payments 
 it requires, and also by the suppression of the rentage 
 (fayiz) paid by the rouznamah. 
 
 The Decree of January 6th, and the Law of Liquidation 
 of July 17th, 1880, while abrogating the Law of the 
 Moukabalah in its financial provisions, have preserved, 
 as absolutely acquired, the right of property in the sub- 
 stance itself. 
 
 Thus, therefore, these lands, which were originally 
 nothing but leaseholds, became at the commencement of 
 this century usufructuary holds for life, then usufruct- 
 uary holds transmissible by inheritance, and, lastly, they 
 have now come within the common law by becoming 
 estates in the holder's own right,* " des proprietes 
 foncieres absolues." 
 
 Abadiah Lands and Tohifliks. 
 
 Mohammad Ali, in the exercise of his right, as absolute 
 lieutenant of the khalif, to exempt the kharadji lands 
 from taxation, and all the lands of Egypt being without 
 exception kharadji, distributed uncultivated lands, out- 
 side of those registered in the land survey as belonging 
 to the communes, and exempted them from taxation. 
 His object was to increase the resources of the country, 
 by the obligation imposed upon the grantees to clear 
 and till these unproductive lands. 
 
 They were called abadiah, which means a parcel of 
 land put away from the cadastre, that is to say, not 
 entered upon the registers of the land survey. They 
 were at first given upon a simple " superior order " of 
 the viceroy, which constituted the only title in the hands 
 of the donee. The first order of this kind known to have 
 been issued by the great pasha dates as far back as 4 
 Djamad Akhir, 1829. 
 
 The princes and the high dignitaries had large tracts of 
 
 * Provided they have paid the moukabalah either in part or wholly. 
 See, moreover, the summing-up on pages 69 and 70. — Translator's Note, 
 
ABADIAS LANDS AND TOHIPLIKS. 6? 
 
 land, likewise exempt from taxation, which were called 
 tchifliks, that is to say farmholds. 
 
 These gifts multiplied with the growing wealth of the 
 inhabitants and with the increase of secra-ity, the donees 
 clearing and tilling these lands, that had been unculti- 
 vated for centuries, and expending thereon considerable 
 sums, in doing which they followed the example given 
 by the Euler himself, who encouraged them in every way. 
 
 As these gifts began to be much sought for by reason 
 of the profits they yielded to the donees, Mohammad Ali 
 promulgated on the 27th Shawwal, 1836 (see Appendix, 
 No. 1) a decree whereby he accorded to the donees of 
 abadiahs the right of usufruct in these lands. He con- 
 ferred the right of inheritance of this right of usufruct 
 upon the descendants of the donees, and, in case of lack 
 of descendants, upon their white slaves (Mamelouks). 
 Lastly he ordered, in case of lack of either of these or 
 of their heirs, such lands to be made wakf in favour of 
 the mosques of Medinah and Mecca. 
 
 Taxits and hodjats setting forth these conditions were 
 delivered to the grantees, the former by the rouznamah, 
 and the latter by the mahkamas. 
 
 The taxit or title-deed issued by the rouznamah or 
 Imperial Chancery, constituted these lands as rizquas or 
 lands in which the right of property in the substance 
 belonged, subject to the above indicated conditions, to 
 the donee, the same as it had been instituted by the 
 Ottoman conqueror. 
 
 The idea of the Glreat Pasha, in promulgating this 
 decree, was to create and found in Egypt an hereditary 
 landed aristocracy, whose titles and estates should 
 descend in each family (dotee de majorats), which family 
 privileges he intended to constitute after the decree. 
 But these kinds of restrictive grants being contrary to 
 the letter and spirit of the Moslem law, Sharaa, and, 
 on the other hand, the donees not wishing to go to such 
 expense upon lands not belonging to them in full right 
 of property ; or, not being able to borrow money enough 
 on the mortgage of such lands for the outlays of clearing 
 and tilling ; and, lastly, the idea that had led Mohammad 
 
58 
 
 00 ON LANDEl) I'Udl'KKTV IN K(.;V1''I'. 
 
 Ali to decree this law being diametrically opposed io llio 
 democratic constitution of the Moslem conimonwoiiltli 
 and the Moslem family relationships, — the pasha was 
 obliged to issue another decree on the 5th Muharrani, 
 1842 (see Appendix, No. 2). This decree confirmed 
 the exemption from taxation of abadiali lands that had 
 been given gratuitously, and authorised the ownors to 
 dispose of them in full right of property. 
 
 In order to insure the absolute right in the usui'ruct 
 as well as in the substance of these abadiah lands, taxits 
 were delivered to the donees or grantees, besido the 
 hodjats (title-deeds) issued by the mahkamahs of the 
 8haraa of the place where they were situated, which 
 taxits were issued by the administration of the rouznfimah, 
 the Chancery of the Empire. Both these title-deeds set 
 forth the conditions upon which the property was 
 granted. 
 
 The owners of abadiali s and tchifliks had also later 
 on to pay the dues of the moukabalah. By this very 
 fact, they have, if that be possible, still further Heciired 
 their right of property in the substance itself. 
 
 It is a fact worth noticing that, iiioi't^ than thirty years 
 after the recognition of the grantee's iibsoluici right of 
 property, the owners of abadiahs thought that it was 
 necessary for them to submit to the conditions laid down 
 in the moukabalah contract, not only to lighldu tlieii' 
 taxes, but also to acquire still another l.itle to llu^ full 
 right of property in the soil thoy hold, oven though this 
 right had been implicitly I'lu-ognised by the Land ria,w 
 of Said Pasha as early as 1858 (24 Zil Il.iddjah), in its 
 11th article, which is wfivded thus: — " lu cases wIkm'c 
 the land expropriated shall be iion-klianuiji laud, 'i.e., 
 a parcel of laud, strictly speaking, within iJio (lovmditm, 
 of the owner, the latter shall have the right to coju- 
 pensation, oither iu hke kind or in actual value, for' the 
 property expropriated." 
 
 IVotice, gentlemen, that the Land Jiaw says " uou- 
 kharadji land," it does not say ushilri laud or iiiulk 
 land, because the land is, notwithstanding, klnirMji, 
 without having preserved its primitive nature that isduc^ 
 
ATHARIAH LANDS — KHAEADJl. 5^ 
 
 to usage and custom ; and the Sharaa lias found no word 
 to designate this new condition, which it considers as 
 the result of a convention or agreement between the 
 sovereign and the subject. 
 
 Still, from what we have learned of the law according 
 to the Hanafite Rite, such agreements have the effect of 
 bringing the constitution of the right of real property 
 in Egypt very near to what it ought to be according to 
 the Sharaa, as interpreted by the doctors of this Rite — 
 that is to say, an absolute right of property, within the 
 domini/u/m of the holder, or, as they call it m/wlh 
 (ownership). 
 
 Still more, Article 26 of that law says clearly : — 
 
 " The lands called abadiahs, granted gratuitously as 
 rizqua, and exempted from all taxation, shall be the 
 absolute property of the grantees, who can dispose 
 thereof by sale, gift, wakf, etc., and deal therewith in 
 every way as proprietors." 
 
 This article is still more categorical ; but it is wholly 
 suppressed in the new form of the Law as promulgated 
 in 1875 ; whereas Article 11 of the first Law (1858) is 
 literally transcribed in the 10th Article of the one now in 
 force (1875). 
 
 We see, then, that at different times the Pashas, act- 
 ing under the influence of various circumstances, but 
 always led by the idea common to all, that of develop- 
 ing the resources of the country, created these two 
 categories of privileged lands, which gradually, and as it 
 were by successive purchases (redemptions), obtain the 
 full right of property, that is to say, become freeholds. 
 
 Athaeiah* Lands — KhaeAdji. 
 The lands that are the most interesting in every respect 
 
 * Athariah comes from the word at/ir in the singular, and dthdr in 
 the plural, meaning vestige, trace, remembrance. In general, these 
 lands passed from father to son, without, however, being constituted 
 into estates transmissible by inheritance. Hence their designation as 
 usufructuary property, by way of family remembrance or tradition, or 
 as left to the sons in memory of the father, or else a trace or vestige of 
 the passage of the father over the lands held by the son. 
 
60 ON LANDED PEOPEBTY IN EGYPT. 
 
 are witlioiat contradiction the kharadji lands properly 
 so called. 
 
 These lands, enregistered in the cadastre and distri- 
 buted among the inhabitants of Egypt, in 1813, were, 
 as we have seen, inscribed in the names of the holders, 
 without the latter having the right of ownership in the 
 substance. The holders had only the right of usu- 
 fructuary enjoyment during lifetime. 
 
 The first known Rfeglement concerning landed property 
 is that of 23 Zil Hiddjah, 1846. According to it, the 
 donee had the right to constitute his land in antichresis 
 —a mortgaging of the right of enjoyment — as well as 
 the right of conveying his property, by a legal title-deed 
 (hodjat) or before witnesses, to a third party. 
 
 The emigrant, who, upon returning to his commune 
 after an undetermined time, found his land cultivated by 
 another, had the right to require the restitution of his 
 land upon certain conditions. 
 
 The holder could be ousted if he was unable to pay 
 the taxes on it, with the faculty, of again entering into 
 possession the day he should be able to pay up the 
 amounts in arrear. 
 
 Every conveyance of right of occupancy, deed of 
 antichresis, association or sale with right of redemption 
 (a remere), had to be made in writing, on stamped 
 paper. 
 
 Thus, then, up to 1846, the donee was no more than 
 a tenant ; inheritance is not even mentioned. The care 
 of settling this most important question was left to the 
 will and pleasure of the petty official or shaikh el balad, 
 who had in a certain measure taken the place of the 
 moultazim of the last century. 
 
 "We must, moreover, remember that at that date the 
 entire commune was still responsible for the arrears in 
 taxes of any one of its members, and that the communes 
 were jointly and severally — solidarily — responsible one 
 for the other. This solidarity extended in certain cases, 
 as we shall afterwards see, to the whole of the Nile 
 Valley. 
 
 The Law of 8 Djamad Awwal, 1854, modifying the 
 
ATHARIAH LANDS — KHARAiWI. 61 
 
 above-mentioned Rfeglement, enlarges the right of pro- 
 perty. It fixes at fifteen years the limitation of all 
 actions concerning the right of landed property; it 
 obliges the shaikh el balad to give to every emigrant 
 who returns to his commune a portion of land sufficient 
 to support him. It ordains that all conveyance of land 
 shall be made through the moudiriah, and by means of 
 a legal title-deed (hodj at). Lastly, it allows the male 
 heirs of a deceased holder to take possession of the land 
 left by him. As to the heirs of the female sex, who 
 might ask a part of the land, this same law says that 
 their demand shall be considered as a rightful one 
 whenever such heiresses shall prove the necessity of 
 their having such a portion of the land for their support, 
 and this upon condition that these female heirs shall 
 give security for the pajnxient of the taxes upon the land. 
 The lands thus given shall, however, not remain in the 
 possession of these heiresses if they should find other 
 means of existence. 
 
 Inheritance becomes, then, an acquired right, even for 
 women, — although incompletely. Testimony is set aside 
 and the administration requires legal deeds furnished 
 by the moudiriah, which shall be valid evidence and 
 serve to control the entries made in the moukallafahs or 
 cadastral registers. The holder, by acquiring all these 
 rights, is less and less dependent upon his shaikh el 
 balad, whose harassing and tyrannical authority is, to 
 a certain degree, controlled by the moudir. 
 
 We have seen that, at the time of the distribution of 
 the lands in 1813, a certain quantity of the same was 
 granted to the shaikhs el balad in remuneration for the 
 services that the Government required of them. These 
 lands had to be either cultivated by the shaikhs them- 
 selves, or given on shares, lease, or yearly rent to the 
 fellahs of the commune. But, in practice, the shaikhs,- 
 like the ancient moultazims, got them cultivated by the 
 fellahs under their authority, whom they forced to work, 
 by gang (corvee) and to whom they thus caused immense' 
 damage. 
 
 This is why the Decree of Said Pasha of 5 Zil Ki'adah. 
 
62 ON LANDED PEOPEETY IN EGYPT. 
 
 1858, gives the right of property in tlie usufruct of tliese 
 sorts of lands to tlie fellahs, who were taken as holding 
 them by yearly rent, by farm-lease, or on shares from 
 the shaikhs of balad and omdahs. 
 
 These lands were inscribed in the names of the new 
 owners under the same conditions of usufruct and taxa- 
 tion as kharadji lands in general. 
 
 Boutros Bey (since Pasha) Grhali, in his excellent 
 Report upon Documents relating to tlie Land Tax, 1880, 
 says : — " The only law that has been promulgated in 
 a regular manner is that dated 24 Zil Hiddjah, 1274 
 (=6 August, 1858). It comprised 28 Articles, 13 of 
 which were excluded from the Collection of Laws and 
 Rfeglements on Land, published with the Codes in 1875, 
 because at that time these Articles had been already 
 abrogated by various decrees." 
 
 This law authorises the transmission of kharadji lands 
 by inheritance to the heirs of a holder, without dis- 
 tinction of sex, in conformity with the Moslem law of 
 inheritance. 
 
 It gives to every person, without distinction of sex, 
 who shall have, during five consecutive years, occupied 
 a parcel of kharadji land and regularly paid the taxes 
 on the same, the right to become the inalienable (incom- 
 mutable) possessor thereof; and no action or claim of 
 any nature whatsoever shall be heard against such person 
 in the premises. It accords to every holder the right of 
 constituting his land in antichresis, or of mortgaging it,- 
 and the right to lease it for a period of three years, 
 which lease may be renewed. It reserves to the State 
 the right of expropriation for reasons of public good, 
 without any indemnity, and introduces the principle of 
 relieving the expropriated holder from the payment of 
 taxes on land so expropriated. Still, the moudirs are 
 intrusted with ascertaining the damage and disturbance 
 caused to the expropriated holder, and they are to make 
 good the same by giving him other free, unencumbered, 
 and "not cadastrated " lands out of those belonging to 
 the State. It gives to the holder the absolute right of 
 property in kharadji lands, upon which he has raised a 
 
ATHAEIAH LANDS — KHABADJI. 63- 
 
 building, dug a s^kiah, or planted trees. Lastly, this 
 law regulates the relief from taxation of lands carried 
 away by the river, as well as the granting of lands newly 
 formed by deposits of Nile alluvium. 
 
 Here, then, we find the tenant to have become almost 
 a proprietor, or at least we see him exercising all the 
 prerogatives of the proprietor — absolute right of inherit- 
 ance, of sale, of lease, of mortgage; in a word, all 
 rights, except that of the possession of the substance 
 itself, which always belongs, as a matter of fact, to the 
 State, by reason of the faculty which the latter has 
 reserved to itself, of expropriating the holder without 
 indemnifying him. But even this principle is extenuated 
 by the State recognising the right of full ownership, in 
 the substance, of a holder who plants trees, digs a sakiah, 
 or puts up a building upon a parcel of kharadji land. 
 
 You see, gentlemen, that this law, by its provisions, 
 tends to give the right of property a stability and a 
 value hitherto unknown in Egypt. 
 
 The right of property still belongs to the State, 
 rather than to the individual ; but a little later on the 
 right of property became an individual right. It is only 
 then that the mortgage lien (inscription hypothecaire) 
 on the same became possible ; for until such time it 
 was not possible except by the round-about way of sale 
 with right of redemption. 
 
 A Decree of the 19th Eabia' Akhir, 1861, authorises 
 foreigners to possess, in Egypt, kharadji land, in order 
 to thereon establish cotton-ginning machinery. 
 
 Since the years when Mohammad Ali first began to 
 grant lands in Egypt, he had, as a fact, conceded to 
 foreigners the right of becoming landholders, — a right 
 forbidden them by the Capitulations — by granting them 
 abadiahs under the same conditions as those granted to 
 his own subjects, the land being granted with the full 
 right, not only of occupancy, but of property in the 
 substance. Said Pasha, himself, by his Decree of 15 
 Djamad Awwal, 1858, had put up for sale, and had 
 permitted foreigners to compete in the purchase of, 
 Jcharddji lands abandoned by their holders. But these 
 
64 ON LANDED PEOPERTY IN EGYPT. 
 
 were sales made of tte right of property in the land by 
 means of taxit of the rouznamah, like the abadiah lands 
 given gratuitously by the viceroys. 
 
 Nevertheless, these foreigners could not become 
 owners of kharadji lands because of the restrictive 
 laws and reglements to which the substance of the land 
 was itself subjected. 
 
 After the promulgation of the law of Said Pasha, the 
 right of property being constituted almost upon normal 
 bases, especially as regards kharadji land, upon which 
 buildings were erected, there was no longer any danger 
 in permitting foreign capital from coming in to increase 
 the resources and welfare of the country. This decree, 
 moreover, was confirmed and enlarged by the Imperial 
 Law of 7 Safar, 1867, which authorises foreigners to 
 possess real property throughout all the Ottoman 
 Empire (except in the Hedjaz, see Appendix, No. 8). 
 
 After the concession to holders of kharadji lands of 
 all the rights of property, such as the right of mort- 
 gaging their lands, right of conveyance, &c., abuses 
 and irregularities without number were committed by 
 the petty mahkamahs of the villages and chief district 
 towns, which mahkamahs were until then authorised to 
 deliver hodjats (legal title-deeds) ; contests without 
 number arose on all sides. It was by reason of these 
 that the Decree of 3 Radjab, 1865, was promulgated, 
 with a view to oblige every usufructuary holder of a 
 kharadji parcel of land to procure a hodjat delivered by 
 the great mahkamah (of the moudiriah) of the region 
 where the land was situated. 
 
 These hodjats always set forth, as in the past, that 
 the proprietor luas nothing but the owner of the usufruct 
 of the land, thus leaving it to be understood that the 
 substance belonged to the State. 
 
 On the 22nd Sha'aban, 1866, the usufructuary holders 
 of kharadji lands acquired, by decree, the right of 
 making last wills and testaments, and of bequeathing 
 kharadji lands they held. This decree, however, reserved 
 to the Khedive the sovereign right of approving the 
 making of these kinds of lands into wakf. 
 
ATHAIilAH LANDS — KHAKADJI. 65 
 
 This restriction is still another affirmation of the 
 right of property of the sovereign or the State, which, 
 in Moslem law, are one and the same, in the substance 
 of the land. 
 
 As the law, the Sharaa, authorises the abandoning 
 to the State of lands one cannot cultivate, or on which 
 one cannot pay the taxes, and as several decrees have, 
 on the other hand, been promulgated to the same effect, 
 as we shall see later on, many usufructuary holders 
 availed themselves of these authorisations to abandon 
 their lands. This giving up of the lands was done 
 either from inability to put them under cultivation, or 
 else to escape from the demands of the fiscus, or for 
 other causes. 
 
 jSTow, Article 2 of Said Pasha's original Land Law, while 
 ordering the division to be made of the shares coming 
 to each of the heirs, authorised the eldest of the family 
 to constitute himself the mandatory (attorney) of all the 
 other members of both sexes, whether minors or of age. 
 These eldest of family, when they came to the decision 
 that they would give up their lands, also gave up those 
 that they held in common with their fellow-heirs, and 
 thus prejudiced the rights of the latter, who com- 
 plained, and obtained in 1866 (9 Zil Ki'adah) a " deliber- 
 ation," from the Madjlis el Ah'kam*), which after- 
 wards acquired the force of law, by which an 
 abandonment made by the eldest of the family of lands 
 belonging to minors in no way prejudices their rights, 
 provided that they claim their right within five years 
 after coming of age (21 years). 
 
 Said Pasha's original Land, Law, in its 2nd Article, 
 regulated, as we have seen, the division of the lands in 
 the name of each one of the co-heirs, and according to 
 their respective status,! in case of the decease of the 
 owner of a parcel of kharadji land. But, the provisions 
 of this Article being contrary to usage and custom, and, 
 above all, opposed to the interests of the shaikhs el balad 
 and omdahs, whose strength lay in their landed wealth, 
 
 * Sort of higk court of judicature and appeal, f Capacity to inherit. 
 
66 ON LANDED PEOPEETY IN EGYPT. 
 
 and wlio dreaded the cutting-up of their lands, above all 
 else, for fear of losing a portion of their influence, 
 these provisions, I say, had never been carried out in 
 a general- manner. 
 
 For motives not known to me, the Grovernment^ on 
 the 24th Zil Hiddjah, 1869, taking their interests into 
 account, promulgated a decree which repeals this pro- 
 vision, and substitutes for it the obligation to register 
 the inheritance of the landed property in the name of the 
 oldest, after the death of the head of the family, upon 
 condition, however, that the income shall be divided 
 among the fellow-heirs, according to the law of 
 inheritance. 
 
 There was herein a return to the family life in common 
 {la vie Gommunale defamille), which had been the life of 
 the Egyptians for centuries back ; and the Grovernment 
 and the viceroys, notwithstanding the liberal spirit 
 which animated them, were often obliged to yield to 
 public feeling, which is always powerful when it is based 
 upon usages and customs that have stood for thousands 
 of years. 
 
 In this case progress was retarded ; indeed, a step was 
 made backwards, seeing that the minors of a family 
 were left wholly at the discretion of the eldest member, 
 without any control over him. 
 
 On the 13th of Djamad Akhir, 1871, the famous Law 
 of the Mbukabalah was promulgated. All of you, gentle- 
 men, know this law, which, properly speaking, was a con- 
 tract between the Euler and the tax-payers, and which 
 accorded, as a principle, the reduction of the tax by one- 
 half for ever, and the absolute right of property in the 
 land upon which the owner should pay in advance a 
 sum equal to the taxes for six years, at the existing 
 rate of taxation. 
 
 The Government bound itself never again to raise the 
 taxes thus reduced, except in case of a contrary decision 
 by the Council of Finances and the Assembly of 
 Delegates. 
 
 This financial scheme not having produced the results 
 expected of it, the Law of the Moukabalah was repealed 
 
ATHAEIAH LANDS — KHAEADJI. 67 
 
 on May 7, 1876. On November 18 of the same year, it 
 was re- established, then again definitely abrogated by the 
 Decree of January 6, 1880, the tenor of which latter was 
 confirmed by the Law of Liquidation of July 17 of the 
 same year. 
 
 The proprietors who had made such a sacrifice, some 
 by paying the moukabalah in full, and others by paying 
 it in instalments, each one according to his means, were 
 all to gain, equally, by the real benefits of this contract, 
 which, although cancelled in fact, was on January 6, 
 1880, replaced by a decree recognising to all the right 
 of property in the lands for which the usufructuary 
 holders had paid the moukabalah, either wholly or inpart. 
 
 On September 27, 1880, the Council of Ministers 
 decided to cause hodjats to be delivered against the 
 payment of a certain fee, in which hodjats the absolute 
 right of property was formally affirmed, after ascertain- 
 ment of the payment of the moukabalah. 
 
 The lands, therefore, which profited to a certainty by 
 the Moukabalah Law were, as you see, the kharadji 
 lands in usufruct, which became, by the fact of the 
 advanced payments, lands whose substance and increase 
 belong to their owner. 
 
 We have seen that the Decree of 24 ZilHiddjah, 1869, 
 while repealing Article 2 of the original Land Law of Said 
 Pasha, had ordained the registering of the lands of a 
 heritage in the name of the oldest of the family. 
 
 The abuses that these seniors of families committed 
 to the detriment of the minors, led the Government 
 to enter resolutely upon the path of progress, and, 
 abrogating the decree, even widening the provisions of 
 Article 2 of Said Pasha's law, it, on July 9, 1881, 
 decreed that family estates must be inscribed in the 
 moukallafah — land register — for each one of the rightful 
 heirs separately. There is, therefore, no longer any 
 reason why each heir, major or minor, of either sex, 
 should not have delivered to him a hodjat, establishing, 
 in conformity with the moukallafah, his individual right 
 to his own property. 
 
 Thus then, the impulse given by the will of a man of 
 
 J 2 
 
68 ON LANDED PROPEEIT IN EGYPT. 
 
 genius has, in less than one century, reached, so to speak, 
 its farthest consequences. Still another step, and we 
 shall see others become inalienable proprietors of the land, 
 itself — I mean the holders of several hundred thousand 
 faddans, on which the moukabalah could not be paid, 
 either in whole or in part, and which for this reason are 
 still held in simple usufruct. The whole of Egypt will 
 then have come within the common law, and the prince 
 who shall complete this great reform will be able to 
 exclaim with Solon, " Those who upon this earth were 
 under cruel servitude and trembled before a master, I 
 have made them free." 
 
 We have reached the end of the collection of docu- 
 ments I have been able to get hold of on a subject that 
 so highly interests this country. 
 
 From the succinct outlines that I have had the honour 
 to lay before you, we gather that Egypt, during long 
 centuries, was considered as a conquered country, and 
 its inhabitants were treated as slaves, at least as owing 
 their lives and goods to the conqueror, whoever that 
 might be. This state of things did not change, not 
 even when almost all the inhabitants of the country 
 abjured Christianity, and embraced the religion of the 
 conqueror. 
 
 We have seen that the first to take an interest 
 in the condition of the people was Mohammad Ali. 
 He thought that, in bettering their estate, he would, 
 at the same time, better that of his country; and 
 he began his reforms with the agrarian laws that we 
 have analysed. 
 
 Since that time, and under his _ successors, great 
 progress has been made; no doubt, there will be other 
 reforms to undertake, and carry through to a good end ; 
 but, the impulse having been given, we are persuaded 
 that they will, little by little, press themselves into the 
 .foreground, and in due time attain full growth. 
 
 There are, then, in Egypt to-day only a comparatively 
 small quantity of kharadji lands, and those of the 
 Domains in general, the right of property in whose 
 substance has remained with the State. 
 
ATHABIAH LANDS— KHAKADJf. 69 
 
 The latter are of two categories : — 
 
 1st. The lands administered by the Commission of 
 the State Domains, and by the Commission of the Dairah 
 Saniah. 
 
 2nd. The lands that are in no way encumbered, known 
 under the name of free property of the State (i.e., free 
 from encumbrances, such as mortgages, long leases, 
 wakf, etc., etc.) 
 
 A Reglement of October 14, 1880, approved by the 
 Council of Ministers, relating to the sale of such " free 
 property," says, in its 12th Article : — 
 
 "Arable lands shall all be sold as kharadji lands; 
 nevertheless, they shall be sold in full right of 
 property " (the right of property in the land itself 
 shall be sold). 
 
 The State, then, as a principle, ratifies the right of 
 according the full right of property in a parcel of land, 
 not having paid either the whole or a part of the 
 moukabalah, by the sole fact of the sale. 
 
 As to the lands of the first category, these are sold, 
 either in full right Of property or not, according as to 
 whether they have wholly or partly paid the moukabalah, 
 or else not paid it at all. 
 
 This difference is explained by the difference of origin 
 of these two categories of lands. 
 
 The lands that make up the first category having 
 belonged to the ex-Khedive, and to the princes and 
 princesses, his sons and daughters, their highnesses had 
 conformed, upon entering into possession of the greater 
 part of their landed property, to the conditions laid 
 down by the law on the moukabalah, and they afterwards 
 ceded them to the State with all the rights acquired for 
 these lands. 
 
 The lands of the second category being unoccupied 
 lands, not cleared or tilled, waste lands and lands found 
 to be in excess of measurement, etc., and having thus 
 always belonged to the State, the latter was, of course, 
 not bound to conform to the Moukabalah Law in respect 
 of them. 
 
 In imposing upon itself the sacrifice of alienating the 
 
70 ON LANDED PEOPEETY IN EGYPT. 
 
 substance of its real estates -when selling the same, the 
 State wished to insure the greatest advantage to the 
 buyer, so as to derive thereby the greatest gain for itself. 
 
 To sum up, the law which, in our days, governs the 
 matter of lands in Egypt is this : Taxed lands, whether 
 taxed with the ushur or with the kharadj, that is to say, 
 abadiah, oussiah, or kharadji lands of all sorts, having 
 wholly or partly paid the moukabalah, as well as the 
 free (unencumbered) lands of the State sold since 1880, 
 become the absolute real property of the buyers, be these 
 Egyptians or foreigners, Moslems or Christians. The 
 only difference between the lands paying the tithe and 
 those paying the kharadj is that the former can be made 
 wakf without any authorisation from the Ruler, whereas 
 the lands paying the kharadj cannot be turned into wakf 
 until after the obtaining of a special authorisation from 
 the Khedive, as is set forth in the 6th Article of the 
 Moukabalah Law, which Article upholds the right that 
 the Khedive had already reserved to himself by the Decree 
 of 22 Sha'aban, 1866. 
 
 As to the lands that have not paid the moukabalah, 
 they constitute, I again say, a comparatively small part 
 of the cultivable area of Egypt, and they remain under 
 the provisions of the Decrees of 6 Muharram, 1842, of 
 18 Ramadan, 1856, and of 2 Sha'aban, 1859 ; that is to 
 say, that the abadiahs furnished with their hodjat and 
 with their taxit remain within the doniiniv/m of the pro- 
 prietor, and that the oussiahs and the fayiz paid by the 
 rouznamah escheat to the State by and through the 
 extinction of the heirs of both sexes. 
 
 In so far as the kharadji lands in general are concerned, 
 the holder not having the right of possession in the 
 substance of the same, neither that of making them 
 wakf, they are in fact given in usufruct only. The 
 substance of these lands belongs to the Khedive, to the 
 State, and this is so very true that, in case of expropria- 
 tion for public good, the State is not boimd either to 
 reimburse the price of the land, or to make compensation 
 of any kind (see Land Law, Article 10 ; and Law on 
 Agricultural Councils, Articles 21 to 24). 
 
ATHAEIAH LANDS — KHAEADJI. 71 
 
 These lands are, in one wordj governed by the land 
 law, as it is applied after the modifications introduced in 
 1875, and by the subsequent laws and decrees up to the 
 Law of the Moukabalah, in the benefits of which latter 
 they have not been able to participate, because of failure 
 to fulfil the conditions to which was subordinated the 
 granting of the advantages that it insured; for the 
 Moukabalah Law was, at bottom, nothing but a contract 
 in due form, by and through which the ruler, for a 
 pecuniary consideration, gave up to his subjects part 
 of his rights and privileges. 
 
72' ON. LANDED PROPEETY IN EGYPT. 
 
 II.— Assessment of the Land-Tax. 
 
 "We have seen that, -when the Arabs conquered Egypt, 
 they did not at all endeavour to establish a new form of 
 administration, but that they rather kept up the system 
 which existed before their coming. Their only con- 
 cern was to get the greatest possible revenue from 
 the Nile Yalley, which at that epoch had, what it has 
 always had, the reputation of being very rich. 
 
 Hence they simply laid a kharadj upon tbe inhabit- 
 ants. This tax is by the historians called indifferently 
 by the names of kharadj or djizyah, although the 
 latter designation is the only right one for indicating 
 the capitation, poll-tax, or personal tribute paid by non- 
 Moslems. 
 
 The amount of this tax was apportioned among the 
 inhabitants of Egypt, and it is most probable that the 
 method of procedure was the same in collecting the sum 
 needed for covering the costs of internal administration. 
 
 A part was paid by the cultivators who had divided 
 the land between them ; the other part by the artisans, 
 merchants, etc. 
 
 The portion that had to be paid by the land, and which 
 we would call the Land Tax, was, therefore, in no way 
 determined by the conquerors. They established neither 
 the kharadj wazifah nor the kharadj moukasamah ; 
 as for the ushur, as they had created no ushuri land, 
 this tax was also not at all applied. 
 
 The Khalifah Omar was content to let 'Amr Ibn el 
 'Aass know that Egypt used to yield to the Byzantines 
 20,000,000 dinars of tribute, and he urged him to reach 
 the same figures. 
 
 The Governor of Egypt, however, exacted of the 
 Egyptians only 12,000,000 dinars, which at that time 
 seemed enormous, for, if one adds to this sum a like 
 sum for the costs of administration, the total figure 
 reached is 24,000,000 dinars, being 4,000,000 more than 
 what the khalifah had ordered to be collected as tribute. 
 
 A few years later, the Grovernor, Abd Allah, appointed 
 by the Khalifah Othman, was able to raise the net 
 
ASSESSMENT OP THE LAND-TAX. 73 
 
 .tribute of Egypt to 14,000,000 dinars; this is the 
 highest figure it has reached since the conquest. 
 
 Indeed, during the reign of the Khalifah Mou'awyah, 
 it fell to 6,000,000 dinars, to fall lower still, and remain 
 between 3,000,000 and 4,000,000 dinars, until the 
 thirteenth century, the epoch in which the Mamelouks 
 seized the government of Egypt. 
 
 The historians tell us that, from the beginning, the 
 tax was assessed by poll of the people. 'Amr Ibn el 
 'Aass, say they, exacted two dinars per head of the 
 male Christians between the ages of 12 and 60. This 
 would give for Egypt a population of 6,000,000, without 
 counting the old men, the women, the children, the 
 priests, the monks and nuns, nor the Moslems. 
 
 This way of rating the taxes obliged the governors of 
 Egypt to make continual and almost yearly censuses. 
 
 The historians have preserved for us the figures of 
 several of these census returns. Beside the figures of 
 the first one made by order of 'Amr Ibn el 'Aass, we 
 have that made by order of Ibn Eafi'a, Mou'awiya's 
 governor, which gave 10,000 villages, the smallest of 
 which contained 500 persons paying the kharadj. 
 
 These figures seem to me rather high, and the exaggera- 
 tion too that exists in the numberings of the year 641, and 
 in that of Ibn Rafi'a, lead me to believe that the kharadj 
 (capitation) was rather apportioned according to the 
 wealth or social standing of each one of the tax-payers. 
 
 Indeed, we see that under the reign of Omar Ibn 
 Abdul 'Aziz the conversions to Islam had become so 
 numerous that his governor asked his authorisation to 
 subject the Moslems too to the kharadj, lest the tribiite 
 should diminish. 
 
 You all know, Grentlemen, the reputation this khalifah 
 had for piety, whom the Sunni doctors hold almost as 
 high in esteem as the four first khalifahs and companions 
 of the Prophet. 
 
 This pious khalifah gave orders to the governor to 
 lay upon the Christians the kharadj of those among 
 them who had been converted to the Moslem faith, and 
 to go on, in the same way, for the kharadj of Christians 
 who should afterwards be converted. Again, the 
 
74 ON" LANDED PBOPEETY IN EGYPT. 
 
 "wisL. to escape the kharadj having considerably increased 
 the number of priests and monks, each one of them was 
 from that time rated at one dinar, and the Patriarch had 
 to pay 3,000 dinars. 
 
 I think that these facts of themselves sufl&ciently 
 prove what I have advanced, namely, that the kharadj 
 (poll-tax, capitation) was not at all uniformly apportioned 
 over every male Egyptian Christian between the ages of 
 12 and 60 years, but that it was established proportion- 
 ately, according to the position or fortune of each one 
 of them. 
 
 After the first century of the Hegirah, about the year 
 736, the conversions assumed such proportions that 
 Handala Ibn Sofian, Grovernor of Egypt, included even 
 the beasts of burden and labour in the numbering which 
 he made of the Christian population, and he rated them 
 all with the kharadj. 
 
 Later on, from the second to the third century of the 
 Hegirah, the period in which most of the people turned 
 Moslem, the name of the kharadj or djizyah changed ; 
 but the capitation-tax became exigible even from the 
 Moslems (who paid it, and still pay it, up to our day), at 
 which time it was known by the name of firdah (=tax 
 on each individual singly) . 
 
 In consulting the historians, one must come down as 
 far as the khalifate of Maimoun, about 813, in order to 
 find an indication of the laying of a tax directly upon 
 the land itself. 
 
 'Makrizi says that the tribute of Egypt amounted at 
 that time to 4,267,000 dinars, and that this sum was 
 exigible, when the Nile reached 17 cubits and 7 fingers, 
 at the rate of 2 dinars a faddan. 
 
 There is evidently an error here ; but the very fact 
 of the payment of 2 dinars a faddan proves that, at that 
 time, the mode of procedure followed by the conquerors 
 had already fallen into desuetude, and that the Arabs 
 endeavoured in Egypt to make sure of the revenues by 
 transforming them, as they could no longer be paid by 
 the Christians alone. 
 
 Under the Fatimites, continues Makrizi, there used 
 to be collected in Upper Egypt 3 ardabbs of wheat per 
 
ASSESSMENT OF THE LAND-TAX. 75 
 
 faddan. In 1176 only 2^ were exacted, and later on 
 the tax was reduced to 2 ardabbs. 
 
 The same historian says that then the faddan of 400 
 kassabahs yielded 10 ardabbs of wheat ; it was, there- 
 fore, according to the principle of the kharadj monka- 
 samah that the taxes were at that time levied. 
 
 As to Lower Egypt, this historian simply says that 
 the tax was there levied in coin, and not in kind ; but 
 he does not give the sum exacted per faddan. He tells 
 us, however, that a faddan planted with hemp paid from 
 3 to 5 dinars ; that cotton, sugar-cane, vegetables, etc. 
 paid a special tax, the nature of which he does not 
 define ; perhaps a tax something like what in our day 
 is levied on the growing of tobacco. 
 
 It was then already an old custom in Egypt to 
 measure the cultivable portion of the Valley. The 
 Arabs continued by the same means to keep count of 
 the increase or decrease of the productive part of the 
 land. 
 
 The Mamelouks established a sort of cadaster (land 
 survey), that was taken as the basis for assessing the 
 land-tax, and since then it got to be the custom to make 
 periodical measurings and valuations; but the appor- 
 tioning of the taxes and the survey were synonymous 
 with arbitrary dealing and extortion ; for, in order to 
 establish the rating of the taxes, the area of the faddan 
 itself was increased or decreased, instead of decreasing 
 or increasing the sum to be gathered per faddan (see 
 last chapter, on the Cadaster.) 
 
 "When the Ottomans took Egypt, they found the 
 country in the greatest misery. Disorganisation was 
 everywhere, and the archives of all the oflBces had been 
 either burned or lost. 
 
 The Sultan Salim ordered the making of a new 
 cadaster, which was carried out according to already- 
 recognised principles. The lands were taxed anew, and 
 the Sultan fixed at 600,000 piastres * the yearly tribute 
 to be gathered when the Nile reached 17 cubits; this 
 tribute was payable in gold. 
 
 * The piastre represented 20 P.T., i.e., the weight in silver of 
 twenty piastres of the present money of Egypt. 
 
76 ON LANDED PROPEETY IN EGYPT. 
 
 He establislied a scale of proportion for lesser rises 
 of tte river, and even left it to tlie Governor of Egypt 
 to send him the tribute in bad years, whatever it might 
 be, part in gold and part in silver, or even in copper 
 paras. 
 
 As to the lands of the rate-payers, the pasha, and 
 afterwards the shaikh el balad, by means of his Mame- 
 lonks, taxed the same arbitrarily, and most often without 
 any supervision from the Sublime Porte. 
 
 Thus the cadastral system introduced by the Mamelouk 
 Sultans contimied until the beginning of our century. 
 
 Khaeadji Lands. 
 
 Mohammad Ali Pasha, when he caused his cadaster 
 to be made in 1813, ordered the taking of the mean of 
 the actual area of the existing faddans, and fixed the 
 same at 333g- square kassabahs. Since then the faddan 
 in Egypt has been kept at this area, except in a few 
 special cases, as we shall see further on (see last 
 chapter, section on the Cadaster). 
 
 The cadastral registers that he caused to be made, 
 besides giving the description of the parcel of land, its 
 dimensions, and the name of the usufructuary holder, 
 contained also the rate of the tax due on the parcel. 
 
 For this work the Government chose shaikhs from 
 each district, and sent all those of Lower Egypt to 
 classify the lands of Upper Egypt, and those of Upper 
 Egypt to classify the lands of Lower Egypt. 
 
 These shaikhs were formed into committees, intrusted 
 with visiting, each one, the lands of a moudiriah, and 
 each committee was divided up into several sub- 
 committees or brigades. 
 
 The members composing each brigade were to visit 
 every parcel of land, and indicate the class to which it 
 ought to belong. 
 
 When the work of classification was ended, the 
 Ministry of Finance rated the lands according to the 
 class indicated for each parcel. 
 
 Both technically as well as financially, this work was 
 very imperfect, no doubt ; but the Great Pasha, being 
 
ASSESSMENT OF THE LAXD-TAX. 77 
 
 unable to create means to work with, liad to make use 
 of those wittin kis reack. 
 
 Was tkis new taxation an apportionment, as equitable 
 as could be, of a known sum ? or was the tax establisked 
 according to a proportion fixed in advance and in keeping 
 with tke yield of the land ? 
 
 This is wkat I cannot say, having been unable to find 
 anywhere anything in writing on this subject; and the 
 recollections of those who were then liying have been 
 equally barren. 
 
 Be this as it may, we find, in the Report upon Docu- 
 ments relating to the Land-Tax, by Boutros Bey Ghali 
 (since Pasha) a table which gives us in tnislits — an 
 imaginary piece of money equivalent to P.T, 2^^^ in 
 silver — the tax of each category of lands, as also the 
 quantity of faddans per category for each moudiriah of 
 Egypt in the year 1813. (See Table A after Appendices.) 
 
 I do not believe, I say again, that this classification 
 was made in such a way as to assess the land-tax in a 
 uniform manner, and as equitably as possible, over the 
 cultivated lands of the Nile Yalley ; but the great good 
 done by these valuations, summary and imperfect though 
 they were, was to make known to each rate-payer how 
 much he had to pay to the State for the land of which 
 he had just been made a usufructuary holder, and to no 
 longer leave him at the mercy of a moultazim (farmer- 
 general) or of a petty shaikh el balad, who had, to a 
 certain extent, taken the place of the moultazim. 
 
 The misfortune of all administrative and financial 
 reforms in Egypt has always been, and in our days still 
 is, that of preceding the primordial reform, I mean the 
 judicial reform. 
 
 A good system of justice applied to all alike — applied 
 impartially, freely, and without mental reservations — 
 would teach both people and Government to know their 
 rights and their duties toward themselves and toward 
 others. Under such conditions, the people, strong in 
 the knowledge of its rights, and respecting those of 
 others, will be able to free itself from the tyranny of the 
 petty native administrators, whom the conqiierors protect 
 because they cannot govern the country without their help. 
 
78 ON LANDED PEOPEETY IN EGYPT. 
 
 I ask your pardon, gentlemen, for this digression ; 
 it forces itself naturally upon tlie mind of those "wlio 
 occupy themselves with Egypt and its institutions. Let 
 us come back to the subject we are dealing with. 
 
 " In 1820," says Boutros Pasha Ghali, " another 
 classification took place under the supervision of high 
 Government officials ; the taxes for Lower Egypt were 
 fixed by notables of Upper Egypt, and for the latter by 
 notables of Lower Egypt ; (new) registers were esta- 
 blished for this purpose in each province. 
 
 " It appears from these registers that other classifica- 
 tions had preceded that of 1820 ; for it is said in the 
 register of the moudiriah of Sharkiah that the classifica- 
 tion made in 1820 produced a deficit on that made in 
 1818; that the classifiers, when interrogated in this 
 respect, replied that they had taken as a basis the taxes 
 of 1819, and that this was the first time they had seen 
 the lands of Lower Egypt. 
 
 " A high order (order of the Ruler himself) was given 
 to the moudir, calling upon him to cover this deficit." 
 
 These different classifications that Boutros Pasha 
 speaks of, were they general, and were they applied to 
 all Egypt, or only partial ones ? Were they ordered 
 for some reason of major importance, or upon the repre- 
 sentations and complaints of the tax-payers ? or, lastly, 
 could they have been simply due to arbitrary action ? 
 
 We are forced, gentlemen, to admit this last hypo- 
 thesis when we see, following upon a classification made 
 in the Sharkiah (which resulted in a deficit), a high 
 order intimating to the moudir that the deficit is to be 
 made good. 
 
 When the need for money becomes pressing and 
 immediate in an agricultural country such as Egypt, 
 classification becomes synonymous with augmentation 
 of taxation. 
 
 Be that as it may, the maximum of the tax, which 
 was 22 mishts (P.T. 49^) in 1813, was in 1824 brought 
 up to 30 mishts (P.T. 67-|) by successive classifications. 
 
 The foreign wars that the Great Pasha carried on, 
 and the works of all kinds that he caused to be executed 
 at home, such as Nile embankments, cutting of canals. 
 
ASSESSMENT OE THE LAND-TAX. 79 
 
 construction of mills, creation of a navy, and tlie like, 
 swallowed up large sums of money before ttey could 
 become productive. 
 
 Now, as Moliammad Ali was loth to remedy, by high 
 orders like that we have just mentioned, the negative 
 results of classifications that were made by the notables 
 of the coinmunes under the supervision of officials whose 
 authority extended over these communes, the Great 
 Pasha betook himself to other means for increasing his 
 resources. 
 
 " The trades tax," says Boutros Pasha Ghali, " was 
 added to the land-tax before 1834. This tax often 
 varied, and was regulated by no ordinance ; or, at least, 
 no trace of one has been found. 
 
 " In 1839, a sur-tax of two paras on the piastre (5 per 
 cent.) was established, and in some localities an addi- 
 tional tax was levied on the lands instead of the taxes 
 that were laid upon the weavers' looms. The taxes 
 thus combined were again augmented in 1844 by an 
 eighth {12^ per cent.), to cover the arrears of collection. 
 
 "All these details, concerning the rates of taxes and 
 the sur-taxes added thereto, have been taken from the 
 cadastral registers,- or registers of comptabilite." 
 
 Thus, therefore, other taxes are brought and added 
 to the land-tax, to make it greater. Personal or pro- 
 fessional taxes, the gathering of which presents greater 
 difficulty than the land-tax, are brought and grafted on 
 the latter, thereby changing its very nature, or at least 
 destroying the proportion that exists between tax and 
 yield. This was so, if it be granted that, in 1813 the 
 Grreat Pasha, taking such a proportion as a basis, and 
 taxing the lands, or classifying them into categories that 
 had to pay so much on a hundred, had kept in mind this 
 relativity or proportionality. 
 
 OHDAH LANDS.* 
 
 As all these sur-taxes increased the amount of the 
 
 * Ohdah, a concession involving a responsibility ; Muta'ahhid, he 
 who obtains the grant of an ohdah with responsibility. In 1850, after 
 
80 ON LANDED PBOPEBTY IN EGYPT. 
 
 land-tax, the effect was sucli an accumulation of arrears 
 that, in 1840, something had to be done. 
 
 It is, however, not possible for ns to conclude, from 
 this fact, that the taxes were too heavy a burden upon 
 the lands. 
 
 Indeed, the working of the commercial monopoly, 
 that the Viceroy had made his own, the costly wars that 
 had for twenty years depopulated the villages, and 
 caused expenses which the occupied countries of Arabia, 
 Morea, Crete, or Syria, could not of themselves alone 
 make good ; in short, a thousand other reasons appear to 
 have worked together to bring about the result we have 
 pointed out, namely, the accumulation of considerable 
 arrears of taxes against many villages which the people 
 had entirely abandoned. 
 
 It was at first thought to remedy this state of things 
 by decreeing, on the 11th of Djamad Awwal, 1839, the 
 division of the lands of the insolvent villages, and the 
 apportionment of their back taxes, among the in- 
 habitants of the solvent villages. 
 
 But the pasha soon saw that the application of this 
 measure to all Egypt tended more than anytliing to ruin 
 the villages that were still rich, and so he decided upon 
 the following course : — 
 
 The Viceroy had around him his high dignitaries and 
 officials, who had all become more or less wealthy 
 through the wars he had for ten years been carrying on 
 against the Sublime Porte. By a decree of the 19th 
 Muharram, 1840, he obliged them, under the severest 
 
 the ■withdrawal of the ohdahs, Abbas Pasha accorded to a few 
 muta'ahhids the enjoyment during lifetime of the ohdah that they 
 held ; to others he gave the full right of property, in the form of a 
 rizgbila-mal, both of the substance and of the usufruct, either of a 
 part or of all the ohdah ; he thus transformed a part or all the ohdah 
 into property within the holder's own right, or abadiah. Nothing 
 regulated this matter ; the will of the Ruler, considered as the absolute 
 proprietor of the substance, was law. We have in our days, moreover, 
 known ohdahs, that had been created by the Khedive, Ismail Pasha, 
 to be transformed in his favour into property in the holder's own right 
 subject to the tithe, and this at the request of the usufructuary holder 
 of the ohdah lands, and by superior order. 
 
OHDAH LANDS. 81 
 
 penalties for refusal, to accept in ohdaB, that is to say, 
 upon their own guaranty or responsibility, entire vil- 
 lages, upon condition of payment of the back-taxes, as 
 well as the yearly taxes in time to come. 
 
 These ohdahs were sorts of leaseholds by iltizam, 
 differing from the old iltizams in this, that the muta'- 
 ahhid, or ohdah-taker, could not make the villagers pay 
 a sum superior to that borne upon the cadastral register 
 for each parcel of land registered in the name of the 
 villager or fellah ; so that, in fact, the latter found his 
 interest was fully bought out, and he had to work for 
 the muta'ahhids as a day-labourer, upon land, the usu- 
 fructuary enjoyment of which was, nevertheless, in- 
 scribed in his name. 
 
 You see, gentlemen, tbat the Great Pasha, although 
 trying to get out of his financial embarrassment by a 
 forced loan of which the principal was sunk {far un 
 emprunf force afonds perdu), did not, however, think of 
 re-considering his former decision, which was to make 
 landowners of his subjects. 
 
 The muta'ahhid was, according to his idea, a lessee of 
 land, who lent money to the deeply-indebted proprietor ; 
 the latter worked for account of his creditor, thus pay- 
 ing him the capital and the interest of the advance 
 received. 
 
 The thought that underlay this financial operation 
 was that which I have just tried to set forth ; so much 
 was this so, that the reglement which appeared in 1850, 
 after the decree abolishing the ohdahs, — which decree 
 it has not been possible to find,- — fixes the mode of 
 withdrawal of these concessions, as well as the mode of 
 re-delivery of the lands to the inhabitants of the vil- 
 lages, and does not speak at all of the capital paid in 
 by the lessee of the land, and representing the amount 
 of the back-taxes owing by those villages in the year 
 1840. 
 
 This capital was lost for the lessee of the land. 
 
 Let me say a few words more, gentlemen, about this 
 financial operation. The muta'ahhids had a right which 
 their character as creditors accorded them ; it was that 
 
82 ON LANDED PROPERTY IN EGYPT. 
 
 of constraining their debtors to work for tliem ; and as, 
 in matters civil and commercial, bodily constraint was 
 at that time still in existence, the Government had 
 tacitly bound itself toward the muta'ahhids to restore 
 to them, so to speak, the land-tillers, their debtors, who 
 for any reason should emigrate or abandon their village. 
 
 The fellah was hence placed in a condition almost 
 identical with that of the serfdom of the Middle Ages in 
 Europe, excepting always that he came under the ordi- 
 nary tribunals in all that concerned his status personalis 
 and prosecutions in criminal matters. 
 
 The muta'ahhids had, consequently, conferred upon 
 them the right of administering low judicature, that of 
 high judicature being reserved for the Ruler. 
 
 Fearing lest a landed aristocracy might grow out of 
 this state of things and become too strong, as might be 
 readily foreseen, Abbas Pasha put an end to it, as early 
 as 1850, by ordering the withdrawal of the concessions, 
 Avhich order was carried out generally; some villages, 
 however, succeeded in being left as ohdahs, and are 
 so to this day ; but the titulary of the ohdah preserved 
 none of his administrative prerogatives ; all he did was 
 simply to render the fellah a species of service by placing 
 himself between the fellah and the State in all matters 
 relating to the assessment and collection of the tax. In 
 all else, both titulary and fellah of an ohdah were abso- 
 lutely upon the same footing of equality before the law ; 
 so that we are astonished to see, after the Land Law, 
 as it was published and made binding in 1875, an 
 annex bearing the following title : — " Deliberation of 
 the Chamber of Deputies, under date of 16 Sha'aban, 
 1283 " (=1866), and Avorded thus :— 
 
 " From and after 1284 the ohdahs shall be abolished, 
 and all the inhabitants shall be deemed equal." 
 
 I must say that I do not see the connexion between 
 this law and the right of landed property ; I fail to see 
 the correlation of the two, inasmuch as equality before 
 the law is not a matter of doubt either in judicature or 
 in Moslem law. If I am not mistaken, bodily constraint 
 for debts was already abolished when this decision was 
 
FIRDAH TAX. 83 
 
 come to by tlie Chamber ; furtbermore, the obdabs, in so 
 far as they were a rule for tbe relations of debtors and 
 creditors, baving been suppressed since 1850, I do not 
 perceive tbe necessity for publishing tbis law, unless 
 it was done witb tbe purpose of giving tbe fellabs a 
 better knowledge of tbeir rights against tbe arbitrary 
 dealings of tbe large proprietors, omdahs or shaikhs, or 
 for some other reason that I have been unable to 
 discover. 
 
 To return to the main subject. Tbiis, then, we 
 cannot show that, since 1844, there had been a direct 
 augmentation of the land-tax. 
 
 It is only in 1852, on the 13th of Safar, that, by decree 
 of Abbas Pasha, the sur-tax of one-eighth is replaced by 
 a sur-tax of one-sixth, in order to cover the back-taxes 
 that had again accumulated. 
 
 FIEDAH TAX. 
 
 On the 18th Djamad Awwal, 1854, in the second 
 Land Law, Article 5, Said Pasha ordains that the 
 fir dab tax be added to the land-tax. 
 • As we have already seen in the report of Boutros 
 Pasha Ghali, quoted above, this tax often varied, and 
 tvas regulated by no ordinance, or, at least, no traces of 
 one have been found. Still, this tax differed from the 
 land-tax, even tbough it was collected at tbe same time 
 as the latter, and by tbe same oflBcials. Its assessment 
 was a so much per centum levied on the income of each 
 agriculturist, the proprietor of a usufruct. 
 
 Article 5 of the Land Law of 23 Zil Hiddjah, 1846, 
 said that this tax would he modified every ttvo or three 
 years by taking as a basis the actual income of each 
 proprietor. 
 
 In 1854 this income-tax is found to be added to the 
 land-tax, and two taxes, so different in their nature, are 
 so completely merged together that one can no more 
 separate them. Thus, when it was wished to create this 
 personal tax anew, — as did happen later on, — it was not 
 
 G 2 
 
84 ON LANDED PEOPEETY IN EGYPT. 
 
 separated' from the land-tax, but was laid on in sucli a 
 manner as to be collected, by the fact of its being so 
 laid on, twice or more than twice instead of once only. 
 
 "What, then, was this firdah ? 
 
 We already know that it was a personal tax, having 
 for its basis the income of each cultivator. Everything 
 leads to .the belief that its origin must reach back to 
 the kharadj, or, more correctly speaking, to the djizyah, 
 established, at the time of the first conquest by the 
 Arabs, upon the Christians of Egypt. 
 
 When, 'in after days, in order to escape from this poll- 
 tax as well as from the arbitrary measures of all kinds 
 to which, in process of time, the Christians were sub- 
 jected, the majority of the people of the Mle Valley 
 turned Moslem, the tax was maintained, or perhaps 
 created afresh under the name of firdah, which means 
 attaching to the individual ; just as the djizyah (retri- 
 bution, fine) was often confounded, especially in the first 
 centuries after the conquest, with the word kharadj, 
 which latter may be rendered by increase, or yield, in 
 the sense of a levy made upon the production, a land- 
 tax, a tribute. 
 
 On the 8th Shawwal, 1856, the Viceroy ordained by 
 Decree the making of a new classification of the land- 
 tax ; this is the first of its kind that we meet with since 
 1824. This Decree says : — 
 
 "All lands of Upper and of Lower Egypt, situated in 
 villages whose lands are not of a bad quality, and are 
 taxed with a tax higher than P.T. 100, shall have to 
 pay this tax only at the rate of P.T. 100, and lands of 
 an inferior quality, such as those of the villages of 
 Bani Salamah and Kafr Barakat, which would be 
 taxed with a tax above P.T. 90, shall have to pay only 
 P.T. 90." 
 
 Further on, in speaking of the lands that pay less 
 than P.T. 25, the Decree says : — 
 
 " Whereas these lands produce at least one ardabb 
 per faddan " (I suppose an ardabb of wheat is meant), 
 " there is reason to bring the tax laid upon these lands 
 up to P.T. 25." 
 
FIRDAH TAX. 85 
 
 It would seem, according to this last paragraph, that 
 the tax had to be calculated upon the producing value 
 of the faddan ; I think this is why the Decree mentions 
 the two villages of Bani Salamah in Bani-Sonef, and 
 Kafr Barakat in Guizah, and says that lands like those 
 of the first-named village in Upper Egypt, and lands 
 like those of the second-named village in Lower Egypt, 
 shall pay only P.T. 90. I think that the Decree wishes 
 to indicate lands of the same producing capacity. But, 
 then, why reduce all taxes above P.T. 100 to this figure 
 for lands that are not of a bad quality ? 
 
 The principle that the Decree lays down, as to lands 
 paying less than P.T. 25, and as to those which resemble 
 the lands of the villages named, is it not, therefore, a 
 general principle ? 
 
 If not general, then the proportion between tax and 
 production would seem to be prejudicial to the less pro- 
 ductive lands. 
 
 Indeed, if a faddan of land yielding at least one 
 ardabb of wheat is taxed at P.T. 26, the proportion 
 between tax and produce — the price of wheat in 1856 
 being P.T. 100 — would be 5- ; whilst lands of good 
 quality, yielding as much as six ardabbs of wheat a 
 faddan, and their taxes being reduced to P.T. 100, 
 would pay the tax at a proportion of ^ only of the 
 revenue. 
 
 The fact here brought out is very interesting in itself. 
 Indeed, whatever may have been the system adopted for 
 establishing the tax on lands in Egypt, since the time of 
 Mohammad Ali, I have every reason to believe that the 
 proportion of impost to produce in bad lands is much 
 higher than that applied to good lands. I think, besides, 
 that from the highest to the lowest tax this proportion 
 goes on increasing. 
 
 This new valuation of the lands, and their taxation 
 in so arbitrary a manner, led the peasants to complain, 
 and they obtained authorisation to abandon the lands 
 they held. As these demands multiplied, authority was 
 given on the 19th Eabi'a Awwal, 1859, in a general 
 "way, to every holder of kharadji land to give up to 
 
86 ON LANDED PEOPEBTY IN EGYPT. 
 
 the State sucli quantities of land as lie did not wish to 
 keep. 
 
 This authorisation was not withdrawn but by virtue 
 of a Decree dated 25 Eadjab, 1865. 
 
 After the new valuation of the land-tax in 1856, some 
 lands were found to be more over-taxed than others, by 
 reason of the firdah tax, which had been apportioned 
 over the lands in each commune separately. In order 
 to remedy this state of things, a Decree dated 
 7 Safar, 1856, ordained the uniform apportionment of 
 this tax among the kharadji lands situated in the same 
 province. 
 
 At every step, in studying the usages and customs, 
 the decrees, ordinances, and laws of this country, we 
 meet with facts, gentlemen, that force us to remember 
 that life by commune was the life peculiar to the people of 
 this Valley. We everywhere find that the individual is 
 nothing, and that, on the contrary, the commune is all, 
 and that, when the former fails, no matter what be the 
 cause, the commune is there to answer for him. All the 
 efforts of our viceroys, from Mohammad Ali on, have 
 been in the direction of creating individual life in Egypt ; 
 but, in spite of their constant efforts, they have often 
 been obliged to make concessions to usages so inveterate 
 that no means seem strong enough to uproot them. 
 
 On the 27th Muharram, 1857, the labours for the new 
 valuation of the lands, ordained the previous year, having 
 been terminated, the Viceroy ascertained that this valua- 
 tion did not answer to the exigencies of his budget of 
 expenses, and, under the pretext that the taxes esta- 
 blished were easihj jjaid hy the taa'-payeis, he ordered 
 them to be revised. The Decree says : — 
 
 " Whereas, the holders of lands since included in the 
 cadaster being able to cultivate them, and whereas they 
 have been able easily to pay the taxes that were fixed in 
 consequence of our preceding orders, at rates varying 
 from P.T. 25 to 100, there is cause for establishing a 
 new assessment of the tax that shall be in proportion 
 (en rapport) with the value of the lands ; therefore We 
 decide that the tax fixed at P.T. 100 shall be maintained • 
 
FIRDAH.TAX. 87 
 
 that fixed at P.T. 25 raised to P.T. 30 ; that of P.T. 30 
 to 35 ; that of 35 to 40, and so on up to that of 80, this 
 latter having to be raised to P.T. 90, and that of 90 to 
 be kept as it is." 
 
 We here find a principle established very clearly, — 
 namely, that the tax ought to be in proportion {en 
 rapport) with the value of the lands ; but en rapport 
 ■with which value ? The selling value, or the productive 
 value ? and what ought the proportion (rapport) to be 
 between the tax and this value ? The Decree does not 
 explain this. 
 
 Nevertheless, by looking at the paragraph of the 
 Decree of 1856, which speaks of lands paying less than 
 P.T. 25 tax, and producing at least one ardabb (of 
 wheat), we see that the proportion is one to four. JSTow, 
 in the Decree we are at present dealing witli, the tax of 
 P.T. 25 is raised, by the will of the Euler, to P.T. 30; 
 the proportion [le rapport), therefore, increases, and 
 becomes a proportion of three to ten, or about one-third 
 of the production, so that the deviation between the 
 proportion of the tax to the production of lands of less 
 yield becomes greater still, seeing that the taxes of 
 P.T. 90 and P.T. 100 are maintained, and that, con- 
 sequently, the proportion of one-sixth between these 
 taxes and the production of the lands upon which they 
 are laid remains the same. 
 
 There is, then — I say so once more— no positive rule, 
 and the needs of the moment seem alone to serve as the 
 basis for the supreme will of the Ruler. 
 
 This fact is, moreover, proved by the sequence of the 
 Decree, where it is said : — 
 
 " But, whereas there are lands whose taxes are fixed 
 at P.T. 25, and the value of whose products does not 
 allow of taxing them with a higher tax ; whereas, on 
 the other hand, there are lands whose taxes are 
 fixed at P.T. 60, for example, and the importance 
 of whose products allows of taxing them with 
 P.T. 60 to 70; 
 
 "Whereas, if one were to proceed strictly to fixing 
 the tax according to the provisions here above, without 
 
88 ON LANDED PROPERTY IN EGYPT. 
 
 taking into account the value of the products, one would 
 favour some- to the detriment of others ; 
 
 " "We order you to proceed to the said fixing in an 
 equitable manner and according to the value and the 
 qualities of the lands in such a way as to obtain a 
 general mean that shall not exceed P.T. 60 to 70." 
 
 In all the whereases, the Viceroy speaks of the value 
 of the products, without indicating, it is true, the relation 
 (rapport) between the tax and this productive value. 
 Lastly, it seems to be a settled point that the tax ought 
 to be based upon the productive value; but the con- 
 clusion of the Decree baffles us, for it ordains that the 
 imposts be established in such a way as to give a mean 
 of P.T. 60 to 70, which would lead us to believe that 
 the Grovernment then thought that the tax in Egypt was 
 a tax by apportionment.* 
 
 It is not to be supposed that these valuations and 
 these ratings of the tax could have been made without 
 the commission of injustice in many cases, especially if 
 one considers that those to whom this work was intrusted 
 were none other than the shaikhs el balad or omdahs 
 (village notables) ; furthermore, the Viceroy, weary of 
 the continual complaints of the tax-payers, and not 
 finding other means than those till then employed for 
 these sorts of operations, appealed to the religious senti- 
 ments of the apportioners, thus hoping to prevent 
 malversations on their part in the fulfilment of their 
 duties. 
 
 I will quote the passage, in order to demonstrate, 
 gentlemen, the good intentions with whichthe Viceroy was 
 animated, who was known by the most of you, and his 
 powerlessness to supervise the acts of his subjects. In 
 the Decree it is said, " My greatest wish is that you be 
 just and impartial, and that you bestow all your attention 
 upon making this classification as equitably as possible. 
 You are warned that the least partiality will render you 
 responsible, at the day of last judgment, before Him 
 whom neither wealth nor nobility do corrupt. Having 
 
 * Apportionment of a given sum to be raised, -^jTranstotoi-'s Wok, 
 
SOU-TAXES. 89 
 
 thus performed my duty toward you by giving you all 
 these counsels, I free myself of all responsibility, which 
 henceforth lies alone upon you." 
 
 I do not know whether this revision was made con- 
 scientiously by those to whom it was intrusted ; but, if 
 the assessment of the land-tax was established at the 
 outset in as equitable a way as possible, this equity had 
 ceased to exist on the 26th of Djamad Awwal, 1858. 
 
 •Indeed, at that date the Viceroy ordained, by Decree, 
 the apportioning of the professional or personal tax, as 
 well as the portion of this tax applied to kharadji lands, 
 proportionally among all the provinces. 
 
 The Viceroy adopted this measure only for the reason 
 that the apportionment of the firdah among the lands of 
 one and the same province, such as it had been ordained 
 by the Decree of 7 Safar, 1866, had not been done in an 
 equitable manner. 
 
 This operation had for its result the disturbing of the 
 assessment of the land-tax, by apportioning, over all the 
 kharadji lands of Egypt and at the jpro rata of their tax, 
 the total sum of a tax which, as has been seen, is by its 
 nature wholly different to the land-tax, seeing that it was 
 the incomes that it was laid upon, thus resembling the 
 incpme-tax of Great Britain, saving that it was applied 
 only to the usufructuary holder of kharadji land, and, 
 after this decree, to the kharadji land itself in general.* 
 
 On the 8th Muharram, 1861, a decree was issued to 
 the effect that the kharadji taxes were raised 2 paras on 
 the piastre, i.e., 5 per cent. 
 
 * In a Decree, dated 5 Zil Ki'adali, 1858, it is said : — "The sur-tax 
 paid by proprietors -who gave up cultivation in 1856 shall be deducted 
 for them at the rate of one-third per year from the sums they owe to 
 the moudiriah, if it so be that they owe anything. If, on the contrary, 
 they owe nothing, the sur-tax shall be always reimbursed them by the 
 treasury of the moudiriahs, at the rate of one-third yearly." 
 
 It seems that in 1855 the land-tax had been- burdened with a 
 temporary sur-tax, of which I know neither the proportion nor the 
 amount ; moreover, this manner of procuring money was put in practice 
 several times with or without reimbursement. I speak of this only 
 from memory, having found no mention of this isolated fact elsewhere 
 than in this Decree, 
 
90 ON LANDED PROPERTY IN EGYPT. 
 
 On the 18tli of Radjab, 1864, a Khedivial Decree 
 ordained the revision of the kharadji tax. This Decree 
 and the species of proces- verbal which preceded it are 
 very curious. It begins thus : — 
 
 " It is known to all the world that H.H. the Khedive's 
 constant care has been and always is to ameliorate 
 the condition of the inhabitants, and bring into the 
 administration reforms tending toward the progress, 
 prosperity, and security of the country." 
 
 After making this declaration, the Decree explains 
 that it is in order to reach these results, so much 
 desired, that the State had had to make loans to pay the 
 debts left it by the preceding Grovernment, in order to 
 free the peasant from the labour by corvees that it had 
 to furnish to the Company of the Isthmus of Suez, which 
 corvees hindered him from working for the increase of 
 his own well-being, and from occupying himself with 
 the cultivation of his land, etc. 
 
 Besides all these benefits, " the Khedive has," con- 
 tinues the Decree, " founded important institutions for 
 the progress and prosperity of the country, as well as 
 for the organisation of justice." 
 
 After having enumerated all the benefits to come, the 
 preamble of the Decree, if I- may so call it, ends as 
 follows : — 
 
 " The most important of all these reforms, and that 
 for which the Khedive has had the most care, is a 
 new assessment of the kharadji tax upon an equitable 
 basis." 
 
 The same document tells us that the inspectors- 
 general of Upper and Lower Egypt were ordered to 
 cause to be made by the shaikhs and omdahs of each 
 district a valuation and an assessment of the land- 
 tax, for their respective circumscriptions, "in a just and 
 equitable manner, based upon the yield of the lands, 
 Avhile leaving them all freedom to diminish or augment 
 the various rates of the tax previously fixed, inasmuch as 
 they are in a better position," adds the Deci^ee, " to know 
 the lands, and as this modification has for its aim to so 
 bring things about that no one's interests shall suffer 
 
8UR-TAXBS. 91 
 
 wrong, and tliat no one shall pay anything but the just 
 part of the tax falling upon him." 
 
 What was meant by a just pg-rt of the tax falling 
 upon each one ? 
 
 What was the proportion between tax and production, 
 in order that the tax based upon the yield of the lands 
 should be considered as justly established ? 
 
 The Decree or decision is silent on these two main 
 questions, and, like all previous ones, leaves us in vague 
 uncertainty. 
 
 But, notwithstanding these gaps, the Decree, issued 
 at the beginning of a reign, whose opening was marked 
 by the prodigious rise in cotton which enriched the 
 country, whose opening bade so fair for the future — the 
 Decree, issued under such good auguries, was well fitted 
 to please the mass of the proprietors and inhabitants of 
 this Yalley. 
 
 The solemn promise of the establishment of a system 
 of regular judicature, which the Khedive furnished 
 grounds for hoping would be soon organised and started ; 
 the revision of the direct tax on land by the shaikhs and 
 onidahs, that is to say, by the rate-payers themselves ; the 
 suppression of forced labour (corvee) in the Isthmus of 
 Suez, a very heavy and very unpopular burden ; all this 
 gave a palpable form to the vague and undefined longings 
 of this child-like people, which feels, but which, being 
 unable to put together either its sentiments or sensa- 
 tions, cannot formulate precise and clear demands. 
 
 Let us come back to the Decree. We see, in the 
 proces-verbal, that the result of the work of readjust- 
 ment of the land-tax for Lower Egypt was that the 
 highest rates per faddan were lowered to figures varying 
 from P.T. 115 to 100, whilst lands of medium and bad 
 yield were taxed with a tax varying between P.T. 45 
 and 100 per faddan. 
 
 You remember, gentlemen, the Decree re-adjusting 
 the land-tax in 1856, and the principle we thought we 
 had discovered as to the relation (rapport) between tax 
 and production. You likewise remember that for the 
 tvorst lands the tax was P.T. 25 for a yield of at least one 
 
92 ON LANDED PEOPEETY IN BGYl'T. 
 
 ardabb of wheat. In 1857 we saw that this tax was 
 raised to P.T. 30 ; now (that is to say, in 1864), we see it 
 brought up to P.T. 45. 
 
 The proportion, calculating the production of these 
 lands upon the basis of P.T. 100 for one ardabb of 
 wheat — the proportion, I say, between the tax and the 
 yield, which in 1856 was one-fourth, and in 1857 one- 
 third, reaches in 1864 almost one-half. Thus, while 
 the least productive lands are taxed in these enormous 
 proportions, the most productive lands, which in 1856 
 paid P.T. 100, are in 1864 taxed with P.T. 115, i.e., 
 at the rate of about one-sixth of the yield, as before. 
 
 This is how justice was understood by the shaikhs 
 and omdahs, who were thoroughly acquainted with the 
 lands of their districts, when they had it wholly in their 
 hands to tax them in such a way as to make each one 
 bear a just part of the tax only, as the Decree has it. 
 
 As to. Upper Egypt, neither the decision nor the 
 proces-verbal gives the maximum and minimum figures 
 of the tax ; so we shall say nothing about that part of 
 the Valley. 
 
 Besides, this decision is only of secondary interest from 
 the standpoint of the effect given it, seeing that on the 
 5th Zil Hiddjah, 1866, a Decree, replying to a letter of 
 the Finance Minister, dated 19th Zil Ki'adah of the same 
 year, orders the raising of these taxes to the old rate. 
 
 Treating of the groundless reductions of the 
 kharadj (tax) of certain athariah lands, this Decree 
 expresses itself thus : — 
 
 " These reductions have been unjustly made, inas- 
 much as these taxes were fixed many years ago at a rate 
 which is in proportion {en rapport) to the condition and 
 yield of the lands." 
 
 On either side justice Avas meted out after a strange 
 fashion. 
 
 The shaiks and the omdahs made it to consist in sacri- 
 ficing the lands of small yield, so as to favour the good 
 lands, which for the greater part belonged to them ; as 
 to the Government, it proceeded in a more general 
 manner. It arbitrarily raised the taxes of all lauds, so 
 
SUE-TAXES. 93 
 
 as to reach a total figure that enabled it to meet its 
 engagements, which were becoming more and more 
 onerous, and cover its outlays, which were less and less 
 productive. 
 
 These two decrees, by disturbing the established land- 
 tax, caused discontent among all, tax-payers, shaikhs 
 and notables alike; and the Government, deeming the 
 occasion a favourable one, elicited from the Chamber of 
 Notables, which had been called together in 1866 by the 
 Khedive, a decision which ordered a new valuation of 
 the kharadji land-tax ; this decision was sanctioned by 
 Decree of 1 Muharram, 1868. 
 
 The decision of the Chamber of Notables was accom- 
 panied by a reglement, in which it was said that the 
 notables intrusted with these operations should be 
 elected, six for each district, by all the notables of a 
 province ; that the notables elected from Lower Egypt 
 would have to value the lands of Lower Egypt, without, 
 however, being allowed to proceed with this operation 
 in their respective provinces, and the notables of Upper 
 Egypt should value the lands of that part of the country, 
 with the same restriction as to the classification of the 
 lands of their respective provinces. 
 
 The control (supervision) of these operations was to 
 be exercised by the moudirs and inspectors-general. 
 
 As to the basis of the assessment of the tax, it is only 
 spoken of very vaguely, as always. The reglement 
 limits itself to saying that " the notables shall have to 
 value the rate of the tax proportionally to the category 
 of the lands." 
 
 What this proportion is to be is not at all indicated ; 
 and it seems that, when categories of lands are spoken 
 of, a classification according to the producing value is 
 meant ; but there is much confusion on this head, for 
 all the notables with whom I have been able to talk 
 about these questions, to try and clear them up, seemed to 
 think that it was by a sort of intuition that they distin- 
 guished the categories of lands. Nor could they explain 
 what they meant by " categories of lands," nor tell me 
 in what way they established the differences between the 
 
94 ON LANDED PEOPEETl' IN EGYPT. 
 
 lands, whether it was upon the selling value or upon 
 the producing value that they based the distinctions, 
 or whether they had other means for arriving at the 
 same. 
 
 I think, gentlemen, that if we hear categories of lands 
 spoken of about that date, it is owing to the divers 
 decrees respecting the tithes, which decrees, dividing the 
 lands paying the ushur into "distinct categories," have 
 introduced the use of these words among the Egyptian 
 cultivators. 
 
 These decrees, concerning the valuation and augment- 
 ation of the taxes of lands taxed with the tithe, 
 apportioned the tax, as a fact, according to classes or 
 categories, the quota of each of which was settled upon 
 and fixed beforehand, as we shall see by-and-by. 
 
 The fellah, like all ignorant people subjected to 
 arbitrary dealing, is quick to grasp and compreliend 
 simple laws, the application of which calls only for 
 the exercise of the faculties of comparison. Now, the 
 lands taxed with the tithe had been at first divided into 
 three categories ; then, later on, into six. The taxes of 
 each class were determined and fixed in advance ; when 
 grouping the lands under different sorts, the natives 
 intrusted with the classification, that is to say, the 
 shaikhs el balad, mostly always came, seeing that they 
 passed their lives upon the lands, to distinguish them 
 by comparison, and, so to speak, by intuition, and to 
 class the parcels in categories, the taxes of which were 
 fixed beforehand. 
 
 Hence one sees the tendency of the usufructuary 
 holders of kharadji lands to try to establish for their 
 lands a like scale, which, although very imperfect, still 
 appeared to them to be preferable to the looseness 
 reigning in matters of the valuation of the tax on 
 kharadji lands. 
 
 After the decision of 1868 of the Chamber of Notables, 
 which we have under consideration, the new classifi- 
 cation or rather the new taxation of kharadji lands was 
 established ; it is this taxation, since increased by certain 
 sur-taxes, that is still applied to this day. 
 
SUE-TAXES. 90 
 
 The first of tliese sur-taxes was laid on by Decree of 
 4 Saf ar, 1 868, sanctioning a decision of the Chamber of 
 Notables, which raised by one-sixth, temporarily and for 
 the space of four years only, the land-taxes in general. 
 
 The decision and the Decree make this sur-tax 
 applicable from the year 1867, and thus give this law a 
 retroactive effect. 
 
 A decision of the Privy Council, given the force of 
 law by decree of the Khedive of 30 Rabia Awwal, 1870, 
 increased the land-taxes in general by 10 per cent, to 
 meet the costs of public works, such as dikes, canals, etc. 
 
 On the 25th of Ramadan, and on the 8th of. 
 Shawwal of the same year two circulars of the Ministry 
 of Finance order, the first that this sur-tax shall be 
 applicable to kharadji and to ushuri lands alike, and the 
 second that the sur-tax of 10 per cent, be included in the 
 land-tax in general. 
 
 These successive and heavy sur-taxes resulted in 
 making it impossible for the ratepayer to pay the tax, 
 as it had become crushing ; back-taxes accumulated as 
 always, and the State thus found itself more and more 
 overtaken by its floating debt. 
 
 On the 2nd of Djamad Awwal, 1871, the Chamber of 
 Notables expressed a wish for a new classification of the 
 kharadji tax. 
 
 This decision is curious in several respects. First, 
 the Chamber complains that the classification of 1868 
 was badly made ; that the tax was badly assessed and 
 apportioned without equity; and, in order to remedy 
 these wrongs, it thinks of nothing better, in the draft it 
 proposes, than the almost textual copying of the regu- 
 lations of 1868, which, according to its own showing, 
 had given such evil results. 
 
 Still, there is this to be said, that the tendency to 
 classify the lands in assimilable categories is more openly 
 shown. " The Chamber," says the decision, " after 
 having deliberated, decides that a new assessment of the 
 kharadji land-tax shall be minutely made, according to 
 categories and to the actual condition of each parcel 
 of land." The decision adds that "this operation shall 
 be made during the course of the year." 
 
96 ON LANDED PEOPEETy IN EGYPT. 
 
 This decision never got beyond the stage of a drafted 
 proposal. 
 
 Almost at the same time this same Chamber gave a 
 decision, which was sanctioned by Khedivial Decree on 
 the 14th of Djamad Awwal, 1871, according to which the 
 sur-tax of one-sixth, voted in 1868, was to be definitively 
 maintained, to meet the budgetary expenses. The 
 Chamber, however, reserved to itself the right to 
 examine, every year, the accounts of receipts and 
 expenditures of the Grovernment. 
 
 This right to examine was, however, useless, as the 
 Chamber of Notables never exercised it. 
 
 Meanwhile, classification and valuation ( always 
 synonymous with augmentation of the land-tax), sur- 
 taxes or additional percentages, indeed, all ways and 
 means for filling the State coffers being exhausted, the 
 thought was hit upon of having recourse to a home loan. 
 
 In free countries, protected by an independent 
 judicature, capital can be confidently sought for and 
 confidently furnished, and thus it is that loans become 
 an element of the public wealth : but in a country such 
 as ours a thousand reasons militate against financial 
 operations of this kind; and this is why the home loan 
 decided upon, disguised at first under the form of a 
 contract, soon took the character of a veritable forced 
 loan, and ended by becoming a financial disaster, inas- 
 much as it swallowed up the capital pf the land-tiller 
 without yielding any commensurate return. 
 
 The Khedive, by the Moukabalah Law of 13 Djamad 
 Akhir, 1871, promised to lighten for ever by one-half the 
 tax on lands for which the tax-payers would bind them- 
 selves to pay, all at one time and in advance, six years 
 of the existing taxes. The payments might be made by 
 annuity (certain fixed yearly instalments) ; in which case 
 the lightening of the tax had to follow a scale pro- 
 portionate to the payments. 
 
 In spite of all the fine promises made them, the greater 
 part of the usufructuary holders of kharadji lands did not 
 decide to avail themselves of the advantageous offers 
 made, either because it was not possible for them to find 
 
moukAbalah law. 97 
 
 the necessary funds for making tlie advances required by 
 this law, or for some other reason. 
 
 But soon, from being optional, this law became 
 obligatory in virtue of the Decree of 23 Eabi'a Awwal, 
 1874. In conformity with this Decree every proprietor 
 had to pay, in equal portions, and during the course of 
 twelve years, the six years' supplementary tax. 
 
 To sum up, this law was to have the effect of causing 
 the great majority of tax-payers to pay, during twelve 
 years, a sur-tax amounting to one-half of the taxes as 
 established in 1868, and which had been already aug- 
 mented by 10 per cent., and by one-sixth in 1870 and 
 1871. 
 
 We have already brought to view the real progress 
 which, in the 'matter of the right of property, has sprung 
 out of this law, and we think that this progress could not 
 have been too dearly bought. There are people who, in 
 order to reach the same result, have not only paid for it 
 with their money, but with their blood also. The 
 Egyptians ought, therefore, to deem themselves happy 
 that they have, so cheaply and in spite of themselves, 
 got to be masters of their real property. 
 
 On May 7, 1876, the Moukabalah Law was repealed, 
 but was re-established on November 18 of the same year ; 
 but after this date the successive payments were not to 
 give rise to diminutions of the taxes proportionate to the 
 payments. 
 
 Finally, on January 6, 1880, in consequence of a 
 Khedivial Decree, and on July 17 of the same year, in 
 consequence of the Law of Liquidation, the Moukabalah 
 Law was definitely abrogated and the taxes were put 
 back at their rates for the year 1871, that is to say, at 
 the rates of the period before the promulgation of this 
 law. (See Table B after Appendices.) 
 
 The Liquidation Law, in further allowing a sum of 
 £.B. 150,000 for indemnifying, by yearly tax-reductions, 
 the lands for which the moukabalah has been wholly or 
 partly paid, considers, by so doing, that the capital 
 paid in has been gained for the land itself (" que le 
 capital verse est acquis a la terre elle-meme "), 
 
 H 
 
98 ON I,ANDED PUOPERTY IN EOYPT. 
 
 The political events that have followed one upon the 
 other during the last two years, the various and at times 
 so opposite tendencies that have been given to the 
 affairs of the State, and the great diflBculty of adjusting 
 the moukabalah accounts, must necessarily impede the 
 ■work of liquidating them. It is, however, thought that 
 these accounts "will be terminated in 1883, and that very 
 probably there will be allowed, for the lands for which 
 the moukabalah has been paid, a yearly relief of taxation 
 equal to 1^ per cent, on the capital paid in. 
 
 After the original French of this work was published, the 
 moukabalah accounts were adjusted ; and, counting from 1880, 1|- per 
 cent, a year on the amounts paid under that head is deducted from 
 the tax, 1 per cent, being interest and ^ per cent, being amortissement. 
 — Translator's Addition. 
 
 TJsHUEi Lands. 
 Ahndiahs, TchifliJcs, Oussiahs. 
 
 We have seen that, in 1813, at the time of making 
 the cadaster, a certain quantity of untilled lands and 
 ma' amour (occupied, cultivated) lands had been with- 
 drawn from the communes ; that these lands had been 
 granted by the Viceroy to various persons with 
 exemption from all taxation. 
 
 These lands — abadiahs, tchifliks, oussiahs, etc. — which, 
 no matter under what name, had been conceded in full 
 right of property or for lifetime, apart from the 
 commimal lands, had paid no tax up to 1854. On the 
 7th of Muharram of that year a decree placed upon them 
 the tithe-tax, in kind, of their gross produce, or, in other 
 words the ushur. Hence the name of ushuri, which, 
 from that time, was given to these lands. 
 
 We know that the law, the Sharaa, gives to the 
 Commander of the Believers, or to his absolute lieutenant 
 — and the Yiceroy of Egypt is such — the right to grant 
 kharadji lands at his good-will and pleasure, and exempt 
 them from all taxation. We can boldly conclude from this 
 general principle that he can likewise grant these lands, 
 
TJSH^EI LANDS. 99 
 
 and exempt them from some or any part of the tax ; 
 or that he can tax them anew, as he may please. 
 
 Moreover, we find that this principle has been put into 
 practice upon rather a large scale in the period of years 
 comprised between 1854 and 1880. 
 
 A High Order is enough to exempt kharadji lands from 
 this tax, and subject them to the ushuri tax. As for 
 fallow (untilled) lands, as soon as they have been given 
 to any of the Viceroy's servants or been cleared and 
 tilled by some one, they are taxed either with the ushuri 
 or kharadji tax, at the will of the ruler. 
 
 Other lands paying the ushuri tax, abandoned by their 
 owners, or for any other reasons, are taxed with the 
 kharadji tax, by the same sovereign will. 
 
 Even before that epoch the Decree of 15 Djamad 
 Awwal, 1858, while permitting holders of cadastered 
 lands paying the kharadji tax to give them up to the 
 State, ordained that these lands be sold, either to 
 natives or to foreigners, under the conditions of abadiah 
 lands given gratuitously by rouznamah taxit and taxed 
 with the ushur tithe. 
 
 Let us now see what the tithe, the ushur, was in Egypt 
 at the beginning ; the motives for levying it ; and how 
 it, in after-times, became a tax as arbitrary as the 
 kharadji tax. 
 
 In order to get over some financial embarrassment, 
 Said Pasha made use of the power we have just spoken 
 of, which he had by law, and which his position conferred 
 upon him ; and he exacted the tithe of their crops from 
 the proprietors of lands exempted from taxation. 
 
 This in no way constituted a change in the constitution 
 of the land, or in the right of property ; no more did 
 this mean that these lands, from being kharadji, were 
 changed into legal ushuri ; for we know that these trans- 
 formations are absolutely forbidden by the law. 
 
 In order to make the sequel of my expose more 
 intelligible, I think I must here give you, in extenso, the 
 translation of Said Pasha's High Order in what concerns 
 abadiahs and tchifliks, as that Order lays doAvn the 
 principles for the taxation of these lands. 
 
 H 2 
 
100 ON LANDBD PEOPEETY IN EGYPT. 
 
 Said Pasha's Order, addressed to the Minister of Finance 
 and to the Moudirs on the 7th Muharram, 1271 
 (1854), relating to the Collection of the Tithe. 
 
 " The public works, sucli as bridges, canals, dikes, 
 levees (embankments), trendies, and other works of the 
 same kind which have been hitherto executed, or which 
 shall be hereafter executed, are profitable not only to 
 the lands known under the name of ma' amour (occupied 
 or cultivated lands paying the kharadj, kharadji lands) 
 but also to all the lands of the provinces of Egypt. 
 
 " It is, therefore, necessary to collect the tithe of all 
 abadiahs and tchifliks, even as is the practice in all 
 countries. But this measure shall not be put in force 
 until on and after the Coptic year 1670 (1854) inclusive. 
 
 " As the greater part of abadiah and tchiflik owners 
 are all great personages, rich and honourable, reliance 
 must be placed upon their declaration for the collection 
 of the tenth, for it must be supposed that their declara- 
 tions are sincere. 
 
 " The products of this collection in kind shall be 
 delivered in the shounahs (storehouses, granaries) of 
 the moudiriahs and entered as receipts. 
 
 " If it should be learned that any abadiah or tchiflik 
 owners have not faithfully declared all their products and 
 have dissembled a part thereof, an inquiry shall be forth- 
 with made by the local authorities and all necessary 
 measures shall be taken. 
 
 " In consideration of the foregoing, hasten ye to 
 publish this Our order to the owners of tchifliks and 
 abadiahs who come under your moudiriah so that they 
 may have knowledge of it immediately, and collect this 
 tithe from the Coptic year 1570 (1854). 
 
 " We inform you that we have communicated this 
 order to the inspectors-general and to the Minister 
 of Finance." 
 
 You see, gentlemen, that, if the pasha claims the tithe 
 of the products of lands till then exempted from taxation, 
 he gives as the reason that such is the practice in all 
 countries, that is to say, that everywhere the land has to 
 
ushO-ei lands. 101 
 
 pay a tax; but he, nevertheless, does not think this reason 
 suflficient, for he adds, that this tithe shall have to serve 
 for the maintenance of the dikes and canals, for the 
 costs of keeping up the works accomplished, and above 
 all for the expenses of works still to be executed. 
 
 You will notice, that he speaks neither of the con- 
 cession made by his father, i.e., the exemption from 
 taxes, nor of the question of the right of property in the 
 substance of the land, and that he evidently wishes 
 thiis to avoid, — 
 
 1st. Kunning foul of a question controverted by the 
 law {8haraa) and resolved by the will of his father ; 
 
 2nd. Appearing not to respect the promises solemnly 
 made by his father and respected by his brother, as also 
 by his nephew, his predecessors, as to the clause of 
 exemption from taxation. 
 
 It does not appear, then, that these lands were taxed 
 with any tax ; but what comes out clearly in this Order 
 is that a fee was levied upon their gross yield, to defray 
 the costs of maintaining canals and dikes. 
 
 So true is it that this was the underlying thought of 
 the establishment of this fee, that in the original Land 
 Law, pubKshed on the 24th Zil Hiddjah, 1858, the 25th 
 Article says : — " The lands called abadiahs, gratuitously 
 granted as rizqua and exempted from all taxation, shall be 
 the absolute property of the grantee." 
 
 The tithe on the produce of these lands had been 
 already established four years before then, and still this 
 tithe was not yet considered as a tax or impost, seeing 
 that the law published in 1858 says clearly, " exempted 
 from all taxation." 
 
 This Article is wholly suppressed in the Land Law as 
 modified and promulgated in 1875. At that period, the 
 tithe was already considered as a land-tax, and, although 
 the mention of rizqua exempt from taxation was always 
 inserted in the title-deeds given since 1858 for lands 
 sold upon condition of paying the tithe, and, since 1865, 
 for abadiah lands donated, there was, however, added 
 the clause, that the holder had to pay the tithe in con- 
 formity with the Decj-ee of 15 Djamad Awwal, 1858,which 
 
102 ON LANDED PEOPBRTT IN EGYPT, 
 
 ordains that abandoned kharadji lands, and usliuri lands 
 exchanged for abandoned kharadji lands, shall be sold, as 
 absolute property, upon condition of paying the tithe 
 thereof, to natives or to foreigners indiscriminately. The 
 Decree adds : — " After the fulfilment of the formalities of 
 sale, you will dehver to the buyers taxits, guaranteeing 
 their right of property according to the rules followed 
 by the rouznamah, and which shall contain the conditions 
 and engagements here above set forth." 
 
 On the 11th of Zil Hiddjah, 1865, another Decree says 
 that abadiah lands donated or sold by the State are 
 immediately liable to be taxed with the tithe. 
 
 After these two Decrees, it was a contradiction to 
 still mention that the abadiah lands were given " exempt 
 from tax " ; this is why the Article which contained the 
 clause was suppressed. 
 
 As a matter of principle, therefore, this tax can only 
 be considered as a sort of prestation or payment in kind, 
 a corvee or forced labour transformed into an equivalent 
 value, for defraying the costs of public works. 
 
 It, therefore, follows that the name ushuri is not exact 
 as applied to these lands, which have not ceased to be 
 kharadji. 
 
 And yet, for all this, the error has been too easily 
 fallen into by looking only at the name of this tax, for it 
 might have been a sixth or a twelfth, or any other 
 fraction of the yield, instead of being a tenth, in which 
 case it would have given rise to some name other than 
 that of ushur. 
 
 I think I have sufficiently shown that these lands are 
 not of ushuri essence within the meaning of the law ; 
 this name is, therefore, erroneous, and likely to cause 
 confusion in the minds of those who are not familiar with 
 these questions of Moslem law. Still, after having made 
 this observation, I shall myself use this word for desig- 
 nating these lands, lest, by using some other, I might 
 not be understood, and thus add to the confusion. 
 
 The Decree of the 7th Muharram, 1854, therefore, 
 clearly establishes the assessment of the land-tax on 
 lands till then privileged. A Decree of the 18th 
 
USHUm LANDS. 103 
 
 Miiliarram of the same year assimilates the oussiah 
 lands to the abadiah and tchiflik lands ; and from that 
 date they too are taxed with the tithe of their gross 
 yield (see Appendix, No. 3). 
 
 At the beginning, as we have seen, this tithe had to 
 be collected in kind ; but, almost at the same time that 
 the Decree of 7 Muharram, 1854, appeared, there arose 
 difficulties as to the collection of the tithe in kind ; and, 
 on the 22nd Muharram, a third Decree regulated the 
 cases wherein it was to be taken in kind and when in 
 money, at the same time fixing the mode of valuation 
 of the tithe for the latter mode (see Appendix, No. 4). 
 The decree says : — " This tenth shall be gathered in 
 kind, if it is a matter of grain and corn ; but, if it is a 
 matter of other products, such as sugar-cane, vegetables, 
 fruits, etc, the tithe shall be valued at the price of the 
 day and paid in coin." 
 
 The practical application of these modes of collection 
 could be neither easy nor regular ; thus too, by Decree 
 of 29 Eabi'a Akhir of the same year, the Viceroy de- 
 cided to adopt a simpler system, which, however, upsets 
 the principle established for the assessment of the tithe. 
 He ordered the recognising of three categories of lands 
 among those taxable with the tithe, and he taxed each 
 one of them in a sum that was deemed to represent, in 
 money, the tithe of the market value of the gross yield 
 of each class. These three classes were taxed differently 
 in Upper and in Lower Egypt. The following is the result 
 arrived at, by the application of this system, which was 
 presented to the Viceroy by the Council General : — 
 
 Loiver Ugypt. 
 
 
 
 1st class, per faddan ... 
 
 P.T. 
 
 26 
 
 2nd „ „ „ 
 
 33 
 
 18 
 
 ord ,, 5, ,5 
 
 35 
 
 10 
 
 Upper Egypt. 
 
 
 
 1st class, per faddan ... 
 
 P.T. 
 
 2Q 
 
 2nd „ „ „ 
 
 jj 
 
 14 
 
 ord ,, J, 5, 
 
 3J 
 
 8 
 
104 ON LANDED PEOPEETT IN EGYPT. 
 
 The Viceroy, however, left it to the option of the 
 owners of these lands either to pay their taxes in money 
 or in kind. But in case of choice of the latter way, and 
 in practice, it was required that the products given as 
 tax in kind should be at the least worth in money a sum 
 equal to the amount of the tax applicable to the land for 
 which the tax-payer was allowed to pay in kind. 
 
 But, on classifying these lands, it was found that, in 
 the grants that had been made, there were some lands 
 absolutely unproductive, which could not be taxed with 
 any ushuri tax. And so the Assembly Greneral decided, 
 on the 8th of Eadjab, 1854, that the moudirs should be 
 intrusted vrith pointing out, in the abadiahs and other 
 estates taxable with the ushur, which lands were taxable 
 and which not. In consequence of the Decree which 
 sanctioned this decision, the unproductive lands were 
 exempted from all taxation. 
 
 On the 9th of Muharram, 1861, a Decree raised the tax 
 on kharadji and ushuri lands by two paras in the piastre, 
 i.e., 5 per cent. In the very words of the Decree, "this 
 increase is made in order to meet the expenses of the 
 War Ministry, and in order to provide for the payment 
 of pensions of oflBcers put on the reserve list." 
 
 The era of loans had not yet commenced ; but the 
 necessities of the occasion were on the increase, and the 
 floating debt had already become considerable. It at 
 that time seemed that it would be easier to add to the 
 weight of the land-tax than to resort to. other ways and 
 means, and this path was entered upon in disregard of 
 the very principle that had been laid down for the estab- 
 lishment of the tithe upon lands called ushuri, and which 
 was thus violated. 
 
 As will be seen, matters did not stop even here, and 
 soon they got so far that even the principle upon which 
 had been founded the creation of the tax was also ignored, 
 that is to say, it was forgotten that this tax was made 
 due for works of irrigation and of defence against Nile 
 inundations. 
 
 Nevertheless, as the gift of his happy accession, the 
 Khedive Ismail, on ascending the th.Tojie, repealed, by 
 
USHUBI LANDS. • 105 
 
 Decree of 5 Sha'aban, 1863, that of 9 Muharram, 1861, 
 and suppressed the sur-tax of two paras on the piastre 
 on lands called ushuri, while maintaining it, as we have 
 seen, on the kharadji lands. 
 
 That Decree likewise repealed those of the 4th and 
 12th of Djamad Awwal, 1861, by which Said Pasha had 
 ordained, on the one hand, a new valuation of the so- 
 called ushuri lands " more in keeping " — said the first of 
 these Decrees — " with the actual prices of the products of 
 these lands," and, on the other hand, had ordained " the 
 transfer of improved lands from the inferior classes they 
 were in to the higher classes, the tax whereof would 
 actually represent the assumable tithe of their products." 
 
 For a moment, a few were brought to think that the 
 Viceroy, taking up the traditions of the Grreat Pasha, 
 wished to set up a privileged landed aristocracy, so as to 
 make for himself a solid support in case of need ; but 
 they were soon undeceived when they saw this Ruler was 
 rather following the example of Abbas Pasha, who had 
 cut short this upward fliglit by suppressing the ohdahs, 
 and the example of Said Pasha, who had taxed lands until 
 then exempted from taxation. And indeed, on the 24th. 
 of Sha'aban, 1864, a Decree ordained a new valuation of 
 the lands paying the titke. This Decree says : — 
 
 "Whereas the ushuri lands have greatly improved 
 since the establishment of the tithes, and a great in- 
 crease has come about in the price of products ; 
 
 " Whereas, however, some have diminished in value " 
 (I suppose the word value is here taken for that of 
 production) " it has been decided to bring about a recti- 
 fication in the tithes of the ushuri lands." 
 
 The result of this rectification was an increase of 
 taxation, which was apportioned as follows among the 
 different classes of lands : — 
 
 Lower Egypt. 
 
 1st class, per faddan ... ... P.T. 35 
 
 2nd „ „ „ ... ... ,, 25 
 
 3rd „ V „ " .-• » 18 
 
106 ON LANDED PROPERTY IN EGYPT. 
 
 Upper Egypt. 
 
 1st class, per faddan ... ... P.T. 31 
 
 2nd „ „ ,, ... ... „ 21 
 
 ova. „ ,, ,, ... ... 55 14 
 
 A Decree, dated lltli Zil Hiddjah5 1866, ordains that 
 tlie abadiahs given gratuitously by the Khedive5 or 
 bought, and in which there may be uncultivated lands 
 exempted from all tax in conformity with the Decree of 
 8 Eadjab, 1854, shall, after 1879, pay the taxes on such 
 lands as shall remain until then exempt from all 
 taxation. 
 
 The State thus gives the proprietors a space of twelve 
 years for clearing and tilling the lands. 
 
 After 1879 there was to be no further lightening of 
 the tax, and " the lands, whether cleared and tilled or 
 not, shall be taxed with an impost equal to that of the 
 lands of which they are a part," says the Decree. 
 
 Three years after the rectification of the ushuri tax 
 made in 1864, that is to say, on the 22nd Djamad 
 Awwal, 1867, a decision of the Privy Council, sanctioned 
 by Khedivial Decree, again raised the rate of the taxes 
 of the three classes of lands paying the ushur. It seems 
 that this time the fixing of this tax was intrusted to the 
 notables (omdahs). 
 
 It appears, besides, from the decision of the Privy 
 Council, that this tax tends to become a tax of appor- 
 tionment [of a beforehand fixed sum.] Here is a trans- 
 lation of the relevant passages of the decision of the 
 Privy Council : — 
 
 "After having, in its sitting of 18 Djamad Awwal, 
 1284, examined the registers presented by the notables, 
 relating to ushuri lands, to the classification thereof that 
 they have made in each moudiriah, district, and village, 
 and relating to the amount of the tithes that there is 
 need to establish ; 
 
 "Whereas the annual amount of the tithes, according 
 to these registers, has been valued-, for Lower Egypt, at 
 67,114 purses, 60 piastres, and 14 paras, and for Upper 
 
USHUEI LANDS, 107 
 
 Egypt at 26,331 purses, 102 piastres, and 6 paras, and 
 this at the rates of tax hereinafter," etc., etc. 
 
 The tax borne by each category or class of land was 
 augmented, and a special division was formed for the 
 Province of Buhairah in Lower Egypt. The augmenta- 
 tion arising out of this rearrangement made the taxes 
 this time as follows : — 
 
 
 
 Lower Egypt. 
 
 
 
 1st 
 
 2nd 
 
 3rd 
 
 class, 
 
 55 
 
 5) 
 
 per faddan, 
 
 55 5) 
 55 55 
 
 P.T. 
 
 55 
 
 65 
 45 
 
 20 
 
 
 Province of Buhairah. 
 
 
 1st 
 
 2nd 
 
 3rd 
 
 class, 
 
 55 
 
 55 
 
 per faddan, 
 
 55 55 
 5) 55 
 
 Upper Egypt 
 
 P.T. 
 
 53 
 55 
 
 50 
 35 
 20 
 
 1st 
 
 2nd 
 
 3rd 
 
 class, 
 
 55 
 
 55 
 
 per faddan, 
 
 55 )5 
 
 55 55 
 
 P.T. 
 
 55 
 
 55 
 
 45 
 35 
 
 20 
 
 The decision of the Privy Council says also that, 
 " in cases where complaint shall be made as to the new 
 taxation, the amount of the tithes shall be taken in 
 kind." 
 
 In practice this last paragraph did not mean that the 
 tithe of the gross production should he levied in kind, but 
 that the proprietor was free to pay his taxes by deliver- 
 ing, in kind, a portion of his crops having, in coin, a 
 value equal to the tax due by the land; just exactly as 
 was the practice, especially in Upper Egypt, for the col- 
 lection in kind of the taxes due by the kharadji lands. 
 
 This same decision assures the Viceroy that " this 
 taxation had not taken place until after examination and 
 classification of the lands made through the notables. 
 
108 ON LANDED PEOPERTY IN EGYPT. 
 
 as appears from the registers presented and sealed by 
 them." 
 
 Please notice, however, gentlemen, that until that 
 time in every classification the utility had been recog- 
 nised of making two great divisions that comprised the 
 one, the lands of Lower Egypt, always more heavily 
 taxed ; and the other, those of Upper Egypt, less heavily 
 taxed : notice also that this time, too, although there 
 had been created a new division which placed the pro- 
 vince of Buhairah, as to the tax, in an intermediary 
 position between Upper and Lower Egypt, the third 
 class of lands, i.e., the least productive, was taxed in all 
 three divisions at the uniform rate of P.T. 20. 
 
 The unification of the rate of this category throughout 
 all Egypt makes me believe that neither the classifica- - 
 tion of the lands nor the valuation of the products 
 were made by experts, but that the sum total, indicated 
 in the decision itself, was apportioned at different rates 
 over the several existing classes. 
 
 It seems to me that the proof of the opinion I express 
 follows from the fact that all those who, before the 
 Decree, had rearranged the taxes had established a very 
 marked difierence between the classes of Upper and 
 those of Lower Egypt, especially as to the last (lowest) 
 categories. 
 
 The tax of the so-called ushuri lands, like the 
 kharadji, was, therefore, all the time on the increase. 
 Still, the ushuri tax seemed, at least in appearance, to 
 preserve the principle upon which it had been established, 
 to wit, the tithe of the gross yield of the lands subjected 
 to this tax. 
 
 On the 4th of Safar, 1868, a Decree, sanctioning a 
 decision of the Chamber of Notables, increased both the 
 ushuri and the kharadji taxes by one-sixth. This sur-tax, 
 to be sure, had only a temporary character, it was estab- 
 lished for a period of four years only. Nevertheless, as 
 it did not yield the results expected of it, a Decree of 
 21 Kabi'a Awwal, 1870, ordered the re-arrangement of 
 the ushuri tax, upon the pretext that, the lands having 
 become better, the existing tax no longer represented 
 
USHURI LANDS. 
 
 109 
 
 the tenth, of the gross revenues which of right ought to 
 come to the State. 
 
 In this new classification the moudiriah of Gruizah was 
 included in the number of those forming a part of Lower 
 Egypt, and the special division was given up that had 
 been made for the moudiriah of Buhairah in the classifi- 
 cation of 1867 ; this province came back into the general 
 classification of Lower Egypt. 
 
 The Decree says : — " For the convenience and welfare 
 of proprietors, regard being had to present circumstances, 
 it has been deemed fit to fix as follows the amount of 
 the tithes per faddan " : — 
 
 Lower Egypt and Moudiriah of Guizah. 
 
 Superior Lands- 
 
 —1st class, 
 
 per faddan . . 
 
 . P.T. 60 
 
 J» 55 
 
 2nd „ 
 
 
 .. „ 50 
 
 Medium Lands- 
 
 -1st „ 
 
 
 . 5, 40 
 
 )) 5J 
 
 2nd „ 
 
 
 . „ 30 
 
 Inferior Lands— 
 
 -1st „ 
 
 
 .. „ 20 
 
 J5 55 
 
 2nd „ 
 
 
 .. „ 10 
 
 
 Upper Egypt. 
 
 
 Superior Lands- 
 
 —1st class, 
 
 per faddan . 
 
 .. „ 40 
 
 55 55 
 
 2nd „ 
 
 
 .. „ 35 
 
 Medium Lands- 
 
 -1st „ 
 
 
 .. „ 30 
 
 55 JS 
 
 2nd „ 
 
 
 .. „ 25 
 
 Inferior Lands— 
 
 -1st „ 
 
 
 . „ 15 
 
 55 55 
 
 2nd „ 
 
 
 .. 55 10 
 
 As you see, gentlemen, the Privy Council splits into 
 two, each of the three classes established at the begin- 
 ning, thus making them six ; but here even it is to be 
 noticed that, while the rate of the tax varies markedly 
 in the superior classes of Lower and Upper Egypt, the 
 new classification, like that made in 1867, keeps upon 
 the same footing the last classes of both regions (Upper 
 and Lower). 
 
 The relationship (rapport) that there is between the 
 
110 ON IiANDED PROPERTY IN EGYPT. 
 
 rates of tlie classes and categories of these lands is so 
 established, that one remains uncertain as to the rule 
 which guided the classifiers in their "work. 
 
 "We see that by doubling, for Lower Egypt, the figure 
 of the rate of the last class, we abtain that of the last 
 but one ; that in adding to the latter the figure of the 
 rate of the last class we have the rate of the immediately 
 superior class (the last class but two) ; and that, by 
 continuing the addition of that same figure (10), in going 
 up from one class to the other, one obtains all the 
 series. 
 
 The relationship {rapport) between the rates of the 
 classes of Upper Egypt is not established in the same 
 way. Indeed, the figure of the last class but one is only 
 50 per cent, higher than that of the last class of all ; 
 and the next rate, going from below upwards, is 
 obtained by adding the figures of the two preceding- 
 rates. As for the three remaining figures, going always 
 from below upwards, the relationship continues to be 
 established in the same way as for that of the two last 
 (lowest) rates, namely, that, by adding to each figure the 
 half of the figure of the rate of the last (lowest) class of 
 all, one obtains the rate of the immediately superior 
 class. 
 
 In preceding classifications no relationship [rapport) 
 was held to between the figures of the rates. Why was 
 it held to this time ? This is a question that I cannot 
 answer, but which more than ever confirms me in my 
 conviction that the apportioning of the taxes has always 
 been made on paper, and that it had no other rule than 
 the financial needs of the moment. 
 
 To all these rates must be added the sixth, voted tem- 
 porarily by the Chamber of Notables, and made obliga- 
 tory for only four years by the Decree of 4 Safar, 1868. 
 
 Still, notwithstanding all the resources that the State 
 derived from the taxes thus augmented and from these 
 sur-taxes, it did not succeed in covering the deficits of 
 its budget. 
 
 Too much occupied in extinguishing the floating debt 
 by forced loans under the garb of increased taxes and 
 
USHTJEI LANDS, 111 
 
 sur-tases upon landed property, there was no time left 
 and no resources found for the maintenance of the canals 
 and embankments. 
 
 "When the State perceived that it was impossible to 
 neglect these urgent works any longer without risk of 
 letting the source itself of the tax dry up for want of 
 irrigation, the State, I say, being forced to meet its 
 onerous engagements, could no longer find the needed 
 funds for the execution of these works. 
 
 The firgency, however, for creating new resources 
 being too great to be put off, the Ministry of Finance 
 wrote a Circular, dated the 8th of Shawwal, 1870, where- 
 by it augmented the taxes by 10 per cent. This sur-tax 
 was intended, according to the terms of the Circular, to 
 cover the costs of irrigation that the G-overnment was 
 responsible for. It was also ordained that this 10 per cent. 
 be passed to the debit of the " kharadji tax " accounts and 
 " ushtiri tax " accounts, and to the credit of a " special 
 account," which account was never opened, as this sur- 
 tax was wholly merged into the land-tax from the outset. 
 This Circular was confirmed by decision of the Privy 
 Council and approved by Decree of the Khedive. 
 
 As regards the lands paying the tithe, there is lierein 
 a double dealing that I think it well to bring out. As a 
 matter of fact, when, in 1854 the lands were taxed that 
 had been till then, free from all tax, the Decree expressly 
 said — you will remember it, gentlemen — that this tithe 
 was levied for defraying the expenses of irrigation works 
 and works of protection against Nile inundations. But 
 now, sixteen years afterwards, that Decree, so categorical 
 in its principles, seems to be entirely forgotten; the 
 taxes levied under the form and under the name of tithe 
 not only no longer appear to keep the proportion of one 
 to ten, but they have also lost their first destination, and 
 in 1870 this so-called tithe is again raised by j^ for the 
 works of irrigation for which the original first tithe was 
 itself intended. 
 
 To close, at last, the series of re-manipulations of taxes, 
 fees, and sur-taxes prior to the Moukabalah Law, the 
 Chamber of Notables voted the definitive maintenance 
 
112 
 
 ON LANDED PEOPBBTY IN EGYPT. 
 
 of the one-sixth, that had been in 1868 added to the 
 taxes temporarily for four years only. This definitive 
 keeping up of the one-sixth was voted, as you see, as 
 much as two years before the end of the four-year 
 period that had been at the beginning indicated. This 
 decision was declared to be executory by Decree of 16 
 Djamad Awwal, 1871. At this last-named epoch the 
 taxes had attained, including with them the sur-taxes of 
 one-sixth and of 10 per cent, the following quotas : — 
 
 Lower Egypt and Moudiriah of Gitizah. 
 
 Superior- 
 
 -1st class, 
 
 per faddan 
 
 .. P.T. 
 
 77 PAEA 
 
 '. jands- 
 
 -2nd „ 
 
 
 .. P.T. 
 
 64 6f 
 
 Medium - 
 
 -1st „ 
 
 
 S> 
 
 51 13i 
 
 Lands - 
 
 -2nd „ 
 
 
 53 
 
 38 20 
 
 Inferior — 
 
 -1st „ 
 
 
 5) 
 
 25 26f 
 
 Lands- 
 
 -2nd „ 
 
 
 » • 53 
 
 12 33i 
 
 
 Upper Egypt. 
 
 
 
 Superior - 
 
 -1st class. 
 
 per faddan 
 
 .. P.T. 
 
 51 13^ 
 
 Lands- 
 
 -2nd „ 
 
 55 ?S 
 
 
 44 36f 
 
 Medium - 
 
 -1st „ 
 
 5) !5 
 
 
 38 20 
 
 Lands- 
 
 -2nd „ 
 
 
 
 32 ^ 
 
 Inferior - 
 
 -1st „ 
 
 5) J) 
 
 
 19 10 
 
 Lands - 
 
 -2nd „ 
 
 55 55 
 
 
 12 33i 
 
 On the 13th of Djamad Akhir, 1871, appeared the 
 famous law on the moukabalah. The provisions it 
 edictedare common to ushur-paying and kharadj -paying 
 lands. Still, for those paying the tithe (ushur) it had the 
 effect of creating two categories of lands differently 
 taxed. Those lands for which the proprietors bound 
 themselves to pay the moukabalah had their tithe 
 calculated at the rate of the classification in 1870; 
 whereas, for those lands for which the owners entered 
 into no such engagement, and which did not actually 
 pay the moukabalah, the tithe was calculated according 
 
USH^Bl LANDS. 113 
 
 to the classification of 1867, with the addition of the 
 sur-taxes of one-sixth and 10 per cent. These lands con- 
 tinued, therefore, to be taxed in the following manner : — 
 
 Lower Egypt. 
 
 PARAS. 
 
 1st class, per faddan ... P.T. 83 16| 
 
 2nd „ „ „ ... „ 57 30 
 
 Brd „ „ „ ... , „ 25 261 
 
 Tipper Egypt. 
 
 1st class, per faddan ... P.T. 57 80 
 
 2nd „ „ „ ... „ 44 36| 
 
 3rd ,, ,, ,, ... ,, 25 263 
 
 You see that, beside the advantage given them, by 
 the payment of the moukabalah, of reducing the taxes 
 one-half, the owners of lands that had fulfilled the 
 requirements of that law enjoyed the privilege of 
 having their landed property classed at a less high rate. 
 I must, however, say that it is only a very small part of 
 the lands paying the ushur that are in the above indicated 
 disadvantageous position, the greater part of the owners 
 of these sorts of lands having bound themselves to sub- 
 mit to the provisions of the Law of the Moukabalah. 
 
 Meanwhile, the Moukabalah Law, repealed for the 
 first time by Decree of 7th May, 1876, was re-established 
 on the 18th November of the same year ; but from and 
 after that date the yearly lightenings (diminutions) were 
 to be no more made, and the payment of this tax, by 
 twelfth, became obligatory. 
 
 On the 6th of January, 1880, a second, and this time 
 a final, abrogation of the Moukabalah Law was pro- 
 nounced, and the taxes were put back at the rates prior 
 to the payment of the moukabalah, that is to say, at 
 those fixed by the classification of 1870. 
 
 The lands that had not paid the moukabalah continued 
 to pay the tithes according to the classification of 1868. 
 
 In all these tithes were included, of coxirse, the sur- 
 
 I 
 
114 
 
 ON LANDED PROPEETT IN EGYPT. 
 
 taxes of one-sixth and 10 per cent., wMcli thus continued 
 merged into the land-tax established before 1871. 
 
 On the 18th of January, 1880, a Decree established, 
 upon ushuri lands, and at the pro rata of their taxes, a 
 sur-tax of £. E. 150,000, which comes to an augmentation 
 at one strokeof about one-third iipon the taxes that already 
 lay upon these lands. This was the first time that the 
 tithes had been raised in such a large proportion and in 
 so arbitrary a way ; besides, it was the last blow given 
 to privileged real property. The result of this new 
 sur-tax was to bring the taxes up to the following 
 figures : — 
 
 For lands having paid the moukabalah : — 
 
 Lower ISgypt and Moudiriah of Guizah. 
 Superior Lands — 1st class, per faddan, P.T. 99 SOj^q 
 
 59" 5? 
 
 2nd „ 
 
 
 
 55 83 6f 
 
 Medium ,, 
 
 1st „ 
 
 
 
 „ 66 20f 
 
 )5 ;> 
 
 2nd „ 
 
 
 
 55 49 35| 
 
 Inferior ,, 
 
 1st „ 
 
 
 
 „ 33 lOi 
 
 J) SJ 
 
 2rid „ 
 
 
 
 „ 16 251 
 
 
 Upper 
 
 Egypt. 
 
 
 Superior „ 
 
 1st class 
 
 5 per 
 
 faddan, 
 
 P.T. 66 20f 
 
 J) 55 
 
 2nd „ 
 
 
 
 „ 58 8 
 
 Medium ,, 
 
 1st „ 
 
 
 
 ,9 49 35| 
 
 55 95 
 
 2nd „ 
 
 
 
 99 41 22f 
 
 Inferior ,, 
 
 1st „ 
 
 
 
 „ 24 37f 
 
 59 55 
 
 2nd „ 
 
 
 
 99 16 25 i 
 
 For lands not having paid the moukabalah : — 
 Lower Egypt. 
 
 1st class, per faddan, 
 
 2nd 
 
 3rd 
 
 P.T. 108 
 
 99 
 J9 
 
 99 
 
 99 
 
 99 
 99 
 
 H 
 
 74 331 
 33 lOi 
 
ush-Oei lands. 115 
 
 Upper Egypt. 
 
 1st Class, per faddaB, ... P.T. 74 33-^ 
 
 2nd „ „ „ ... „ 68 8 
 
 3rd „ „ „ ... „ 33 101 
 
 Lastly, the Law of Liquidation, of July 17, 1880, 
 confirming the abrogation of the moukabalah, and of its 
 financial consequences, allowed a sum of £. E. 150,000 
 per year, as interest, to serve as compensation for the 
 payments made under the head of the moukabalah. This 
 interest money is both for the lands paying the tithe and 
 for the kharadji lands. 
 
 Such, gentlemen, are the different phases through 
 which have passed the lands that are supposed to pay 
 the tenth. At the beginning of the reigning dynasty 
 they were free from all tax ; about thirty years ago they 
 were for the first time taxed, upon the basis of the 
 sharaa or legal tithe, to defray the costs of public works ; 
 since then, they, step by step, became lands taxable 
 without any fixed rule, as is the case with all the other 
 lands of Egypt. 
 
 Let me add a few more words on the subject of taxes 
 levied first for a definite object or service, and which 
 afterwards are so merged with the land-tax, and so 
 disturb its assessment, that it becomes impossible to 
 separate the one from the other. You have already seen 
 such a case in the kharadji back-taxes, and in the firdah 
 tax, which were added to the kharadji tax. Here, too, 
 we have a striking example of the merging process : it 
 is the sur-tax of 10 per cent, levied for defraying the 
 expenses of irrigation. On the 5th Shawwal, 1870, this 
 tax was finally welded into the land-tax. 
 
 Later on, in 1876, at the time of the regulating of the 
 financial affairs of Egypt, all the land-tax, talis qualis, 
 was assigned, in certain provinces, to guarantee the public 
 debt, and for the interest thereon ; whereas, in the other 
 provinces, it served for covering the costs of administering 
 the country. In 1879, the Government abolished the 
 
 I 2 
 
116 ON LANDED PBOPIBTY IN EGYPT. 
 
 corvee, or forced labour, and establislied in its stead a 
 payment in kind {la prestation en nature). 
 
 You know that abadiahs, and large estates in general, 
 not having a suflBicient number of men for their own 
 labour, and not enjoying any right of control over 
 their men, were unable to furnish the number of 
 men demanded of them. The Government made at thiit 
 time a regulation, in accordance with si, Decree of the 
 Khedive of the 9th of February, 1879. This Decree 
 says, in its first article : — ■ 
 
 " The cultivators of abadiahs, called upon for the 
 service of the payment in kind, * appelds pour le service 
 des prestations en nature,' can be allowed to free 
 themselves from this payment, by and through the 
 payment of a sum calculated according to the numljcr 
 of days (of labour) that they have to furnish." 
 
 It being very difficult, not to say impossible, to know 
 the exact number of the labourers of an aliadiah, for l.lio 
 simple reason that this kind of population is very floating 
 or variable, the Ministoi' of Public Works, basing upon 
 general data, decided that every propi'ioior, who wished 
 to free his labourers by this purchaso-rnoney,* had to 
 pay P.T- 00 per labourer, and that the nuniltoi' of work- 
 men was to be reckoned at tljo rate of oiglit men fier 
 100 faddans of land, which is etjual to a tax of I'. 'I'. 4'^\ 
 per faddiln. 
 
 About a year after this reglement, a new one raised 
 to P.T. 120 per man the sum exigible for the f»iirchase- 
 money* of the prcsUUion ni 'n/dv/rc. This, at tlie ralo of 
 eight men for every 100 faddans, gives IHiO I'.T., Mrid, 
 apportioned over such area, erjuals J\T. 9 24 per iaddMn. 
 
 Ayjplied to abadiah lands of the iirst class, this 
 amount represents about 12.^ per cent, of the tax ; 
 whereas the proportion to the tax, lor lands of the 
 last class, is about 74 y)er eeni. 
 
 In 1870, 10 pel' cent, had been already esl,ablished 
 upon the taxes, and this for works of irrigation, which 
 are no other than those that are effected by rrK^ans of 
 
 ♦ Ransom money. — Translator's Note. 
 
USHUEI LANDS. 117 
 
 the prestation en nature, or else by the, corvee. As for 
 tlie lands paying the tithe, and which bear this new tax 
 the most heavily, they were, in fact, taxed, as has been 
 several times pointed out, for defraying the costs of 
 these very works, without which no produce can be 
 grown, and consequently no tax levied. 
 
 All these taxes and sur-taxes, estabhshed at the outset 
 for a definite need and for a determinate service, were 
 interverted from their destination, as you see, and each 
 time that the need which had led to their establish- 
 ment is again felt a new tax for the self- same object is 
 created, without any account being taken of the fact 
 that a sum designed for the same service had been 
 already levied. 
 
 Such, gentlemen, as completely as I have been able 
 to trace it, is the history of the assessment of the land- 
 tax in Egypt. 
 
 You will have noticed that, since the beginning of 
 this centm-y, in 1813, there has been no fixed basis for 
 assessing this tax ; that the land-tax in general appears 
 to have been a tax by apportionment [of a beforehand- 
 determined sum] ; that there is no well-defined nile for 
 this apportionment, nor any fixed epoch for the re-rating 
 of the tax ; and, lastly, that by the will alone of the 
 Ruler the land-tax can be aggravated by the addition of 
 taxes that have no connexion with it. 
 
 By Khedivial Decree of August 10, 1879, the making 
 of a survey or cadaster was ordered, and the work was 
 undertaken. We have now to wish that this cadaster, 
 as is said in the first article of the Khedive's decision, 
 "shall insure an equal apportioning of the land-tax 
 among all tax-payers proportionately with the value of 
 the property which each one possesses." 
 
 Tithes of the Date-Palms. 
 
 Although the palm-tree tithe is not by nature a tax 
 directly upon the soil, a land-tax in the proper meaning 
 of the word, it is, nevertheless, more or less considered 
 
118 ON LANDER PEOPEETY IN, EGYPT. 
 
 as such in Egypt, by reason of its being levied upon a 
 product of the soil. 
 
 I, therefore, think that the study of this tax comes 
 ■within the sphere of this work, and I think it well to 
 give a rapid sketch of its assessment. 
 
 I cannot give the precise date when this tax was for 
 the first time levied. Neither is it possible for me to 
 point out the reasons that gave rise to the taxing of this 
 tree, so useful in many respects ; nor what was the 
 practice before the reign of Mohammad Ali Pasha as 
 to the assessment of this tax ; that is to say, whether it 
 was a tithe of the produce, a tax by apportionment, or 
 an arbitrary impost. Be that as it may, it is averred 
 that its existence is anterior to the cadaster ordered by 
 the Great Pasha in 1813. 
 
 We know, indeed, by tradition, that at that epoch the 
 Ruler exempted from all taxation one square kassabah 
 of land round each female palm-tree, and that he caused 
 the tithe of the gross yield of these date-trees to be 
 levied, the male trees being exempt from all ta"x. 
 
 As a fact, this tax became, therefore, a land-tithe 
 peculiar to lands planted with date-trees ; we also see 
 that the pasha, inspiring himself with the teaching of 
 the religious law, wished to avoid levying two taxes of 
 the same nature upon the same land, — a measure which 
 doubtless coincided with his desire to propagate and 
 encourage the extension of the growing of this tree in 
 Egypt. 
 
 This hypothesis will appear to us all the more likely if 
 we recall the solicitude of the pasha for the development 
 of the growing of fruit-trees, and the like. 
 
 If it be objected that the Viceroy would have better 
 reached his aim by exempting these trees from all taxa- 
 tion, as he had done for the other trees and products of 
 the earth, I will say that it is more than probable that 
 this tax must, as early as that epoch, have already 
 amounted to a sum large enough for it to have been 
 impossible for the Great Pasha to overlook it, and that 
 he consequently ordered that to be done which was 
 within the bounds of possibility — the relief from taxa- 
 
TITHES OF THE DATE-PALMS. 119 
 
 tion of a part of the land, so as to lighten this impost. 
 Still, in this matter I can give no positive affirmation ; 
 for I have found no document and no historical narra- 
 tive upon which to base a discussion with full knowledge 
 of the subject. 
 
 At what epoch were these square kassabahs of land, 
 planted with date-trees, again taxed, and did the land 
 thus bear two taxes at a time, the one laid directly upon 
 the soil, and the other indirectly upon the produce of 
 the soil ? Here, too, is a question that I cannot answer. 
 Neither have I been able to find out upon what basis 
 this tax was levied, nor what, prior to the year 1861, 
 was the proportion between the gross product and the 
 tax. 
 
 In theory, however, it was a tithe — that is to say, a 
 tenth of the gross production — that was to be taken from 
 these trees ; but, in basing upon what was the practice 
 since 1861, we are brought to believe by analogy that, 
 previously to that year, this theory was not strictly put 
 into practice. We only know that as late as 1860 this 
 tax consisted in a fee levied per tree, and varying 
 between 20 paras and 2-^ piastres ; that the date-trees 
 of the province of Manoufiah were exempt from this 
 tithe, and that it was the same, too, for those trees 
 planted upon lands exempt from taxes, and which have 
 been taxed with the ushur from and after 1854. 
 
 On the 8th of Safar, 1861, a Decree sanctioning a 
 decision of the Assembly General ordained that the 
 numbering and valuation of date-trees, male and female, 
 in general, be made in 1861, and that both operations 
 be repeated in 1862. The mean result of these two 
 countings was to serve as the basis for determining, for 
 each proprietor, the number of date-trees taxable. As 
 to the impost, it was to be that of the tithe, calculated 
 likewise according to the mean of the two valuations 
 made at the same time as the nnmberings. 
 
 The number of taxable trees and the tithe to pay 
 for each one having been thus fixed, the tax-payer 
 had to pay the tax upon these bases during the space 
 of six years, without any augmentation or diminution. 
 
120 ON LANDED PROPERTY IN EGYPT. 
 
 Whether his trees increased or decreased in number or 
 in yield, the figures entered upon the registers were to 
 undergo no change. At the expiration of this period, 
 the numbering and valuation were to be made over again 
 for a new six- year term, and so on. 
 
 If the date-tree tithe be considered as yielding a sum 
 not to be given up without unbalancing the State budget, 
 it is necessary and equitable to levy it. If, on the other 
 hand, account be taken of the worrying usages of the 
 departments and petty officials ; if, further, the ignorance 
 of the fellah be pleaded as to his rights and duties, it is 
 certain that, if well carried out, this law, precise in its 
 tenor and equitably taxing the object taxable, could 
 work to advantage. 
 
 Indeed, it is shown by experience that the yield of the 
 date-tree is good one year only, and mediocre the next. 
 By taking the mean of two years, therefore, a rational 
 basis was obtained. On the other hand, as this tree can 
 give no appreciable produce before the fifth or sixth year 
 after the time of transplantation [from the school] , which 
 is done after the first or second year, it would happen, 
 supposing that all the trees transplanted had been put 
 into the census of 1862, that the Grovernment could 
 neglect, without much risk, those trees which might 
 have arrived at the fruit-giving age during the period 
 between 1862 and 1868, seeing that in 1869 they had 
 necessarily to come into the new periodical census. 
 
 As for the tax-payer who might, during this six-year 
 term, lose some trees, and have to go on paying the tax 
 upon a thing that no longer was until the coming num- 
 bering, he, to be sure, was thus sacrificed ; but the 
 Assembly General did not falter because of this dis- 
 advantage, judging, and rightly, too, that the tax-payer 
 would do his best to prevent the loss of a tree upon 
 which he knew he had to continue paying the tax until 
 the time of the new census. 
 
 Upon being put into practice, the system adopted by 
 this Assembly gave no good result. The Decree was 
 nowhere carried out to the letter, and there followed 
 such a disturbance of the assessment of this tax, that 
 
TITHES OF THE DATE-PALMS. 121 
 
 complaints arose on every side ; no account having been 
 taken of them, the tax-payers neglected date-growing, 
 and even went so far as to cut down the trees, so that 
 the numbering made about 1873 revealed a large deficit 
 in the object to be taxed. To cover this deficit, the 
 taxes of the missing trees were spread over those in 
 existence, which was, in fact, an increasing of the tax. 
 
 On the 27th of Eabi'a Akhir, 1863, at the time of the 
 taxing of the gardens of Alexandria, a Decree of the 
 Viceroy makes mention that the tithe of the date-trees 
 must be levied over and above the land-taxes weighing 
 on the land upon which the trees are planted. On the 
 10th of Eadjab, 1868, a Decree mentions, in a general 
 manner, that lands planted with date-trees must, beside 
 the kharadj or the ushur, pay the tithe on the yield of 
 these trees. It also appears, from the provisions of this 
 Decree, that up to that time there were still date-trees 
 that did not pay the tithe. Those of Armant, for in- 
 stance, till then exempted, were, by reason of this Decree, 
 subjected to the tithe of their produce. 
 
 The Decrees of 4th Safar, 1868, and 16th Djamad 
 Awwal, 1871, which raised the land-taxes by one-sixth, 
 also added this one-sixth to the date-tree tithe, which 
 had even then long lost its character of a tithe, in so far 
 as this is a tenth of the gross yield, to become an arbi- 
 trary impost, like all the others, moreover. 
 
 The Assembly Greneral's decision of 1861 was not 
 carried out in a general way, not even for the second 
 six-year term. The Minister of Finance, in his letter of 
 lOth Djamad Akhir, 1869, instructed the Grovernor of 
 Alexandria that he had to cause the numbering and valua- 
 tion to be proceeded with of thepalm-trees in the districtof 
 his governorship. Like orders were given by the Minister 
 of Finance to the moudirs of the provinces, or directly 
 elicited at various times by the moudirs themselves ; 
 but, I repeat, all these instructions were either badly 
 understood or badly carried out, for the assessment and 
 the payment of this tax, re-manipulated each time by the 
 village shaikhs and notables, who went about the work 
 in the most arbitrary manner, gave rise to great abuse. 
 
122 ON LANDED PEOPBETT IN EGYPT. 
 
 Toward tlie end of the year 1880 this tax showed 
 differences varying between P.T. 1^ and 14 in the quota 
 per tree. Nor did these great inequalities exist only 
 from province to province ; they were also seen between 
 one commune and another of the same province. 
 
 This state of things made the Grovernment bestir itself 
 ■ — and rightly, too. But, as this tax could not be done 
 away with without fear of lessening the resources that 
 were already bound up by the Liquidation Law for the 
 Debt, the Government was content to re-manipulate this 
 assessment. By Decree of 28th May, 1881, the Khedive 
 ordained that thereafter the date-tax should be fixed, 
 from and after the year of the promulgation of the 
 Decree, at 2f§ piastres per tree, male or female, indis- 
 criminately, bearing either fruit or seed. The numbering 
 made that year was to serve as the basis for the registry 
 of the roll of the tax-payer during four years, and a new 
 numbering had to be made at the end of the term. 
 
 This is the Decree which at present regulates the 
 assessment of the date-tree tax. By suppressing the 
 valuation of the produce, it put an end to the abuses 
 and injustices caused by the appraisers, who were, of 
 course, the shaikhs and the omdahs. It at the same 
 time changes the nature of the tax, which, from the 
 tithe of the yield that it was, becomes a fixed tax — the 
 direct consequence of the apportionment of a known sum 
 figuring on the State budget under the head of " Tithe 
 of the Date-trees in 1881." 
 
 It is to be hoped that in 1885, the period fixed for the 
 next numbering, the Grovernment will have put such 
 order into its finances as to have no more need for 
 keeping up so vexatious a tax, which, however small it 
 may be, is a hindrance to the development of the grow- 
 ing of this useful tree, which, by an inexplicable freak, 
 bqars a direct tax upon its yield, while the ground it 
 grows upon is itself directly taxed. 
 
 The number of palm-trees in the years 1862, 1876, 
 and 1884 are given in Table C after the Appendices. 
 
on landed pbopbety in egypt. 123 
 
 Increase and Decebase oe the Taxable Object. 
 
 Parcels destroyed by the Nile ; Parcels formed ly its 
 
 Deposits. 
 
 Before the promulgation of the Land Law of 24 Zil 
 Hiddjah, 1858, there was no law to regulate the double 
 question of diminution in the object taxable brought 
 about by the flow of the Nile, which, at times, destroj^s 
 the banks on the right shore, and, at others, those on 
 the left shore, and of the increase of area to be taxed 
 arising from the alluvial deposits formed by the stream. 
 
 The communes or the tax-payers, owners of lands, 
 bordering on the river, of which they might have lost a 
 part, had, therefore, no means of redress against the State, 
 which itself, on the contrary, taxed afresh, according 
 to its will, the newly-formed alluvial lands. In certain 
 cases, however, without fixed rules, i.e., arbitrarily, the 
 Administration compensated for the lost lands by grant- 
 ing to the tax-payer the equivalent of all, or of part, of 
 the ground lost, out of the lands newly formed by the 
 alluvium of the Nile below (down stream) the point 
 where the loss had been ascertained. But in no case was 
 the tax taken oflfthe lost land. More than this, in case of 
 the loss of a piece of ground, the taxes of the destroyed 
 parcels were apportioned over all the lands of a commune ; 
 and, if the State granted compensation out of newly- 
 formed lands, the tax of these latter was added to the 
 total amount of the tax of the commune. 
 
 Thus, then, the lands of a commune could diminish in 
 area ; but, in such a case, the sum total of the taxes of 
 that commune underwent no reduction ; whereas this 
 same tax could, on the contrary, increase by the taxes 
 put upon the new lands given to indemnify the tax-payers 
 for the loss arising from the wearing away by the 
 stream. 
 
 In the Land Law of 1858, Article 16, the legislator 
 establishes the general principle that every parcel of land 
 paying the kharadji ortheushuritax,that is to say, whether 
 or not it be within the dominium of the holder, shall be 
 
124 ON LANDED PEOPBRTY IN EGYPT. 
 
 freed from the taxes weighing upon it in cases where 
 the stream shall have carried it away. Nevertheless, the 
 freeing from taxation shall not take place unless the 
 stream, in carrying away a piece of land, has, by its 
 alluvium, formed no new deposit " that can compensate 
 for the part carried away." 
 
 It is, therefore, to be taken as a general principle, 
 that the lost land ought to be compensated, with this 
 condition, that the tax weighing upon this land shall be 
 put upon that given in compensation. 
 
 As for the freeing from taxation, this is not accorded 
 unless the loss o£ the land could not be covered by an 
 equivalent in new land. Decision in this respect cannot 
 be made except upon request presented in due form to 
 the superior authorities. 
 
 If the ground formed by the alluvium is within the 
 commune to which the petitioner belongs, it shall be 
 compensated. 
 
 If the ground formed is insufficient, "it shall be 
 apportioned," says the same Article, " among the 
 damaged tenants or proprietors proportionately to the 
 part, carried away by the stream, belonging to each one 
 of them." 
 
 If the ground formed is in excess of the ground lost, 
 this excess shall be put up at lease-auction, and granted, 
 in preference, to inhabitants of the same commune to 
 which belong the newly-formed lands. 
 
 Article 23 of the same law, while confirming in a 
 general manner, in its first paragraph, the tenor of 
 Article 16, adds that, if the ground formed is in a com- 
 mune whose lands have suffered no loss, the giving in 
 lease of the whole newly-formed area shall be put up 
 at auction, and the parcels awarded shall form an 
 integral part of the commune of him to whom they are 
 adjudged. 
 
 Here, gentlemen, I will make this remark : Although 
 Article 23 has not repeated that these provisions are the 
 same for lands paying the kharadj as for those within the 
 dominium of the proprietor, it is to be understood, I 
 think, that such is the intent of the legislator, seeing that 
 
INCREASE AND DECEEASE OF THE TAXABLE OBJECT. 125 
 
 he has indicated it in the 16th Article. The State 
 binds itself toward lost lands, be they within the dominium 
 of the proprietor or be they property in usufruct, only 
 to free them from taxation. But, if in the commune 
 where the loss has taken place there are newly-formed 
 lands, it engages to compensate the lost lands, whatever 
 their nature, in so far as the area of the new land can 
 go towards such compensation. 
 
 I think this is the first time that we can show such an 
 entire equality in the rights accorded to lands within the 
 dominium of the owner and to lands in usufruct. 
 
 This tendency to do away more and more with the 
 inequality that existed between the two categories of 
 lands is worthy of notice, and this is why I think it my 
 duty to emphasise the remark, that in this respect public 
 opinion had already then begun to exercise a certain 
 pressure. The Viceroy, in subjecting to taxation, from 
 and after 1854, lands till then exempt, had himself struck 
 the first blow at the privileges they enjoyed, and bad 
 encouraged this tendency of public opinion to show itself. 
 
 The second paragraph of this same 23rd Article 
 declares that, if an islet is formed in the river, the lands 
 thereof shall be exclusively conceded to the river-bor- 
 dering communes which, situated over against the new 
 deposit, may have suffered damage, and that the parcels 
 ceded shall be attached to the commune of the one to 
 whom they are adjudged. 
 
 By paragraph 3, if an islet is formed without any 
 loss having been suffered by the neighbouring river- 
 bordering communes, the whole of the land of the islet is 
 put up at auction under the conditions fixed by the 
 second paragraph. 
 
 Losses suffered later on by the lands of theSe islets 
 shall be relieved from taxation after the ascertaining of 
 the area lost ; which ascertaining, however, must be 
 applied for by the interested tax-payer. 
 
 If there be any augmentation, this shall be ceded 
 exclusively and in the same way, i.e., at auction, to 
 those to whom the other parcels in the islet had been 
 adjudged. 
 
126 ON LANDED TUOPEETY IN EGYPT. 
 
 The parcels of lands of the islets shall be registered, 
 in the name of the parties to whom they are adjudged, 
 as athariah lands, and subjected to the Land Law, which 
 regulates property of this nature. 
 
 It is to be noticed that here, when sale or cession at 
 auction is spoken of, one is to understand that these 
 auction sales have to do with the lease-letting or tax to 
 be paid, under the conditions fixed for those lands known 
 since under the name of mazroufs, about which we shall 
 speak further on. 
 
 When this same Land Law, as modified, was promul- 
 gated, in 1875, in its present form, the provisions of the 
 old Articles 16 and 23 were reproduced in the new 
 Articles, 13 and 14, the latter having been completed by 
 an addition announcing that 
 
 " The excess of area of the islands and islets shall 
 serve to make up the territorial circumscription en- 
 • tered upon the cadaster, and the surplus shall be sub- 
 jected to the provisions of the Khedivial Decree given 
 on the 17th of Rabi'a Awwal, 1291," * ordering the sale 
 of State lands to be disposed of. The sale effected by 
 virtue of this Decree is, indeed, a sale of the land itself, 
 and the tax is no longer, as before, a lease put up at 
 auction. 
 
 Outside of this Land Law under its two forms — -the old 
 and the new — no other law deals with the regulating of 
 this question, which, considering the long course of the 
 Nile from south to north, is, notwithstanding, very 
 important ; and thus it is that continual litigations arise, 
 either between communes or between river-bordering 
 tax-payers. 
 
 Meanwhile, until a more complete and better-defined 
 law shall regulate this matter, the Administration sup- 
 plies the insufficiency of the legislation by measures 
 without fixed rule, and by reference to the usages and 
 customs, often different or even contradictory, of each 
 locality. 
 
 * The decree is dated on the 24th Rabi'a Awwal 1291 (1874). This 
 law is numbered XXXIII. in the Collection of Laws on Landed 
 Property. 
 
INCREASE AND DECEEASE OF THE TAXABLE OBJECT. 127 
 
 In cases of loss of lands, the tax is taken off, or com- 
 pensation is made, out of lands of iiew formation, for 
 those lost ; or else nothing more is done than to relieve 
 the lost land from its tax, and sell the new land under 
 the conditions of the rfeglement made in 1880, after 
 the Liquidation Law, for the sale of State lands that 
 may be alienated. 
 
 The Ministers of the Interior and of Finance decide, 
 administratively and in the last instance, upon such 
 matters, and their decision is without appeal. 
 
 Lands become unproductive ; Lands exeonpted from 
 Taxation for Divers, Causes. 
 
 We have seen that Mohammad Ali Pasha, either to 
 develope agriculture and thus increase the wealth of 
 Egypt, or for other causes, made concessions, at the 
 beginning of this century, of lands not included in the 
 cadaster established in 1813, and that he exempted them 
 from all taxes. These lands, as we have already seen, 
 were : — 
 
 1. The abadiahs and tchifliks ; 
 
 2. The oussiah lands ; 
 
 3. The lands called massmouh el masstabah, or 
 
 massmouh el mashayikh. 
 
 Later on we shall see. 
 
 That he made grants, likewise exempted from taxa- 
 tion, of abadiahs, which he gave more particularly to 
 Arab tribes, without, however, giving them the right oi 
 property in the land. 
 
 That he relieved from every tax lands grown with 
 timber-trees. 
 
 That he granted lands upon the banks of the Mah- 
 moudiah Canal upon condition that they should be 
 cultivated as gardens, and that he exempted them from 
 all taxes. 
 
 In the period between 1854 and 1857 all these lands 
 were subjected either to the ushuri or to the kharadji 
 tax, as we have seen, and shall afterward see in the 
 chapter on Grants and Sales of State Lands. 
 
128 ON LANDED PEOPERTY IN EGYPT. 
 
 Moreover, after the promulgation of the Decree of 
 15 Muharram, 1854, taxing with the tithe all lands 
 within the dominium of the owners, thitherto exempted, 
 a decision of the Assembly General, sanctioned by Decree 
 of 8 Eadjab, 1854, intrusts the moudirs with classifying 
 the abadiahs, tchifliks, oussiahs, &c., into lands pro- 
 ductive taxable, and into lands unproductive not taxable. 
 
 No term was fixed for the grantee wherein the clear- 
 ing of the latter should be accomplished ; and hence it is 
 to be supposed that, as the tax had been established 
 upon the principle of levying the tithe, it was understood 
 that, as soon as these lands were made to yield, the tithe 
 became exigible. The fact is that, at every new classifi- 
 cation of lands taxable with the tithe, lands till then 
 relieved from taxation were taxed, and others till then 
 taxed were relieved, according to the needs of the case, 
 and oftener still according to the inclination of the tax- 
 payer or the inclination of the oj0&cials intrusted with 
 establishing the tithe. All this was done very arbitrarily, 
 as no rule had been laid down, and no law applied in 
 this matter, beyond that which intrusts the moudir, as 
 we have seen, with the care of making the distinction 
 between the lands productive taxable, and those not 
 productive that had to be relieved of the tax. 
 
 In 1856, on the 8th of Shawwal, a Decree granted 
 fallow (uncleared, unoccupied) lands, not included in the 
 cadastral registers, as athariah holds, subjected as a 
 matter of principle to the kharadj, but under the fol- 
 lowing restrictions : — the lands were to be exempt from 
 the whole of the tax during a first term of three years ; 
 they were to pay half the tax only during a second term 
 of three years ; lastly, they should not be taxed with the 
 whole kharadj of lands of the hodh (basin) where they 
 were situated until on and after the seventh year. 
 
 This Decree was confirmed by Article 15 of the Land 
 Law of 24 Zil Hiddjah, 1858 ; but both the Article and 
 the Decree were abrogated by that of 11 Djamad Awwal, 
 1864, which ordains the sale of fallow (uncleared, un- 
 occupied) State lands. 
 
 By these sales the right of property in the substance. 
 
IXCEEASE AND DECEEASE OP THE TAXABLE OBJECT. 129 
 
 as distinguished from that of occupancy, is conceded, 
 and the lands are taxed with the tithe, " la terre est con- 
 ced^e en nue propri^te." 
 
 Another Decree, of the 1st Djamad Awwal, 1864, 
 while it authorises the sale of fallow (uncleared, un- 
 occupied) lands, places upon them the kharadj ; whereas 
 it places the tithe upon lands not registered in the 
 cadaster or abandoned by their owners. 
 
 All these lands abandoned by their owners were in 
 general athariah lands paying the kharadj and already 
 cleared a long time before. By transforming them into 
 ush^ri, to sell them, the revenues to be got from the 
 land-tax were diminished. 
 
 But at about that time it was deemed more advan- 
 tageous to diminish the taxes than, by keeping them at 
 a high rate, run the risk of creating arrears or con- 
 siderable waste lands. This system was all the more 
 to be recommended, it was said, because the abandoning 
 of lands almost always arose from the too heavy fiscal 
 burdens that weighed upon them. 
 
 Besides, it was hoped that, by selling them as absolute 
 property by taxit of the rouznamah and taxing them with 
 the tithe, higher prices would be obtained. All these 
 reasons would have been very good had the sales been 
 made regularly, and had the lands passed directly into the 
 hands of the tax-payer. But, instead of this, the greater 
 part of the lands were given gratuitously as abadiahs, and 
 the Stats did not even encash the value of the land. 
 
 A Decree of the 11th Zil Hiddjah, 1866, revoking the 
 provisions of the one which sanctioned the Assembly 
 Greneral's Decision of 8 Radjab, 1864, ordained that 
 abadiah lands given or sold by the Government should 
 be at once taxable as to the area cultivated. The un- 
 cultivated parts should be taxed, without any further 
 formality, three years after the grant or sale, from and 
 after 1876 ; this meant that after 1879 all lands belong- 
 ing to private persons, cleared or not, would have to 
 pay the taxes, the State giving the proprietors twelve 
 years at the most, and three years at the least, for clear- 
 ing fallow lands exempted from the tithe. 
 
 K 
 
130 ON LANDED PEOPEETY IN EGYPT. 
 
 This Decree was effectively carried out in 1879, and 
 to-day there is no longer, in any estate, a parcel of land 
 without taxation, be the parcel cleared or not, be it pro- 
 ductive or not. 
 
 The Decree of 1856 and Article 15 of the Land Law of 
 1858, having reference to the temporary exemption of 
 lands given by grants {en concessions), had been revoked 
 by another Decree of 1861. Nevertheless, the need for 
 putting this practice again into vigour became felt after its 
 abrogation. Indeed, uncleared lands, and lands swampy, 
 salty, sandy, etc., theretofore conceded with a temporary 
 relief from taxation, were since 1861 taxed as soon as sold. 
 
 In order to be made thoroughly capable of yielding, 
 these lands had to be worked for a long time, and, imtil 
 then, the capital put in by the acquirer, both in purchase - 
 money and in works of improvement, remained unpro- 
 ductive, and, as to this loss of interest on the capital 
 were added the charges of the yearly tax, it is easy to 
 see how no one came forward to buy fallow (uncleared) 
 lands. 
 
 These reasons, and, above all, various financial em- 
 barrassments, brought the State, which desired to facili- 
 tate the sale of such lands, to put the question before the 
 Chamber of Notables in 1867 to know whether the sale 
 of fallow (uncleared) land should be accorded with a 
 temporary exemption of the tax. In its decision of 
 25 Sha'aban, 1867, sanctioned by Decree of 9 Ramadan 
 of the same year, the Chamber ruled that : — 
 
 As for uncultivated lands, the clearing of which is 
 not fraught with difiiculties, the grantee can obtain them 
 gratuitously, and he is bound to himself fix a term . at 
 the expiration of which these lands shall be taxed. This 
 term, however, was in no case to exceed three years, 
 and, in all cases, the kharadji taxes of these kinds of 
 lands were to be exigible from and after the fourth year 
 after the concession. 
 
 As to uncleared lands, and marshy or salty lands, etc., 
 the grantee was to obtain them gratuitously, but the 
 term, fixed by the acquirer himself, during which they 
 were to be exempt from taxation, could be lengthened to 
 
INCREASE AND DEOBBASE OE THE TAXABLE OBJECT. 131 
 
 six years instead of three. The kharadji tax would not 
 hence be exigible of right, in this case, until on and 
 after the seventh year. 
 
 As for the lands known as the barari, that are on the 
 north of Egypt, upon the shores of the salty marshes, 
 the grantee was to obtain them gratuitously, but the 
 ushuri tax of the last (and lowest) class would not be 
 due thereon until on and after the eleventh year ; and 
 the ushuri tax attaching to the category in which the 
 land should be classed would not be due till on and after 
 the sixteenth year. 
 
 The law did not say whether these lands were to be 
 granted in full right of property by rouznamah taxit ; 
 but I suppose that such was the intention of the legis- 
 lator ; for this was the course followed in all concessions 
 made at that time within the barari lands. 
 
 Although this law was neither well studied as to its 
 substance, nor clearly defined as to its drafting, it, never- 
 theless, met the exigencies of the moment to a certain 
 extent ; but, by the very fact that much was left to the 
 arbitrary action of the Administration, this law was 
 devoid of all life, and without having been revoked it 
 had ceased to be applied even before the promulgation 
 of the Law of 1874 and Reglement of 1880, on the sale of 
 unencumbered State lands. 
 
 On the 16th of Muharram, 1868, a Decree, sanctioning 
 a decision of the Chamber of Notables of the 12th of that 
 month, ordered relief from all taxation for lands overrun 
 by sand, provided, however, that they should be again 
 taxed as soon as they should be rendered productive by 
 later labour. The Decree, moreover, intrusted the 
 moudir with the duty of keeping himself thoroughly 
 informed as to lands exempted from the tax because of 
 sand drifts, and of watching for the arrival of the time 
 when the Nile alluvium should have again rendered them 
 cultivable. In both cases the moudir' s duty was to 
 grant them to whomsoever should ask for them and 
 engage to pay the taxes. 
 
 All these laws were de facto annulled by thatof 24 Rabi'a 
 Awwal, 1874, which ordains the sale of State lands that 
 
 K 2 
 
132 ox LANDED PROPERTY IN EGYPT. 
 
 can be disposed of. This law says nothing as to the 
 conditions of the sale, nor does it ordain anything as to 
 the taxation, all these questions being left to the arbi- 
 trary management of the administration and of the Chief 
 of the State in the last instance. 
 
 But the Reglement relating to the sale of State real 
 property susceptible of becoming alienated, published on 
 the 14th of October, 1880, after the Law of Liquidation, 
 was drav/n up more regularly and with a better concep- 
 tion of the subject. In its 12th Article it says that all 
 lands sold by the State shall be taxed with the kharadji 
 tax that is put upon lands of the same nature in the 
 district, and that the tax shall be due from the day 
 the deed of sale is signed. The deed of sale is the 
 hodjat or title-deed of property delivered by the State. 
 
 This last clause was revoked by a Circular of the 
 Finance Minister, in which are to be found the reasons 
 that obliged the Minister to take such a step. " Some 
 to whom lands have been adjudged," says the Circular, 
 " pay the price of the same, take possession thereof, and 
 indefinitely postpone the fulfilment of the other formalities 
 required, thus enjoying the usufruct of the lands without 
 being bound to pay any tax." 
 
 In order to set this irregularity right, the minister 
 ordered that such lands be taxed from the day of their 
 delivery and the actual taking possession of the lands by 
 the acquirer. 
 
 As to uncultivated lands, the same Circular says they 
 are not to be taxed until the sixth year after the date of 
 the adjudgment, and after an examination by experts 
 which shall fix the taxes to be paid " according to the 
 category and the class to which the lands belong." The 
 experts intrusted with this classification are almost 
 always the shaikhs el balad, whose decision is supervised 
 only by the Administration, which decides in the last 
 instance, always arbitrarily, as there is no law and no 
 rule to regulate this matter. 
 
 Strange to say, it is thanks to the influence of con- 
 trollers foreign to Islamism that the taxation of new 
 State lands is brought within the lines of the Sharaa or 
 
INCREASE AND DECEEASE OF THE TAXABLE OBJECT. 133 
 
 Moslem law. You remember, gentlemen, that this law 
 says that lands granted, sold, or cleared, shall be con- 
 stituted ushuri ill a ushuri country if the grantee, buyer 
 or clearer (reclaimer of waste land) is a Moslem ; if he 
 is not a Moslem, this land is kharadji of right ; but, in a 
 kharadji country, the land not being transformable into 
 ushuri, it is of right kharadji in all cases. Now, the 
 lands of Egypt being all of them of kharadji origin, all 
 sales, grants, etc., would have to be made, if they are to 
 be valid, upon the condition of paying the kharadji tax, 
 such as it has been established by the Reglement of 
 14 October, 1880. 
 
 Noris the circumstance to be lost sight of that the 
 sovereign can grant kharadji lands with exemption, total 
 or partial, of the taxes ; but in the latter case the tax is, 
 for all that, kharadji. In this, too, the Reglement of 
 October 14, 1880, is in harmony with the Sharaa. 
 
 Lands Expropriated for Reason of Puhlic Utility. 
 
 We have already said that the lands entered in the 
 cadastral registers, and distributed in 1813, were lands 
 cleared (occupied) and put under cultivation, and that 
 at that time the beneficiaries had only the right of pro- 
 perty in the usufruct, and that even this right was for 
 lifetime only. Afterwards the beneficiaries acquired, it 
 is true, the right of transmission by inheritance ; and, 
 after the Land Law of 1868, they acquired other very 
 extended rights. But the land itself always formed a 
 part of the dominium of the State. 
 
 Prior to' the Law of 1858, all property the right to the 
 substance of which belonged to the State, that is to say, all 
 the lands that had not been granted by the State through 
 rouznamah taxit, gratuitously according the grantee 
 the full right of property in the land, were, therefore, 
 expropriated without any compensation, when the expro- 
 priation was made with a view to the execution of works 
 of public good, such as dykes, canals, constructions, &c. 
 
 As for lands within the dominium of the proprietor, 
 they were likewise expropriated, but the State generally 
 
134 ON LANDED PEOPEETY IN EGYPT. 
 
 gave a compensation to the proprietor by granting him 
 other lands equivalent in area. It must, however, be said 
 that in practice, and in most cases, compensation was 
 likewise made for athariah lands paying the kharadj. 
 But, in law and right, the State was not bound to give 
 compensation for lands of the latter category. 
 
 The first law that dealt with the matter of expro- 
 priation, and which established the right, as one acquired 
 by these lands, to relief from taxation, was that of 1858 
 (24 Zil Hiddjah, the Land Law of Said Pasha). 
 
 Article 10 of this law, which treats of the hodjats, or 
 title-deeds of right of property, to be delivered to the 
 holders or owners of rural lands in Egypt, says that 
 " the hodjats shall have in them the clause that, in 
 cases where it should be necessary to take a part of the 
 kharadji rural land for the sake of irrigation or for other 
 works of public good, such as the making of dykes, 
 canals, or bridges, the opening of ways of communica- 
 tion and constructions, no indemnity shall be due by 
 reason of this forced expropriation, unless it be the 
 relief from the taxes, in behalf of the holder, that weigh 
 upon the land expropriated." 
 
 " This provision is applicable to kharadji lands," says 
 the Article, " to the exclusion of lands in which the right 
 of property properly so called belongs to the possessor. 
 In cases of expropriation of a parcel of land, or of a 
 portion of a parcel of the latter category, there shall be 
 given to the proprietor an equivalent parcel, or the 
 value in coin of the property expropriated." 
 
 The law, therefore, accords only the relief of the 
 expropriated land from taxation when this land is 
 within the dominium of the State, and acknowledges 
 that, beside the relief from the tax, the State shall 
 accord either the value in coin of the property 
 expropriated, or else its equivalent in lands, when this 
 property is within the dominium of the expropriated 
 owner, that is to say, when the land is given by taxit of 
 the rouznamah. 
 
 Article 11 ofthis law declares anew that "the obligation 
 of the Grovernment consists solely in reHeving the land. 
 
INCREASE AND DECREASE. OF THE TAXABLE OBJECT. 135 
 
 in behalf of the holder, from the tax that attached to 
 the part expropriated, the holder having nothing but the 
 right of making the land fructify to his gain so long as 
 he cultivates it." 
 
 This is the first time — we have already said so — that 
 a law gives to the holder the right of requiring the tax- 
 rehef of a parcel of land that he no longer possesses. 
 Prior to that epoch, I repeat this, gentlemen, the tax- 
 payer sometimes succeeded in getting another piece of 
 land given him in compensation for the one which the 
 State had taken, and in transferring over to this land the 
 tax weighing upon the property expropriated ; but never, 
 or nearly never, was the expropriated land relieved from 
 the tax, it being the established and invariable usage to 
 apportion the taxes of such property over the lands of 
 the commune. Consequently, the area of the commune 
 — I am here obliged to revert to what I said in the first 
 paragraph — could diminish, but not so the sum total of 
 the tax due by the commime. More than this, if the 
 party expropriated obtained compensation out of lands 
 of the commune not entered in the cadaster, the grant 
 thus made was added to the area already on the cadaster, 
 and at the same time the fiscal charges of the commune 
 increased by the amount of tax laid upon this very grant. 
 
 This simple expose will show you, gentlemen, to what 
 arbitrary dealing the peasant holder of athariah lands 
 was exposed before the promulgation of the Land Law 
 of 1858. If this law has modified and bettered the con- 
 dition of the rural population, it has not wholly freed 
 them from the arbitrary dealing of the Administration. 
 Indeed, although the law binds the State, as has been 
 seen, only to relieve the expropriated property from the 
 tax, that same Article 11 provides, in cases where all 
 or a part of the land of a usufructuary holder shall be 
 taken from him, so that he cannot gain his livelihood, 
 that the moudir shall give him " such area of land as 
 may be deemed right," and this area is to be given : — 
 
 1st. Out of lands withdrawn from the cadaster of the 
 commune, islands and islets excepted, and lands newly 
 formed by the Nile alluvium excepted also. 
 
136 ON LANDED PROPERTY IN EGYPT. 
 
 2ncl. If thei'e be no lands from that source, the 
 moudir is bound to give him lands out of property 
 abandoned by the holder and free (unencumbered), or 
 passed over to the account of the State ; in this case the 
 grant must be equal in area to the property expropriated 
 unless the party expropriated should, by reason of his 
 needs, be satisfied with a lesser area. 
 
 3rd. -Should there be no unregistered (not cadastered) 
 and no abandoned lands, the replacement shall be made 
 out of lands having escheated to the State. In this case 
 the party expropriated shall be preferred over every other 
 grantee, be he who he may : and, furthermore, the law 
 dispenses him from the payment of the fees of 
 concession (P.T. 24 per faddan). 
 
 4th. If none of these categories of lands are to be 
 found within the commune of the party expropriated, the 
 law says that " the replacing of the expropriated part of 
 the property shall be made, upon the demand of the 
 party expropriated, out of lands of the neighbouring 
 rovimuncs, and following the order of categories that has 
 just been set forth. 
 
 The rights of the expropriated peasant appear to be 
 guaranteed by this Article ; but the guarantee is wholly 
 moral and theoretical, if I may so say, for the moudir is, 
 in short, clotlied with such discretionary powers, that the 
 holder is quite at his mercy*. 
 
 Passing on to the expropriation of lands within the 
 dominium of the owner, the Article says : — " In cases 
 where the land expropriated shall be a non-kharadji 
 land, that is to say land within the dominium properly 
 so called of the owner, the latter shall have the right to 
 a substitution of lands of the same nature, or of the 
 real value of the property expropriated " (valeur reelle 
 = value of the full right of property in the soil itself). 
 
 In practice, the real value (valeur reelle), payable in 
 coin, gave rise to endless discussion between the State 
 
 * I will remark that the holder or tenant is rather at the discretion 
 of the shaikh el balad, from whom the moudir naturally can obtain 
 the information and details upon which to base his decision. 
 
INCEEASE AND DECEEASE OP THE TAXABLE OBJECT. 137 
 
 and the party expropriated. In genera], the owner of the 
 expropriated land resorted to the other means afforded 
 him by the iaw — that of substitution or replacement. 
 But in this case it was for the expropriated person 
 himself to make inquiry, and find among the free 
 (unencumbered) State lands not yet taxed the lands that 
 had to be given him in exchange. 
 
 bo long as he had not found such lands and taken 
 the necessary steps for taking possession of them, the 
 expropriated land was not relieved from taxation ; it was 
 not until the time when the new grant had been 
 determined upon, and registered in the name of the 
 tax-payer by rouznamali taxit that the tax was transferred 
 from the expropriated lands on to the property given in 
 place thereof, whatever might be the productive value of 
 the latter.* 
 
 In short, the law was neither too complicated nor too 
 bad; but, the Administration being at the same time 
 judge and party, the carrying out of the rule was, in 
 practice, extremely easy at times and at others fraught 
 with a thousand difficulties, according to the good 
 pleasure, not of viceroys, raoudirs, and ministers only, 
 but even of functionaries of lower standing, and, above 
 all, of the shaikhs el balad. 
 
 Article 16 of the same Law, relating to the formalities 
 to fulfil for obtaining the relief from taxation of the 
 expropriated property, says that lands expropriated for 
 causes of public good, or lands carried away by the 
 Nile, " shall not be relieved from taxation but upon 
 petition presented to the authorities and followed by an 
 order of relief, after ascertainment by the engineers of 
 the exact area of the lost property, and authentication of • 
 the same by the moudir prior to the communication of 
 the petition to the higher authority." The higher 
 authority is that of the Viceroy, and by delegation that 
 
 * It is, of course, well understood that it is only since 1854 that the 
 question has been at all dealt with of regulating the taxes of lands of 
 this category, in connexion with their expropriation for the public 
 good, for before that epoch these lands paid no taxes. 
 
138 ON LAifDED PEOPEETY IN EGYPT. 
 
 of his Finance Minister, or, in certain cases, of his 
 Minister of the Interior, whence come in conflicts of 
 power that indefinitely delay the relief from taxation, 
 even after the accomplishment of all formalities. 
 
 These same provisions are preserved, in their original 
 form, in Articles 9, 10, and 12 of the Land Law as 
 modified and promulgated in 1875. 
 
 Nevertheless, for lands having paid the moukabalah, 
 the Law of Agricultural Boards, promulgated the 18th 
 Shawwal 1871, admits in its 23rd Article that " an 
 indemnity, in coin or in kind, shall be granted for lands 
 that have paid the moukabalah and that have been spoilt 
 by works executed in obedience to a. decision of the 
 Privy Council. As for lands that have not paid the 
 moukabalah, they shall remain subject to the provisions 
 of the Land Law." 
 
 Article 24 of the same Agricultural Boards Law 
 establishes, as a matter of principle, the relief from 
 taxation of all lands deteriorated by public works ; but, 
 foreseeing cases where these reliefs would necessarily 
 bring about a deficit in the general revenue budget, 
 it ordains that this deficit shall have to be made good 
 by means of a rearrangement of the taxes of lands that 
 have not paid the moukabalah, or else by taxing the 
 non-registered (uncadastered) lands that have become 
 cultivable in consequence of the works that have led to 
 the relief from taxation of the expropriated lands. 
 
 Article 23 evidently tends to make holders of kharadji 
 lands enter upon the engagement to pay the moukabalah ; 
 but from this same Article, as well as from Article 24, it 
 further appears that the State acknowledges the tax- 
 payer's right to claim reimbursement for the expro- 
 priated property, be this property athariah, subjected to 
 the kharadji tax and made free by the moukabalah, or be 
 it property within the dominium of the tax-payer which 
 has or has not paid the moukabalah. Here circum- 
 stances, much more than the State, bring the rights of 
 the two categories of lands near to one another, and 
 tend to assimilate the privileged lands and the commune 
 lands. You will have, doubtless, noticed this. 
 
INCEEASE AND DECEEASE OP THE TAXABLE OBJECT. 139 
 
 As to relief from taxation, this is maintained as an 
 acquired right for all expropriated lands indiscriminately, 
 in accordance with the Land Law that the 24th Article 
 aforesaid has in view. Nevertheless, the same Article 
 abrogates, in fact, the relief from taxation of kharadji 
 lands that have not paid the moukabalah ; for, in reality, 
 it ordains that the amounts of the relief from taxation 
 of expropriated lands shall be transferred on to the 
 lands that have not paid the moukabalah and also on to 
 those lands that the public works have made cultivable. 
 
 If it be a matter of a canal, the lands to be newly taxed 
 may cover, and even more than cover, the relief from 
 taxation accorded ; but, if it be a road, a railway or the 
 like, the compensation in relief of all the amounts must 
 be borne by the lands that have not paid the moukabalah. 
 There is evidently in this provision, as has just been 
 said, a roundabout way of putting the lands, whose 
 owners do not wish to bind themselves to pay the 
 moukabalah, in such a position that there would be no 
 means of escaping the hardship but by submitting to 
 this sort of a forced loan. 
 
 Such, theoretically, is the law that in our days is 
 supposed to regulate this matter. But it must be again 
 said that, in carrying it out, a thousand difficulties arise 
 which are, as a fact, arbitrarily dealt with and settled by 
 the administrative authorities. 
 
 It was thought that this state of things would be 
 remedied by the publication, on the 10th of August, 
 1879, of a Decree recognising that " these expropriations, 
 made for purposes of public good, have the effect of 
 dispossessing (ousting) the owners of their right of 
 property and of enjoyment," and ordaining, conse- 
 quently, that lands thereafter expropriated " shall be 
 determined by the cadaster officials, during the course 
 of their operations, and exempted from every land-tax." 
 
 This was in theory a step forward ; it was no longer 
 the tax-payer who had to petition in order to obtain the 
 relief of the expropriated land from taxation, but rather 
 the cadaster officials who were to measure the expro- 
 priated area, and the State engaged to relieve the same. 
 
140 ON LANDED PROPERTY IN EGYPT. 
 
 ipso facto. As to the replacing of tlie expropriated 
 property, either in coin or in kind, this matter continued 
 to be regulated as before, as the Decree abrogated in this 
 respect none of the previous provisions. Still, it must be 
 remarked that, whereas, after the Decree of 1874, ac- 
 cording to which all State lands were put up for sale, 
 reimbursement in kind became impossible, the State 
 was bound to pay the value of the expropriated property 
 whenever such property was within the dominium of the 
 tax-payer, or when it had paid the moukabalah. 
 
 In practice, however, the amelioration in the law did 
 not at all make itself felt; the evil in this, as in many 
 other cases, arose from the fact that the application of 
 the laws, decrees, &c., is intrusted to the Administration 
 itself, which thus becomes both judge and party as well 
 as executive authority. 
 
 Lands whose Area is found to he Greater or Less 
 than the Measiorement. 
 
 Article 15 of the Land Law of 1858 directs that lands 
 in excess of measurement, situated in thehodhs (basins), 
 and not exceeding ten faddans, shall be given gratuitously 
 to the usufructuary holders of lands situated in the same 
 hodh, and shall be taxed with the kharadji tax upon the 
 same conditions as lands of the same nature. 
 
 As for lands in excess of measurement whose area 
 shall exceed ten faddans, these must be, according to 
 the same Article, given in lease at public auction ; we 
 shall speak of this elsewhere, in the chapter on Grants 
 and Sales of State Lands. 
 
 The lands in excess of measurement, that we are 
 treating of here, are those which should be brought to 
 light, on the one hand, by the revision of the cadaster 
 that the State was then causing to be made, and, on the 
 other hand, by the check-examinations made for ascertain- 
 ing excess of area over measurements. (We shall have 
 occasion hereafter to speak of these check-examinations, 
 brought about by denunciations of third parties, in the 
 chapter on the Cadaster or Land Survey.) 
 
IJfCREASE AND LEGREASl! OP THE TAXABLE OBJECT. I4l 
 
 The Decree of 8 Safar, 1860, directs that, in cases 
 where an excess of area over measurement should be 
 ascertained in the lands of a holder, the possessor of 
 these lands must pay the taxes on such excess from and 
 after the time of its ascertaining. Later on, the Decree 
 of 27 Shawwal, 1864, directing that the revision of the 
 area comprised in the cadastral registers of a commune 
 must be authorised by Decree, provided that. 
 
 If an excess of area should be brought to light by the 
 revision, such excess should belong to the State. Thus 
 the preceding Decrees were revoked. 
 
 On the 1st of Djamad Awwal, 1865, a Decree ordained 
 the sale, on condition of paying tlie kharadji tax, of all 
 lands in excess of measurement in the possession of the 
 State since the promulgation of the Decree of 27 Shawwal, 
 1864. 
 
 The decision of the Cliamber of Notables, dated 25 
 Sha'aban, 1867, regulated, in the two former cases, the 
 question of lands in excess of measurement. 
 
 As for islands and islets of the river and lands formed 
 by alluvium on its shores, the law ordained the sale of 
 lands in excess of measurement, prescribing, on the one 
 hand, that the value of such lands must be calcvilated 
 upon the basis of three years' lease (or rent) ; and, on the 
 other hand, that the tax on such lands must be fixed, 
 " not at the same rate as that of adjacent lands, but at 
 the rate of lands of the same category." 
 
 Concerning the areas in excess of measurement of 
 lands, the law likewise provided that they should be 
 sold, and that their value in the hodhs must be calcu- 
 lated as in the case of the lands of islets, that is to say, 
 upon the basis of three years' rent (or lease) ; and that, 
 lastly, in order to determine this rent (or lease), one 
 must be guided by the rents (leases) of adjacent lands 
 within the hodh, without the moudiriah being able in 
 this respect to make any arbitrary decision. 
 
 In conformity with the Decree of 1865 and with the 
 Law of 1867, with the Decree of 1874 on the sale of 
 State lands, as well as with the Law of Liquidation of 
 1880, the Eeglement of October 14 of the same year, on 
 
142 ON LANDED PROPERTX IN EGYPT. 
 
 the sale of free (unencumbered) real property of the State, 
 prescribes that all lands in excess of measurement, from 
 and after their ascertainment, become the property of 
 the State. 
 
 As such, therefore, they are sold in full right of 
 property, and are taxed with the kharadj. 
 
 I find myself at a loss, gentlemen, how to explain the 
 second part of the title I have given to this paragraph, — 
 
 Lands Less than the Measurement. 
 
 One must, unquestionably, wonder how it is that, 
 after having first taxed lands in excess of measurement, 
 after having a little later declared itself to l^e the pro- 
 prietor of the same and sold them and at the same time 
 subjected them to taxation, the State should not have 
 been logically brought to relieve from taxation the 
 superficies ascertained to be less by a new measurement, 
 and to act in this case as in the cases of losses caused 
 by the Nile, or as in the case of expropriation. 
 
 In acting thus, it may be that the State wished to 
 spare itself the necessity of causing a revision to be 
 made of the operations of measurement by surveyors 
 who, through their adroitness, might have been able, 
 in the interest of the proprietors, to falsify the measure- 
 ments and thus obtain fraudulous relief from taxation. 
 
 Let us hope, gentlemen, that, if the labours of the 
 cadaster, ordained by Decree of August 10, 1879, are 
 brought to a good end, this gap in the legislation will 
 be filled up to the satisfaction of all. 
 
ON LANDED PROPERTY IN EGYPT. 143 
 
 III.— Recovery of the Taxes. 
 
 Collection op the Taxes. 
 
 The collection of the taxes in Egypt seems to Lave 
 been made from all time after the harvests. 
 
 "We have seen indeed, that, according to Makrizi, the 
 tax for Upper Egypt was fixed toward the twelfth century 
 at three ardabbs of wheat, and that it was taken in 
 kind. Now, in order to levy it in kind, it was necessary 
 that the harvest should have been gathered. Further- 
 more, if we go back to the time of the conquest, we find, 
 according to the historian El Syouthy, that the khalifah 
 Omar wrote to 'Amr Ibn el 'Aass to find out from 
 Mukawkas — who governed Egypt, for the Emperor, 
 during the Arab invasion — what means to adopt for 
 making "Egypt prosper. Mukawkas answered, among 
 other things, " that the taxes ought to be exacted all at 
 one time after the grape vintage and the gathering of 
 the dates, and when these fruits had been pressed for 
 getting either wine or araky." 
 
 This season corresponds with the months of August 
 and September, for it is during those months that these 
 gatherings are made. 
 
 We also know, according to the same historians, that 
 'Amr Ibn el 'Aass sent to Mecca and Medinah, from the 
 first year of the conquest, a large quantity of grain and 
 corn derived from the kharadj, or rather from the 
 djizyah (poll-tax),- which he had exacted from the 
 Egyptians, and which they had paid in kind. We can, 
 therefore, affirm that, from the conquest until our days, 
 the land-tax properly so called has been levied in kind, 
 with rare exceptions, and consequently that it has been 
 always paid after the inning of the harvests. We say, with 
 rare exceptions ; for we know, always relying upon what 
 the historians report whom we have just cited, that in 
 Lower Egypt the crops of sugar cane, cotton, hemp, 
 saffron, etc., paid a special tax, which was levied in 
 money. 
 
144 ON LANDED PEOPEETY IN EGYPT. 
 
 At tlie time the iltizams were inaugurated, and until 
 Mohammad Ali's accession, the raoultazims, no doubt, 
 had to pay in coin the farm-lease of their concession, 
 which they afterwards made the fellahs reimburse them 
 as fast as their crops were inned. 
 
 In consequence of the scarcity of money in Egypt at the 
 time of the land distribution made by Mohammad Ali 
 Pasha, the land-taxes were collected in kind. This state of 
 things makes it easy to understand how the Great Pasha 
 could have conceived the idea, as early as 1808, of 
 centralising commerce in his own hands by monopolising 
 it. The Viceroy has been much blamed, or at least 
 criticised, even during his reign, for thus hampering 
 trade. Still, gentlemen, instead of being a hindrance, 
 the monopoly was, on the contrary, in my opinion, the 
 principal cause of the development of the commerce of 
 Egypt at that time. Indeed, toward the beginning of 
 this century, Egypt had but a limited small-craft trade 
 along the coast of Syria and as far as Constantinople. 
 The Great Pasha first extended this trade to Malta and 
 Leghorn, then to Trieste, Marseilles, and Liverpool, by 
 sending thither, to be sold, the products of Egypt which 
 came into the State granaries in the form of taxes paid 
 in kind. Moreover, in order to well ascertain the 
 advantages or disadvantages of the monopoly, one ought, 
 it seems to me, to take into consideration both the 
 system in force for levying the taxes as well as the social 
 condition of the country. 
 
 The tax was exacted in kind, as we have said, because 
 of the scarcity of coin among the fellahs ; the fact must 
 also be taken into account that nowhere in the interior 
 of the country, excepting in the three cities of Cairo, 
 Alexandria, and Rosetta, were there any merchants 
 established for purchasing the products and paying cash 
 for them, or for lending money, as is done in our days, 
 more especially in Lower Egypt, upon the crops still 
 standing. 
 
 On the other hand, the Great Pasha, in order to 
 enable the communes to work the lands that had just 
 been granted them, had had to furnish them the seed. 
 
COLLECTION OF THE TAXES. 1-J,5 
 
 the cattle, tlae agricultural implements, etc., which the 
 tillers could not get for themselves; they had thus 
 become the debtors of the State, which reimibursed itself 
 for these advances by accepting the products of the soil. 
 The greater part of the yield of the land thus came into 
 the storehouses of the State, as personifiedinthe Pasha 
 himself. 
 
 The Viceroy had, by the force of things, become the 
 great merchant, and so to speak, the only trader in 
 Egypt. In order to derive the greatest possible profit 
 from the products he held, he exported them instead of 
 selling them on the spot, and, soon perceiving that this 
 system brought him in greater wealth than the payment 
 of the taxes in money, he extended it, and bought of the 
 fellahs all their crops. From these he deducted the part 
 to be taken as tax, and paid them in cash for the 
 remainder, assuming all risks of transportation and 
 trade. 
 
 During the whole of his reign, therefore, the taxes 
 were levied at the end of the harvests. 
 
 Toward 1850 the State did away with nearly all its 
 storehouses in Lower Egypt, and throughout almost all 
 this part of the country it collected the tax in money. 
 We have seen, according to Makrizi, that as early as the 
 times of the Fatimites recourse had been had to this 
 system. The same causes most likely brought about 
 the same results. But, be this as it may, toward the 
 commencement of Abbas Pasha's reign, the development 
 of commerce and the great number of abadiahs exempt 
 from all taxation, the proprietors of which sold their 
 crops freely, had drawn to the provinces of Lower Egypt 
 purchasers having capital. Little by little the fellah 
 land-tillers found it for their interest also to sell them 
 their crops, and paid their taxes in money. The State, 
 on its part, far from opposing a change that it found 
 advantageous, rather encouraged the tax-payers to go on 
 in this way, until they became so accustomed to discern 
 their own interest that soon the State shoonahs (store- 
 houses) became useless and were suppressed. 
 
 From that time on the State almost yearly convoked, 
 
146 ON LANDED PROPERTY IN EGYPT. 
 
 at the Finance Ministry, the moudirs of the Lower 
 Egypt provinces, to determine -the periods of the gather- 
 ing of the taxes in money during the coming year. 
 
 As the same reasons, that is to say, the commercial 
 facilities, did not exist for Upper Egypt, the shoonahs 
 (storehouses) south of Cairo have continued in use up 
 to our day. 
 
 At the time when the tithe was laid upon the lands till 
 then exempted from taxation, in 1854, freedom had been 
 left to the owners of such lands to pay the tithe either 
 in money or in kind; magazines (storehouses) were, 
 therefore, set up in each moudiriah for receiving the 
 products that should be given in payment of the tax. 
 These storehouses, however, were no longer of use in 
 Lower Egypt, as most of the owners of abadiah lands 
 preferred paying in money. It was just the other way 
 about in Tipper Egypt, the great majority of abadiah 
 owners being for payment in kind. 
 
 You see, gentlemen, that no law fixed this question, 
 and it seems as though each one was at liberty to choose 
 the mode most convenient to him for paying his taxes. 
 Still, it will not have escaped your observation that the 
 principle adopted by the State was to take these taxes 
 in kind, for it everywhere maintained shoonahs (store- 
 houses) at much expense. 
 
 From all the foregoing we can draw the conclusion that 
 the time for collecting the taxes was fixed at the period 
 after the harvests (crops). 
 
 It is in 1862 that we find a Decree dealing exclusively 
 with the question of collection. This document would 
 seem to contradict what we have put forward, were we not 
 to apply ourselves to clearly bring out the true spirit in 
 which its provisions were conceived. The Decree bears 
 the date of 18 Sha'aban. It makes the ushuri tax exigible 
 by monthly instalments, as is the practice for the 
 kharadji, and it ordains that the recovery of the 
 same iDe proceeded -with at the epochs to be after- 
 wards determined each year. 
 
 The Decree would seem to mean that the recovery 
 of the kharftdji tax was apportioned into monthly 
 
OOLLECTION OP THE TAXES. 147 
 
 instalments. Were this so, it ought to have been said, 
 to be stating the fact correctly, that there were periodical 
 times for the falling-due of the tax, and these periods 
 ought to have been indicated. On the other hand, by 
 ordaining that the ushuri tax was to be assimilated, as 
 to its recovery, to the kharadji, the State wished only 
 to avoid the delays occasioned in the payment of the 
 taxes by the unwillingness and unreadiness to pay of the 
 owners of lands taxed with the tithe, as these owners, 
 since 1854, had been unable to make up their minds to 
 pay this tax, and brought into play all possible means 
 to put it off. Indeed, this was the only kind of protest 
 allowed them, and they made use of it largely. 
 
 By this last-indicated assimilation, the Viceroy did 
 away with a privilege which the proprietors of privileged 
 lands had till then laid claim to, namely, the option 
 or faculty of paying their taxes when and how they liked. 
 
 The same Assembly of Moudirs that met at the 
 Finance Ministry since 1850 for fixing the epochs of 
 recovery and the quota of the kharadji tax occupied 
 itself, after 1862, with determining each year the times 
 of falling due of the tithe. But after the year 1863, 
 and earlier even, the financial embarrassments in which 
 the State found itself, on the one hand, and on the other 
 the ease with which the tax-payers paid their taxes in 
 money, led the viceroys to levy part, and sometimes 
 even all of the tax at the beginning of the year, before 
 sowing time. Often, too, the State, during the course 
 of the year for which the tax had been already paid, 
 exacted sur-taxes, to be allowed for out of the tax of the 
 following year. 
 
 The documents go to prove that up to 1863 the 
 sur-taxes levied in this way were accounted for toward 
 the tax-payers ; but I cannot affirm that this was done 
 after that year. Moreover, gentlemen, every one of you 
 can recollect that these sur-taxes then took the form 
 either of forced loans, whose principal was sunk {em- 
 f runts forces a fonds perdus), bearing no interest, and 
 giving no right to any relief from taxation, or else of 
 patriotic subscript]"" 3 for covering the costs of a war, 
 
 L 2 
 
148 ON LANDED PEOPEETY IN EGYPT. 
 
 tlie execution of , some works or other of public useful- 
 ness, tlie redemption of a national debt, etc. 
 
 Besides, from the year 1863 and on, discontent became 
 general, and, in spite of the ephemeral period of wealth 
 through which Egypt passed during the War of Secession 
 in the United States of North America, the distress had 
 become so great that, at the end of those transatlantic 
 hostilities, all the Egyptian tax-payers were, so to speak, 
 at the end of their resources. This state of things led 
 the Chamber of Notables, which had met for the first 
 time in 1866, to occupy itself, in the session of the 
 following year, with regulating the question of the col- 
 lection of the taxes, so as to put a stop to the arbitrary 
 dealings of the moudirs, of the Finance Ministry, and of 
 the Administration in general. 
 
 The Decision of that Chamber, of 16th Eamadan, 1867, 
 was sanctioned by the Khedive on the 19th of the same 
 month and year. It met the wishes of the agricultural 
 population so well that the Decree of promulgation was 
 received with enthusiasm. 
 
 This Decision says that " in Lower Egypt three- 
 fourths of the tax shall be recovered between the Coptic 
 months of Touti and Amshir inclusive " (September to 
 February) ; that no collection shall be made during 
 Barmahat and Barmoodah (March and April), " during 
 which interval no crop is gathered." The remaining 
 quarter of the tax shall have to be levied in the months 
 of Bashans, Baona, and Abib (May, June, and July) ; 
 there was to be no collection in Misra (August). 
 
 In the rice-growing districts, three-fourths of the tax 
 shall be gathered from the month of Kiyak to the end 
 of Barmahat (December to March), and the last fourth 
 from Bashans to the end of Abib (May to July). 
 
 In the first and second districts (quissms) of the 
 Guizah province, three-fourths of the tax shall be col- 
 lected from Barmouda to the end of Misra (April to 
 end of August) ; and the remaining quarter from 
 Touti to the end of Barmahat (September to end of 
 March). 
 
 In the rest of Upper Egypt, the whole of the tax shall 
 
COLLECTION OF THE TAXES. 149 
 
 be collected from Barmouda to the end of Misra 
 (April to end of August). 
 
 At Assouan and in Wadi Haifa the tax shall be 
 gathered from Kiyak to end of Misra (December to 
 end of August). 
 
 As for the date-tree tithe, the decision fixes as the 
 season for collection, the period comprised between 
 Touti and Touba (September to January), at the rate 
 of one-fifth of the tithe each month. 
 
 This apportionment may not have been absolutely 
 wise, and may not have answered fully to the aspirations 
 of the tax-payers, by reason of the latitude it still left 
 to the State to apportion the tax at will over a certain 
 number of months; but even this was an advance in 
 comparison with the absolute freedom that the vague 
 terms of the reglements had theretofore afforded; in- 
 deed, the Government thenceforth was obliged to keep 
 within the period indicated for the collection of the tax. 
 It could no longer levy the whole of the year's tax all 
 at once at the beginning of the year, or rather at its 
 caprice, and even collect advances, as we have seen, 
 upon the revenues of the coming year. 
 
 The obstacles thus put in the way of arbitrary dealing 
 were, in short, sufiicient for thenceforth preventing the 
 vital interests of the tax-payers from being too dan- 
 gerously afiected. 
 
 But, although the Grovernment accepted the decision 
 of the Chamber talis qualis, it did not carry it out imme- 
 diately; and these are the reasons given in the very text 
 of the decision : — 
 
 " On. the 15th of Ramadan, 1867, the Finance Minister 
 appeared in the Chamber, and the Report of the Com- 
 mittee was read in his presence. 
 
 "The Minister says that, as the opinion expressed by 
 the Chamber and its Committee is just, the Government 
 approves it ; but the Minister adds that he must provide 
 for the reimbursement of considerable sums due to divers 
 parties, and represented by bonds on the Treasury, the 
 dates of falling-due of which bonds coincide with those 
 fixed for manyyears past fpr the collection of the land-tax." 
 
150 ON LANDED PEOPERTY IN EGYPT. 
 
 He adds that, beside this, "the half of the year 
 having abeady gone by, the proposals of the Chamber 
 relating to the periods of collection could not be adopted 
 for this year, and that, as the GoTernment must occiipy 
 itself with settling the aforesaid amounts coming due, 
 these proposals shall be adopted on and after 1284" 
 (1868). 
 
 The Decision, although it had been sanctioned by 
 Decree, and had thus acquired force of law, was, there- 
 fore, not carried out in 1867. Nor was it carried out in 
 1868, nor in the years following, and the Government 
 continued, as in the past, to collect taxes as fast as it 
 required money, without any consideration * for the needs 
 of the tax-payer. Things were at this point when, at 
 the time of the unification of the Debt in 1876, the 
 dates of falling-due of the coupons of the Unified Debt 
 were fixed, by the Decrees of May 7 and November 18 
 of that year (1876), for the 16th of Janiiary and the 
 15th of July. 
 
 Now, every one knows that the winter harvest of 
 grain in Upper Egypt is not inned in July, and that in 
 January the summer crops, and the cotton crop espe- 
 cially, are not quite finished. Under such conditions, 
 the tax-payer had either to borrow or lose on the price 
 of his crops by selling them prematurely; and in this 
 alternative he was borne down by the debts he con- 
 tracted, or by the heavy weight of the taxes and sur- 
 taxes, so that he was really rushing toward his ruin. 
 
 Again, the Decree of December 15, 1877, revoking 
 the periods fixed by the above-named Decrees, says that, 
 " whereas the ordinary epochs for the recovery of the 
 
 * The usage had long since been abandoned of gathering the 
 moudirs together to determine the periods set for the collection of the 
 taxes. According to the needs of his department, the Finance 
 Minister himself fixed these periods as he thought fit. I cannot 
 indicate with precision the date of the suppression of the Assembly of 
 moudirs, seeing that, up to the time of the promulgation of the Law of 
 1868, those officials were, from time to time, called together, but only 
 for form's sake, as their decisions did not hinder the liberty of action 
 of the Finance Minister. 
 
COLLECTION OF THE TAXES. 161 
 
 ■taxes do not agree -witli the times of falling-due that 
 arise out of the prescriptions of the said Articles, etc., 
 the half-yearly payments of interest and redemption 
 (amortissement) of the Unified Debt shall henceforth be 
 effected on the 1st of May and 1st of November of every 
 year," which epochs were certainly better adapted to 
 the exigencies to which agriculture was subjected. 
 
 The Controllers General of Finance brought aboiit, in 
 the year 1880, the regulating of the tax collection. 
 
 This is one of the gTeat services that the Anglo- 
 French Control rendered to Egypt and to the tax-payer. 
 Unfortunately, the Government, as in 1867, had to take 
 into account the engagements it had contracted toward 
 the holders of bonds of the Egyptian Debt, and which 
 were ratified by the Decree of 1877. If, when changing 
 the epochs of payment of interest, this Decree had con- 
 sidered that the crops of Upper and of Lower Egypt 
 cannot be made to pay the taxes in such a way as to 
 meet, by turn, the payment of each of the half-yearly 
 coupons of the Egyptian Debt, the reform undertaken 
 by the Control would have been more complete. 
 
 In a word, less ought to have been sacrificed to the 
 desire of coming as near as possible to the payment by 
 twelfths practised in France ; and, taking into account 
 the interests of the agriculturists, with which those of 
 the bondholders are in the end intimately connected, 
 the payment of the half-yearly coupons ought to have 
 been made to fit in with the collection of the taxes, 
 whereas the inverse is what was done. 
 
 The Decree of February 26, 1880, is more precise and 
 more rational than the Law of 1867 ; besides, it has the 
 advantage of having been regularly carried out since 
 1880, and that of leaving hardly anything to arbitrary 
 action. It divides the country into Upper and Lower 
 Egypt. 
 
 The latter is divided thus : — • 
 
 1. Lower Egypt in general. 
 
 2. Markaz of Ashmoon, Markaz of Dalingat and 
 region of Tara in the Markaz of Naguilah, which are 
 cultivated almost wholly, and, notwithstanding their 
 
lo2 ox LAX DEL) PR(iPEE'rY IN EGYPT. 
 
 situation in Lower Egypt, like the lands of Upper 
 Egypt. 
 
 3. Rice-growing regions and barari. 
 
 Upper Egypt is divided thus : — 
 
 1. Upper Egypt in general. 
 
 2. Fayoum Province. 
 
 3. Quissm Haifa and Mou'awanat Assouan. 
 The amount of the tax is apportioned by Mrats 
 
 (carats), that is to say, by twenty-fourths, and the 
 Decree sets down for each of the divisions and Sub- 
 divisions the number of kirats to be collected monthly. 
 
 Here, too, in order to meet its engagements, the 
 Government has had to gi'oup the fractions of the tax 
 in such a way as to have at its disposal, every six 
 months, the sum needed for the half-yearly payment 
 on its Debt. 
 
 In the interests of the ratepayer — ^which interests, it 
 is well to repeat, are equally the interests of the creditor 
 — this consideration ought not to have prevailed ; still we 
 must deem ourselves lucky that for the past three years 
 this Decree, even as it is drawn up, has been regiilarly 
 carried out. 
 
 The ratepayer knows the sum he has to pay each 
 month, and no arbitrary authority can oblige him to pay 
 up more than what has been fixed by the law. Petty 
 officials, such as shaikhs of villages, omdahs, or sarrafs 
 (provincial cashiers) , can no longer legally exercise their 
 arbitrary power, save within the very narrow hmits of 
 a current month's collection, that is to say, by exacting 
 the tax at the end of the monthly term, or at its com- 
 mencement, according as they wish to favour or worry 
 the ratepayer. 
 
 We are confident that these small imperfections will 
 disappear of themselves as fast as our finances settle 
 down in the pathway of order and progress. Meanwhile, 
 let us say with the philosopher, " Better is the enemy 
 of good," and let us leave well enough alone. 
 
 On the 28th of February, 1880, an arrete (resolution) 
 of the Finance Minister says, in its first whereas : — 
 
 " That the latitude, left to the owners of ushuri lands. 
 
COr,LEC'i'ION OF THE TAXES. 153 
 
 to pay their taxes directly, either to the moudiriah 
 treasury or to that of the Finance Ministry, or to the Public 
 Debt Caisse, constituted a privilege in favour of such 
 owners, and consequently a violation of the principle of 
 equality, in accordance with which the tax ought to be 
 gathered." 
 
 This text calls for comment. 
 
 Since the gratuitous gift by Mohammad Ali Pasha of 
 tchiflik, abadiah, anfl oussiah lands, etc., that had been 
 kept out of the cadaster (of 1813) and exempted from all 
 taxation, these lands had been inscribed in registers ad 
 hoc at the rouznamah, which delivered the taxits thereto 
 belonging. The moudiriah in its turn inscribed them 
 and delivered the hodjats through its mahkamah, to 
 which it furnished the measurements of the area granted, 
 which were inscribed upon the taxits and upon the hodjat. 
 
 In 1854, when these same lands were subjected to the 
 tithe, the moudiriahs kept a special register for all those 
 that had to pay the ushur. As these lands had been at 
 the beginning kept out of the cadaster, the registers of 
 the sarrafs (receivers of taxes) made no mention of them, 
 and this state of things was continued. As the sarrafs 
 could not, therefore, give quittances upon their rolls to 
 these new tax-payers, these latter were forced to pay 
 in the amount of the tithe to the moudiriah treasury. 
 Other owners were authorised to pay their taxes at the 
 Finance Ministry, because of the difficulty there was for 
 them of sending the money to the moudiriahs. 
 
 You see, gentlemen, that this state of things did not 
 grow out of a privilege accorded to owners of lands paying 
 the tithe, but rather out of the system of accounts {comjp- 
 tabilite) that did not allow the sarrafs of the conwiune to 
 encash the tax on ushuri lands, which, not being com- 
 prised in the cadaster, were considered as not forming a 
 part of the communal clrcmnscrl'ption. 
 
 The only privilege obtained by these owners, if we can 
 call it such, consisted in this, that, as the State kept a 
 special register for lands paying the tithe, the owners of 
 abadiahs, tchifliks, etc., were not subjected to the super- 
 vision of shaikhs el balad and sarrafs. 
 
154 ON LANItKli I'KMU'KliTV JN KdVIT. 
 
 This same iinvtc (rosolution) siiys I'lirtlior on : — ■ 
 
 "Whereas, accoi'diiii;' to thu terras of Article 14, 
 of the Decision of the Privy (■oimcil, No. IS, ilutud 
 24 Safar, 12'.);! (22 March, 187(1). which was simetionod 
 by Superior Onlor upon thc^ 27th of llio sumo iiionili 
 (25th March), the notiibk'S, sliaikiis hihI warriilH oF each 
 locahty uro boimd to ciollooi ol' tlio tax-j)iiyurs eveiy 
 month the monthly ciiiotii tliat tlio hitter owe uul. ol" their 
 land-tax; whoroas this quota luiist l)oconeoto(l within the 
 given time, and oxcluHivoly by tlio sarral' ol" tiu> cudiiuiiiw 
 to which the lautls taxod bolon;^-, oitlior dirool.ly IVoui tlio 
 proprietor or IVoui liis aidJiori.sod a^^oiit, or i'ruiu Lho 
 cultivator or I'roiu the lossoo; whoi'uaH l.ho same rules 
 apply to the collection of othor vovcmuioh; wboroa»s, 
 according to tho toniiM of tho saiuo Artiol(\ Ww payment 
 of the land-tax can no raoro bo nmd(i ])y riidj'as,* that 
 is to say, by ])ayiii;^- in, at various admiiiiHtratious, 
 a.f4'ainst a. roc;oi))t, llio sums duo a,s tax, ncMthor liy olV- 
 sol^ or ('.oniponsiitioii I'or tho sums that, niij^'ht ho duo to 
 ta.x-])ayoi'S IVoni various administrations. 
 
 "And wliorcwi-s, if tim wiiid l)(^oisiou ol' tho l*ri\y 
 (iouncil could not bo onl'orcod und(*r a. sysliiin tha.l 
 look no ac(H)iinii, a.s to tho collcH'tiou of tlio lax, of any 
 rallinf>'-diio ol' timo ol' rotMiyory, thiiri* is \\i^i^i\ now to 
 insure tho oxocntion lliorcof." 
 
 If T ha, vo well undorntoo(l Mio spirit ol" Artlcl(» 14 of 1 h(> 
 l)(^ci'(H) of 27 SaJ'aj', Is7() (wliicli, bo it siiid, 1 ha-v(< bo(Mi 
 unahh) to ^'ot /'//. {■.i'I.ch.ku), I Ik^ intention of tho (Jovoruinout 
 — -wliich had,oidy a. month boforo iJuMliiJcof flat l)ocro(<, 
 do(;hu'od itsolf, ilc' fiii'la, in a. sta,to of iusolvoiasy, by 
 susp(^nsion of pii.yniont of all its (hfbts— lho iutontion of 
 the (j|ovornrn<!nt, .1 nay, was to ^'ot fiu'uishod il,, by tlio 
 tax-pa.yors, rosonrcos in nioiu^y a.iid not a,t all in (t|ov(M'ii- 
 rraint pa,p{!r, which- wa-s aJinost worthless. 
 
 As for- this pa.ym(!ut to the Sii.rraJ' or at tho moudiriaJi, 
 or al< th(! l<'i]ia,nc(! MiuiHtry, iuid a.flci'wa,rds at the I'nhlic 
 i)obt (JaisH(3, wh(!ii thr! latter- wa.H estaJilislied, the iiHaj^'o 
 |tr!i,ctiso(l wi\y. kept up iiiilil the (^iid of IM7'.I, ;ih vV(^ l(<iirn 
 
 * limlj'u, a Iciliil of LrruHiirv ImiikI, 
 
frora the arr^ now before,- lls, but ror no other reason 
 than this, to wit, that at that time, without seeking to 
 know the origin nor the place whence the pajment.s 
 came, no caHh-offir*. of the .State refiL-;ed to receive hard 
 money and give quittances therefor. 
 
 Tbe arrete (resolution^ orrlairts, lastly, that every 
 proprietor, without distinction, must pay his taxes, 
 whatsoever be their nature, to the garraf of hi-s commirm 
 alone, as the land-taxes had to be paid at the eit^jch- 
 fixed by the Decree of Februarj' 25, l^;^';; and that 
 payment of the land-tax ?jy comperLsation or get-off 
 would in no case be allowed. 
 
 After this Decree, the moudiriahs had to indicate 
 upon the registers oi the sarrafs the area of the lands 
 paying the tithe, and which hence became an integral 
 part of the c^/m/mune. 
 
 If I have gone rather fully into the arrfete Cresolutionj, 
 it is because it seemed to me to be dictated by the same 
 spirit as that relating to the lands x>a_yirig the tithe, 
 whose owners have for some time past been often accused 
 of enjoying great privileges. The-;e accusations, more- 
 over, never showed thera>;elves more stronj^ly than 
 .during the period that followed the labours of the 
 Commissioti of Inquiry and of Liquidation in 1^^/;. 
 
 I have already hinted at this tendency, which made 
 its appearance as early as 1 ^54. 
 
 In 1^79, the Control General, as reconstituted, not 
 understariding, perhapis, the true position of the great 
 majority of this category f>f land-owners, ma,de a dead 
 set against the lands that it called privileged, etc., and 
 gave them the last blow by bringing about the promul- 
 gation of the Decree of January 1880, which established 
 a snr-tax of 150,000 £. E. upon the ushftri lands- 
 
 Resoliitely espousing the views of the Control G-eneral. 
 the Goverriment withdrew from the owTjers of tbe.^e 
 lands, not any privilege, l^ut a convenience of payment, 
 by subjecting them to an indirect tax resulting from the 
 obligation laid upon them — as most of them do not 
 reside upon their estates — of sending, every time it is 
 due for pjayment of the tax, that is to say, nearly e\'er}- 
 
156 ON LANDllD PROPJBETY IN EGYtT. 
 
 month, the money necessary for such payment, to the 
 domicile of the sarraf of the commune. This sending of 
 cash entails considerable costs, and makes the proprietor 
 run the risk of losing the sum sent, as the service of the 
 country police has been for a long time back disorganised, 
 and has not been reorganised up to this day. In truth, 
 it is a vexing of the tax-payer, the more so as there is no 
 good gained thereby to the Government in the way of 
 regularity of collection. 
 
 We have already shown how the taxes are at present 
 collected in Lower and in Upper Egypt ; in the latter 
 region, the tax-payer, up to 1880, was free to pay his 
 taxes in kind or in cash. 
 
 On the 16th of March, 1880, upon the advice of the 
 Control General, the Council of Ministers declared that 
 in futm-e the tax-gatherings would be made in money. 
 
 All those who know, or think they know, Upper Egypt 
 were alarmed by this measure, alleging that the peasant 
 could not easily find coin for the payment of his taxes 
 in a country where there were no commercial houses at 
 all, such as those in Lower Egypt, able to buy the crops, 
 and that the cultivator would thus be brought to lose a 
 part of the fruits of his labour through the necessity he 
 would be in of selling his produce at low prices so as to 
 satisfy the law. Furthermore, this measure was to 
 profit the State only very slightly, as it was only the 
 speculators and usurers who could benefit by it. 
 
 All these objections had their worth; but, upon the 
 advice of the Controllers General, the Council of 
 Ministers maintained its decision, and the experience of 
 1880 and 1881 showed that, from the standpoint of the 
 State, the Controllers had been right in wishing to spare 
 it the care of collecting the taxes in kind as well as the 
 risk of converting them into money. Besides, as it was 
 acknowledged that the taxes should be paid by twelfths, 
 very nearly, it was reasonable to collect them in coin. 
 
 In consequence of the events of 1882, the large land- 
 owners and the influential inhabitants of Upper Egypt 
 obtained authorisation from the Government to pay the 
 rest of their taxes in kind. But, since the commencement 
 
COLLECTION OP THE TAXES. 
 
 157 
 
 of the current year, the prescriptions of the Decision of 
 16 March, 1880, have been again enforced. 
 
 To sum up, gentlemen, all land-taxes and the date- 
 tree tithe are nowadays collected in money* according 
 to the tenor of the Decree of February 25, 1880. You 
 will readily see, from the following Tables, that its 
 tenor does not differ much, in its general form, from the 
 division given by the Law of 1867. Still, given the 
 agricultural conditions of the country, the division of 
 1867 would seem to us more rational, if it were as precise 
 as that of 1880 as to the epochs of collection. 
 
 Times or Falling dub of Collection op the Land-tax 
 
 IN 1867. 
 
 Months. | 
 
 Lowek Egypt. | 
 
 Upper Egypt. 
 
 
 
 
 00 
 
 § 
 
 Special Tariffs. 
 
 
 
 
 wadi Haifa and 
 
 
 
 !tJ 
 
 ^ 9 
 
 
 in 
 
 Assouan 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 
 
 European. 
 
 Coptic. 
 
 E-i 
 
 ■a 
 
 ^§ 
 
 H 
 
 4^i 
 
 
 n 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 c 
 
 •io 
 
 1 
 g 
 
 Gniz 
 
 1st and 
 
 Arrondia 
 
 is 
 15 
 
 4 
 
 B 
 
 
 
 
 Kir&ts 
 
 Kirats 
 
 Kirats 
 
 
 
 Kirata 
 
 January 
 
 Touba 
 
 3 
 
 4+ 
 
 
 
 -S ^ 
 
 t^S 
 
 3 
 
 February 
 
 Amshir 
 
 3 
 
 4i 
 
 ^2 
 
 
 
 =8 ^ 
 
 T3 O -JS 
 
 3 
 
 March 
 April 
 
 Barmahat 
 Barmouda 
 
 
 
 
 4i 
 
 
 
 
 mouc 
 sra. 
 ti to 
 
 hat. 
 
 lecte 
 3r m 
 Toul 
 
 3 
 3 
 
 May 
 
 Bashans 
 
 ' 2 
 
 2 
 
 
 is •- 5 9 
 
 S ^=g| 
 
 3 
 
 June 
 
 Bll6na 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 Ui 
 
 .s^'°°l 
 
 3 
 
 July 
 
 Abib 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 a's ad 
 
 O — J o 
 
 ■^^ mH 
 
 3 
 
 August 
 
 Misra 
 
 
 
 
 
 ; 
 
 =§^43 "S 
 
 3 ^^J, 
 
 
 
 September 
 
 Touti 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 03 " m T3 
 
 ^-§^"5 
 
 
 
 October 
 
 Baba 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 2:gt s 
 
 ^ "" a * 
 
 
 
 November 
 
 Hatour 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^ M 
 
 4J 53 o 2 
 
 
 
 December 
 
 Kiyak 
 
 3 
 
 H 
 
 u 
 
 GO CO 
 
 r— ( 
 
 & 
 
 3 
 
 Since the days of Cambyses, the Coptic Calendar had been the 
 one used by the Romans, the Byzantines, the Arabs and the Turks, in 
 reckoning the fiscal and agricultural year of Egypt. By Khedivial 
 Decree this ancient Calendar was dropped in 1877, and the Gregorian 
 was adopted in its stead. 
 
 * In the spring of 1884, payment in kind in Upper Egypt was again 
 authorised, because of the very low prices of cereaJs 
 
Times of Falling Dve of Collection op Land-tax 
 
 1880/ 
 
 Months. 
 
 LowEB Egypt. 
 
 ITppee Egypt. 
 
 Date-tbbe 
 Tithe. 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 Special Tariffs. 
 
 
 Special 
 Tariffs. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1=8 1 
 
 ■a 
 
 
 
 
 European. 
 
 Coptic. 
 
 CM 
 
 Ashmoun, Mai 
 at, and Region 
 1. in the Markaz 
 of Nadjilah 
 
 II 
 
 IS 
 
 i 
 
 6 
 
 •1 
 
 a 
 g 
 
 11 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 o 
 
 Markaz 
 
 Baling 
 
 Tars 
 
 1 
 
 ■ft 
 
 
 1 
 
 .S « 
 
 3 "3 
 
 
 
 
 
 KiratB 
 
 KIrats 
 
 Kiriits 
 
 Kirats 
 
 Xirats 
 
 Eirata 
 
 KSrats 
 
 KIrats 
 
 January 
 
 Touba 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 February 
 
 Amshir 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 U 
 
 
 
 u 
 
 
 
 March 
 
 Barmahat 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 u 
 
 
 
 
 
 April 
 
 Barmouda 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 
 
 May 
 
 Bashans 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 
 
 June 
 
 Ba'6na 
 
 2 
 
 4 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 4 
 
 L 
 
 
 
 
 
 July 
 
 Abib 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 1 
 
 5 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 if 
 
 
 
 
 
 August 
 
 Misra 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 September 
 
 Touti 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 7 
 
 4 
 
 8 
 
 October 
 
 Baba 
 
 2 
 
 O 
 
 3 
 
 U 
 
 2 
 
 7 
 
 8 
 
 8 
 
 November 
 
 Hatour 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 / 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 8 
 
 4 
 
 December 
 
 Kiyak 
 
 •'> 
 
 4 
 
 6 
 
 1 
 
 •i 
 
 1 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 * The times of falling due of the land-tax, both kharadji and 
 ushuri, fixed in 1880, were modified by Decree of May 10, 1883, for the 
 provinces of Upper Egypt, with the exception of the moudiriah of 
 Fayoum, of the quissms Haifa and Kanouz, and of the moo'awanat of 
 Assouan coming under the moudiriah of Esnah, as is shown in the 
 following table : — 
 
 European Months. 
 
 Coptic Months. 
 
 Gexerat. Tariff. 
 
 
 
 Kirats. 
 
 January 
 February 
 
 Touba 
 Amshir 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 March 
 
 Barmahat 
 
 1 
 
 April 
 
 May 
 
 June 
 
 Barmouda 
 
 Bashans 
 
 Ba6na 
 
 1 
 
 July 
 August 
 September 
 - October 
 
 Abib 
 Misra 
 Touti 
 Baba 
 
 r, 
 
 4 
 1 
 
 
 November 
 
 Hatour 
 
 
 
 December 
 
 Kiyak 
 
 a 
 
COLLEOTTON OP THE TAXES. 159 
 
 Frosemtion in 'Recovery of Bach-taxes. 
 
 The right of landed property having been established, at 
 the beginning of Mohammad Ali Pasha's reign, after the 
 manner that we have set forth, the recovery of back-taxes 
 could not be a matter of great difficulty, especially if we 
 take into consideration what we have been saying as to 
 the collection of the taxes. 
 
 Indeed, no one being a proprietor, in the absolute 
 sense of the word, and all taxes being paid in kind, it 
 would seem at first sight that it was superfluous to be 
 concerned about the prosecution for back-taxes that 
 ought not to have existed. 
 
 Nevertheless, for one reason or another, we see that, 
 even before the year 1839, the question of the back-taxes 
 that had accumulated had already attracted attention. 
 A Decree of 11 Djamad Awwal, 1839, says : — "Whereas 
 we had previously decided to distribute the lands of 
 the insolvent villages, and apportion their back-taxes 
 among the inhabitants of the solvent villages," etc., 
 etc., and it ends by concluding to establish the 
 apportionment of the back-taxes, owing by the insolvent 
 villages, among those solvent, and this before the end 
 of the Coptic year, 1564. 
 
 You see, gentlemen, that at that time, as we have 
 already remarked, the State did not only deem all the 
 inhabitants of a commune to be jointly and severally 
 (solidarily) responsible in the matter of the tax, but it 
 also understood this solidarity to exist between one 
 commune and another, and even to extend over all 
 the inhabitants of Egypt in general. 
 
 The disastrous effects of this system did not, how- 
 ever, fail to strike the Viceroy, who, in order to realise 
 the arrears, and for other causes that we have already 
 set forth, created the ohdahs in 1840.* 
 
 * The greater part of this work was already in print when a 
 communication was kindly made me by H, E. Tigrane Pasha, which 
 enables me to show how the results expected from the ohdahs were 
 looked forward to at the time the latter were created. I make an 
 extract of the following passage from a lette?- addressed in November, 
 
160 ON LANDED riiOVBRTV IN KdVl'T. 
 
 This measure enabled the State to realise a great 
 part of the back-taxes ; but, either by reason of the too 
 heavy burdens, or because of the system of account- 
 keeping which allowed the back-taxes of preceding 
 years to accumulate and carried them over to the budget 
 of the new year, or lastly because of the withdrawal of 
 the ohdahs, the High Order of 13 Safar, 1851, states, 
 that at the end of 1569 (1851) the back-taxes amounted 
 to no less than £.B. 3,483,989 i^o-o- 
 
 This Order ends by concluding to abandon the back- 
 taxes up to 1 569, and raises to one-sixth the sur-tax (of 
 the land-tax) that had been previously fixed at one-eighth. 
 I do not know the date of the establishment of the latter, 
 having been unable to find the document relating to it.* 
 
 1844, to M. G^raudeau, by H. E. Artin Bey, Minister of Foreign 
 Affairs and Commerce ; — 
 
 " Another decision of the Council must likewise have an influence 
 upon the condition of our finances, and consequently upon that of the 
 people. The Viceroy, upon the proposal of the Council, has lately 
 made over the cultivation and working of a certain number of villages 
 to a large number of functionaries, both military and civil, both on the 
 reserve list as well as holding employments the suppression of which 
 could be effected without prejudice to the service. The obligations and 
 the advantages of this working consist in the following : — 
 
 "The manager or tenant — call him what you like — of a village 
 renders account to the Government of the. amount of the tax, and he 
 cultivates, for his own gain, all, or part, of the lands in common that 
 are always within the circumscription of an Egyptian village. It is 
 well understood that he, on his part, collects from the owners and 
 cultivators of the place the tax which they have to pay by reason of 
 their property, but for which the farm-lessee alone becomes responsible 
 to the public treasury. In this arrangement the tax-payers find the 
 advantage of having to do with one and the same collector only, 
 whose interest it is to keep well with them ; the tenant has the 
 advantage of having a certain area of land, the increase of which 
 belongs to him ; finally, the Government gains thereby in that it can 
 economise on the costs of collection, and strike off its budget the 
 salaries and half-salaries, pensions and half-pensions, of the officials 
 provided with villages." 
 
 * I here make another extract from the letter of H. E. Artin Bey, 
 quoted in the note to the preceding page, and which belongs to the 
 archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs : — 
 
 " The Viperoy is still at Cairo, or rather at Shoobrah. The session 
 of the Grand Council, that had met to deliberate upon several points 
 of internal administration, is closed. Several things were done there 
 
COLLECTION OF THE TAXES. 161 
 
 This abandoning of the back-taxes is from its outset 
 fictitious, for, as a matter of fact, the State will, as we shall 
 see, make it up, not in a temporary way and until the 
 covering of the amounts in arrear, but rather by establish- 
 ing a sur-tax having the character of a permanent tax. 
 
 Up to the time of the promulgation of Said Pasha's 
 Land Law of 24 Zil Hiddjah, 1858, prosecution in 
 recovery of arrears had not been the subject of any 
 legislative provision. In its 6th Article that law 
 prescribes that if the attorney of a tenant (land-holder), 
 and consequently the beneficiary himself, of a parcel of 
 kharadji land, does not at all pay the taxes, the moudi- 
 riah must constrain the tenant to satisfy the claim. This 
 constraint must be made in the form of a legal notification, 
 which, fixes a certain period of time, within which the 
 payment is to be made, in proportion to the distance of 
 the tenant's place of residence. 
 
 " In case of failure to pay, the moudiriah shall dispose 
 of the lands to and for him who shall ask for them, 
 upon condition of paying the concession fee (P.T. 24 
 per faddan), or else it shall grant them temporarily in 
 accordance with Article 3,* if it finds no one that 
 wishes to take them upon the first condition." 
 
 ■which are both useful in themselves, and also especially good because 
 one sees in them the proof that His Highness earnestly desires the 
 amelioration of the condition of the country. It has been decided that 
 the back-taxes that are still owing by several localities shall henceforth 
 be collected only at the rate of one-eighth per year of the amount in 
 arrear. This decision has this advantage in favour of the tax-payers, 
 that, aside from its limiting their yearly burdens, it puts a stop to the 
 abuses which they often suffered at the hands of the tax-collectors, in 
 that it determines, in a fixed manner, the proportion in which they are 
 bound to pay up. I, therefore, consider this provision to be an excellent 
 measure, both as to the order that it will thereby introduce into the 
 recovery of the back-taxes, as well as from the standpoint of the 
 soothing effect it cannot fail to have upon a pretty considerable part 
 of the population.' 
 
 * Article 3 says that the lands reverting to the State shall be given 
 to whomever shall be willing to pay the taxes ; but the State can take 
 them back again within five years to grant them to him who would be 
 willing to pay the concession fee. StUl, if during the five years no one 
 had come forward, the beneficiary became the sole and indispossessable 
 proprietor. 
 
 M 
 
162 ON LANDED PEOPEETY IN EGYPT. 
 
 This law extended the right of property ; it was right 
 that it should in the same measure extend the preroga- 
 tives of the State by reserving to it the right to seize 
 the property as thus recently constituted. 
 
 Beside this guarantee, the State had further the optional 
 power of causing the back-taxes to be made good by 
 seizing the increase. 
 
 Still, as the incomplete judiciary organisation of that 
 time could not give sufficient support to the State, and 
 as, on the other hand, foreign landowners shielded 
 themselves, against all right, behind the capitulations, 
 in order to be exempted from the tax, prosecutions in 
 matters of back-taxes were, for most of the persons 
 owing them, but a dead letter. 
 
 The State thought to remedy this untoward condition 
 of affairs by publishing a decision of the Privy Council, 
 dated 30th Djamad Awwal, 1870, regulating the seizure 
 and sale of the crops to insure the recovery of dues 
 in arrear. 
 
 This decision, as you see, extends only to the seizure 
 and the sale of the increase, and does not at all seize the 
 land producing it. 
 
 Whatever shape the question of the right of property 
 in Egypt may have assumed, the opinion of the Imam 
 Abou Hanifah, that a piece of land cannot be sold 
 without the consent of its owner, prevailed until then 
 in the councils of the Government, and still prevails in 
 public opinion, in spite of the influence of European 
 legislation, which, in agreement with the opinion of 
 Mohammad and of Abou Yussuf, Abou Hanifah's 
 disciples, brought the Government to extend the seizure, 
 by Decree of 10th Eadjab, 1872, to the land itself. 
 
 By this Decree the State is declared to be privileged 
 for the exercise of its rights. The same privilege 
 guarantees all debts owing to the State out of any sums 
 due to those owing it taxes. 
 
 Let us not forget, gentlemen, that at that time, by 
 reason of the payment of the moukabalah, the right of 
 property had just been constituted, one may sayj in a 
 definitive manner. 
 
OOLLEOTION OF THE TAXES. 163 
 
 The guarantees for securing to the State the recovery 
 of the arrears due it had also to progress and become 
 complete at the same time that the acknowledged 
 principles of the right of property brought that right 
 nearer to a full right in the substance of the land. 
 
 Nevertheless, a new law and a new set of rights and 
 duties involve a new education. This law could not, 
 therefore, be well applied at the beginning ; it gave rise 
 to contests and suits without end. The Ministry of 
 Finance thought to remedy this condition of things by 
 publishing, on the 2nd of Rabi'a Awwal, 1873, an ordin- 
 ance prescribing that if the seller of a piece of property 
 is owing any dues to the State, no matter what they be, 
 the hodjat, or title-deed, of right of property should not 
 be delivered to the acquirer until after payment of that 
 which the conveyer was owing to the State. 
 
 This was a leonine measure which might succeed 
 where arbitrary power is applied ; but in the jurispru- 
 dence of the Mixed Tribunals, which were established in 
 1876, it was not taken into consideration, notwithstanding 
 that it was published, the same year, in the Collection 
 of Laws (Becueil des Lois) on the Right of Landed 
 Property, as an Organic Law. 
 
 With the establishment of the Mixed Tribunals and 
 the regular application of the laws, the State had entered 
 upon its judiciary apprenticeship ; and on the 8th of 
 January, 1880, the Oontentieux (Bureau of Claims) of 
 the Finance Ministry published " the general principles 
 upon which rests the assessment of the tax in Egypt." 
 
 Without entering into a discussion of the fundamental 
 nature and substance of these principles, I here give 
 what the Contentieux defines them to be : — 
 
 1st. The land-tax is due by the land itself. 
 
 2nd. The recovery of the tax is secured in behalf of 
 the State by a general privilege, and by the seizure of 
 the yield of the land, and by the seizure of the land 
 itself. 
 
 3. The right of the State is exercised over the land 
 itself, without having regard for rights acquired by third 
 parties over the yield or over the land. 
 
 M 2 
 
164 C)N LANDED PROPBETy IN EGYPT. 
 
 Having thus laid down the general principles, the 
 Contentieux (Bureau of Claims) passes on to the question 
 that forces itself forward before all others — the question, 
 namely, of establishing the thesis that every foreign pro- 
 prietor is subjected to these general principles upon 
 the same footing as the Egyptians. 
 
 Regularity in the working of all branches of the 
 Administration was, or had begun to be, the order of 
 the day. Endeavours at regularity were made in the 
 ministries and in the various administrations,, and things 
 worked well, for the jurisprudence of the Mixed Tri- 
 bunals helped to settle a question that so many years 
 of effort had been unable to resolve — to subject 
 foreigners, in matters of real property and taxation, 
 to the same conditions as Ottoman subjects. 
 
 Everything then changed in Egypt, and in all the 
 branches of the Administration radical reforms were 
 introduced by bringing things back into their normal 
 path. This change was efiFected, amongst other things, 
 in the keeping of the accounts (cow,ptabilite) , and the 
 usage ceased of carrying forward from year to year the 
 accumulated arrears of preceding years. The Decree 
 of January 17, 1880, ordaining the aboHtion of several 
 taxes, says : " Art. 9. Remission (release) is given to 
 tax-payers of the arrears due upon all imposts of years 
 anterior to the year 1876, with the exception of the 
 debts of the villagers, the payment of which has been 
 apportioned over several years. 
 
 " Nevertheless, the arrears anterior to 1876 must be 
 compensated for by the sums in which the Government 
 should be found to be indebted toward the tax-payers 
 up to the end of 1879." ' 
 
 The aim in this last paragraph was mainly to com- 
 pensate for the moukabalah, which was the only im- 
 portant debt of the State toward the tax-payers. 
 
 The back-taxes from 1876 to the end of 1879 were 
 more difficult to regulate. It became necessary first 
 to address a Circular, in the month of February, 1880, 
 from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Agents and 
 Consuls Greneral, in relation to back-taxes due by those 
 
COLLECTION OF THE TAXES. 165 
 
 under their authority for the years 1876 to end of 1878. 
 This Circular was followed by a Circular of the Minister 
 of Finance to the moudirs of the provinces on the same 
 subject. 
 
 Both these Circulars, however, found no basis to work 
 upon until the jin-isprudence of the Mixed Court of 
 Appeal had laid down the rule that foreigners were, in 
 the matter of the land-tax, assimilated to Egyptians. This 
 jurisprudence, however, was not applied with all rigour 
 and in all its consequences until after the promulgation 
 of the Decree of February 26, 1880, which fixed the 
 periods of collection of the land-tax, and of that of 
 March 25 of the same year, which prescribed the forms 
 of seizure and sale of the fruits, crops, movable chattels, 
 cattle, and immovable property of the tax-payer who 
 shall not have satisfied the tax when fallen due. 
 
 Several Circulars of the Finance Ministry explained 
 these Decrees and commented upon them. 
 
 To-day the law is established, and it is general — 
 Egyptians and foreigners pay the land-tax. 
 
 In cases of back-taxes, the State seizes the increase, 
 or the land itself, and it has the privilege of priority over 
 all other creditors. 
 
 It is, once again, thanks to the influence of, the Aryan 
 civilisation, with its love of order and method, as applied 
 by the Mixed Tribunals of Reform, that this result has 
 been attained. 
 
 Remission op the Taxes (Release eeom Taxation). 
 
 When the Nile did not overflow a piece of land 
 and such land remained finproductive, the tax seems 
 from all time to have been waived for the year of 
 drought. At least, such appears to have been the 
 usage in Egypt from of old, and such, too, are the pre- 
 scriptions of the religious law. 
 
 We have seen that El Ma'moun, in trying to establish 
 the direct taxation of the land, had prescribed that three 
 
166 ON LANDED PEOPEBTY IN EGYPT. 
 
 ardabbs of wlieat stould be collected when the Nile rose 
 to 17 cubits and 10 digits ;* that several centuries later 
 the Sultan Salim had made it the rule that the miri 
 (tribute) paid to the Sublime Porte had to be 600,000 
 piastres (dollars) if the Nile attained 17 cubits and 
 10 digitSjt and that, in case of an inferior rise of the 
 river, the tribute was reduced proportionately to the 
 established scale. 
 
 The nilometers were constructed in such a way that 
 they indicated, the configuration of the valley being 
 given, the parts of the soil that were and those that 
 were not watered. This is why we see that the con- 
 querors of Egypt have turned their fullest attention to 
 the building and repairing of nilometers. 
 
 It is, therefore, in the one case of drought alone that 
 the remission of the tax has been from all time the rule 
 in Egypt. 
 
 Sometimes, however, special cases could, according to 
 what was the will of the head of the State, entail the 
 remission of the taxes. 
 
 Several conquerors, finding the country ruined at the 
 time they established themselves in Egypt, remitted the 
 taxes for one or more years, so as to give the tax-payers 
 time to recover from the misery into which they had 
 been plunged by reason of civil wars or of the conquest 
 itself. Others waived the taxes for various causes, as 
 plague, famine, fire, &c. But none of these reliefs were in 
 the nature of a law, nor did they assume the character of 
 a custom, for they were not repeated periodically, by 
 reason of the very nature of the causes that had brought 
 them about. 
 
 Mohammad Ali Pasha himself, by Decree of 14th 
 Ramadan, 1822, authorised the remission of the taxes 
 in cases of accidental burning of the crops. By another 
 Decree of 2nd Djamad Awwal, 1823, he also authorised 
 it in case of the destruction of the crops by severity of 
 weather, such as frost, dry wind, &C.5 or by parasitical 
 plants ; but, as we have just said, all these disposals 
 
 * Or IT^i-. t Or 17^. 
 
bEMISSION OF THE TAXES. 167 
 
 do not appear to have become law, and seem to have 
 long ago fallen into desuetude. 
 
 On the 4th of Muharram, 1826, Mohammad AH de- 
 creed the remission of the taxes in cases of deterioration 
 of the crops from drought. In this the Pasha did 
 nothing but sanction or consecrate a law, so to speak, 
 that is natural to Egypt, and which, whether formulated 
 or not, had been from all time carried into effect by 
 usage. 
 
 It is curious to remark that what happened to this 
 Decree was the contrary of what had befallen the two pre- 
 ceding Decrees : it remained in force notwithstanding a 
 Circular of the Shawra Council, dated the 23rd of Zil 
 Ki'adah, 1842, which suppressed the remission of the 
 taxes on lands suffering from drought. And this is 
 why the Shawra Council came to such a decision in 
 1842. That year had been a very bad one, as the Nile 
 had not even reached a mean height. Many lands could 
 not be irrigated, and, foreseeing the deficit that would 
 of necessity result to the Treasury from this diminution 
 of the crops, the Government wished to forestall itself 
 against the non-payment of the taxes. 
 
 According to the information given me by persons 
 who were living at the time of the promulgation of this 
 Circular, the decision of the Council remained a dead 
 letter ; but the taxes of that year were carried over to 
 the years following, and it is thus that the arrears at 
 that epoch rose to enormous sums. 
 
 As the Decree of 4th Muharram, 1826, had been 
 edicted for the case where the primary cause of, the 
 fecundity of the soil was lacking, it, so to speak, was 
 the echo of a natural law, and for this reason it had to 
 remain in force ; whereas, the Circular of 1842 having 
 been called forth in order to ward off an exceptional 
 circumstance, it could have no effect beyond the dura- 
 tion of the cause that had given rise to it. This Circular 
 had the same fate as the Decrees remitting the taxes for 
 the causes that we have enumerated. 
 
 It must be said, however, that the remission of the 
 taxes for reasons of drought is nowadays accorded to a 
 
168 
 
 ON LANDED I'EOl'EBTY IN ECiyPT. 
 
 very limited extent only, because the imperative burdens 
 of the State in no "way allow of its sparing the resources 
 of its tax-payers. Such remission is practised in a some- 
 what regular manner in Upper Egypt only ; in Lower 
 Egypt the system of summer canals allows of the State's 
 assuming that, if a piece of land lacks water, it is 
 because the proprietor has neglected to make use of 
 the water-raising machines that he ought to have in 
 his possession. 
 
 In this part of Egypt, therefore, the case must be a 
 very clear one, that is to say, there must be no water in 
 a principal canal during a rather long lapse of time; 
 and this fact must give rise to a calamity, in order 
 that the State should entertain the thought of remitting 
 the taxes. As such instances hardly ever occur, it may 
 be said that, as a matter of fact, in Lower Egypt there 
 is no case that legally gives the right to a tax-payer to 
 claim the benefit of the Decree of 4th Muharram, 1826. 
 
 This is not so in Upper Egypt, where irrigation is 
 effected by great basins (hodhs), and where it is easy to 
 ascertain the lands whose level the Nile rise has not 
 reached. And thus it is that remissions are granted 
 every year. 
 
 No law regulates either the ascertaining or the ordain- 
 ing of the remission ; at least, if such a reglement exists, 
 I do not know of it. If certain measures and precau- 
 tions have been taken on these two qixestions, they must 
 be contained in special regulations adapted to the local 
 usages of each province, and such regulations must 
 differ one from the other. 
 
 Beside these irregularities, one must also consider that 
 the arbitrary influence of the moudir, of the under- 
 prefect, and, above all, of the village shaikhs, must be 
 of great weight in the decisions of the Finance Ministry, 
 which, in all cases, ordains, in the last resort, the remis- 
 sion of the taxes. 
 
ON LANDED PEOPEETY tN EGYPT. 169 
 
 IV.— Various Provisions. 
 
 Lands lelonging to the State ; Lands escheating to the 
 State ; and Grant or Sale of such Lands. 
 
 The conquerors who came after the Arabs had con- 
 sidered, as we have observed before, the lands of the 
 Nile Valley as conquered lands, and had made the 
 substance thereof their own. "We know too that, 
 the established (unwritten) usage having prevailed, 
 the right of property in the substance of all these lands 
 reverted of right to the bait el mal, to the State, to the 
 Sovereign. 
 
 In seizing hold of the power, at the beginning of this 
 century, and by acting only in the name of the Ottoman 
 Sultans, Mohammad Ali left or kept the right of landed 
 property in its primitive form, and consequently respected 
 none but the decisions of the sultans as to the lands that 
 they had created wakfs and rizquas. The other lands, 
 having been considered as the property of the reigning 
 Sultan, the pasha, in his character of absolute lieutenant 
 of his Sovereign, appropriated their substance to himself. 
 
 We have seen what Mohammad Ali Pasha, starting with 
 this principle, had done with this right that he had 
 claimed for himself by conforming to established usage 
 and custom — he had caused the lands already cleared and 
 tilled ( ..,*jt<j occupied) to be cadastered and distributed 
 among the inhabitants of each conbmnne ; and these 
 inhabitants thenceforth held them as usufructuary holds, 
 under the name of athariah lands, taxed with the kharadj. 
 
 He granted a part of them to the shaikhs el balad, 
 whom he created in each commune, and to whose ofl&ce 
 as such shaikhs he attached the lands known under the 
 name of massmouh el mashayikh and massmouh el 
 mastabah, which he exempted from all taxation. 
 
170 ON LAiSTDED PEOPERTY IN EGYPT. 
 
 He granted to tlie moultazims, for lifetime, the lands 
 "which they already held as oussiah holds exempt from 
 all taxation. 
 
 Lastly, the Great Pasha donated to some persons, 
 without any restriction, and as landed property exempted 
 from every tax, lands left out of the cadaster, which 
 were called abadiahs or tchifliks. 
 
 But, in proportion as the system of irrigation was 
 improved by the works of Nile embankments and by 
 the cutting of new canals, and as fast as quiet and 
 security were re-established in the country through a 
 firm and implacable administering of justice under the 
 personal direction of the pasha, the arable area of the 
 valley increased, and the uncleared (fallow or unre- 
 claimed) lands not included in the cadaster became sus- 
 ceptible of cultivation. 
 
 All these unoccupied but tillable lands belonged of 
 right to the State. The Grreat Pasha donated or 
 apportioned these lands, under different conditions, with 
 the purpose of causing them to be cleared. 
 
 The State dominiiom, also grew by reversion (escheat- 
 ing), through the death of the tenants of oussiah and 
 athariah lands, the granting of which had been at first 
 made for lifetime only. 
 
 Let us now examine how Mohammad Ali made new 
 concessions, how these afterwards became transformed, 
 and what is the law that in our day governs lands 
 belonging to the State and those that revert to it. 
 
 Ahadiahs granted with Exemption from all Taxation 
 upon Condition of Execidion of Works and of Plant- 
 ing of Timber Trees^ the Delivery of the Title- 
 deed of Bight of Property being subordinated to 
 the Fulfilment of such Conditions. 
 
 Woodlands. 
 
 You know, gentlemen, that the Moslem law, the 
 Sharaa, makes a distinction, as to the assessment of the 
 
WOODLANDS. 171 
 
 tax to be collected, between gardens, orchards and 
 woodlands, and lands of general cultivation (terres de 
 grande culture), as well as between gardens enclosed 
 within walls (closes) and vegetable-growing lands with- 
 out enclosures. 
 
 All these distinctions did not exist in Egypt, and I 
 think I have sufficiently shown that in this country all 
 lands, without any exception, are alike acknowledged by 
 the law as kharadji. 
 
 Mohammad Ali, however, made use of the right that 
 the law gave him, and he ordained, as early as the 8th 
 of Safar, 1827, the exempting from every tax of lands 
 planted with trees of the acacia species. He wished 
 by this measure to encourage the growing of timber- 
 trees and the creation of gardens along the canal he had 
 cut for bringing the Nile waters to Alexandria, which 
 canal had been partly filled up for several centuries. 
 
 The decision of the civil council which had called 
 forth that Decree indicates, to be sure, the kind of tree 
 the growing of which shall exempt the land; but, in 
 practice, the planting of all kinds of timber-trees gave a 
 right to such exemption. 
 
 On the other hand, some persons, desiring to have 
 lands exempt from taxation, engaged to plant them with 
 trees ; then, when once the concession was obtained, did 
 not do it, and cultivated the land in such a way as to 
 derive therefrom immediately the greatest possible profit. 
 
 This was not what the Great Pasha meant to have 
 done ; so he ordained, by Decree of 17 Radjab, 1840, 
 that the taxits (title-deeds of right of property issued 
 by the rouznamah) of abadiah lands, conceded 
 gratuitously and with exemption from the tax, under 
 certain conditions of works and of planting of trees, were 
 not to be given until after ascertaining the fulfilment of 
 these clauses. 
 
 On the 10th of Rabi'a Awwal, 1854, a High Order was 
 given to the effect that the lands, granted gratuitously 
 with exemption from taxation under the engagement of 
 planting of trees and other works to be executed, which 
 should not have been planted with trees nor improved. 
 
1^2 
 
 ON LANDED PEOPERTY IN EGYPT. 
 
 and wtidi consequently had not, till then, been able to 
 obtain their taxit from the rouznamah, were to be made 
 the object of a new grant under the condition of being 
 burdened with the kharadji tax that they could bear. 
 The Order says, however, that these new grants shall 
 be given by preference to the actual holders, if the latter 
 accept the conditions relating to the payment of the 
 kharadji tax. 
 
 For all this, it seems that in 1868 some lands still 
 remained exempt from taxation, under the pretext that 
 they were planted mth trees ; for a Decree of the 10th 
 of Radjab, of that year, says, that cadastered and 
 uncadastered (abadiah) lands planted with trees shall 
 pay the kharadji or the ushuri tax, according as to 
 whether they are cadastered and form a part of the land 
 of a commune, or are not included in the cadaster and 
 ^were granted by taxit of the rouznamah, and thus come 
 within the dominium of the owner. 
 
 In other respects, this Decree only confirms that of 
 10th Eabi'a Awwal, 1854. "With it ends the period of 
 endeavours to grow woods in the Nile Valley. 
 
 Thus, then, lands planted with trees were at the 
 beginning exempted from taxation; afterwards they 
 were taxed, and since 1854, they pay the kharadji tax 
 if the taxit had not been delivered before that epoch, 
 and the ushdri tax if the delivery of the taxit had been 
 obtained prior to that year. 
 
 Gardens. 
 
 We have said that when Mohammad Ali caused the 
 Mahmoudiah Canal to be cut he sought to encourage 
 the planting of gardens along the canal in the neighbour- 
 hood of Alexandria. To this end all the lands he 
 granted were exempted from every tax. 
 
 In all probability the law establishing the tithe upon 
 
OABDiiNS. 173 
 
 all lands exempted from taxation up to 1854 was like- 
 wise applied to tlie lands of these gardens; but the 
 complaints of some of the owners, and the refusal of 
 those belonging to a foreign nationality to pay this tithe, 
 was the reason why the Viceroy, Said Pacha, decreed, 
 on the 25th Sha'aban, 1855, the exemption from the 
 ushuri tax of pleasure gardens situated in the cities. 
 
 This relief from taxation was carried out only for the 
 gardens of Alexandria, for those within the suburbs* of 
 that city, and for those within the suburbs of Cairo. 
 
 On the 28th of Safar, 1863, a Decree imposed the 
 tithe (ushur) on all gardens. Still, a Decision, rendered 
 by the Privy Council on the 10th of Rabi'a Akhir, makes 
 a distinction between gardens situated in the interior of 
 the city and those of the suburbs. 
 
 According to this decision, the former of these gardens 
 are not to bear the tithe that weighs upon the higher 
 class of ushuri lands, whereas the gardens of the suburbs 
 must be classed in three categories, like other arable 
 lands, to wit, superior, medium and inferior. 
 
 Lastly, by a Deliberation of the Privy Council of 9th 
 Kadjab, 1874, gardens that are within the radius of the 
 octrois of Cairo and of Alexandria are subjected to the 
 tax on city property, and their products are exempted 
 from the ushuri tax.f 
 
 The assessment of the tax upon gardens in general 
 nowadays no longer forms an exception to the general 
 assessment of the tax upon lands paying the kharadj 
 or the ushur. The taxes are collected according as to 
 whether the lands thus planted are of kharadji origin, 
 or are taxed with the ushur, after the law of 1854. 
 
 As to gardens situated within the cities of Cairo and 
 Alexandria, they come under the category of city pro- 
 perty, and their tax is based upon the principles that 
 govern this part of real estate. 
 
 * Banlieue, i.e., city limits. 
 
 t The taxes of the octroi are, notwithstanding, collected, by 
 abonnement, upon the products of the gardens. 
 
174 ON LANDED PROPEETY IN EGYPT. 
 
 Abadiahs granted without Title-deed of Right of Property 
 ivith Exemption from Taxation. 
 
 With the object of settling the Bedouin tribes that 
 live along the desert outskirts on the east and west of 
 Egypt, Mohammad Ali got them, after much trouble, 
 to consent to receive large and important grants of 
 lands left out of the cadaster, which, for this reason, 
 were called abadiahs, like the other grants of this name 
 that were given in full right of property. 
 
 The Bedouins were to cultivate these lands ; but they 
 had obtained no legal title-deed of right of property. 
 They had only the formal promise of the Yiceroy that 
 the men of their tribes should not be pressed either for 
 corvee labour or for conscription, and finally that they 
 should be subjected to no direct tax. 
 
 It is easy to understand what was the idea of the 
 Great Pasha herein. To settle the roaming Bedouins 
 upon the soil on such advantageous terms was, indeed, 
 the best way to impart a taste for domestic life to men 
 who had hitherto lived by plunder and rapine, and to 
 render them useful to society by giving them a share in 
 the labours and gains of the other inhabitants of the 
 Valley ; it was also a means for increasing the resources 
 of the commonwealth. 
 
 But, as these Bedouins had no beasts and implements 
 of tillage, and, on the other hand, had not the practical 
 knowledge necessary for a work wholly new to them, 
 they continued their wandering life and got their 
 grants cultivated on half-shares by already experienced 
 peasants. This did not suit the Viceroy's purpose. So, 
 as early as 1837, the Bedouins were forbidden to lease 
 their lands or cultivate them on half-shares with the 
 peasants of the Valley. The same prohibition was 
 renewed by Decree of 29th Zil Ki'adah, 1846 ; and this 
 time the grantee was threatened with the withdrawal of 
 his grant if he did not cultivate the land himself. 
 
 On the 13th of Zil Ki'adah, 1851, Abbas Pasha issued 
 another Decree, forbidding partnership between Bedouins 
 
ABADIAHS WITHOUT ROTJZNAMAH TAXiT. 175 
 
 and fellahs; but in spite of all -these Decrees the part- 
 nerships in no way ceased until 1855. 
 
 I am led to believe that all these restrictive Decrees 
 were never carried out in a general manner and in all 
 their rigour, and that, although they had been promul- 
 gated under a form appearing to give them a general 
 bearing, it was only by reason of needs of the moment 
 that they were edicted, and for special cases ; for ex- 
 ample, to be used against a tribe guilty of malfeasance, 
 or of a crime, or else in consequence of quarrels arising 
 at the time of regulating the accounts between the 
 fellah farmers and the Bedouin grantees. 
 
 The Decree of 8th Djamad Awwal, 1855, which informs 
 us that the partnerships had not ceased to be made, says 
 in its whereases : — 
 
 " Whereas, it has been brought to Our knowledge 
 that there are, in the provinces of Lower and of Upper 
 Egypt, lands worked partly by the Bedouins and partly 
 by the inhabitants of the Valley, and that such lands 
 are taxed, as in the past, with the half of the taxes ;* 
 
 " As there are, besides, other lands worked by the 
 Bedouins, which are annually relieved from the tax to 
 which they are subjected, under the pretext that this 
 relief is a usage," etc., etc. 
 
 It does not forbid partnership ; but the interesting 
 feature for us is that which lets us know that there are 
 lands worked by Bedouins. The aim that Mohammad 
 Ali had before him is therefore attained. Indeed, you 
 all know, gentlemen, that many tribes and subdivisions 
 of tribes have been settled for many years, and that they 
 render Egypt a very great service by holding in check 
 those that have remained nomadic and that have re- 
 placed them in the desert. 
 
 It is not one of the least of Mohammad All's titles to 
 glory that he has given to these unhappy wandering 
 tribes the opportu.nity of making a step forward in 
 
 * I do not know the time when the usage was established of 
 levying on these lands the half of the taxes, the nature of which 
 seems to be kharadji. 
 
176 ON LANDED PXiOPEJRTY IN EGYPT. 
 
 civilisation, and that, by. succeeding in getting them to 
 give up their nomadic life, he has fixed them upon the 
 soil that was granted them. 
 
 The Bedouins, moreover, had become so attached to 
 the soil that the Viceroy did not fear to conclude, in his 
 Decree, that all their lands should in future have to pay 
 the kharadji tax. The Decree adds : — 
 
 " But, as the lands that benefited by the yearly relief 
 are taxed with the tithe (ushur), and as they shall in the 
 future pay the kharadji tax, they shall be exempted from 
 the ushur .... 
 
 " . . . . These lands shall be burdened with the 
 kharadji tax, at the same rates as the other lands of the 
 hodh (basin) where they are situated." 
 
 It seems, from what we have just seen, that after the 
 Decree of 7 Muharram, 1854, these lands, exempted 
 from the taxes and designated by the name of abadiahs, 
 had been taxed with the tithe, and it is not until the 
 Viceroy perceives that they had not been at all given by 
 rouznamah taxit that he orders the kharadj to be laid 
 upon them ; the tithe was to be laid only on lands given 
 with the taxit, such as abadiahs, tchifliks, and oussiahs. 
 
 Grants of this kind ceased to be made after 1851, and 
 those already made entered, after 1855, into the cate- 
 gory of athariah lands, cadastered and paying the 
 kharadji tax. 
 
 Abadiah Lands rented and nowadays hnown under the 
 name of Mazroufs. 
 
 Everything leads one to believe that, for some time 
 before 1861, the Government gave, in lease or in rent, 
 lands belonging to it. The price of the lease or of the 
 rent seems to have been fixed either by direct under- 
 standing (private arrangement) or else by auction bids. 
 
 This fact can, moreover, be deduced from the tenor 
 of a Decree given, upon the proposal of the Assembly 
 General, on the 14th of Zil Ki'adah, 1851, which Decree 
 
MAZROUF LANDS. 177 
 
 forbids tenants of the State to sub-let their farms 
 (leaseholds). 
 
 I would have liked to have been able to class them 
 separately ; but I have not been able to find out what 
 these lands were. At the beginning they appear to 
 have been part of the lands not comprised in the 
 cadaster made in 1813, for we find them designated by 
 the name of abadiahs, like all other lands of this category. 
 As all reliable documents are wanting, however, it would 
 be hazardous to afiirm that at the outset these lands, 
 aside from the non-cadastered lands adjoining those 
 cadastered and forming a part of the communes, were 
 nothing but oussiahs rendered vacant by reason of the 
 grantee's death, and fallen back into the State domains. 
 
 But, I once again avow it, there is such obscurity 
 about this question that it would be difficult, if not 
 impossible, to make distinctions. 
 
 Be that as it may, a Decree of 19 Zil Ki'adah, 1851 , 
 puts in vigour a reglement, drawn up by the Privy 
 Council, for the letting of State lands, without, however, 
 indicating their categories. The amount of the lease is 
 put up at public auction, and the land is awarded to the 
 last and highest bidder. When once the land has been 
 awarded, no sur-tax can be any more laid upon it. The 
 farmer or lessee shall pay only the amount fixed by the 
 conditions of the contract of award. 
 
 It would seem, from the provisions of this same regle- 
 ment, that until then, in default of any written prescrip- 
 tion, the practice was that these auctions were, so to 
 speak, never closed, and that every year one could call 
 for a new award by overbidding the amount of the lease. 
 The Decree remedies this condition of things, and says 
 that " every oflTer after the closing of the auction shall 
 be refused." 
 
 After this Decree, then, the farmers (tenants) of the 
 State could keep their concessions during lifetime so 
 long as they regularly paid the rents. 
 
 On the 8th of Shawwal, 1856, a Decree considerably 
 changed the position of tenants of the State ; it says : — ■ 
 " Lands granted by award and taxed with a tax fixed in 
 
 N 
 
178 ON LANDED PEOPEETY IN EGXPT. 
 
 the conditions of the contract shall be considered as the 
 usufructuary (athariah) property of the awardees, and 
 consequently cannot be taken from them." 
 
 The grants were often composed of several parcels of 
 land, far oft" one from the other, and sometimes at great 
 distances from the village of the grantee. Now, as they 
 were put up at auction in one lot, and as the grantees 
 gave up, at the closing of the auction-award, the parcels 
 distant from their village, and kept only those near to 
 their property, the State was obliged to again put up at 
 auction the lands thus abandoned. 
 
 In order to obviate this, the same Decree ordains that 
 each parcel of land shall be put up at auction separately, 
 and granted in preference to the owners of adjacent 
 lands. It clearly points out that "the abadiahs to be 
 put up at public auction shall be the non-cadastered 
 lands that are within the communes placed under the 
 authority of the moudiriahs, as well as those non- 
 cadastered lands that are within the communes granted 
 to ohdahs [to the muta'ahhids]." 
 
 It is not a question here of oussiah lands, nor of 
 athariah kharadji lands become vacant and falling back 
 to the State, which lands had, to be sure, been up till 
 then sometimes given in lease. 
 
 The clause contained in this Decree, as well as in that 
 of 1851, according to which no sur-tax was to be laid 
 upon the farms, once the amount of the lease had been 
 fixed in the conditions of contract, is expressly confirmed 
 by the Decree of 27th Muharram, 1857, which says : — 
 " The tax which falls upon lands granted by award 
 (adjudicated) shall be maintained as it has been fixed 
 by the conditions of contract, even though it exceed 
 P.T. 100." 
 
 Allow me, gentlemen, to call your attention to this 
 word award (adjudication). You will, of course, have 
 understood that it is here a question of the award of the 
 lease of the land. Now, the Decree of 1856 and that 
 of 1857 give to the lease the name of tax. We can 
 admit that if the land becomes property held by the 
 same right as ordinary athariah kharadji lands, the lease 
 
MAZEOUF LANDS. 179 
 
 can be transformed into a tax; but, still, we cannot 
 forget tliat there is here a tax much higher, in general, 
 than the ordinary kharadji tax weighing upon lands like 
 those with, which we are now dealing. There is, besides, 
 no distinction as to the sum put into the conditions of con- 
 tract ; all is lease or all is tax, call it as one likes ; but, 
 so as to distinguish this tax from the kharadji tax in 
 general, I have thought best to adopt hereafter the term 
 of tax-lease. 
 
 The name of mazrouf given to these lands comes from 
 the provisions contained in the Decree of 17th Djamad 
 Akhir, 1859. This Decree ordained that the offers 
 (tenders) should thereafter be made in writing under 
 sealed cover ((.Jj-lLc). 
 
 The object of this prescription was to avoid the loss of 
 time entailed by the system of written auction-bids, in 
 which bids all the competitors had to admit, in writing, 
 that they withdrew from bidding ; for, if this were not 
 done, the last bidder ran the risk of finding his grant 
 contested, at any time, by that bidder who had not thus 
 withdrawn from the auction. 
 
 Said Pasha's Law on Landed Property, of the 24th of 
 Zil Hiddjah, 1858, deals with these sorts of lands. 
 
 Articles 13 and 14, confirming the tenor of the Decrees 
 of 1856 and 1857, declare that " the lands not comprised 
 in the cadaster of the communes, and the abadiahs that 
 are actually [now] granted at auction by award " shall 
 be the athariah property of the awardees, under the con- 
 ditions of the law on the right of landed property, if they 
 pay the tax-lease at the rates resulting from the auctions. 
 
 According to the tenor of this same law, no higher 
 bid can hereafter divest these tenants of the right of 
 possession [occupancy] that has just been granted them. 
 
 Nevertheless, the awardee can of his own choice give 
 up his rights, and in this case alone shall the lease be 
 again put up for award. 
 
 "While regulating the right of property, according to 
 the terms of the Decree of 1857, this law at the same 
 time establishes the assessment of the tax of these sorts 
 of lands, 
 
 N 2 
 
180 ON LANDED PEOPERTT IN EGYPT. 
 
 Beside the lands not contained in the cadaster, which 
 were granted by award, and with which Article 13 of 
 Said Pasha's Law deals, the 15th Article of this same 
 law mentions " the excesses of area, over measurement, 
 of arable lands that are not denounced (to the Govern- 
 ment) by third parties, but which arise from surplus of 
 measurement of ten faddans and more," and says that 
 these excesses " shall be put xvp for award at auction and 
 governed by Articles 13 and 14." 
 
 The 27th Article says : — " Article 3 defines the 
 cases and the conditions in which lands reverting to the 
 Public Domain must be granted, and lays upon the 
 grantee a concession-fee of P.T. 24 per faddan; but as 
 the lands of suburbs are much sought for, by reason of 
 their nearness to the cities, their good quality, and their 
 fertility, and as they could not be granted to the one 
 without giving rise to complaints from another, lands 
 situated in the suburbs which revert to the Public 
 Domain shall be placed at public auction, and adjudged 
 to the highest and last bidder, at the opening price of the 
 above-mentioned fee of P.T. 24 per faddan." 
 
 This article prepares the way, so to speak, for the 
 Decree of 11th Djamad Awwal, 1861, which ordains that 
 in future all kharadji lands coming from tenants dying 
 without lawful heirs shall be leased upon the conditions 
 of mazrouf lands. 
 
 After that epoch this category of lands, therefore, 
 became quite extensive, and, to all non- cadaster ed lands, 
 given in lease upon the conditions of Article 13 of the 
 Land Law, were added those already cadastered (known 
 imder the name of athariah), which, according to law, 
 revert to the State. 
 
 As the tax-leases of these lands were very high, the 
 awardees always ended by giving them up, and the 
 State found itself forced to again put them up at 
 auction. They were ceded afresh only upon condition 
 that the amount of the tax-lease offered at the new 
 auction-bids was equal or superior to that which had 
 lain upon them before ; but, meanwhile, they remained 
 fallow, and the State did not realise the tax from them. 
 
MAZEOUP LANDS. 181 
 
 On the 18th of Radjab, 1864, the Decree sanctioning 
 the decision of the Privy Council, and ordaining a re- 
 rating of the kharadji tax, deals also with the tax-lease 
 of mazrouf lands. 
 
 In the proces-verbal which precedes this Decree, the 
 Inspector Gleneral of Lower Egypt says that all the 
 shaikhs and notables " likewise express the wish that 
 the exorbitant rates of lands granted by award (maz- 
 rouf) be reduced to the highest rate of lands situated 
 in the same commune, and that the rates of lands of 
 this same category which do not reach the desired figure 
 be raised to the rates of the hodhs (basins) where they 
 are situated." 
 
 The Inspector General of U]3per Egypt says that the 
 shaikhs and notables " have not occupied themselves 
 with lands granted by adjudication (award), and whose 
 taxes amount to P.T. 500, which figure they have thougM 
 they ought to maintain." 
 
 The Inspector added, continues the proces-verbal, 
 " that the lands of the same category, whose taxes do 
 not reach the desired rate, being covered with water, the 
 shaikhs and the notables had not been able to make the 
 estimation thereof, and that they had limited themselves 
 to raising the taxes of the same by approximative valua- 
 tions without exceeding the old rates too much." 
 
 The Decree approves the new valuation made in 
 Lower Egypt, where the mazrouf lands had been taxed 
 at a rate corresponding with the yield of the lands, or 
 nearly so, but where, at all events, the tax had been 
 niarkedly diminished. As to Upper Egypt, the where- 
 ases of the Decree are as follows : — 
 
 " "Whereas, concerning the proposed new assessment 
 of the tax, the tax of certain lands has been established 
 at a rate corresponding with the yield of the lands ; 
 
 " Whereas, the taxes of lands granted by award 
 (adjudication), and which were fixed at exorbitant 
 rates, have not been modified ; and as the taxes on 
 other lands of this category, and which do not reach the 
 desired rate, have been augmented by approximative 
 valuations ; 
 
182 ON LANDED PEOPEBTY IN EGYPT. 
 
 " Whereas, this way of proceeding is contrary to that 
 adopted in Lower Egypt, where the valuation has been 
 made in a uniform manner, and in keeping with the 
 yield of the lands ; 
 
 " "Whereas, the assessment of the tax must be uniform 
 throughout all the Egyptian territory," etc., etc. 
 
 And the following is the conclusion of all these con- 
 siderations : — 
 
 " The taxes fixed at a rate corresponding with the 
 yield of the lands shall be maintained ; 
 
 " The taxes of mazrouf lands, whose rates vary 
 between P.T. 200 and P.T. 500 shall be brought down 
 to P.T. 100 in the five southern provinces of Upper 
 Egypt, and to P.T. 110 in the province of Gruizah ; 
 
 " The taxes of lands of this category that do not 
 reach the rates corresponding with their yield shall be 
 bi'ought up to the highest rate of the hodh where they 
 are situated," etc., etc. 
 
 According, then, to this Decree, no difference any 
 longer exists between mazrouf lands and kharadji lands, 
 in the matter of the tax, even as no difi'erence exists in 
 the matter of the right of possession, which right, be it 
 said, had been already regulated by the Law of 1858. 
 
 As a matter of principle, this seems to be true ; but, 
 as a matter of fact, the rates resulting from the awards 
 being, as we have seen, brought to the " highest rate of 
 lands situated within the same commune,'^ and the 
 leases which " did not reach the desired figures being 
 raised to the rate of the hodhs where the lands are 
 situated," that is to say, to the maximum tax in the 
 hodh, the re-arrangement, or re-rating, still makes 
 a difference between the assessment of the tax on 
 kharadji lands and that of the tax on mazrouf lands, 
 which difference is in favour of the kharadji lands. 
 Still, and in spite of this difference, the relief in taxa- 
 tion afforded was important ; it, in a certain way, gave 
 satisfaction to the owners of mazrouf lands, until then 
 crushed down under the enormous weight of an " exor- 
 bitant tax," as the Decision of the Privy Council 
 itself sayso 
 
MAZKODP LANDS. 183 
 
 Unfortunately, this condition of things did not last 
 long ; or, to speak more exactly, the relief did not come 
 about. Indeed, in 1866, the Viceroy revoked all these 
 provisions by Decree of 5th Zil Hiddjah. In it it is 
 said :■ — 
 
 " The holders (of mazrouf lands) acquired the usu- 
 fructuary right of property in the (mazrouf) lands only 
 because the same were awarded them at a tax higher 
 than that of lands situated in the same hodli ; and, by 
 waiving the difference, these lands would belong by 
 right to the State ; but, if the State should avail itself 
 of this right by to-day taking back the lands, the 
 holders will have a cause to complain, seeing that they 
 have been to expense in the improvement and clearing 
 of the lands, as also in the buildings they have raised 
 thereon." 
 
 With a view to securing to the holders the right of 
 property in their lands, the Decree ordains the adding 
 to their tax of the difference between the actual tax 
 and the amount of the original tax-lease, " this differ- 
 ence,"" says the Decree, "being in lieu and stead of the 
 right of property that has been conferred upon them in 
 these lands." 
 
 By a retroactive effect given to the Decree, this 
 measure, although edicted in 1866, was to have its 
 application carried back to 1864. 
 
 As for the relief in taxation, if it was effected in the 
 interval of the two years between the one Decree and 
 the other, the tax-lease was none the less totally col- 
 lected for the two years preceding 1866. It was, there- 
 fore, the same as though the relief had never been 
 given. 
 
 Lease-grants of lands were made until such time as 
 the State took other -measures for the sale of domain 
 lands— that is to say, until about 1863 or 1864. At all 
 events, the provisions concerning these grants were 
 definitively abrogated by Article 4 of the Decree of 
 26th Radjab, 1865. Still, grants that were already made 
 remained acquired by those who had obtained them. 
 The grantees could not even any more give their lands 
 
184 ON LANDED PKOPERTY IN EGYrT. 
 
 up after the promulgation of the last-named Decree (Ar- 
 ticle 4 of the same).* 
 
 The tax-leases that at present weigh upon this cate- 
 gory of lands vary, throughout all Egypt, between 
 P.T. 1,935 f § and P.T. 23. (See Table B at end of book.) 
 
 Grant of Lands lievertlivj to the State. 
 
 We know that, as a matter of principle, every parcel 
 of land belonging to a taxpayer dying without heirs 
 enters of right into the dominium of the State, which 
 disposes thereof as the sovereign proprietor. 
 
 We have, on the other hand, seen that grants of 
 cadastered lands, taxed with the kharadj, given in 1813, 
 by Mohammad Ali Pasha, were only for lifetime, and 
 that they reverted to the State at the death of the 
 usufructuary holder ; that the shaikhs el balad, and, 
 later on, the moudirs, were intrusted with giving new 
 grants of these lands, and that arbitrary action entered 
 largely into their decisions. 
 
 The Law upon the Right of Landed Property, of 
 24th Zil Hiddjah, 1858, while regulating the question of 
 the right of property, also regulated that which now 
 occupies us. It laid down, as a general thesis, that all 
 lands whose usufructuary holder dies without heirs 
 must revert to the State. 
 
 Article 8 ordains the cession of the right of property 
 of lands from this source, and gives the preference, 
 over all others, to him, among the inhabitants of the 
 commune where are situate these lands, who shall 
 bind himself to pay a concession-fee of P.T. 24 per 
 faddan. 
 
 If no one submits to this condition, the land is given 
 to him who undertakes to pay the taxes on such lands. 
 
 * Although this article has been omitted in the publication of the 
 Lav)s on tlie Right of Landed Property (No. xvi.), it is none the less 
 still in force to-day, the State not acknowledging the right of the 
 tax-payer to give up his land, a right which had been granted him 
 prior to 1865, and which no law appears to have revoked, 
 
LANDS ABANDONED Bi' TIIEIB HOLDEES. 185 
 
 This new tax-payer becomes tlie incommutable usufruc- 
 tuary proprietor of the land after five years' occupancy. 
 
 Article 28 regulates cases where, with the intention 
 of not paying, or of not causing to be paid, the 
 concession-fee of P.T. 2i per faddan, the shaikhs el 
 balad and the omdahs should neglect to inform the 
 authorities of the death of a tax-payer without heirs, 
 and should seize, or permit to be seized by others 
 having no right thereto, land which, according to law, 
 ought to revert to the State. 
 
 To this end, the State promises to reward the denun- 
 ciator of such an irregularity by leaving to him the 
 light of property in the land which had been the subject 
 of his denunciation, provided always that he can pay 
 the fee of P.T. 24 per faddan. Otherwise,- the State 
 allows him a reward equal to 1 per cent, of the amount 
 of one year's taxes on such land, and then grants it in 
 conformity with the terms prescribed in Article 3. 
 
 The Decree of 26th Radjab, 1865, modifies this law as 
 follows : — The athariah lands reverting to the State 
 for lack of heirs shall be no longer granted by and 
 through a fee of P.T. 24 ; but they shall be rented, 
 leased, or sold, and " they shall be governed by the same 
 regulations that regulate all other lands belonging to 
 the State." 
 
 After this date, all lands reverting to the State pass 
 through the same phases as the unoccupied (vague) lands 
 belonging to it, and at last, from and after 1880, become 
 regulated by the Reglement of October 14, according to 
 which they are sold, both the substance and the usu- 
 fruct, in full right of property, and are taxed with the 
 kharadj. 
 
 Grant of Lands coming within the Dominium of the 
 State in consequence of their Abandonment hy their 
 Holders. 
 
 This is still another category of lands reverting to the 
 State, whether by reason of their abandonment by the 
 
186 ON LANDED PEOPEETT IN EGYPT. 
 
 owner because of emigration, or that the Government 
 have, for some reason or other, consented to this 
 abandonment. 
 
 In the first case, the question is one of a good deal 
 of importance ; let me, therefore, examine it, gentle- 
 men, somewhat at length.* 
 
 You know, gentlemen, that, according to the Sharaa, 
 the Moslem law, every proprietor can renounce his 
 rights of property in the land he owns by abandoning 
 it, such land coming, by the fact of the abandonment, 
 into the Public Domain. But you also know, on the 
 other hand, what precautions were taken as to the right 
 of property of an emigrated or insolvent tax-payer, and 
 these to the end that the State should not be allowed 
 to seize the property. It seems that the law had 
 wanted to get around the very knotty difficulties, that 
 are raised in such a case by the question of right of 
 property, by establishing very minute distinctions and 
 practices. 
 
 You, of course, remember that Abou Hanifah does not 
 permit expropriation but for well- ascertained causes of 
 public good, while his disciples Mohammad and Abou 
 Youssuf permit the seizure and sale of the property, 
 without the consent of the owner, for causes other than 
 that of public utility. 
 
 Abandonment by reason of emigration is beyond the 
 control of the Government ; still, as in our country the 
 emigrant most always returns to his native commune 
 after a shorter or longer period, the State had en- 
 deavoured to safeguard his rights, and had utilised 
 nearly all the provisions of the Sharaa to insure him the 
 possession of his usufruct. But, when this usufruct 
 became transformed into a right of property, the law 
 was changed also, and the State by degrees gave up, so 
 
 * The causes for the emigration of a cultivator are certainly 
 manifold ; but we can say that one of the chief causes of the 
 emigration of the fellah, which carries with it his giving up of his 
 land, is this : that, finding himself overburdened with debts, for one 
 reason or the other, he can no longer put his land under cultivation, 
 and consequently can no longer pay the tax. 
 
LANDS ABANDONED BY THEIE HOLDERS. 187 
 
 to speak, tlie tutelage that it exercised over the land 
 abandoned by the tax-payer. 
 
 Indeed we see, in Article 2 of the first Law on the 
 Eight of Landed Property, of the year 1846, that emi- 
 grants who return to their communes to settle there 
 shall retake possession, at their request, of their lands, 
 even when the same should be possessed by the shaikh, 
 or should be in the hands of those who were holding 
 them by antichresis. The former simply had to give 
 them up ; but the latter were not to do so until their 
 outlays had been made good to them. 
 
 If the land has been given by the State to another 
 tenant, with the obligation to pay the back-taxes thereon, 
 the emigrant has a right, on his return, to half the land 
 he possessed before his emigration, even in case the 
 land should have remained five, six, or more years in 
 the possession of the new tenant. Still, in order to 
 take back this half of the land, the emigrant is bound to 
 pay the back-taxes attaching to such portion of the 
 land. 
 
 In 1854, the second Law On the Right of Property, in 
 its 3rd Article, fixes a limit of fifteen years for the 
 prescription of every action concerning the usufructuary 
 right of property in lands, which prescription had till 
 then been undetermined. Thus, then, the emigrant 
 who returns after fifteen years has no longer any right 
 in the land he had abandoned ; nevertheless. Article 2 
 obliges the village shaikhs to give to returning emi- 
 grants an area of land varying from one-half to three 
 faddans. 
 
 The Land Law of 1858, while according all, or almost 
 all, the rights of property, brings down to five years the 
 period to lapse before prescription, which by tbe pre- 
 ceding law had been fixed at fifteen years, and thus 
 allows the returning emigrant to claim his rights before 
 the expiration of the five years, counting from the date 
 of his departure. 
 
 The lapse of time, befpre prescription, is again reduced 
 by the Decree of 25tli Eadjab, 1865, according to which 
 the emigrant loses all rights of recovery at the end 
 
188 ox LANDED PEOPEETY IN EGYPT. 
 
 of the third year. During these three years the land is 
 inscribed in the name of the natural heirs of the emigrant, 
 or, in default of such heirs, it is given in rent through 
 the State ; the heirs or the renters become incom- 
 mutable owners at the expiration of the term fixed. 
 
 Still, the law on the right of landed property, as 
 modified and published in 1875, returns to the provisions 
 of that of 1858, and fixes the figure at five years. 
 After this period has expired, it withdraws all right of 
 possession from the tax-payer who shall have abandoned 
 his land. Besides, this period of five years had been 
 already fixed, as the limit for every action in recovery, by 
 a deliberation of the Madjliss el Ahkam of the 9tli Zil 
 Ki'adah, 1865. It says : — " An abandonment of 
 kharadji lands by the elder of a family does not pre- 
 judice the rights of the minors in the same, unless the 
 minors let five years pass, after their attaining majority, 
 without putting forward their claim." * 
 
 If, therefore, minors let five years pass without claim- 
 ing restitution of their lands, these become of right the 
 property of the State, of the grantee, or of the new 
 acquirer, as the case may be. 
 
 The abandonment of lands was effected not by any 
 course of law, and always by the spontaneous emigra- 
 tion of the usufructuary holder, whose departure could 
 not be stopped by the State ; but never, since the 
 beginning of this century, had it been legally allowable 
 for the tax-payer to abandon his land. 
 
 Since the accession of Said Pasha, in 1854, the agrarian 
 question, which is the capital question in Egypt, 
 had been the subject of forethought. After the dif- 
 ferent decrees, taxing lands hitherto exempted, or 
 re-rating the kharadji tax, and, above all, after the 
 Decree of 27th Muharram, 1857, the usufructuary holders 
 of kharadji lands, believing that the augmentations of 
 the tax were going to follow an upward course, because 
 of the penury of the treasury, addressed mass petitions 
 to the end of acquiring the right to abandon their lands 
 
 * Majority is attained at the age of twenty-one years, 
 
LANDS ABANDONED Bt THElll HOLDERS. 189 
 
 whose taxes as tlaus re-rated — that is to say, in- 
 creased — they thought they could no longer pay. 
 
 On the 15th of Djamad Awwal, 1858, a Decree, enu- 
 merating the previous Orders concerning the abandoning 
 of lands, bestows, in a general manner, upon him who 
 no longer wishes to cultivate his land, the right of 
 giving it up to the State. It tells us that, in 185i, 
 consent had been given for the abandoning of several 
 parcels of land in the province of Buhairah; that, in 
 1855, the abandonment had been consented to of 46,866 
 faddans in the moudiriahs of Sharkiah and Dakahliah, 
 and that the High Orders concerning these authorisa- 
 tions enjoined upon the moudirs to grant the lands, thus 
 abandoned, to persons who would consent to take them 
 against the payment of the taxes. It also informs us 
 that, on the 23rd Safar, 1856, it had been forbidden to 
 grant these lands on the aforesaid conditions, the 
 moudirs having thenceforth to let them on account of 
 the State. 
 
 Nevertheless, many of these lands had been given, 
 according to the terms of the first Decrees, to employes 
 of the State having a right to a pension upon retiring 
 from service,* and who, finding themselves in this way 
 sufficiently remunerated, renounced their right to settle- 
 ment of their pension by the rouznamah. Some of 
 them had been given, by gracious favour, upon condition 
 that the tithes would be paid by the donees ; others, 
 finally, were exchanged for abadiahs of poor yield, or 
 sold for Treasury bonds or for radj'as. All these ex- 
 
 * These donations had been made for lifetime, and the donees 
 were to pay the tithes of these lands. All those who had a right to 
 any pension soever upon retiring from service got some of these con- 
 cessions, by which means the State was enabled to lighten the 
 allowances paid out of the pension-box of the rouznamah. The grants 
 of this kind were wrongly called oussiahs, and were thus confounded 
 with the true ones. All they had in common was only the title-deed 
 of right of property, which was originally a title during lifetime. The 
 real oussiahs became hereditary as early as 185-5, whilst the holders of 
 the other lands did not obtain, until 1870, the right of leaving their 
 lands to their heirs, and this after having conformed to the provisions 
 of Article 10 of the Law on the'Moukabalah. 
 
190 ON LANDED PEOPEBTY IN EGYPT. 
 
 changes, sales, or gifts, were made by rouznamali taxit, 
 and tlie lands were taxed with tlie nshur. 
 
 The-Decree that gives us these details, that, namely, 
 of 15th Djamad Awwal, 1858, ordains, while revoking all 
 preceding provisions, that in future all the lands rented 
 on account of the State must be sold to the zawat * (high 
 functionaries), to Europeans, or to the ahalif (natives) 
 in absolute right of property by rouznamah taxit, and 
 that they shall be taxed with the ushur. 
 
 This was the first time that State lands were sold both 
 as to substance and usufruct. 
 
 In the chapter on the right of property, I explained 
 why Europeans could not at that time become owners 
 of kharadji lands ; and it was in order to be able to sell 
 them to Europeans also that the Decree ordained their 
 sale within the dominium of the proprietor by taxit of 
 the rouznamah. It is easy to understand this provision 
 if we recollect that at that time the State treasury was 
 involved, that a large part of the debt was in the hands 
 of Europeans, and that the State, being unable to give 
 them money, > offered them lands in lieu of what it owed 
 them. 
 
 Moreover, the Decree itself gives us an insight into 
 the pre-occupations that the question of the extinction 
 of the floating debt was causing the Viceroy. Addressing 
 itself to the moudirs, the Decree says : — " Consequently, 
 you shall, after receipt of this order, put up at auction 
 all lands abandoned by the holders, and sell them as 
 ushuri, as is said above, with the engagement on the 
 part of the buyer to observe and execute to the letter the 
 provisions contained in the reglement concerning lands. 
 
 * Zawat, plural of zat, which means an individual in the sense of 
 individuality and personality ; zawat is applied in general to all the 
 functionaries and officials of the State having a grade (or rank) 
 conferred upon them. 
 
 + Until that time, and, as a matter of fact, rather than one of 
 principle, grants made by rouznS,mah taxit had been accorded as 
 seldom as possible to the natives (ahali). This word means the people 
 (the folk), to wit, omdahs, shaikhs el balad, and in general every 
 native Egyptian. 
 
LANDS ABANDONED BY THEIB HOLDERS. 191 
 
 " It shall be allowable to make up the price of the 
 sale by sums due by the treasury, by salaries whose 
 payment has become due on and after the year 1273 
 (1 Sept. 1856) until the present time, and by those that 
 shall become due hereafter. 
 
 " After fulfilment of the formalities of sale you will 
 deliver to the buyers taxits securing their right of pro- 
 perty according to the rules followed by the rouznamah, 
 and containing the conditions and engagements above 
 set forth." 
 
 This, as has been already said, was the first time that 
 cadastered lands were sold both as to their substance 
 and usufruct ; that cadastered lands paying the kharadj 
 were transformed into " rizqua property exempt from 
 taxation," according to the formula of the rouznamah 
 taxits, paying the tithe according to the conditions of 
 the Decree of 1864 ; that Europeans, that is to say, aliens 
 to Ottoman nationality, were invited to compete at 
 public auction for acquiring lands in Egypt and to 
 become proprietors thereof ; lastly, it was the first 
 time that this same right was likewise bestowed upon 
 native Egyptians. 
 
 On the 19th of Eabi'a Awwal, 1859, a new Decree 
 confirms that of 1858, and authorises, in a general 
 manner, the holders of kharadji lands to give up to the 
 State all or a part of the lands that they occupy. 
 
 " The local authorities will make such use of these 
 lands as they shall deem most advantageous," says the 
 Decree. 
 
 After this Decree the moudirs gave these lands, for 
 the most part, in lease or in rent for a period of one to 
 three years. The Viceroy, inasmuch as he had tacitly 
 reserved to himself the right so to do, granted them in 
 full right of property, as a gracious gift, either gratu- 
 itously or in compensation of pensions of retirement 
 (rizqua without tax) by rouznamah taxits, upon con- 
 dition of payment of the tithe thereon. 
 
 But, for one reason or another, these sales ceased after 
 that epoch, and the abandonments became also much 
 less in importance. Every one held on more and more 
 
192 ON LANDED PB-OPERTY IN EGYPT. 
 
 to his land, by reason of tlie promulgation of the Law of 
 1858 on the Eight of Landed Property, which gave 
 greater security to the rural population by strengthen- 
 ing the rights of property of every one in a manner till 
 then unknown in Egypt. 
 
 The right of abandoning, accorded to usufructuary 
 holders of kharadji lands, and, in general, to all pro- 
 prietors of land in Egypt, by the different Decrees that 
 we have just passed in review, was confirmed by the Law 
 on the Eight of Landed Property of 1858 in its primitive 
 form, and conformably to the provisions of Articles 14, 
 15, and 26. Still, a Decree, published on the 25th of 
 Eadjab, 1865, and constituting an additional provision 
 to that law, forbids by its 4th Article all abandoning of 
 land, and ordains that, in future, demands of this nature 
 shall not be in any way complied with. 
 
 The category of lands, granted or sold as ushuri or as 
 kharadji,and arisingoutof kharadjilandsabandoned,upon 
 their simple petition, by the holders, ceased, therefore, 
 to exist by and through the promulgation of this Decree, 
 Avhich, however, recognises, in certain cases, the right 
 of the tax-payer to require the State to execute the 
 works necessary for rendering his land productive, or to 
 register the abandoning thereof if such works could not 
 be executed. 
 
 Not only did the State after that time no longer 
 grant to any tax-payer the right to abandon his land, but 
 it is seldom that the administration has made the ex- 
 amination requested for ascertaining the necessity of 
 executing the works of drainage or irrigation, needed to 
 put under cultivation an unproductive tract of land 
 paying the land-tax ; it is still more seldom that the State, 
 even after ascertainment of the unproductiveness of the 
 land, has authorised the tax-payer to abandon his land. 
 
 If to-day there still exist any lands of this category, it 
 is because they were abandoned before 1854 by the pro- 
 prietor or usufructuary holder who emigrated, and 
 because the State has been obliged to take possession of 
 the same and rent or sell them, after the lapse of five 
 years, so as to collect tlie taxes thereon. 
 
LANDS IN EXCESS OF MBASUEEMENT. 193 
 
 GrRANT OP Lands in consequence op Denunciation op 
 Excess op Area over Measurement. 
 
 At the time of Said Pasha's accession in 1854 every 
 one in Egypt was of the Prince's opinion, to wit, that a 
 great many proprietors held much more land than they 
 had a right to. 
 
 The original registers of the cadaster made in 1813 
 "were, it was claimed, incomplete, and for several pro- 
 vinces absolutely wanting. In order to know the truth, 
 as we shall see hereafter in the chapter on the cadaster, 
 the Viceroy ordered the making of a new one. Some 
 persons, however, hinted to Said Pasha that, as the 
 cadaster would be a very slow work, he would not arrive 
 at a knowledge of the areas in excess of measurement 
 until after the ending of the technical labour. These 
 persons, therefore, suggested to him to call forth denun- 
 ciations by the offer of reward, so as to get to know who 
 were the proprietors owning areas greater than what 
 they had a right to by their title-deeds of property. 
 The Viceroy received these hints favourably, and, as 
 soon as this was known to the public, the denunciations 
 came in from all sides. 
 
 The State rewarded the denunciators, and, after in- 
 vestigation, seized the excedents of superficies ; but, as 
 the denunciations became more numerous from day to 
 day, the Viceroy promulgated a Decree on the 28th of 
 Zil Ki'adah, 1857, ordaining that such excedents should 
 be given to the denunciator upon condition of his paying 
 the kharadji or the ushuri tax, according as to whether 
 the parcel was detached from kharadji or ushuri land. 
 
 In 1858 the Law on the Right of Landed Property 
 confirmed this Decree, and prescribed by its 26th Article 
 that proprietors would be allowed to avail themselves of 
 the right granted to denunciators if they would them- 
 selves inform of the excess of area existing in their own 
 property. The same Article prescribed further that, if 
 the excess of area denounced by a third party be less 
 than one twenty-fourth of the area of the parcel of land 
 
194 ON LANDED PEOPEETT IN EGYPT. 
 
 in whicli it is found, it sliall be inscribed in the name of 
 the proprietor, and taxed like other lands of the same 
 quality. After this Decree, therefore, the excedent was 
 not to be given to the denouncer unless it was over one 
 twenty-fourth part of the area of the parcel of land in 
 which it should be discovered. 
 
 It is curious to notice that, one year only after the 
 promulgation of the Decree, the law had already re- 
 stricted the privileges granted to denunciators ; but the 
 fact is easily explained in view of the large number of 
 informations that arose, and of the insufficiency of the 
 whole force of cadastral officials for ascertaining the 
 correctness of the denunciations. 
 
 It was not till 1861, by Decree of 11th Djamad Awwal, 
 that the provisions of Article 26 of the Land Law of 
 1858 and of the Decree of 28th Zil Ki'adah, 1857, were 
 revoked. This new Decree ordains that the excedents 
 of measurement shall be sold in full right of property, 
 and that they shall be taxed with the tithe, whatever 
 be their area. It allows the denunciator a money 
 recompense. 
 
 After this Decree was promulgated, the denunciations 
 ceased almost wholly. 
 
 We shall see, in the chapter on the Cadaster, whether 
 these informations helped or not to determine the exact 
 area of lands suspected to have a superficies greater than 
 that registered either in the title-deeds of right of pro- 
 perty or upon the cadastral registers. 
 
 Lands belonging to Peesons of the Military 
 Calling. 
 
 When Mohammad Ali decided, about the year 1812 
 or 1813, to have an army instructed after the European 
 fashion, and when, after having formed the officers' 
 lists, he began to levy troops, about the year 1815 or 
 1816, he established a sort of conscription, which took 
 away the usufructuary grantees of lands from their 
 fields that he had distributed in 1813. 
 
LANDS O'P THE SOLDIERY. , 195 
 
 The sliaiklis el balad had to provide these lands, 
 thus rendered without occupants, with new grantees, 
 and so the soldiers were de facto ousted. Nevertheless, 
 if, when once set free, they returned to their com- 
 mune, they were treated, not as emigrants, but as a 
 privileged class, and the State gave them back their 
 lands without any costs. 
 
 Said Pasha, having several times dissolved and re- 
 constructed his army, and, on the other hand, wishing 
 to accord privileges to all those who were subjected to 
 the conscription, so as to give them a liking for military 
 life, bestowed special attention upon the condition of 
 the agriculturist soldiers in the 21st Article of the Land 
 Law of 1858. This Article, indeed, prescribes that lands 
 belonging to those of the military calling shall revert 
 to the State, which must take care thereof, and cause 
 the same to be cultivated by third parties able to pay 
 the taxes thereon, and that such lands shall be given 
 back to the military men discharged from the service 
 upon their return to their communes. 
 
 Article 3 of the Decree of 25th Radjab, 1865, revokes 
 the provisions of that Article, and makes the military 
 class come in under the common law by ordaining that 
 the land of one of that class shall remain registered in 
 his name during all the time he shall be in the army, 
 and that he shall have the right to do with the land 
 what he will. 
 
 I find, lastly, under No. XXXIV. of the Collection of 
 Laws and Regulations on the Right of Landed Property 
 (Becueil sur la Propriete territoriale) , the following 
 passage : — " The lands to be given to those of the 
 military class who return to their homes shall be desig- 
 nated by the State out of lands left out of the cadaster." 
 
 I think one must here understand that this provision 
 contemplates only such military persons as had no land 
 when they entered the service, and that the State, with 
 a view to recompensing them, or so as not to leave them 
 without means, intended to indemnify them by a gift of 
 land. Anyhow, it cannot be otherwise, for we have just 
 seen that, according to the terms of the Decree of 25th 
 
 2 
 
196 ON LANDED PROPERTY IN EGYPT. 
 
 Radjab, 1865, landholders, taken for the army, kept the 
 right of property in their lands, by virtue of the same 
 provisions as their civilian fellow-citizens. 
 
 In conformity with this Decree, persons of the military 
 class, in so far as they are tax-payers and proprietors, 
 are now governed by no special law. 
 
 GrRANT AND SaLE OE StATE LaNDS, WITH RiGHT OF 
 
 Property therein. 
 
 All lands granted with exemption from taxation, 
 under the reigns of Saiid Pasha's predecessors, were 
 successively taxed, between the years 1854 and 1856, 
 either with the ushur or with the kharadj. The only 
 lands that were still exempt from taxation, the mass- 
 mouh el mashayikh and the massmouh el mastabah, 
 had also to be subjected to the highest kharadji tax of the 
 commune in which they were situated, in conformity 
 with the Decree of 24th Muharram, 1857. 
 
 There were, therefore, no longer any save two sorts 
 of grants customary, to wit, the gratuitous gifts accorded 
 by taxits of the rouznamah, and afterwards becoming 
 the absolute property of the grantee taxed with the 
 tithe, and the lands called mazrouf, which became the 
 athariah holds of the awardee of the tax-lease. 
 
 However, the spread of cultivation on the one hand, 
 the growth of the population on the other, and, above 
 all, the plenty and relative wealth consequent upon, the 
 suppression of the State commercial monopoly and the 
 opening of trade to all (1854), had the effect of rendering 
 non-cadastered lands susceptible of tillage very much 
 sought for. Nevertheless, those who could not get them 
 by the favour of the Viceroy as abadiahs paying the tithe, 
 hardly cared to acquire them by bringing about the 
 putting up at auction-award of their tax-leases upon the 
 conditions of mazrouf lands. 
 
 The Viceroy understood very well that agriculturists 
 were but little disposed to offer tax-leases, and put any 
 considerable amount of capital into uncleared and fallow 
 
GRANT AJSTD SALE OF STATE LANDS. 197 
 
 lands, whicli could yield no fruit before years of labour. 
 He, therefore, wislied to encourage as much as could be 
 the clearing and tilling of uncultivated lands ; but not 
 caring, on the other hand, to grant large concessions 
 free from taxation, as his father had done, he made 
 conditional grants in keeping with his needs and those 
 of his Grovernment ; and thus it was that the Decree of 
 8th Shawwal, 1856, ordained "that lands left out of 
 the cadaster that are uncleared (fallow) shall be gra- 
 tuitously granted to him who makes application therefor ; 
 that such lands shall be granted free from all taxation 
 during the first three years of the concession, and siib- 
 ject to half the kharadji taxes of lands of like quality 
 during another period of three years, and that they shall 
 at last be taxed with the whole amount of the tax on 
 and after the seventh year following the date of the 
 concession." 
 
 According to this Decree, these grants were to be 
 accorded to those persons who would bind themselves 
 to respect established usages and customs, as well as 
 the laws governing the right of landed property at that 
 time ; they were granted in usufructuary right of pro- 
 perty upon the conditions governing athariah holds 
 paying the kharadj in general. 
 
 Article 15 of the Law on the Right of Landed Pro- 
 perty of 28th Zil Hiddjah, 1858, confirms this Decree, 
 and adds, that the grantees of this category may ex- 
 change their lands for others arising from the same 
 source, i.e., non-cadastered, upon condition that the 
 point of departure for reckoning the successive reliefs in 
 taxation attaching to the new concession shall be the 
 same as that for the old grant that was given up ; but, 
 if the grantee wishes to effect a complete abandon of his 
 grant, he must pay the fourth of the taxes attaching 
 to his lands for the whole period during which he shall 
 have kept his grant. 
 
 The applications for land grants were so numerous 
 that the State, in 1861, no more consented to accord 
 new ones, not even conditionally. Consequently the 
 Decree and the 15th Article of the law above mentioned 
 
198 ON LANDED PEOPEETy IN EGYPT. 
 
 were revoked by the Decree of llth Djamad Awwal, 
 1861, wHcL. ordained tlie sale, by rouznamab. taxit, with 
 tbe right of property in the substance, and taxed with 
 the tithe, of all lands not cadastered. 
 
 Nevertheless, a Decision of the Chamber of Notables, 
 sanctioned by Decree of the Khedive, under date of 9th 
 Eamadan, 1867, again authorises the grants with reliefs 
 from taxation. 
 
 The fever, produced by the rise in prices of cotton, 
 following upon the War of Secession in the United States, 
 had ceased ; and, as the demand for this textile was no 
 longer so pressing as before, its value fell to such a point 
 that clearing and tilling fallow lands could no longer be 
 effected with profit if the lands had to be bought. This 
 is the chief reason which led the Chamber to ask of 
 the Grovernment, and obtain from it, that grants with 
 temporary relief from taxation should be accorded. 
 
 The rfeglement that accompanies this law authorises 
 the moudirs to sell excedents of area ascertained in the 
 islets and hodhs. It ordains that the price of sale of the 
 faddan shall be calculated upon the basis of three years' 
 rent of lands adjoining or of like nature, and that 
 such price shall be paid either at one time or in five 
 yearly instalments, but that the hodjat should not be 
 delivered until full payment of the price of the land. 
 
 The same reglement authorises the moudirs to grant 
 uncleared (fallow) lands for three years at the most, 
 and deteriorated, salty, or marshy lands for six years 
 at the most, with exemption from taxation. At the 
 expiration of these terms, such lands shall have to pay 
 the tithe or the kharadj of the hodh wherein they are 
 situate.* 
 
 * It is to be remarked that the confusion arising out of the word 
 " ushur," as applied to the tax imposed in 1854, upon lands that till 
 then paid no taxes, brought the Chamber to seek to apply, in 1867, the 
 provisions of the Sharaa to such lands as were burdened therewith. 
 The opiaion of the Chamber on this subject is as follows : — 
 
 " it thinks that uncleared lands, and salty or marshy lands, ought 
 to be taxed with the kharidji tax if they are comprised among 
 khar^dji lands, and with the ushAri tax if they are comprised among 
 
GRAJSfT AND SALE OP STATE LANDS. 199 
 
 The barari* lands shall be granted for fifteen years 
 with, freedom from taxation; after wliicli term they 
 shall have to pay the tithe of the last category during 
 six years ; and, lastly, on and after the twenty-second 
 year they shall pay the tithe of the class in which they 
 can be placed. They were, therefore, granted upon 
 condition of the payment of the ushur, and, con- 
 sequently, although the law does not make mention 
 thereof, with the title-deed of right of property 
 (rouznamah taxit), thus becoming property within the 
 dominium of the grantee. 
 
 Finally, the reglement says that lands situated at the 
 foot of mountains shall pay the ushuri tax for those 
 years during which they shall be cultivated with ordi- 
 nary growths, and the kharadji tax when they shall 
 be cultivated with cucurbitaceous plants ; "to this 
 end," adds the law, "the said lands must be classified 
 yearly." 
 
 The application of this decision, as to the grants, was 
 suspended by Decree of 24th Eabi'a Awwal, 1873, which 
 sanctioned a decision of the Privy Council, and ordained 
 the putting up for sale of all unencumbered (free) State 
 lands. 
 
 This Decree does not determine under what conditions 
 of taxation these lands shall be sold. "We, however, know 
 that in general the sales were made upon condition of 
 payment of the kharadj, and that the Khedive reserved 
 to himself the right of taxing these lands with the ushur 
 (tithe), according to his will and pleasure. 
 
 In the sale of State real property, the rules that are 
 nowadays exclusively followed are those traced out, in 
 conformity with the Law of Liquidation, by the Council 
 of Ministers in its decision of October 14, 1880. The 
 first Article of this reglement says :— 
 
 usMri lands. The tax shall be fixed at the rate for lands of the 
 same category that are within the same hodh," 
 
 It, however, neglects the provision of the Sharaa, which forbids 
 non-Moslems from possessing ushuri lands. 
 
 * Barreeyah, plural barari, means a wilderness; in Egypt, the 
 lands forming the north of the Delta, in general, are called barari. 
 
200 ON LANDED PROPERTY IN EGYPT. 
 
 " All real property of the State, built or not built, 
 whether situated in the cities, or in the provincial centres, 
 or in the moudiriahs, and not assigned to a public use, 
 shall be sold by auction-award or by private sale." 
 
 Article 12 adds that " arable lands shall all be sold 
 as kharadji lands ; nevertheless, they shall be sold in 
 full right of property. They shall be subjected to the 
 kharadji tax which weighs upon lands of like nature 
 within the district." 
 
 Thus, then, all arable lands, coming no matter in what 
 way within the dominium of the State, or belonging to it 
 of right, are put up for sale, taxed with the kharadj, 
 and delivered to the acquirer upon the conditions of 
 athariah lands paying the kharadj, which have wholly 
 or partly paid the moukabalah — that is to say, in full 
 right of property. 
 
 Since 1876 the khedives have no more granted gra- 
 tuitous concessions, and since 1873 no sales have been 
 made but in conformity with the Decree of 24th Rabi'a 
 Awwal. Lastly, since 1880, the provisions of the Rfegle- 
 meat of October 14, and those of its supplements, are 
 applied in the sales of lands from all sources, to wit : — 
 lands susceptible of cultivation, lands uncleared (fallow), 
 marshy, salty, &c., lands reverting to the State by reason 
 of the emigration or of the death without lawful heirs 
 of the proprietor, &c. 
 
 I do not fear to repeat what I have already laid stress 
 upon, gentlemen — namely, that the influence of the 
 foreign Control has had the efiect of making both the 
 law and the practice come, in this subject-matter, within 
 the lines marked out by the Moslem Sharaa. 
 
 You will, indeed, remember, gentlemen, that the 
 Sharaa says that, in a kharadji country, all lands sold 
 or granted by the State must be taxed with the kharadj, 
 whether such land be held by a Moslem or by a 
 dissenter. 
 
 On the other hand, I think I have shown clearly 
 enough that nowhere does the 8haraa contest the abso- 
 lute right of property [of the occupant] in the sub- 
 stance of the land. Consequently, in following the 
 
LANDS WHOSE SALE IS FOEBIDDEN. 201 
 
 counsels of the Commission of Liquidation and of the 
 Control, the State kept within the very spirit of the law. 
 
 Lands the Sale of which is Foebiddbn. 
 
 By judgment (arret) of the Madjliss el Ahkam (sort 
 of High Court of Judicature, Court of " Cassation"), 
 dated Zil Hiddjah 17, 1857, it is forbidden to sell or 
 buy lands bordering on the Sweet Water Canal. This 
 judgment (arr^t) has the force of law, and is to be found 
 in the Collection of Laws on the Right of Landed Pro- 
 perty, published in 1875, sub No. II. The Sweet Water 
 Canal spoken of here is that which afterwards became 
 the Canal of Sweet Water from Ismailiah to Suez. 
 
 With what object was that judgment (arret) rendered ? 
 How did it acquire force of law in 1875 ? I think that 
 the reasons therefor must be sought in the very history 
 of the founding of the Universal Suez Canal Company, 
 and in the suit that was ended by the arbitration of 
 the Emperor Napoleon III., after which arbitration the 
 company gave up again the lands of Wadi, and re- 
 linquished the taking of workmen furnished by corvm 
 (press-gang), against a certain sum of money to be paid 
 by the State. 
 
 Anyhow, up to this day no important grant, no 
 sale, in general, has been effected on the banks of the 
 canal. 
 
 It seems, however, that hereafter a reglement now 
 under consideration is to limit to a strip of one 
 hundred metres, from the banks of this canal, the lands 
 whose sale is forbidden, and the Ministry of Finance 
 will thereupon be able to sell State lands beyond that 
 limit, under the conditions of the Reglement of October 
 14, 1880. 
 
 Another prohibition is made by order of the bash 
 mou'awin (first aide-de-camp) of the Khedive, dated 
 20th Muharram, 1864; it forbids the selling of lands 
 immediately adjoining the slopes of the railways. In 
 the Collection of Laws, noticed above, this Order is num- 
 bered XIV. At that time the State proposed building 
 
202 ON LANDED PROPBETt IN EGYPT. 
 
 several new railroads, and it was especially concerned 
 about the establishment of tbe routes, and with pre- 
 venting new encroacliments upon the lands already 
 expropriated. 
 
 It was, therefore, ordained that there should be re- 
 served, on either side of the ditches at the foot of the 
 embankments bearing the rails, five kassabahs, i.e., 
 17 metres and ^o, and that the land inside of these 
 limits could not be offered for sale, neither alienated in 
 any manner whatsoever. 
 
 The last paragraph of that Order is rather curious in 
 this, that it lays down that the State shall not have 
 to grant reliefs from taxation, although such lands, 
 whether athariah paying the kharadj, or absolute pro- 
 perty subjected to the tithe, be expropriated for reasons 
 of public good. The passage is as follows : — 
 
 " As to these ditches, if the lands, after drying, are 
 fit for cultivation, and are taxed with imposts or with 
 tithes, the tax-payer may cultivate them, provided that 
 the cultivation shall not hurt the railway embankment, 
 and shall not hinder the flow of water in the said 
 ditches during winter or summer." 
 
 After forbidding the sale of the main railroad em- 
 bankment, of the two ditches, of the two embankments 
 opposite the one in the middle, " which are intended for 
 the passage of the public," the Order says that the tax- 
 payers may cultivate the ditches fit for cultivation, and 
 " taxed with imposts or with tithes." 
 
 It is evident that these lands are not relieved from 
 taxation— or, at least, that the Order recognises that 
 there are lands expropriated by the State which are not 
 relieved from taxation, since it authorises the tax-payer 
 to cultivate the same, and take the increase of these 
 lands that are taxed with " imposts (kharadj) or with 
 tithes." 
 
 Be that as it may, it is quite necessary that that part 
 of this Order which forbids the sale of lands imme- 
 diately bordering on the railroads should be modified 
 by a new reglement, which gives the boundaries of State 
 lands belonging to the railways. 
 
CADASTER. ^03 
 
 We can only wish, that the State would elaborate a 
 reglement which shall give to the tax-payers the lands 
 upon which they pay taxes without being able either to 
 cultivate them or dispose of them at will, and which 
 shall ordain the sale of lands that can be dispensed with 
 under the conditions of the Reglement of October 14, 
 1880. 
 
 Cadastee, oe La^d Survbt. 
 
 The unit of field measurement in Egypt is the quassa- 
 bah, which means literally a reed, rood, or perch. The 
 quassabah, like all measures in Egypt, is divided into 
 twenty-four kirats.* 
 
 This division of all units or standards of measurement 
 into twenty-fourths seems to have been followed in 
 Egypt from the very earliest times. t 
 
 * Kirat, plural kararit, one twenty-fourth part. 
 
 f The Prench newspaper, Ze Temps, in its issue of May 20, 188.3, 
 published a resume of a session of the Academy of Inscriptions, under 
 date of May 16, 1883, which I copy : — 
 
 jSgyptian Meteorology ; — " Our learned men have measured the 
 Great Pyramid of Guizah in every direction. It has more than two 
 hundred tiers ; the thickness (height) of each of them was measured 
 with the rule, and Jomard has filled four or five folio pages of figures 
 given by that labour. All the altitudes follow one another in the 
 most complete disorder, without its having been possible for any one, 
 up to this day, to find any relationship between them. But M. 
 Gr6bault, who supplies the place of M. Maspero in the chair of 
 Egyptology, has been lucky enough to wrest their secret froih these 
 mysterious numbers. 
 
 " There are forty-one different heights, which, we repeat, come 
 without order ; if one arranges them by order of increase, one 
 perceives that they increase with surprisiug regularity, at the rate, 
 always uniform, of metres 0-013535. Now, this quantity represents 
 18 Egyptian lines; the line was, therefore, metres 0-00075. M. 
 Oppert remarks that this represents the twentieth part of the 
 Babylonian half-cubit figured on the very ancient figure of the King 
 Goudea. The numbers 18, 24, 36, 72 introduce us to the sexagesimal 
 and duodecimal system, which seems to be the most ancient, and 
 which has given the division of the terrestrial sphere into 360 
 degrees. M. Grebault is logically brought to conclude that the 
 Egyptians had measured the terrestrial degree in the most exact 
 
204 ON LANDED PEOPEETY IN EGYPT. 
 
 In any case, we are certain that the system of weiglits 
 and measures was based upon the division into twenty- 
 fourths a little before the conquest of Egypt by the 
 Arabs. Indeed, a true, i.e., authentic hadith (saying, 
 aphorism) of the Prophet informs us that, in addressing 
 his companions, he said : " You will effect the conc^uest 
 (within the near future) of a country where mention is 
 (often) made of the kirat (3^) ; treat the inhabitants 
 thereof with kindness, for they will become your subjects 
 (subjected to the poll-tax), and they are akin to you " 
 (or, and they are your kindred). All the commentators 
 agree in explaining that "the country about which 
 mention is thus made of the kirat" is Egypt. As for 
 the word "akin," Ibn Shihab has explained that the 
 Prophet meant to speak of Ishmael's mother, Hagar, 
 the mother of the Arabs, who, it seems, was herself an 
 Egyptian. Pardon me, gentlemen, for this digression, 
 which it seemed to me would interest you and complete 
 the hadith. 
 
 Eeturning to the kirat, we can, therefore, draw the 
 conclusion that the division of the units or standards of 
 measurement in Egypt was made by twenty-fourths 
 long before the conquest of Egypt by the Arabs.* 
 
 manner, and that they made use of physical instruments not less 
 precise than ours." 
 
 According to the above resume, the learned academicians show that 
 the duodecimal system was in use in Egypt in the most ancient times. 
 Without pretending to contradict the opinion of these eminent 
 scholars^, it may be permitted me to advance the supposition that, 
 perhaps, in order to have a system embracing a greater number of 
 prime quantities, the learned Egyptians changed their duodecimal into 
 a biduodecimal system. What makes me think that the biduodecimal 
 division is older than the Arabs, whose works and discoveries in the 
 exact sciences are known to all, is that the hadith, which I shall cite 
 presently in the text, is anterior to the period when the Arabs gave 
 themselves up to the study of the exact sciences. 
 
 * M. P. S. Girard, at the end of his Memoir upon the Kilometer of 
 the Island of Elephantine and Egyptian Measures (Description de 
 VEgypte, Antiquites, Memoir es, tome i.), has drawn up & table of the 
 metrical system of the Egyptians under the Ptolemies, according to 
 Hero of Alexandria. In this table, I see that the cubit is divided 
 into 24 fingers, and that 6 cubits and f, or 160 fingers, make a calam 
 or acfene, which, without any doubt, is the name that was then given 
 
CADASTER. 205 
 
 "WTiatever may have been the systems of measures of 
 ancient Egypt, the certain fact is that the Arabs adopted 
 this division, which still exists to-day. 
 
 We have said that the kassabah was the unit or 
 standard of measure of length; the square of the 
 kassabah is, then, the unit of measure of superficies. 
 
 Still, as this measure is too small to serve as a basis 
 for commercial transactions, and for the assessment of 
 the land-tax, the name of faddan* has been given to a 
 certain quantity of square kassabahs ; the faddan is, 
 then, the agrarian measure used for establishing the 
 cadaster, and for assessing the tax in this country. 
 
 Makrizi tells us that at the time of the conquest by 
 the Arabs, the faddan measured 400 square kassabahs, 
 and we know, by the learned labours of our colleague 
 Mahmoud Pasha el Falaki, that the lineal kassabah 
 was at that period equal to 3 "94 metres, which gives for 
 the faddan, in the seventh century, an area of 6209 '44 
 metres. 
 
 Makrizi also says, that in his time, in the fourteenth 
 century, the faddan was still 400 square kassabahs ; but 
 he calls this kassabah the hakimiah kassabah. This 
 lineal kassabah is reckoned by Mahmoud Pasha el 
 Falaki at 3 '884 metres, which would give the faddan 
 a surface of 6034"1824 metres. 
 
 The name of kassabah hakimiah, and the superficies 
 of 400 kassabahs to the faddan, lead me to think that 
 
 to the kassabah. I do not think it is doubted that the Egyptian 
 measures of the times of the Ptolemies were a copy of the ancient 
 Egyptian measures. Any how, the Arabs have preserved this division 
 of the kassabah into 6f cubits (=160 kirats), and of the cubit into 
 24 fingers or kirats. M. P. S. Girard gives as the absolute value in 
 metres : — ■ 
 
 METEES. 
 
 For the finger, or digit 0'02195 
 
 „ „ cubit 0-527 
 
 „ ,, calam, ac^ne 3'5133 
 
 These values, as we shall see hereafter, do not differ greatly from the 
 measures used hj the Arabs in the different periods since the conquest 
 and down to our days. 
 
 * Eaddin, plural afdun and fadidin. 
 
206 ON LANDED PEOPEETT IN EGYPT. 
 
 this was the oflB.cial faddan, so to speak, and that there 
 were others of different sizes ; this practice was per- 
 petuated, as we shall see later on, until the beginning 
 of our century. 
 
 Jacotin, in a Memoir, entitled Tableau de la Superficie 
 de VEgypte (Description de V Egypte, tome vii.), says : — 
 " The faddan is an Egyptian measure. There are faddans 
 of several sizes ; the following is the one most in use 
 throughout all Egypt, and is the most authentic ; it is 
 known under the name of faddan el rizak*; it is a square 
 whose side is equal to 20 kassabahs, a measure of 
 length used in measuring lands. This measure 
 existed in the times of the khalifahs, and was main- 
 tained by Salim I. It is kept in a mosque in Guizah : 
 the Cadaster Commission recognised and measured it. It 
 contains 6|- baladi pikes ; the pike equals 0"5775 metres. 
 Thus the length of the kassabah is 3 '85 metres ; 
 its square is 14-8225 metres : multiplying it by 
 400 one gets as the surface of the faddan 5929 
 metres." 
 
 This official or standard faddan, determined by Jacotin, 
 seems to be exactly the same as Makrizi's ; indeed, if 
 one admits that the baladi pike had the same length at 
 the end of the last century as the el koumash pike in 
 the fourteenth century, the fadd&,n would be exactly the 
 same, for Makrizi says that the lineal kassabah was in 
 his time 6|- el koum&sh pikes long,t just as the lineal 
 kassabah of Jacotin measured Of baladi pikes. It is 
 very difficult to ascertain the old Arab measures, and 
 this is why I hold to the figures given by our learned 
 colleague, Mahmoud Pasha el Falaki, in his pamphlet, 
 LeSystemeMetrique aduel del' Egypte (Go-penla.ageTi,1872) , 
 showing the lengths of the kassabah at the time of the 
 
 * Eizak, plural of rizkah, lands which were given, it will be 
 remembered, in full right of property, and exempted from taxation, by 
 the Ottoman sultans or their governors, and which, when given, were, 
 it seems, measured with the faddan known as being the most complete, 
 that is to say, the official faddan of 400 square kassabahs. 
 
 t Makrizi further says that the linear kassabah was also equal to 
 5 pikes mah'amari ornaddjari. 
 
CADASTEE. 207 
 
 conquest, and of the h^kimiah pike, as well as that 
 given by Jacotin for the end of the [last] century. 
 
 Moreover, it is not to be wondered at that there should 
 be this difference between the pikes of the seventh, four- 
 teenth and eighteenth centuries, when one knows that in 
 this country the pikes have steadily diminished in value 
 from the Arab conquest to our day, as also the weights, 
 measures, and coins. 
 
 From all these data it appears, therefore, that the 
 of&cial fadd&n of 400 square kassabahs has, from the 
 time of the conquest down to our days, undergone 
 marked diminutions. But it is under the rule of the 
 Mamelouk sultans that the area of the fadd^n suffered 
 great variations. These variations arose because the 
 assessment of the land-tax had been established by those 
 sultans upon the greater or less area of the more or 
 less productive parcel of land, and in no wise upon the 
 productive value of one and the same area of land 
 having everywhere the same superficies.* 
 
 * In the Scientific and Military History of the French Expedition in 
 Egypt, tome ix. page 401, this subject is spoken of as follows : — "The 
 tax upon the lands was not one and the same ; it was subdivided into 
 two or three species of taxes, which were all collected at the rate of so 
 much per fadd^n. The faddan was a square surface, of which each 
 side had, from time immemorial, according to each locality, a fixed 
 number of kassabahs each of the length of 6-I- cubits, equal to 3-75 
 metres, 11-645 feet." 
 
 Evidently there is some error here. We have seen that, at the time 
 of the conquest, and in Makrizi's time, and even at the end of the last 
 century, the official faddan contained 400 square kassabahs. Makrizi 
 and Jacotin give as the equivalent of the kassabah 6f cubits, reckoned 
 by Jacotin at 3 '85 metres. I do not know where the authors of the 
 work I cite had drawn their information as to the figure of mfetres 3 "7 5 
 as the equivalent of the kassabah, which they reckon at 6 J cubits. The 
 error, however, was easy to commit by those learned authors, who were 
 so well aware of the differences existing between the faddSns, without, 
 however, thinking that the kassabahs themselves varied from one 
 province to another, as, nevertheless, they themselves discovered later 
 on where they say : — 
 
 " This measure designated a superficies not always the same, but an 
 area which yielded the proprietor a determinate revenue, so that the 
 surface was less ia fertile lands and greater ia others. Each side of a 
 faddan, distant from the Nile, consisted of 24 square [sic] kassabahs, 
 representing 81 ares 16 centiares, or about two arpents of Paris. 
 
208 ON LANDED PROPERTY IN EGYPT. 
 
 It was, therefore, the taxable object which, in this 
 system, increased or decreased, whereas the tax remained 
 invariably the same. It thus came about that the faddans 
 
 " A f addslii near the Nile had ISkassabahs on all its faces (sides), 
 its total area being equal to 324 square kassabahs, or 45 ares 65 
 centiares, or one arpent and one-third. 
 
 " The faddan of Damietta contained 432 square kassabahs ; but, as 
 the kassabah used for this measure was 3-99 metres long, the area of 
 this faddan was equal to 68 ares 77 centiares, or nearly two arpents. 
 
 " Mohammad Ali did with this agrarian measure as he had long 
 before done with the coins, he lowered the standard thereof. One 
 species of faddan only was allowed; the kassabah was reduced to 
 metres 3-64, and the new faddan, instead of the variable quantities of 
 kassabahs, no longer contained but 333i of the same." 
 
 It is clear that this measure is given by the mean reckoned by M. 
 Masi, as we shall see later on. As to the accusation, gratuitously 
 brought against Mohammad Ali, of having lowered the standard of 
 the kassabah and of the faddin, there is no need of refuting it, as it is 
 quite groundless. A cadaster could not be made without a sole 
 measure ; and the largest measure could not be taken when there were 
 so many different ones. It was, therefore, reasonable to adopt the 
 mean of those existing. 
 
 Translators Note to the foregoing Note. — The remark, in the above 
 note, that the measure designated a superficies, not always the same, 
 but rather an area that yielded the proprietor a determinate revenue, 
 may be illustrated by the method followed in Mount Lebanon for 
 valuing lands. In that region the experts of the villages take, as their 
 basis, an area of land covered with mulberry-trees sufficient to feed and 
 raise the silk-worms hatching out of one drachm of the seed of that 
 worm. Such an area is deemed to be worth 4,000 piastres. Applying 
 this basis to other lands, i.e., to lands where produce other than the 
 mulberry-leaf is grown, be that produce grain, corn, fruits, vegetables, 
 or any other increase of the land, they, by long practice, or by a 
 species of intuition, are enabled to reckon that such or such a given 
 parcel of property is of equal worth to the proprietor as would be a 
 parcel planted with mulbeiry-trees sufficient in their yield to feed and 
 raise the silk-worms hatched from so many drachms and fractions of a 
 drachm of silk-worm seed. To illustrate this method, let us suppose 
 that an extent of hill-side land in Mou'iit Lebanon is shown to the 
 experts, and that it consists partly of grain-growing soil, partly of 
 pine-trees, of grape-vines, of fig-trees, of olive-trees, and of a great 
 variety of growths. The experts will, by virtue of long practice 
 and by intuition, set down the area shown them as being as valuable 
 as a piece of land planted with mulberry-trees sufficient to raise, say, 
 5^ drachms of silk-worm seed. This figure, multiplied by 4,000 piastres, 
 gives 22,000 piastres, which is, they would say, the value of the land, 
 upon which the tax is to be collected at the rate established, whatever 
 that rate may be. 
 
OADASTBE, 209 
 
 no longer had the same area — that even the same area of 
 a faddan -was subject to variation from year to year for 
 one cause or other, or simply by reason of some arbitrary 
 action ; such practices were so prejudicial to the tax- 
 payers' interests that it is easy to understand why 
 Makrizi says in his History of the Mamelouh Sultans, 
 that " the cadaster was dreaded by the Egyptian land- 
 tillers as a public calamity." 
 
 This system seems to have been kept up by the Otto- 
 man sultans, excepting as to the rizqua lands (not paying 
 any tax), as appears from the passage of Jacotin's 
 Memoir cited above. Indeed, we know that, at the time 
 when Mohammad Ali ordered the making of the 
 cadaster, there were in Egypt faddans of different sizes, 
 varying from 200 to 40Q square kassabahs. On the 
 other hand, Mahmoud Pasha el Falaki says that the 
 kassabah itself varied in each province. 
 
 With so many different measures in use, the Great 
 Pasha, who was resolved to cause the making of a uni- 
 form cadaster, ordered the superficies of 33 3^ square 
 kassabahs to be taken as the standard of the faddan. 
 This became the oflficial faddan for the cadaster made in 
 1813,* and from that time to our day it has continued 
 to be official and in general use, with a few exceptions, 
 of which notice will be taken further on. 
 
 How was this figure of 333^^ kassabahs to the official 
 faddan arrived at ? 
 
 I am sorry to be unable to answer this question in a 
 precise way. It is to be remarked, however, that this 
 figure of 333^ is exactly the third of 1,000. As it was 
 needful, for determining one sole official faddan, to take 
 a mean among the different faddans in use throughout 
 the country, and as there were faddans from 200 to 400 
 kassabahs, might it not be possible that the mean had 
 been taken of 3 faddans, two of which had 400 and one 200 
 kassabahs ? Thus, 1,000 kassabahs would have been ob- 
 tained, the mean of which would be 333^ for one faddan. 
 
 * Known as the cadaster of Mu'allim Ghali, whose functions cor- 
 responded at that time to the functions of the Minister of Finance in 
 our days. 
 
 P 
 
210 ON LANDED PROPEETT IN EGYPT. 
 
 In the lack of all other information, and chiefly in 
 default of the Minutes of Proceedings of the Committee 
 which fixed this measure for the faddan in 1813, I am 
 inclined to adopt this hypothesis, especially as I find in 
 Mahmoud Pasha el Palaki's pamphlet, which I have 
 already quoted several times, the same endeavour to 
 bring back the faddan to one-third of 1,000 kassabahs. 
 He says: — "The faddan is an agrarian superficies; it 
 lias undergone changes like the kassabah. It contained 
 400 square hakimite kassabahs ; it now has only 333^ 
 square kassabahs, of the kassabah as reduced to 3"55 
 metres in length ; so that one thousand square kassabahs 
 now make 3 faddans." 
 
 I do not know whether in 1813 use was made of the 
 standard kassabah " deposited in a mosque at Guizah," 
 of which Jacotin speaks ; but it appears, from what Felix 
 Mengin says (History of Egypt, Paris, 1823), that the 
 kassabah was at that time reduced to about 3 '64 metres. 
 This last figure must be exact for the year 1823, the 
 period when the cadaster begun in 1813 was finished ; 
 for just at that time M. Masi, a Florentine engineer, 
 intrusted with making the scientific cadaster, had termi- 
 nated, with the brigades he had formed, the parcel 
 plans of about sixty communes in the province of 
 Sharkiah, which plans were, according to Felix Mengin, 
 deposited in the bureaux of the Administration. M. 
 Masi must then have measured the kassabahs at that 
 time in force, taken a mean, and established the relation- 
 ship to the metre ; M. Mengin himself must have learned 
 this relationship from M. Masi. 
 
 Nevertheless, the cadaster of 1813 did not establish 
 absolute uniformity in the superficies value of the 
 faddan throughout all Egypt, as we have said above 
 (see page 76) ; faddans smaller than the ofiicial one of 
 333J kassabahs were measured, especially in the 
 provinces of Kalyoubiah and Manoufiah ; these faddans 
 vary between 220 and 333^ kassabahs. 
 
 As for the kassabah itself, its linear measurement 
 differed for a long time afterwards from province to 
 province. 
 
CADASTER. 211 
 
 When Said Pasha came to power in 1854, he, we 
 know, almost immediately occupied himself with all 
 agrarian questions, and first of all he tried to have a 
 scientific cadaster made, the execution of which he 
 intrusted to Bahdjat Pasha and Mahmoud Pasha el 
 Falaki, our honourable fellow-member. 
 
 This cadaster did not get on any better than that of 
 M. Masi ; Bahdjat Pasha and his brigades had to reduce 
 their operations to replacing the gontags or cadastral 
 registers, upon the same model and by the same means 
 as those made in 1813, in those provinces where the 
 gontags had been lost, or to measuring the lancis 
 denounced as having an area greater than that set forth 
 in the tasit or in the hodjat. 
 
 It is also during that period that Mahmoud Pasha el 
 Falaki began to work on his Map of Egypt, which he 
 afterwards published in Arabic, and which, for some 
 reason unknown to me, was never finished* ; neither can 
 it be of use in the study of the questions of levelling, 
 and of the general system of irrigation of the country, 
 and of the flow of the water of the Nile. 
 
 In order to give unity to the cadastral operations 
 imdertaken, a Decree, dated 15th ZilKia'dah, 1861, fixed 
 the length of the kassabah at 3"55 metres.! I do not 
 know how that figure was got at in 1861, unless the 
 mean was again taken of existing kassabahs, for up to 
 that period the differences between kassabahs of one 
 province and another still existed. 
 
 The same Decree ordains, doubtless so as to control 
 and establish uniformity in the length of the kas- 
 sabah, that " the kassabah shall be covered at both ends 
 with a sheet of tin, stamped by the State." In this way 
 
 * The Map of Upper Egypt was never published. 
 
 t Mahmoud Pasha Falaki evidently makes a mistake when he says 
 in his The Present Metrical System of UgyptjCo-penhagen, 1872, that "the 
 kassabah was reduced to 3'55 metres under Mohammad Ali." Never 
 did any decree, before that of 1861, establish the relationship of the 
 kassabah to the mfetre ; and, if Eelix Mengin fixes it, as we have seen 
 above, he does so only upon the calculations of M. Masi, who, for 
 the regularity of his scientific cadaster, had to take a mean of the 
 kassabahs existing in 1820, as has been already said above. 
 
 P 2 
 
212 ON LANDED PEOPBRTY IN EGYPT, 
 
 the State thought to stop the frauds committed in the 
 length of the kassabah ; but the best guaranty is found 
 in the very terms of the Decree, which, when establishing 
 the relationship of the kassabah to the metre, says : — 
 " three metres fifty-five centimetres, according to the 
 chain adopted by surveyors." 
 
 This Decree, which bears the number VII. in the Law 
 on the Eight of Landed Property published and promul- 
 gated in 1875, has undergone modification. Indeed, in 
 the intent of the legislator of 1861, this measure was to 
 be uniform throughout all Egypt; the usage of the 
 faiddan of 333j kassabahs having become general, with but 
 very few exceptions, that of the kassabah of 3'55 metres 
 had also to be absolutely general, so as to regularise the 
 areas of lesser faddans by bringing them back to 333^ 
 kassabahs. 
 
 But, as has been already said, the scientific cadaster 
 was not carried out, and the faddans of a lesser area than 
 333^ kassabahs remained as they then were. 
 
 In 1875, the legislator, wishing, doubtless, to prevent 
 suits before the Reform Tribunals, added an N.B. to 
 the Decree of 15fch Zil Kia'dah, 1861. This N.B. says : — 
 " Throughout all Egypt and its dependencies the faddan 
 is represented by 333j square kassabahs, which is the 
 basis acknowledged by the Egyptian Grovernment after 
 the cadasters made in the time of Mohammad Ali. 
 Nevertheless, certain localities, whose surface does not 
 come up to the superficies of the above-named faddan, 
 have been for many years excepted from this rule. As 
 regards such localities, the superficies is indicated by the 
 hodjat, by the occupancy, and by registry in the rolls of 
 the taxes." 
 
 The legislator is here evidently filled with the thought 
 of preventing, ,by all means in his power, first of all the 
 fiscus from losing the gain in its favour resulting from 
 the taxation of incomplete faddans as though they were 
 complete ; and then of hindering that such faddans be 
 completed, lest their number should diminish, which 
 would proportionately decrease the State revenues 
 derived from the land-tax. 
 
CADASTER. 213 
 
 The law prescribes, in general, that the kassabah is 
 thenceforth the unitary basis of agrarian measures. It is, 
 on the other hand, laid down tliat the area of the faddan 
 was fixed in 1813 at 3331 kassabahs ; nevertheless, the 
 N.B. just cited sanctions (^or ratifies) an irregularity that 
 still exists up to our day. 
 
 Let us hope that the cadaster now being made will 
 bring about the disappearance of these anomalies be- 
 queathed to us by the ignorance, the negligence, or the 
 cupidity of our forerunners. 
 
 We have shown what was the superficies of the faddan 
 at different epochs. From the data, the sources of 
 which, we have indicated, we would, therefore, have the 
 following as the area of a faddan : — 
 
 About the seventh century the faddan 
 
 measured ... ... 6,209*44 m. 
 
 About the fourteenth century ,, ,, 6,034"1824m. 
 
 At the end of the eighteenth centurv „ 5,929m. 
 
 In 1820 „ " „ 4,416-5333m. 
 
 And in our day it measures 4,200-8333m. 
 
 All these different depreciations in the superficies of 
 the ofiicial faddan being given, and the basis of the 
 Egyptian system of measures being the figure 24, I am 
 inclined to think that before the Arab conquest, and 
 perhaps in Pharaonic Egypt, the faddan must have been 
 a square, having twenty-four kassabahs to the side, and 
 must have measured 576 square kassabahs. The kas- 
 sabah itself must also, doubtless, have been longer, at 
 least its depreciation since the conquest of Egypt by 
 the Arabs leads us to suppose so. 
 
 What was that length P What was the agrarian unit 
 among the ancient Egyptians ? Perhaps, some day, the 
 eminent Egyptologists that are among us will be able 
 to determine these questions, and tell us how far foreign 
 conquests have been baneful to Egypt, and how much 
 the conquerors have been guilty of in falsifying the 
 measures, with a view to their interests, and to the 
 detriment of the interests of the people of this Valley. 
 
 Said Pasha thought that the denunciation system. 
 
214 ON LANDED PEOPEUTT IN EGYPT. 
 
 whioli we have spoken of above, and which he had 
 started as early as 1856, could take the place of a 
 regular and scientific cadaster. He believed that he 
 would succeed in discovering the excedents of measure- 
 ment, and hoped to be able, by this means, to put a 
 speedy end to the frauds and illicit encroachments upon 
 the lands. 
 
 He was well served, for the denunciations became so 
 numerous that all the force of cadaster officials had 
 soon to attend to nothing else but the work of verifica- 
 tion ; and this was, as I have already said, one of the 
 causes that hindered the making of the cadaster. 
 
 When these denunciations were being made, after 
 1856, the State measured the denounced lands with the 
 kassabah in use in the province where they were situ- 
 ated; but, when one sole length to the kassabah was 
 decreed, in 1861, all lands to be verified in consequence 
 of a denunciation were measured with the official 
 kassabah. 
 
 It thus came about that those who had bought lands, 
 or had occupied them by right of inheritance, or by 
 donation, at the rate of the mean measure of 4,416"5333 
 metres to the fadd^n, or of any other faddan area, accord- 
 ing to the length of the kassabah in the province where 
 the property was situated, found that, by reason of a 
 denunciation, and of the consequent verification, their 
 faddan had to be reduced to 4,200-8338 metres, and 
 that they had to pay the same tax on this area, and 
 give over to the State the surplus arising from the 
 difference of measure. 
 
 Beside these cases, the unlawful encroachments upon 
 lands, the fact of there being other lands cleared and 
 not registered on the Rolls nor in the cadaster, etc., 
 etc., explain how it was that, during ten or twelve 
 consecutive years, the denunciations had brought to 
 light, in consequence of a several times repeated men- 
 suration of all estates, such a large quantity of lands, 
 the right to possess which could not be proved by the 
 occupants. 
 
 It will be remembered that this system of denunci- 
 
CADASTER. 215 
 
 ation of excess of land over measurement, wHicli was 
 started in 1856, was suspended in 1873, by a letter of 
 tlie Minister of the Interior, dated 14th Eabi'a Awwal, 
 relating to the execution of a Decree, the date of which 
 the letter does not mention, and which Decree I have 
 been unable to find. By virtue of that Decree, the 
 denouncers of excedents of measurement had no longer 
 any right to such excedents, which came into the 
 dominium of the State. 
 
 In 1879, a Decree, dated August 10, ordained the 
 making of a scientific cadaster, the execution of which 
 was intrusted to Sir Auckland Colvin, who, with his 
 administrative talent, was able, in a very short time, 
 and with inadequate means, to build up a service that 
 would have attained the end had in view by the Decree, 
 were it not that he was forced to resign by reason of 
 the political events that occurred in 1879. 
 
 Greneral Stone Pasha succeeded Sir Auckland Oolvin 
 in the management of this Department. 
 
 In 1880 that general was, in his turn, replaced by a 
 committee, composed of Eousseau Pasha, Mahmoud 
 Pasha el Falaki, and Sir A. Oolvin, and presided over 
 by Rustem Pasha. This committee was afterwards 
 replaced by two directors, Messrs. Laugaudin and 
 Gribson. Finally, the direction and the execution of 
 the cadaster were both intrusted, during the course of 
 1883, to Mr. Gribson, who is now alone responsible for 
 this service. This may be considered as the third 
 attempt made since 1 820 to carry out a scientific land- 
 survey, or cadaster, in Egypt. 
 
 Let us hope, gentlemen, that this last one will not 
 share the fate of the others, and that the day will soon, 
 come when the Egyptian tiller, furnished with a tech- 
 nical survey as exact as possible, will be able to enjoy the 
 benefits that the Decree of August 10, 1879, has held 
 up before his eyes — to wit, " an equal apportionment of 
 the land-tax among all tax-payers, proportionately to 
 the value of the property that each one of them 
 possesses." 
 
 Permit me, gentlemen, to remind you of the Decree 
 
216 ON LANDED PROPllBTY IN EGYPT. 
 
 of 27tlr Shawwal, 1864, as being part of the cadastral 
 regulations of that time. It says that the revision of 
 the area of a commune must be authorised by decree. 
 If an excess of area is brought to light by the revision, 
 the Decree adds that such excess shall belong to the 
 State. It makes no mention of cases where the area 
 measured should be found less than that indicated in the 
 cadastral registers ; and I suppose that, in such cases, 
 the tax ought to be diminished proportionately to the 
 quantity of land ascertained to be wanting. 
 
 Still, such is my own hypothesis only, for I have 
 found no documents at all that could clear up this 
 question, and among those persons whom I have con- 
 sulted on this point I have found no one any better 
 informed than myself. 
 
 The same gap exists in the first Land Law of 1858. 
 In view, no doubt, of the cadaster that was in process 
 of making at that period, the 15th Article of that Land 
 Law prescribed that excedents of measurement from one 
 to ten faddans in a hodh (basin) should be registered in 
 the name of the usufructuary holders of lands within the 
 same hodh ; that excedents above ten faddans should be 
 granted upon the conditions laid down for mazrouf lands. 
 
 Here the law does not contemplate the denunciations 
 which we have spoken of above, and which it especially 
 treats of in another Article ; it has contemplated excedents 
 of measurement ascertained in course of the cadaster 
 survey itself, and the hypothesis that the survey might 
 bring out a deficit in the area of a commune or of a hodh 
 is not entertained by the law. It is to be hoped that 
 this gap will be filled up by the new reglement of the 
 cadaster now being made. 
 
 We have seen that in 1813 the area of the faddan 
 was fixed at 333^ kassabahs; that in 1861 the length 
 of the kassabah in relation to the metre was defined and 
 fixed at 3 "55 metres. 
 
 All these precautions had done something toward 
 bringing a little order and regularity in the use of 
 agrarian measures ; but until then the surveyors had 
 no official position. 
 
CADASTER. 217 
 
 In 1874, on the 11th Djamad Awwal, a dehberation 
 of the Privy Council, which acquired force of law in 
 1875, ordained that measurements made by surveyors 
 without oflB.cial status had to be approved by the ex- 
 amining (or revising) surveyor of the moudiriah. 
 
 Permit me, gentlemen, once more to remind you of a 
 law which is, so to speak, connected with a survey 
 reglement. 
 
 It bears the number X in the Collection of Laws on 
 the Eight of Landed Property, published in 1875, and 
 is a deliberation of the Privy Council, dated 14th Rama- 
 dan, 1863, which prescribes that hamlets (ezbahs) shall 
 no longer be detached from the communes, and that 
 hamlets previously detached may be again united to 
 their respective communes. 
 
 This measure was adopted because of the serious 
 abuses that had been committed. Foreign smugglers, 
 or bands of native robbers, putting themselves iinder 
 the shadow of a foreigner ( under cover of a wrong 
 interpretation of the Capitulations), impunibly carried 
 on a business of smuggling, theft, and concealment of 
 ill-gotten goods. So that the State no longer permitted 
 the establishment of a new farm or hamlet (ezbah), un- 
 less the tax-payer, who made application for the permit, 
 furnished full security or proof of his respectability. 
 
 I have thought it well to enter into all these details, 
 which seemed to me such as would interest you, gentle- 
 men, and demonstrate the urgent need there is in this 
 country for the speediest possible carrying out of a 
 scientific land survey, of an equitable assessment of the 
 land-tax, and of a Code on the Eight of Landed Property, 
 affording enduring courts and processes of assize for 
 this right, by clearly and precisely determining and 
 defining the respective rights and duties both of the 
 State and of the tax-payer. 
 
 It now remains for me, gentlemen, to lay before you 
 the relations of the agrarian or field measures, of the 
 measures of capacity or hollow measures, and of the 
 weights nowadays in use in this country, to the metrical 
 system. 
 
218 ON LANDED PEOPEETY IN EGYPT. 
 
 Thanks to foreign trade, and to the influence exercised 
 in Egypt by the Trench decimal metrical system, this 
 latter tends to supplant the system of Egyptian weights 
 and measures, the iise of which is diminishing step by 
 step ; and it is to be hoped, in the interest of Egypt 
 itself, that the ofl&cial substitution of the French decimal 
 metrical system will be soon brought about, and will 
 put an end to the present Egyptian system, which is 
 so complicated, and the supervision of which is so 
 difficult. 
 
 Measures oe Supeeficier ; their Eelations to the 
 
 FeENCH MiTEE. 
 
 Linear kassabah ... >.. ... 3'55 m. 
 
 Square kassabah 12-6026 m. 
 
 Faddan of 333^ square kassabahs... 4200-8333 m. 
 
 The subdivisions of the faddan are : — 
 
 lfaddan=24kirats=72habbahs=144daniks=576sahms 
 1 „ 3 „ 6 „ 24 „ 
 
 1 ?» 2 ,, o jj 
 
 1 „ 4 
 
 4 sahms make 1 danik. 
 
 2 daniks ,, 1 habbah. 
 
 3 habbah s ,, 1 kirat 
 24 kirats ,, 1 faddan. 
 
219 
 
 COMPARATIVE TABLE 
 
 Of the Area of the Cultivable Lands op Egypt at 
 Different Epochs. 
 
 Years. 
 
 Kharidji. 
 
 Usturi. 
 
 Total. 
 
 Faddans. 
 
 K*. 
 
 St. 
 
 Faddana. 
 
 K. 
 
 S. 
 
 Faddilns. 
 
 K. 
 
 s. 
 
 1375+ 
 1813§ 
 186311 
 187511 
 188011 
 
 1884** 
 
 4,580,313 
 3,054,368 
 3,759,125 
 3,509,168 
 3,425,555 
 
 3,451,497 
 
 16 
 
 12 
 
 20 
 
 9 
 
 8 
 
 6 
 
 17 
 
 111,090 
 
 636,177 
 
 1,194,288 
 
 1,294,343 
 
 Lands be 
 
 the State 
 
 onitsaccc 
 
 of 1879 
 
 21 
 
 9 
 
 16 
 
 ongi: 
 and] 
 rants 
 
 8 
 
 20 
 
 1511 
 ig to 
 eased 
 it end 
 
 4,691,403 
 
 16 
 
 — 
 
 3,054,368 
 
 13 
 
 — 
 
 4,395,303 
 
 17 
 
 8 
 
 4,703,456 
 
 19 
 
 2 
 
 4,719,899 
 49,107 
 
 1 
 20 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 
 Area cultivated in 
 1880 
 
 4,769,006 
 
 21 
 
 8 
 
 
 1,396,614| 
 
 -1 
 
 -1 
 
 4,848,111 
 
 — 
 
 
 * Kirat, plural kararit=-2V of a faddan. 
 
 t Sahm, plural ass'hum= ^-t of a kirat=-jJ-g- of a faddan. 
 
 J The figures for 1375 are based upon the cadaster of the Sultan 
 Sha'aban made in 777 Anno Hedjrae, as given by M. Silvestre de 
 Sacy in his translation of Abdellatif's Relation de I'Egypte, printed at 
 Paris in 1810. By adding up the columns of figures given in that 
 work, I obtained 3,188,153 f addons 18 kirats of taxed lands, and 
 77,325 faddans 4 kirats of rizqua or untaxed lands. I assumed these 
 faddans to be, on the average, official faddans of the area of 400 square 
 kassabahs. On page 213 I have given the area of tlie faddan in the 
 fourteenth century as about 6,034 square metres, and that of the 
 faddan of 333i kassabahs of our day at about 4,200 square metres. 
 Multiplying 3,188,153 by 6,034, and dividing by 4,200, gives us 
 approximatively the number of faddans in 1375, as reduced to the 
 area of the faddan of our day. The same process applied to the 
 77,325 rizqua faddans gives us approximatively the number of 
 faddans in 1375 of lands of the privileged category, which corre- 
 sponds to the ushuri lands of our day, in the area of our day. 
 Eurthermore, in order to reduce all the faddans given in the above 
 Table to, approximatively, faddans of one and the same area, I have 
 taken the official figures of the cadaster of 1813, which are 2,904,970 F., 
 
220 ON I.AN'DED I'UOI'Kli-Ty IN BOYPT, 
 
 3 K., and 8 S., and multiplied thorn by 4,41 G, and ilion divided by 
 4,200. The result, namely .'i.on 1,308 V., 12 K., is the lii^'ure I f;iv(^ in 
 the Table. The roasoii for my doiuj;; tliis is because, prior to 1801, the 
 lineal kassabah iiieusiH'ed 3'64 metres, wlieveas after tliat yeiii- it was 
 fixed at 3-^1^1 mfitres. >Seo above page 210, note to pa.fj;(i 'Jll, and 
 page 213. 
 
 {5 The faddan waw th(^n ecjual to 333-J- square liasKabalis ; and the 
 lineal kassabah had tli(^n the mean l(nif,'l'h of 3'G I meti-es. MouHJeur 
 Mengin f,nveK, for the year 1.S20, the total of l,9S0,(i lU foddan.s. The 
 figur(w that I give are the official li^'uren taken fi-eiii the State n^f^islerH. 
 r.ut neither of these (if^iircK include tlie lands to the south of the li'irst 
 Cataract, nor a part of tlie present nioiidiriah of ICsnah, namely, tlie 
 districts nowadays known under the name of Mou'awanat Assouan and 
 Kisi'ni Haifa. In those provinces taxes need to bo colh^'led u]ion 
 saUiahs and shfidoufs (water-raising wheels and wa(.(ir-buel(et Hwee]is). 
 These taxes were abolislmd, and the country was eadiistcred and taxcul, 
 like the rest of Egypt, by Sa'id I'asha, at the time of his journey to 
 the iSoudun in 18.57. 
 
 II The faddilns at thes(^ periods were equal to 333 J- square kassabahs, 
 the liniiai- kassabah being ^i-.'"!,'") metres. The area ccimprised in i-lu^se 
 figures extcinds from the sea to Wadi Haifa, the Second Cataract, 
 including all tho ciiltivaU^d lands of the Nile Valh'y. 
 
 II The rouzni'niiah ollice, which delivers (axits (tilJe deeds of rij,'litof 
 property) for all hinds giv(!n gratuitously and ex(\ni|)t from taxation 
 {rizqua bila mdl), and known nowadays by tho muiio of ushftri, the 
 rouznamah, I say, f,dv''''^i accoi'ding to its rej^istei-s, the lif^ure of 
 1,GIS,90H faddans for tho year 1880, heinf,' a diMei'(!nc(! of :i.'').l,.'')04 
 faddana 7 kirilts 9 sahms moi-e than ihe llgiires furiiisluMl by Iho 
 moudiriahs (provinces) for tho nslifiri lands, \vhi(^h I give. On tho 
 otla^r hand, the lifiures fiirnislieci by the moudiriahs for the lands 
 liehinf^iiig to the Slate and fit for (iultivation, and cachistered, and 
 rented on its account are only 49,107 fadddns 20 kirats; whereas tlie 
 lignr(^s for arable lands bchmging to the State and sold aft(n- tho l>aw 
 of Li(|nulati(]n, ini^hiding the lands we have jnsl. spoken of, (uime to 
 713, 72.5 faddant', according to the table drawn up by our lionour<:d and 
 learned fi-llow inendiiu' I toners J'(% which f;ives a dilleiMrnce of 
 094,017 faddans 4 kiiai.s more than tho ligiircs furnished by Mie 
 moudiriah.s. 
 
 l'-|i(l. Kir. Bra. 
 Taking al) theses dal-a into account, w(^ would have; — 
 /Kliaradji lands ((i<;u res furnished 
 
 by the mondiriahs) 3,'I2.5,.5.5.5 8 17 
 
 At the end of I U.shliri lands (lif,'iir(w furnished 
 
 the year 1879.1 by tlie rouznainaJi) 1,G1H,9()S 
 
 I Stale lands ( according to l{,o;,'er's 
 
 V r.ey's table) 74.3,72.5 
 
 Total of arable area of Nile Valley at beginning 
 
 of 1880 .5,818,188 8 17 
 
AREA OP THE CULTIVABLE LAXDS. 221 
 
 This total figure is cei-tainly too liigh, for the folio wing reasons : — 
 
 1st. The difference between the figures given by the mondiriahs and 
 those by the rouznamah for ushuri ]ands, namely, 354,564 faddans 
 7 kirats 9 sahm, arises, most Ukely, only from lands tliat are either 
 abandoned by their o-miers, or have deteriorated or been expropriated 
 for some work of public good. The greater part of these lands, 
 therefore, if not all of them, must be again found to figure in the table 
 of free (unencumbered) State lands. Fearing, therefore, to make a 
 double entry of the same item, I took no notice of the figures given by 
 the rouznamah, the more so because, as that office did not escape the 
 general disorganisation of the last twenty years, I could deem its 
 information to be, at least, erroneous, if not false. 
 
 2nd. Free or unencumbered State lands have been sold only since 
 18 SO. The greater part wiU not begin to yield until after several 
 years of improvement by their acquirers ; I could not, therefore, count 
 them as being a part of the arable area at the beginning of 1880. I 
 only included therein the free State lands ■n'hich the moudiriahs 
 indicate as rented for its account, and which were therefore thoroughly 
 fit to yield a growth at the end of 1879. 
 
 These are the two reasons that have led me to omit both the figures 
 given by the rouznamah for ushuri lands and the figures furnished bv 
 Rogers Bey's exact and conscientious table of the free or unencumbered 
 State lands. 
 
 I, therefore, think that we are not far from the truth if we adopt, as 
 approximative figures, be it remembered, although they are official, the 
 quantities set forth in this Comparative Table as being the arable 
 cultivated area paying the land-tax at the beginning of 1880, within the 
 Nile Valley, from the sea to Wadi Haifa, at the Second Cataract. 
 
 ** Jn the figures for 1881: I have not included the free (unen- 
 cumbered) State lands fit for cultivation, nor the leased lands belonging 
 properly to the State. For details, see the Collection of Statements, 
 relating to the land-taxes and to the date-tree tithe for the year 188-t, 
 published by the Direction des Contributions Birecies of the Finance 
 Ministry, in December, 1 884. 
 
222 
 
 ON LANDED PEOPERTy IN EGYPT. 
 
 Measures op Capaoitt, or Hollow Measures. 
 
 The ardabb is the unit of measure for corn, grain and 
 other cereals in Egypt. 
 
 According to the calculations of our learned fellow- 
 member, Mahmoud Pasha el Palald, one ardabb equals 
 197-7477 litres. 
 
 The subdivisions of the ardabb are: — 
 
 1 ardabb= 197-7477 litres. 
 
 1 arc 
 
 abb= 6 webahs 
 
 1 webah 
 
 = 2 kailahs. 
 
 
 , = 12 kailahs 
 
 1 kailah 
 
 = 2 roubs. 
 
 
 , =24 roubs 
 
 1 roub 
 
 = 2 malwahs. 
 
 
 , = 48 malwahs 
 
 1 malwali 
 
 = 2 kadahs. 
 
 
 , = 96 kadahs 
 
 .. 1 kadah 
 
 = 2 nusf -kadahs. 
 
 
 , =192 nusf -kadahs 
 
 .. 1 nusf-kadah 
 
 =2 roub'ahs. 
 
 
 , = 384 roub'ahs 
 
 .. 1 roub'ah 
 
 = 2 toumnahs. 
 
 
 , = 768 toumnahs 
 
 I toumnah 
 
 = 2 kharroubahs 
 
 
 , =1536 kharroubah 
 
 3 1 kharroubah 
 
 = 2 kirats. 
 
 
 , =3072 kirats. 
 
 
 
 Before Mohammad Ali Pasha's reign, and even at the 
 beginning of his reign, there were in Egypt considerable 
 differences between the ardabbs used in the different 
 provinces. 
 
 All these differences disappeared after the establish- 
 ment of the shoonahs* at Alexandria, as the capacity of 
 the ardabb had been determined for all Egypt according, 
 to the ardabb used in these shoonahs. The monopoly of 
 trade concentrated in the hands of the State had, there- 
 fore, the effect of immediately introducing the unity of 
 capacity of the hollow measure throughout the whole 
 valley, just as the cadaster had brought about the unity 
 of the measure of superficies. 
 
 Whereas, in our days, the Alexandria merchants 
 follow the European markets, which regulate com- 
 merce, it was thought to convert the hollow measure 
 into weight; and, in consequence of the contracts of 
 purchase, a general tariff was established, drawn up by 
 the merchants of Alexandria, which tends to weigh 
 cereals instead of cubing them. 
 
 * Storehouses, where the State stored the products of the land when 
 it had the monopoly of the sale of these products. 
 
J» 
 
 340 
 
 55 
 
 55 
 
 320 
 
 55 
 
 55 
 
 270 
 
 55 
 
 J! 
 
 330 
 
 55 
 
 WEIGHTS. 223 
 
 Thus the relations established by the merchants 
 between measures of volume and weights are as 
 follows : — 
 
 1 ardabb of wheat should weigh 300 rattles. 
 
 1 ,, barley 
 
 1 5 5 beans (foul) 
 
 1 5 5 cotton seed 
 
 1 J, lentils 
 
 In general, the ardabb, instead of being taken to be 
 24 roubs gross measurement, is reckoned at 22 roubs 
 net volume, ^ of an ardabb being thus allowed to the 
 seller for waste in foreign substances that are always to 
 be found in Egyptian grains, and which are the inevit- 
 able consequence of the primitive and defective system 
 of winnowing throughout this country. 
 
 Weights. 
 
 The unit of weight in Egypt is the kantar, which, 
 according to M. Pasha Falaki, equals 44 kilogrammes and 
 493 grammes. As the kilogramme weighs 323*645 
 dirhams, the dirham therefore weighs 3*0898 grammes. 
 These are Mahmoud Pasha's figures. 
 
 The subdivisions of the kantar are : — 
 
 1 kantar =36 okes =100 rattles. 
 1 oke = 2f rattles + 4 dirham's. 
 1 rattle =12 wakiahs=144 dirhams. 
 1 wakiah=12 dirhams. 
 
 In the weighing of all products of the soil, the rattle 
 is subdivided as follows : — 
 
 1 rattle 
 
 = 24 Mr^ts. 
 
 1 kirat 
 
 = 3 habbahs. 
 
 1 habbah 
 
 = 2 dirhams. 
 
 1 dirham 
 
 =16 kharroubahs or kirats. 
 
 1 kharroubah or kirat = 4 kamhas. 
 1 kamha = 6 sahms. 
 
APPENDICES. 
 
 No. I. 
 
 Decision of the Civil Council of the 23rd Shaiuwdl 1252, 
 approved by High Order of the 27th of the same 
 month and directed to the Bouzndmah Office (A.D. 
 1836). 
 
 It is well known that the chief aim which the Viceroy- 
 proposes to attain, by giving abadiah lands to his sub- 
 jects, is the prosperity of the country and the welfare of 
 its inhabitants. 
 
 The Council is, therefore, of opinion that new tasits, 
 containing the additional provisions hereinafter enumer- 
 ated, should be delivered to those grantees of abadiahs 
 who already have title-deeds of ownership : — 
 
 1. The grantee shall have the option, during his life- 
 time, of disposing as he thinks best of the lands given 
 him; this right shall be transmitted to his sons, grandsons, 
 and great-grandsons, and at the extinction of all 
 descendants it shall belong to the freed slaves of the 
 first grantee and to the descendants of such slaves. 
 This right, however, cannot be extended to negro slaves 
 of either sex. 
 
 2. At the extinction of the freed slaves and their 
 descendants, the lands shall be made wakf in favour of 
 the two mosques at Medinah and Mecca ; this method of 
 entail (wakf) shall be set forth in a taxtt issued by the 
 rouznamah office. 
 
APPENDICES. 225 
 
 3. If the grantee, on reaching an advanced age with- 
 out having children, or, not having freed slaves, wish to 
 gratuitously transfer (convey) his lands to any one, the 
 cession shall not be considered valid unless it shall have 
 been ascertained that the new grantee is solvent, and it 
 is only in such a case that the taxit shall be delivered 
 to the new holder. 
 
 No. II. 
 
 Order, dated 5th Muharram, 1258, given hy H.H. 
 Mohammad Ali Pasha, to the Director of the 
 Bouzndmah Office, authorising the Grantees of 
 Ahadiah Lands to dispose of their Property by all 
 legal methods of Conveyance, such as Sale, Gift, etc. 
 (Feb. 1842.) 
 
 The prosperity of every country and of every State 
 has its source in agriculture and commerce. Thanks to 
 Heaven, all the lands of Egypt are capable of being 
 brought under cultivation and improved. Furthermore, 
 in order to make the country still more prosperous and 
 help towards the development of the welfare of the 
 inhabitants and ofiBcials, unoccupied (waste) lands, called 
 abadiahs (left out of the cadaster registers) are granted 
 throughout the villages of Egypt to persons who seem 
 to us to have the means for effecting the necessary 
 improvements on the same so as to make them fit for 
 cultivation ; likewise, certain lands, already cleared, 
 called ma'amoitr (jm^) are sometimes given with the 
 object of creating gardens, orchards, etc., therein. 
 
 It is customary for the rouznamah office to deliver 
 to the grantees title-deeds, setting forth that these 
 lands have been given to them as holds (rizqua) with 
 exemption from taxation. 
 
 Q 
 
226 ON LANDED PEOPEETY IN EGYPT. 
 
 Before it was suppressed, the Civil Council had 
 presented to Us a deliberation, laying down certain 
 prescriptions, which received Our sanction, and bears 
 Our Seal, under date of 27th Shawwal, 1252 (1836); that 
 deliberation was transmitted to you for your guidance. 
 
 Nevertheless, the taxits issued by the rouznamah 
 of&ce are contrary to the prescriptions of the deliberation, 
 and some of the clauses written down in these taxits, 
 agreeably to the provisions of the deliberation, are in 
 contradiction with the prescriptions and provisions of 
 the law (Sharaa) concerning the right of property. 
 
 We therefore think, that in cases where one or more 
 of the owners of these abadiah land^ or cleared lands 
 should not be able to work them, whether out of incapa- 
 city, or for other accidental causes, such as indigence, or 
 want of success in the working of them, and provided 
 the Government does not oppose the sale and purchase, 
 the said owners shall be able to sell and freely con- 
 vey the lands they possess over to persons who may 
 wish to acquire the right thereto, — such persons 
 being fitted to become the acquirers, and being of suffi- 
 cient means to allow of their bringing the same under 
 cultivation. 
 
 There will thus be in the villages no more unoccupied 
 (waste) and unfilled lands. 
 
 The grantees, having become free to sell these lands 
 and dispose of the same, will put forth, greater zeal in 
 improving and cultivating them after a satisfactory 
 manner, which will contribute toward increasing the 
 prosperity of the country, which is the main object of 
 Our thoughts. 
 
 According to the opinion of the mufti (magistrate and 
 jurisconsult), in order that the right of property, in 
 lands cleared or in those called abadiah s, granted or to 
 be granted as holds (rizqua) free from taxation, be 
 acquired for, and unto the grantees on a legal basis, and 
 in such a way as that they shall have the right to sell 
 these lands or convey them by gift, there ought to be in 
 the taxits delivered by the rouznamah office no 
 restriction or reservation. 
 
APPENDICES. 227 
 
 Consequently, grantees wlio have had either abadiah 
 or ma' amour lands by way of holds (rizqua) exempt from 
 taxation, and those who shall hereafter have such lands 
 by the same title, are henceforth authorised to sell them 
 or convey them by gift. 
 
 I grant to them the full right to sell them and dispose 
 of them (convey them) legally. 
 
 It is therefore necessary, as soon as this present order 
 shall have reached you, to exchange the old taxits, of 
 abadiah or ma' amour lands, previously given as rizqua 
 holds exempt from taxation, for new title-deeds contain- 
 ing no reserve or restriction whatsoever. 
 
 The old title-deeds shall be destroyed, and the new 
 ones handed over to the owners. 
 
 Henceforth all rizqua lands, whether cleared or 
 uncultivated, that shall be granted according to circum- 
 stances, shall have their taxit drawn up in conformity 
 with the present Order. 
 
 No. III. 
 
 Order issued by E.E. Said Pasha on the 18th Muharram, 
 1271 (a.d. 1854). 
 
 Eeferring to the Order which We issued relating to 
 the tithe, you had addressed to Us your letter dated the 
 10th of Muharram, 1271, No. 3, in which you ask Us 
 whether the tithe of the wassiahs (oussiah) ought also 
 to be collected. 
 
 Our Order meant that this tithe was to be collected 
 for all lands that pay no tax. The wassiahs should 
 therefore pay it, the same as abadiahs and tchifliks. 
 
 Take note hereof, and communicate Our present 
 Order without delay to the moudirs of Upper and Lower 
 Egypt for their guidance. 
 
 Q 2 
 
228 ON LANDED PEOPEETY IN EGYPT. 
 
 No. IV. 
 
 Order addressed by H.H. Said Pasha to the Minister of 
 Finance on the 22nd Muharram, 1271 (a.d. 1854). 
 
 With reference to Our Order to the moudirs relating 
 to the collection of the tithe from and after the Coptic 
 year 1570 inclusive ( = 1854) ; 
 
 "With reference to the letter of the Minister of Finance 
 to the moudirs, which has reference to our Order of the 
 18th Muharram, 1271, consequent upon instructions 
 asked for by the said minister ; 
 
 The wassiahs, as well as all lands that are not taxed, 
 have to pay the tithe, to wit, the tenth part of their 
 yield; 
 
 This tenth shall be collected in kind, if it be a crop 
 of grain (or corn, or any kind of cereal) ; but if it be 
 any other crop, such as sugar-cane, vegetables, fruits, 
 etc., the tenth shall be appraised according to the price 
 of the day, and paid in coin. 
 
 We have just given Our Orders to this effect to all 
 the moudirs, and We acquaint you therewith for your 
 future guidance. 
 
 No. y. 
 
 Decree of the \Mh Ramadan, 1271 (a.d. 1855), relating 
 to Wassiah Lands. 
 
 In view of the numerous petitions that have been 
 submitted to Us by the holders of oussiah lands in order 
 to ask authorisation to make their real property into 
 wakf ; 
 
 Whereas, We think that these steps have been occa- 
 
APPENDICES. 229 
 
 sioned by the measure adopted by the rouznamah office, 
 which prescribes the escheat of wassiahs on the death 
 of the holders, and consequently the deprivation of the 
 enjoyment of these lands by the descendants of the 
 holders ; 
 
 Whereas, it is Our will that the enjoyment of wassiahs 
 pass over to the descendants of the holders at the death 
 of the latter, so that the same shall no longer have to 
 fear that their descendants will be deprived of the en- 
 joyment of these lands, and so that they and their 
 posterity may be able to live peaceably and comfortably 
 under Our munificence ; 
 
 We address to you the following Order, to the end 
 that you shall be acquainted with it, and guided by the 
 prescriptions it contains : 
 
 Wassiahs, whose holder, whether male or female, 
 shall, on his or her demise, have left descendants of 
 neither sex, shall alone revert by escheat, in conformity 
 with the measiire adopted by the rouznamah office. 
 As to wassiahs whose holder, whether male or female, 
 shall at his or her death have left descendants, they 
 shall no longer revert by escheat, but shall, on the 
 contrary, be registered in the name of the descendants, 
 and stall not revert until the extinction of every 
 descendant. 
 
 Iso. VI. 
 
 Letter addressed hy the Minister of Finance on the 25th 
 Ramadan, 1287 {A.D. 1870), to the Minister of 
 the Interior, relating to the Sur-tax of Ten per Cent, 
 on the Land-taxes, to cover the costs of irrigation 
 for which the Government is ansiverahle. 
 
 The costs of irrigation and the outlays necessitated 
 by the execution of the works in the provinces of Lower 
 9,nd Upper Egypt used to be collected at the end of the 
 
230 ON LANDED PEOPERTT IN EGYPT. 
 
 year, witli the intent of not embarrassing the ratepayers, 
 and because the financial position permitted it. 
 
 At the beginning of the current year the Finance 
 Ministry purchased all the material necessary for 
 the works of preservation of the dykes as well as the 
 wheat necessary for making biscuit intended for the 
 support of the men employed on these works. In order 
 to meet this outlay, the said Ministry has had to recur 
 to loans, part of which it has paid, and the remainder of 
 which, though already due, has remained unpaid. 
 
 "Whereas, in the present state of things, it would not 
 do to put off till the end of the year the recovery of the 
 amount of these outlays, which have been estimated for 
 this year at 10 per centum of the land-tax, I beg you 
 to give the necessary orders that the collection of this 
 tenth be effected in the last fortnight of the month of 
 Kiak, and that the full amount of the same be in the 
 treasury of the Finance Ministry by the 1st day of 
 Toubah next. 
 
 [Note.— On the 8th Shawwal, 1287 (=January 1, 
 1876), the Minister of Finance addressed a circular to 
 the moudirs to explain to them that the 10 per cent, 
 was to be reckoned on the total amount of the kharadji 
 and ushuri taxes, and to order them to pass this 10 per 
 cent, to the debit of the account of kharadji tax and 
 ushuri tax, and to the credit of a special account. 
 
 He at the same time authorised them to proceed to 
 collect this tenth within the term of four months, from 
 Kiak to the end of Baramhat, 1287, and at the rate of 
 one-fourth each month.] 
 
APPENDICES. 231 
 
 No. VII. 
 
 Givil Status of Foreig7iers for Acquisition of Real 
 Property in the Ottoman Empire, and General 
 Legal Status. 
 
 OiECULAB, relative to the right of holding real estate 
 conceded to foreigners by the Sublime Porte, 
 addressed, under date of August 17, 1868, by the 
 ambassador of France at Constantinople, to the 
 consuls, vice-consuls, and consular agents of France 
 in Turkey : — 
 
 Sir : On the 19th of June last I signed, by order of his 
 excellency the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the protocol 
 opened for such Powers as might wish to cause their 
 citizens to enjoy the benefits of the law according to 
 foreigners the right of holding real property. The 
 ratifications of this act having just been exchanged, the 
 stipulations of the law and of the protocol are henceforth 
 applicable to the subjects of the Emperor. 
 
 The importance of these innovations does not need to 
 be pointed out, but the condition of things that they 
 bring about appears to me to call for certain ex- 
 planations. 
 
 By the concession to foreigners of the right to possess 
 land the Ottoman Government proposed to develope the 
 innumerable riches of Turkey by calling to its fruitful 
 soil both the capital of Europe and its knowledge in the 
 working of mineralogical, agricultural, and forest under- 
 takings. Such must be in truth the consequences of 
 these liberal measures ; they must produce, we are con- 
 vinced of it, reciprocal advantages. But, while opening 
 to foreigners a field that had been hitherto forbidden 
 them, the government of the Emperor and that of the 
 Sultan had to recognise that there would be therein for 
 
232 ON LANDED, PEOPEKTY IN EGYPT. 
 
 Europeans a new situation that the capitulations had 
 not regulated. 
 
 The capitulations, in point of fact, had been originally- 
 intended only to protect merchants, few in number, 
 established at certain points on the sea-coast under the 
 immediate safeguard of their respective consuls ; every 
 line of the capitulations brings out the truth of this. 
 Not only did they then suffice, but in all probability they 
 did not give rise to any of the objections that have been 
 brought against them since the multiplication of Euro- 
 peans in Turkey beyond what could have been possibly 
 foreseen in 1740; and this must have been still more 
 the case at the time of the first conventions made with 
 the Ottoman Empire. 
 
 The essential guaranties insured by the capitulations 
 to Foreigners established in Turkey are : Inviolability of 
 domicile, into which the local authorities cannot pene- 
 trate without consular presence (Article 70), and the 
 right of the presence of a consular dragoman before the 
 local tribunals when these tribunals have to try foreigners 
 (Article 20). 
 
 These provisions presuppose that the Europeans 
 dwell in the same city as their consuls, or in an im- 
 mediate neighbourhood. It was the same when the 
 capitulations were conceded. With the gradual increase 
 of the number of foreigners that spread themselves 
 everywhere these conditions of common dwelling, or at 
 least of neighbourhood, existing no longer, the capitula- 
 tions might have greatly risked lapsing into decay for 
 the lack of consuls to watch over the stipulations thereof. 
 This eventuality has been warded off by the multiplica- 
 tion of consulates and by the creation of numerous 
 consular agencies. If this had not been done, foreigners, 
 left to themselves, far off from consular protection and 
 in the presence of guaranties that would have been 
 rendered chimerical by this distance of place, would 
 have in all probability made the best arrangement they 
 could practically have come to under the circumstances 
 rather than have no justice at all. At least this is what 
 common sense and one's own interest would have 
 
APPENDICES. 233 
 
 counselled them to do ; and it is these two considerations 
 that in the end get the better of all inexecutable con- 
 ventions. 
 
 To-day the concession made to foreigners of the right 
 to hold real property might hereafter, if it has its pro- 
 bable result, so multiply the mimber of such foreigners 
 that it would be no longer possible to claim to watch over 
 the safety of their persons and their goods, whilst keeping 
 within the text of the capitulations, except by creating 
 consulates and vice-consulates without end. This ex- 
 pedient, supposing it were practicable, would doubtless 
 be as inconvenient for the Porte as for those Powers 
 which are careful of their standing; it certainly would 
 be inadmissible for the Emperor's government. 
 
 The necessity for negotiating a new convention with 
 the Porte became, therefore, manifest from the day 
 wherein the GrovernmiBnt of the Sultan cast aside its 
 dislikes, and finally decided to enter upon the pathway 
 that had been for so many years indicated to it by the 
 counsels of the friendly Powers. 
 
 The law sets forth the conditions upon which foreigners 
 may possess land in Turkey, and the protocol provides- 
 for the rights and duties that shall grow directly or 
 indirectly out of a new situation. Neither the law nor 
 the protocol are made for those who shall continue to 
 live within the conditions the capitulations have in view 
 and regulate.* The law and the protocol specify the 
 shght derogations to the capitulations that are con- 
 sented to in what concerns foreigners, but the ancient 
 guaranties are therein none the less formally maintained. 
 Paragraph 1 of the protocol recognises this in the most 
 authentic manner, for it says in so many words that that 
 law does not interfere with the immunities specified by 
 the treaties as to the person and the movable property of 
 foreigners who may become owners of real estate. 
 
 * It is the opinion of some that this statement is not borne out by 
 the true and logical interpretation of the text itself of those two 
 documents. But M. BourrSe, who had more to do with the making of 
 these instruments, ought to be the best judge and authority as to what 
 they mean or do not mean, 
 
234 ON LANDED PBOPEETY IN EGYPT. 
 
 The second paragraph fixes the aim that the Porte 
 had in view in causing every distinction as to real estate 
 to cease between Ottoman subjects and foreigners. 
 
 Paragraph 3 guarantees the inviolability of domicile ; 
 it points out that the agent of the public force cannot 
 enter into it without the assistance of the consul or of 
 the delegate of the consul of the Power on which the 
 foreigner depends. 
 
 It was important that a definition be given of the 
 domicile. Paragraph 4 contains this definition as broad 
 as we could wish it to be. Certainly it would not have 
 been admissible that a vast extent of land, by the fact 
 alone that it might belong to a foreigner, had to be con- 
 sidered as a domicile into which the agents of the 
 Turkish Grovernment were not to be authorised to come 
 or penetrate. To claim more than this would have been 
 to pretend that all land belonging to a foreigner had to 
 enjoy the benefit of exterritoriality; this would have 
 been to wish, and at the same time not to wish, for it 
 would have been asking so as not to get, the Porte 
 being never able to consent that real property in Turkey 
 should be subjected to foreign jurisdiction. 
 
 In the fifth paragraph the inviolability of domicile 
 is again afiirmed, only it is stated that the consul 
 shall be bound, in case of a demand for a domiciliary 
 visit, to give his immediate assistance to the local 
 authorities in order that the action of justice may not 
 be suspended. 
 
 According to paragraph 6, in localities distant by nine 
 hours' or more than nine hours' travel from the consular 
 residence, the agents of the public force may, on the 
 request of the local authority and with the assistance of 
 the members of the Council of Elders of the commune* 
 enter into the residence of a foreigner without being 
 assisted by a consular agent too far off to be called ; but 
 only in case of urgency and for the search and proof of 
 the crime of murder, of attempt at murder, of incen- 
 diarism, of armed robbery either with infraction or by 
 
 * See Note to Protocol on page 242. 
 
APPENDICES. 235 
 
 night in an inhabited house, of armed rebellion, and of 
 the fabrication of counterfeit money. We could not 
 have refused this stipulation without ignoring the right 
 of the Sultan to administer and exercise justice within 
 his empire. But, while conceding to the local authorities 
 the right to proceed without a consul, when beyond 
 reach or not existing, we have taken all necessary pre- 
 cautions to prevent abuses, and we are suitably armed for 
 causing any such as may be committed to be punished. 
 The agents that shall have effected a domiciliary visit 
 under the conditions just noticed shall be bound, more- 
 over, to draw up minutes (procfes-verbal) of their action 
 and communicate them immediately to the superior 
 authority under which they stand, which shall in its turn 
 be bound to transmit the same without delay to the 
 nearest consular oflflcer (paragraph 8). 
 
 By paragraph 10 it is established that strangers in 
 localities distant more than nine hours from a consular 
 residence shall be tried by the Ottoman tribunals, in the 
 absence and notwithstanding the absence of a dragoman, 
 both for suits not exceeding 1,000 piastres (230 francs), 
 and for offences entailing' fines of which the maximum 
 might be 500 piastres (115 francs). It might be simply 
 remarked, on this head, that we had no interest to 
 require that our citizens, even for the smallest suits, 
 should be necessarilv conducted to the nearest consular 
 residence — which might at times be very far away — in 
 order to be there tried with the assistance of their consul. 
 But this observation would not be enough to bring out 
 the exact value of the foregoing provisions. In order to 
 judge of these provisions as they ought to be judged of, 
 and recognise the spirit which inspired their embodiment 
 into the protocol, one must consider the right that 
 foreigners still have of making appeal (§ 11), which 
 appeal shall always suspend the execution of the sentence 
 (§ 12); one must also bear in mind what are the eifects 
 of a suspending appeal in Turkey ; and, finally, one 
 should read the thirteenth clause, which stipulates that 
 the execution of the judgment that may have been ren- 
 dered by the tribunal of appeal, in the very rare case 
 
236 ON LANDED PEOPEETY IN EGYPT. 
 
 where appeal shall have been taken, always requires the 
 co-operation of the consul. 
 
 It follows implicitly from the foregoing that foreigners 
 shall not be subjected to Ottoman jurisdiction except 
 when they shall be established too far away from the 
 consulates to be assisted by the dragomans, and when 
 the question is one of suits inferior to 1,000 piastres, or 
 of offences punishable by a fine not exceeding 600 
 piastres. From these very provisions it follows ex- 
 plicitly that, when it is a question of more important 
 matters, it is necessary that Ottoman subjects attack 
 foreigners before the tribunals that shall be in the con- 
 sular residences. Here we come back to the cases pro- 
 vided for by the capitulations ; that is to say, that the 
 right of foreigners to be assisted by a dragoman at the 
 tribunals, whenever such a thing is physically possible, 
 reappears in all its force. It cannot be too often repeated 
 — the protocol has not derogated from the capitulations ; 
 it has made up for that which, under the capitulations, 
 would have been vain or inexecutable, owing to circum- 
 stances not foreseen by them ; that is to say, for cases 
 where there would have been neither consul nor drago- 
 maii, and where, nevertheless, for the very reason of 
 their distant and isolated positions, foreigners, owning 
 real estate, could not live outside of the range of all 
 judicial authority and of all law. 
 
 More, still, had to be foreseen ; it had to be admitted 
 that foreigners would have daily preferred to waive the 
 guaranty of the dragoman's presence, when themselves 
 bringing suits before the tribunals of the place of their 
 residence on cases involving more than 1,000 piastres, 
 rather than have to seek justice far away from their 
 domiciles for the sake of obtaining the consular presence. 
 It was in order to meet this considerable interest that 
 the fifteenth paragraph was made, which authorises 
 foreigners to voluntarily declare themselves amenable to 
 the jurisdiction of the Ottoman tribunals, whilst reserving 
 for themselves the right of appeal before the superior 
 tribunals, where they would again meet with the assist^ 
 ance of the consul. 
 
APPENDICES. 237 
 
 It_ is unhesitatingly affirmed that if this faculty 
 [option] had been refused by their governments for 
 foreigners domiciled in the inland provinces, and if they 
 had not been permitted to have recourse to local justice 
 in small suits, they would have been placed in a position 
 that bad faith could without pity take advantage of — a 
 situation that would be all the more unbearable, seeing 
 that, as land owners settled within these lands, they will, 
 in eighty cases out of every hundred, be themselves the 
 claimants and plaintiffs. 
 
 We wanted that this acquiescence in the competency 
 of the tribunal should be given in writing, and before any 
 beginning of proceedings (§ 16). This, too, is a guaranty 
 added to so manyothers. We are not unmindful that there 
 is in this faculty [option] something unwonted and de- 
 rogatory to the principles of ordinary justice, in that it 
 grants to the plaintiff [the right] to treat estabhshed 
 tribunals as arbitration committees, that hold their 
 authority only by a compromise signed by both parties ; 
 but here the rigour of this principle is not in place. 
 
 These cases of accepting of the competence of the 
 Ottoman tribunals by foreigners are, furthermore, quite 
 frequent as a matter of fact ; only, as the capitulations 
 do not provide therefor, and as the embassies do not 
 ratify them, some dishonest plaintiffs profit thereby and 
 refuse to allow those judgments to be executed that have 
 gone against them. By sanctioning this faculty [option] 
 for localities where consular officers are wanting, the 
 protocol takes into account an undeniable necessity, 
 and suppresses, in such localities at least, acts of bad 
 faith. 
 
 Paragraph 18 gives, not only to foi'eigners, but to all 
 Ottoman subjects, the publicity of the hearings and the 
 liberty of defence that are secured by the Hatti-Hama- 
 youn, but which the Government of the Sultan had left 
 in the condition of promises [not fulfilled]. These 
 weighty matters have no need of any comment ; still, it 
 must be observed that the insertion of these two great 
 principles into the protocol renders them henceforth 
 beyond discussion, and stamps them with the character 
 
238 ON LANDED PEOPEETT IN EGYPT. 
 
 of an international engagement, -whose execution the 
 signatory Powers have a right to demand, both for Otto- 
 man subjects as well as for their own citizens. We 
 shouldrejoice over this, and congratulateTurkeyonhaving 
 entered upon the yjathway of reforms which, if she reso- 
 lutely keeps on therein, must regenerate her. 
 
 All the foregoing more than suflBciently demonstrates 
 that the stipulations, whose spirit has just been set forth, 
 are not applicable except to those who should become 
 real-estate holders or who should group themselves 
 around agricultural or industrial establishments created 
 far off from the consular authorities ; that is to say, to 
 those who should have deemed the guaranties afforded 
 by an empire, whose social condition is still imperfect, 
 as being sufficient. Prudence would doubtless counsel 
 them to choose certain provinces where civilisation is 
 further advanced, where the habits and customs of the 
 inhabitants have been long since softened by contact 
 with Europeans. There are other parts, however, into 
 which it would be, for the present, better not to take 
 our capital and industry. Our consuls and consular 
 agents will, in this respect, be the best of counsellors. It 
 is likely that they will have to combat some tendency to 
 settle too exclusively within circuits of twenty or twenty- 
 five leagues' diameter, the centres of which would be 
 either one of our consulates or consular agencies, as 
 though within so many oases wherein the privilege, 
 secured by the capitulations, of the presence of a con- 
 sular ofl&cer or dragoman in all personal suits before the 
 Ottoman tribunals, would be preserved. Our fellow- 
 countrymen, in reasoning thus, would overlook too much 
 the consideration that none of our consulates would 
 possess a number of dragomans suflGLcient to prevent 
 such a calculation from being illusory in practice. 
 
 It has been noticed, not without some surprise, that 
 criticisms, representing the law concerning the right of 
 foreigners to hold real property, and the protocol, as 
 destroyers of the capitulations, have been multiplied to 
 profusion, and in a manner more hostile to Turkey than 
 to the Government of the Emperor, The reasoning has 
 
APPENDICES. 239 
 
 generally been such as though all our countrymen were 
 going, ipso facto, to become real-estate owners, quit, 
 willingly or unwillingly, their counting-houses, and betake 
 themselves far away from their consulates in order to 
 place themselves in a situation into which they had been 
 drawn by no one knows what phantom. There is in 
 these criticisms a want of logic that the inhabitants of 
 the Bast will see through readily. They will recognise 
 that if the Porte had put certain conditions upon the 
 right, granted to foreigners, of owning real estate these 
 conditions were in the very nature of things, and that the 
 most immediate effect of the new law will be to put an 
 end to the abuses and injustices arising out of the use of 
 borrowed names in the matter of real estate, and to 
 substitute the real fact in the place of a dangerous fiction, 
 which, as experience confirms, left our fellow-countrymen 
 in a position where it was impossible for them to per- 
 sonally defend themselves, whether against arbitrary 
 taxation or before the law, against contestations that 
 jeopardised their rights. 
 
 Accept, sir, the assurance of my distinguished con- 
 sideration. 
 
 BOUERfiB. 
 
 Proclamation of the President of the United States and, 
 Text of Law and Protocol concerning Bight of 
 Foreigjiers to own Real Estate in Turlcey. 
 
 By the President of the United States of America, 
 
 A PEOOLAMATION. 
 
 Whereas, pursuant to the second section of the Act of 
 Congress approved the 23d of March last, entitled " An 
 act to authorise the President to accept for citizens of 
 the United States the jurisdiction of certain tribunals in 
 the Ottoman dominions and Bgypt, established or to be 
 established under the authority of the SubUme Porte and 
 
240 OK LANDED PEOPEETT IN EGYPT. 
 
 of the government of Egypt," the President is authorised, 
 for the benefit of American citizens residing in the 
 Turkish dominions, to accept the recent law of the Otto- 
 man Porte ceding the right of foreigners' possessing 
 immovable property in said dominions. 
 
 And whereas, pursuant to the authority thus in me 
 vested, I have authorised Greorge H. Boker, accredited 
 as Minister resident of the United States to the Ottoman 
 Porte, to sign, on behalf of this Government, the protocol 
 accepting the law aforesaid of the said Ottoman Porte, 
 which protocol and law are, word for word, as follows : 
 
 [Translation.] 
 
 The United States of America and His Majesty the 
 Sultan being desirous to establish by a special act the 
 agreement entered upon between them regarding the 
 admission of American citizens to the right of holding 
 real estate granted to foreigners by the law promulgated 
 on the 7th of Sepher, 1284 (June 10, 1867), have 
 aiithorised : 
 
 The President of the United States of America, George 
 H. Boker, minister resident of the United States of 
 America near the Sublime Porte, and 
 
 His Imperial Majesty the Sultan, His Excellency A. 
 Aarifi Pasha, His Minister of Poreign Affairs, to sign the 
 protocol which follows : 
 
 PEOTOCOL. 
 
 * § 1. The law granting foreigners the right of holding 
 real estate does not interfere with the immunities speci- 
 fied by the treaties, and which will continue to protect 
 the person and the movable property of foreigners who 
 may become owners of real estate. 
 
 * The §§ (paragraphs) are numbered so as to facilitate comparison 
 and reference while examining the Circular of M. Bourr^e, the French 
 ambassador. 
 
APPENDICES. 241 
 
 § 2. As the exercise of this right of possessing real 
 property may induce foreigners to establish themselves 
 in larger numbers in the Ottoman Empire, the Imperial 
 Government thinks it proper to anticipate and to prevent 
 the difficulties to which the application of this law may 
 give rise in certain localities. Such is the object of the 
 arrangements which follow. 
 
 § 3. The domicile of any person residing upon the 
 Ottoman soil being inviolable, and as no one can enter 
 it without the consent of the owner, except by virtue of 
 orders emanating from competent authority, and with 
 the assistance of the magistrate or functionary invested 
 with the necessary powers, the residence of foreigners is 
 inviolable on the same principle, in conformity with the 
 treaties, and the agents of the public force cannot enter 
 it without the assistance of the consul or of the delegate 
 of the consul of the Powel" on which the foreigner depends. 
 
 By residence we understand the house of inhabitation 
 and its dependencies : that is to say, the out-houses, 
 courts, gardens, and neighbouring enclosures, to the 
 exclusion of all other parts of the property. 
 
 § 4. In the localities distant by less than nine hours' 
 journey from the consular residence, the agents of the 
 public force cannot enter the residence of a foreigner 
 without the assistance of a consul, as was before said. 
 
 § 5. On his part the consul is bound to give his im- 
 mediate assistance to the local authority, so as not to let 
 six hours elapse between the moment in which he may be 
 informed and the moment of his departure, or the 
 departure of his delegate, so that the action of the 
 authorities may never be suspended more than twenty- 
 four hours. 
 
 ■ § 6. In the localities distant by nine hours or more 
 than nine hours of travel from the residence of the con- 
 sular agent, the agents of the public force may, on the 
 request of the local authority, and with the assistance of 
 three members of the council of the elders of the com- 
 mune,* enter into the residence of a foreigner, without 
 
 * Council of Elders of Commune or Nahiah or Mudiriah ; see the 
 law of the Vilayets of 1867, title iv., article 58, on page 283 of 
 
 R 
 
242 ON LANDED PEOPERTT IN EGYPT. 
 
 being assisted by the consular agent, but only in case of 
 urgency, and for the search and the proof of the crime 
 of murder, of attempt at murder, of incendiarism, of 
 armed robbery either with infraction or by night in an 
 inhabited house, of armed rebellion, and of the fabrica- 
 tion of counterfeit money ; and this entry may be made 
 whether the crime was committed by a foreigner or by 
 an Ottoman subject, and whether it took place in the 
 residence of a foreigner or not in his residence, or in any 
 other place. 
 
 § 7. These regulations are not applicable but to the 
 parts of the real estate which constitute the residence, as 
 it has been heretofore defined. 
 
 Beyond the residence, the action of the police shall be 
 exercised freely and without reserve; but in case a 
 person charged with crime or offence should be arrested, 
 and the accused shall be a foreigner, the immunities 
 attached to his person shall be observed in respect to him. 
 
 § 8. The functionary or the oflBcer charged with the 
 accomplishment of a domiciliary visit, in the exceptional 
 circumstances determined before, and the members of 
 the council of elders who shall assist him, will be obliged 
 to make out a proces-verbal of the domiciliary visit, and 
 to communicate it immediately to the superior authority 
 under whose jurisdiction they are, and the latter shall 
 transmit it to the nearest consular agent without delay. 
 
 § 9. A special legislation will be promulgated by the 
 Sublime Porte, to determine the mode of action of the 
 local police in the several cases provided heretofore. 
 
 § 10. In localities more distant than nine hours' travel 
 from the residence of the consular agent, in which the 
 law of the judicial organisation of the Vilayets* may be 
 
 part 2 of Legislation OttoTnane. — Tribunal of Canton or Caza or 
 Kaimmakamlik ; see same law, title iii., chapter 2, article 51. — 
 Tribunal of Arrondissiment or Liva, or Sandjak or Mutassa/rriflik ; 
 see same law, title ii., chapter 2, article 38. — Regarding the organisa- 
 tion of the Vilayets, Livas, Cazas, etc., in general, see also the law of 
 the general administration of Vilayets, of January 21, 1871, at the 
 commencement of the third part of Legislation Ottomane. 
 
 * See preceding Note. 
 
APPENDICES. 243 
 
 in force, foreigners shall be tried without the assistance 
 of the consular delegate by the council of elders fulfilling 
 the function of justices of the peace, and by the tribunal 
 of the * canton, as well for actions not exceeding one 
 thousand piastres as for offences entailing a fine of five 
 hundred piastres only at the maximum. 
 
 § 11. Foreigners shall have, in any case, the right of 
 appeal to the tribunal of the arrondissement against the 
 judgments issued as above stated, and the appeal shall 
 be followed and judged with the assistance of the consul, 
 in conformity with the treaties. 
 
 §12. The appeal shall always suspend the execution 
 of a sentence. 
 
 § 13. In all cases the forcible execution of the judg- 
 ments, issued on the conditions determined heretofore, 
 shall not take place without the co-operation of the 
 consul or of his delegate. 
 
 § 14. The Imperial Grovernment will enact a law which 
 shall determine the rules of procedure to be observed by 
 the parties in the application of the pteCfeding regula- 
 tions. 
 
 § 15. Foreigners, in whatever locality they may be, 
 may freely submit themselves to the jurisdiction of the 
 council of elders or of the tribunal of the canton, without 
 the assistance of the consul, in cases which do not exceed 
 the competency of these councils or tribunals, reserving 
 always the right of appeal before the tribunal of the 
 arrondissement, where the case may be brought and 
 tried with the assistance of the consul or his delegate. 
 
 § 16. The consent of a foreigner to be tried as above 
 stated, without the assistance of his consul, shall always 
 be given in writing, and in advance of all procedure. 
 
 § 17. It is well understood that all these restrictions 
 do not concern cases which have for their object ques- 
 tions of real estate, which shall be tried and determined 
 under the conditions established by the la-W". 
 
 § 18. The right of defence ajad the publicity of the 
 hearings shall be assured in all cases to foreigners who 
 
 * See Note on preceding page. 
 E 2 
 
244 ON LANDED PROPEETY IN EGYPT. 
 
 may appear before the Ottoman tribunals, as well as to 
 Ottoman subjects. 
 
 § 19. The preceding dispositions shall remain in force 
 until the revision of the ancient treaties, a revision which 
 the Sublime Porte reserves to itself the right to bring 
 about hereafter by an understanding between it and the 
 friendly Powers. 
 
 In witness whereof the respective plenipotentiaries 
 have signed the protocol, and have afl&xed thereto their 
 seals. 
 
 Done at Constantinople the eleventh of August, one 
 thousand eight, hundred and seventy-four. 
 
 GEO. H. BOKER. [l. s. 
 A. AARIFI. [l. s. 
 
 [Translation.] 
 
 Law conceding to Foreigners the Bight of holding Real 
 Estate in the Ottoman Empire. 
 
 Imperial rescript, — Let it be done in conformity with 
 the contents. 7 Bepher, 1284 (June 10, 1867). 
 
 "With the object of developing the prosperity of the 
 country, to put an end to the diflficulties, to the abuses, 
 and to the uncertainties which have arisen on the 
 subject of the right of foreigners to hold property 
 in the Ottoman Empire, and to complete, in accord- 
 ance with a precise regulation, the safeguards 
 which are due to financial interests and to adminis- 
 trative action, the following legislative enactments have 
 been promulgated by the order of His Imperial Majesty 
 the Sultan. 
 
 Art. I. Foreigners are admitted, by the same privilege 
 as Ottoman subjects, and without any other restriction, 
 to enjoy the right of holding real estate, whether in the 
 city or the country, throughout the empire, with the 
 exception of the province of the Hedjaz, by submitting 
 
APPENDICES. 245 
 
 themselves to the laws and the regulations which govern 
 Ottoman subjects, as is hereafter stated. 
 
 This arrangement does not concern subjects of Otto- 
 man birth who have changed their nationality, who shall 
 be governed in this matter by a special law. 
 
 Art. II . Foreigners, proprietors of real estate, in town 
 or in country, are in consequence placed upon terms of 
 equality with Ottoman subjects in all things that concern 
 their landed property. 
 
 The legal effect of this equahty is — 
 
 1st. To oblige them to conform to all the laws and 
 regulations of the police or of the municipality which 
 govern at present or may govern hereafter the enjoy- 
 ment, the transmission, the alienation, and the hypo- 
 thecation of landed property. 
 
 2d. To pay all charges and taxes, under whatever 
 form or denomination they may be, that are levied, or 
 may be levied hereafter, upon city or country property. 
 
 3d. To render them directly amenable to the Ottoman 
 civil tribunals in all questions relating to landed property, 
 and in all real actions, whether as plaintiffs or as de- 
 fendants, even when either party is a foreigner. In 
 short, they are in all things to hold real estate by the 
 same title, on the same condition, and under the same 
 forms as Ottoman owners, and without being able to 
 avail themselves of their personal nationality, except 
 under the reserve oi the immunities attached to their 
 persons and their movable goods, according to the 
 treaties. 
 
 Aet. III. In case of the bankruptcy of a foreigner 
 possessing real estate, the assignees of the bankrupt may 
 apply to the authorities and to the Ottoman civil tribunals 
 requiring the sale of the real estate possessed by the 
 bankrupt and which by its nature and according to law 
 is responsible for the debts of the owner. 
 
 The same course shall be followed when a foreigner 
 shall have obtained against another foreigner owning 
 real estate a judgment of condemnation before a foreign 
 tribunal. 
 
 For the execution of this judgment against the real 
 
246 ON LANDED PEOPBETY IN EGYPT. 
 
 estate of his debtor, he shall apply to the competent 
 Ottoman authorities, in order to obtain the sale of that 
 real estate, which is responsible for the debts of the 
 owner; and this judgment shall be executed by the 
 Ottoman authorities and tribunals only after they have 
 decided that the real estate of which the sale is required 
 really belongs to the category of that property which 
 may be sold for the payment of debt. 
 
 Aet. TV. Foreigners have the privilege to dispose, by 
 donation or by testament, of that real estate of which 
 such disposition is permitted by law. 
 
 As to that real estate of which they may not have 
 disposed, or of which the law does not permit them to 
 dispose by gift of testament, its succession shall be 
 governed in accordance with Ottoman law. 
 
 Aet. V. All foreigners shall enjoy the privileges of 
 the present law as soon as the Powers on which they 
 depend shall agree to the arrangements proposed by the 
 Sublime Porte for the exercise of the right to hold real 
 estate. 
 
 Now, therefore, be it known that I, Ulysses S. Geant, 
 President of the United States of America, have caused 
 the said protocol and law to be made public for the 
 information and guidance of citizens of the United 
 States. 
 
 In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand, and 
 caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. 
 
 Done at the city of Washington this twenty-ninth day 
 of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight 
 hundred and seventy-four, and of the Independence of 
 the United States of America the ninety-ninth. 
 
 [SEAL.J U. S. GRANT. 
 
 By the President : 
 
 Hamilton Fish, 
 
 Secretary of State. 
 
APPENDICES. 247 
 
 No. VIII. 
 
 Throughout this Work, I have always given the dates 
 of the Laws, Decrees, and Decisions according to the 
 Arab months, following them up, however, with the 
 corresponding year of the Grregorian Calendar, 
 
 To facilitate in these dates the comparison between 
 the era of the Hegirah and that of the Christian chron- 
 ology, I have thought it might be useful to give the 
 following Table : — 
 
248' 
 
 ON LANDED PEOPEETY IN EGYPT. 
 
 CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. 
 
 {Extract from " UArt de Verifier les Dates.") 
 
 The Lunar years marked with an asterisk are intercalary years, having 
 355 days instead of 354. 
 
 Anno 
 
 First Muharram, 
 
 Atmo 1 
 
 Anno 
 
 Hegirah 
 
 corresponding "with 
 
 J.C. 
 
 1 
 
 Hegirah 
 
 1201 
 
 October 24 
 
 1786 
 
 1237* 
 
 1202* 
 
 „ 13 
 
 1787 
 
 1238 
 
 1203 
 
 2 
 
 1788 
 
 1239 
 
 1204 
 
 September 21 ... 
 
 1789 
 
 1240* 
 
 1205* 
 
 „ 10 ... 
 
 1790 
 
 1241 
 
 1206 
 
 August 31 
 
 1791 
 
 1242 
 
 1207* 
 
 1208 
 
 1209 
 
 19 
 
 1792 
 1793 
 1794 
 
 1243* 
 
 1244 
 
 1245 
 
 „ 9 
 
 July 29 
 
 1210* 
 
 1211 
 
 1212 
 
 1213* 
 
 1214 
 
 1215 
 
 „ 18 
 
 1795 
 1796 
 1797 
 1798 
 1799 
 1800 
 
 1246* 
 
 1247 
 
 1248* 
 
 1249 
 
 1250 
 
 1251* 
 
 7 
 
 June 26 
 
 „ 15 -.. 
 
 „ 6 
 
 May 25 
 
 1216* 
 
 1217 
 
 1218* 
 
 „ 14 
 
 1801 
 1802 
 1803 
 
 1252 
 1253 
 1254* 
 
 „ 4 
 
 AnrU 23 
 
 1219 
 1220 
 1221* 
 
 „ 12 
 
 1804 
 1805 
 1806 
 
 1255 
 
 1256* 
 
 1257 
 
 „ 1 
 
 March 21 
 
 1222 
 1223 
 
 11 
 
 1807 
 1808 
 
 1258 
 1259* 
 
 February 28 
 
 1224* 
 
 „ 16 
 
 1809 
 
 1260 
 
 1225 
 
 6 
 
 1810 
 
 1261 
 
 1226* 
 
 January 26 
 
 1811 
 
 1262* 
 
 1227 
 
 „ 16 
 
 1812 
 
 1263 
 
 1228 
 
 „ 4 ... 1 
 December 24 . . . J 
 
 1813 
 
 1264 
 
 1229* 
 
 1265* 
 
 1230 
 
 14 
 
 1814 
 
 1266 
 
 1231 
 
 3 
 
 1815 
 
 1267* 
 
 1232* 
 
 November 21 
 
 1816 
 
 1268 
 
 1233 
 
 11 
 
 1817 
 
 1269 
 
 1234 
 
 1235* 
 
 1236 
 
 October 31 
 
 1818 
 1819 
 1820 
 
 1270* 
 
 1271 
 
 1272 
 
 20 
 
 9 
 
 
 First Muharram, 
 corresponding with 
 
 September 28 
 
 18 , 
 7 , 
 
 August 26 
 
 „ 16 
 
 „ 5 
 
 July 25 
 
 „ H 
 
 „ 3 
 
 June 22 
 
 12 
 
 May 31 
 
 „ 21 
 
 „ 10 
 
 April 29 
 
 „ 18 
 
 „ 7 
 
 March 27 
 
 „ 17 
 
 „ 5 
 
 February 23 ... 
 „ 12... 
 
 1 
 
 January 22 
 
 „ 10 ... ) 
 December 30... J 
 
 „ 20 
 
 9 
 
 November 27 ... 
 
 „ 17 .., 
 
 6 ... 
 
 October 27 
 
 „ 15 
 
 „ 4 
 
 September 24 . . 
 
 13 .. 
 
 Anno 
 
 .I.e. 
 
 1821 
 
 1822 
 1823 
 1824 
 1825 
 1826 
 1827 
 1828 
 1829 
 1830 
 1831 
 1832 
 1833 
 1834 
 1835 
 1836 
 1837 
 1838 
 1839 
 1840 
 1841 
 1842 
 1843 
 1844 
 
 1845 
 
 1846 
 1847 
 1848 
 1849 
 1850 
 1851 
 1862 
 1853 
 1854 
 1855 
 
APPENDICES. 
 
 249 
 
 Chronological Table {Continued). 
 
 Anno 
 Hegirah 
 
 1273* 
 
 1274 
 
 1275 
 
 1276* 
 
 1277 
 
 1278* 
 
 1279 
 
 1280 
 
 1281* 
 
 1282 
 
 1283 
 
 1284* 
 
 1285 
 
 1286^ 
 
 1287 
 
 1288 
 
 1289* 
 
 1290 
 
 1291 
 
 1292* 
 
 First Mnharram, 
 corresponding with 
 
 September 1 
 August 22 ... 
 
 „ 11... 
 
 July 31 
 
 „ 20 
 
 „ 9 
 
 June 29 
 
 „ 18 
 
 „ 6 
 
 May 27 
 
 „ 16 
 
 „ 5 
 
 April 24 ... 
 
 „ 13 .. 
 
 „ 3 .. 
 
 March 23 .. 
 
 „ 11 .. 
 
 „ 1 .. 
 
 February 18 
 
 7 
 
 Anno 
 J.C. 
 
 1856 
 
 1857 
 1858 
 1859 
 1860 
 1861 
 1862 
 1863 
 1864 
 1865 
 1866 
 1867 
 1868 
 1869 
 1870 
 1871 
 1872 
 1873 
 1874 
 1875 
 
 Anno 
 Hegirah 
 
 1293 
 
 1294 
 
 1295* 
 
 1296 
 
 1297* 
 
 1298 
 
 1299 
 
 1300* 
 
 1301 
 
 1302 
 
 1303* 
 
 1304 
 
 1305 
 
 1306* 
 
 1307 
 
 1308* 
 
 1309 
 
 1310 
 
 1311* 
 
 1312 
 
 First Muharram, 
 corresponding with 
 
 Anno 
 J.C. 
 
 January 28 
 
 „ 16 ..... 
 
 ,. 5 ...) 
 
 December 26... j 
 
 15 
 
 4 
 
 November 23 
 
 12 
 
 2 
 
 October 21 
 
 „ 10 
 
 September 30 .. 
 
 „ 19 .. 
 
 7 .. 
 
 August 28 
 
 „ 17 
 
 „ 7 ...... 
 
 July 26 
 
 „ 15 
 
 „ 5 
 
 1876 
 1877 
 
 1878 
 
 1879 
 1880 
 1881 
 1882 
 1883 
 1884 
 1885 
 1886 
 1887 
 1888 
 1889 
 1890 
 1891 
 1892 
 1893 
 1894 
 
 Months op the Lunar Year op the Hegirah. 
 
 1 Muharram 
 
 1 Safar 
 
 1 Rabi'a the First 
 
 1 Rabi'a the Second 
 
 1 Djamad the First 
 
 1 Djamad the Second 
 
 1 Radjab 
 
 1 Sha'abS,n 
 
 1 Ramadan 
 
 1 Shawwil 
 
 1 Zil Kia'dah 
 
 1 Zil Hiddjah 
 
 has 30 days. 
 
 29 „ 
 
 30 „ 
 
 29 „ 
 
 30 „ 
 
 29 „ 
 
 30 „ 
 
 29 „ 
 
 30 „ 
 
 29 „ 
 
 30 „ 
 29 „ or 30 in intercalary years. 
 
 12 months = 1 year of 354 days, or 355 
 
250 
 
 ON LANDED PEOPEKTT IN EGYPT. 
 
 Table A. 
 
 Showing the Taxes laid on the KhaeAdji Lands 
 IN the Yeae 1813=1228 A.H. 
 
 1. PROVINCE OF BUHAIRAH. 
 
 Classes. 
 
 Bates 
 of the 
 Tax in 
 Mishts. 
 
 Mishts 
 
 reduced to 
 
 Piastres. 
 
 Area of each Class in 
 Faddinp, Klrats, and Sahms. 
 
 F. 
 
 K. 
 
 S. 
 
 First 
 
 20 
 19 
 18 
 17 
 16 
 15 
 12 
 11 
 10 
 
 9 
 
 8 
 
 n 
 
 7 
 5 
 
 Piast. Paras. 
 45 — 
 
 42 30 
 
 40 20 
 
 38 10 
 
 36 - 
 
 33 30 
 
 27 — 
 
 24 30 
 
 22 20 
 
 20 10 
 
 18 — 
 
 16 35 
 
 15 30 
 
 U 10 
 
 850 
 
 953 
 
 4,213 
 
 1,066 
 
 2,373 
 
 1,272 
 
 53,435 
 
 23,560 
 
 28,016 
 
 2,190 
 
 12,355 
 
 1,432 
 
 2,355 
 
 1,755 
 
 10 
 
 9 
 
 10 
 
 11 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 11 
 
 17 
 
 17 
 
 7 
 
 16 
 
 4 
 
 18 
 
 14 
 
 8 
 
 4 
 
 20 
 
 4 
 4 
 
 8 
 
 8 
 
 20 
 
 4 
 
 16 
 
 16 
 
 Second 
 
 Third 
 
 Fourth 
 
 Fifth 
 
 Sixth 
 
 Seventh 
 
 Eighth 
 
 Ninth 
 
 Tenth 
 
 Eleventh 
 
 Twelfth 
 
 Thirteenth 
 
 Fourteenth 
 
 
 Total Area 
 
 135,831 
 
 17 
 
 16 
 
 
APPENDICES. 
 
 251 
 
 ( TABiiB A continued. ) 
 
 2. PROVINCE OF GHARBIAH. 
 
 Classes. 
 
 Bates 
 of the 
 Tax in 
 Mishts. 
 
 Mishts 
 
 reduced to 
 
 Piastres. 
 
 Area of each Class in 
 Faddaus, KMts, and Sahms. 
 
 F. 
 
 K. 
 
 s. 
 
 First 
 
 20 
 
 19 
 
 18 
 
 17 
 
 16 
 
 15 
 
 14 
 
 13 
 
 12 
 
 11 
 
 10 
 
 9 
 
 8 
 
 7 
 
 6 
 
 5 
 
 4 
 
 2 
 
 Piast. Paras. 
 45 — 
 42 30 
 40 20 
 38 10 
 36 — 
 33 30 
 31 20 
 29 10 
 27 — 
 24 30 
 22 20 
 20 10 
 18 — 
 15 30 
 13 20 
 11 10 
 9 — 
 4 20 
 
 1,736 
 10,730 
 10,777 
 18,303 
 
 2,033 
 
 4,151 
 190,813 
 27,196 
 52,187 
 30,135 
 25,529 
 23,456 
 29,080 
 17,862 
 46,413 
 
 5,608 
 12,894 
 
 3,010 
 
 2 
 
 22 
 
 14 
 
 1 
 
 4 
 
 19 
 
 20 
 
 6 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 11 
 
 7 
 
 20 
 
 20 
 
 11 
 
 6 
 
 2 
 
 9 
 
 20 
 
 12 
 12 
 16 
 
 8 
 12 
 20 
 20 
 
 4 
 16 
 12 
 
 20 
 
 16 
 
 8 
 
 4 
 
 Second 
 
 Third 
 
 Fourth 
 
 Fifth 
 
 Sixth 
 
 Seventh 
 
 Eighth 
 
 Ninth 
 
 Tenth 
 
 Eleventh 
 
 Twelfth 
 
 Thirteenth 
 
 Fourteentli 
 
 Fifteenth 
 
 
 
 
 
 Tn+nl Arpa 
 
 
 511,920 
 
 19 
 
 8 
 
 
 
252 
 
 ON LANDED PEOPEETT IN EGYPT. 
 
 ( Table A continued. ) 
 3. PROVINCE OF SHARKIAH. 
 
 Classes. 
 
 Eates 
 of the 
 Tax in 
 Misbts. 
 
 Miahts 
 
 reduced to 
 
 Piastres. 
 
 Area of each Class in 
 Padd^ns, Kir^ts, and Sahma. 
 
 P. 
 
 K. 
 
 s. 
 
 First 
 
 13 
 
 12 
 
 11 
 
 10 
 
 9 
 
 8 
 7 
 6 
 
 H 
 
 5 
 
 H 
 
 4 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 Piast. Paras. 
 
 29 10 
 
 27 — 
 
 24 30 
 
 22 20 
 
 20 10 
 
 18 — 
 
 15 30 
 
 13 20 
 
 12 15 
 
 11 10 
 
 10 05 
 
 9 — 
 
 6 30 
 
 6 — 
 
 5 25 
 
 4 20 
 
 40,022 
 14,502 
 27,373 
 15,168 
 23,215 
 56,526 
 14,571 
 45,927 
 
 796 
 26,577 ■• 
 27 • 
 54,042 
 
 667 
 8 
 
 251 
 
 317 
 
 14 
 10 
 11 
 
 6 
 
 1 
 
 19 
 
 5 
 
 • 17 
 
 3 
 
 6 
 
 15 
 
 6 
 
 8 
 
 21 
 
 16 
 20 
 20 
 8 
 12 
 20 
 
 20 
 
 16 
 
 8 
 
 4 
 
 8 
 
 12 
 
 20 
 
 20 
 
 4 
 
 Second 
 
 Third 
 
 Fourth 
 
 Fifth 
 
 Sixth 
 
 Seventh 
 
 Eighth 
 
 Ninth 
 
 Tenth 
 
 Eleventh 
 
 Twelfth 
 
 Thirteenth 
 
 Fourteenth 
 
 Fifteenth 
 
 Sixteenth 
 
 Total Area 
 
 319,995 
 
 5 
 
 16 
 
 
 
APPENDICES. 
 
 253 
 
 ( Table A continued. ) 
 4. PROVINCE OF DAKAHLIAH. 
 
 Classes. 
 
 Bates 
 of the 
 Thx iu 
 Mishts. 
 
 Mishts 
 reduced to 
 Piastres. 
 
 Area of pach Class in 
 Faddans, Kirats, and Sahms. [ 
 
 P. 
 
 K. 
 
 S. 
 
 First 
 
 18 
 
 17 
 
 16 
 
 15 
 
 14 
 
 13 
 
 12 
 
 11 
 
 10 
 
 9 
 
 8 
 
 7 
 
 6 
 
 5 
 
 4 
 
 Piast. Paras. 
 40 20 
 
 38 10 
 36 — 
 33 30 
 31 20 
 29 10 
 27 — 
 24 30 
 22 20 
 20 10 
 18 — 
 15 30 
 13 20 
 11 10 
 9 — 
 
 548 
 13,022 
 26,956 
 34,041 
 22,207 
 11,518 
 27,397 
 11,916 
 30,480 
 29,316 
 44,421 
 37,431 
 32,488 , 
 13,228 
 6,687 
 
 8 
 
 6 
 
 20 
 
 2 
 13 
 23 
 13 
 
 7 
 16 
 
 5 
 
 7 
 
 10 
 
 21 
 
 20 
 
 12 
 
 12 
 
 4 
 
 8 
 
 4 
 
 12 
 
 16 
 
 16 
 
 12 
 
 8 
 
 8 
 
 .2 
 
 16 
 
 
 Third 
 
 Fourth 
 
 Fifth 
 
 Sixth 
 
 Seventh 
 
 Eighth 
 
 Ninth 
 
 Tenth 
 
 Eleventh 
 
 Twelfth 
 
 Thirteenth 
 
 ^^^ntIrtpenth 
 
 Fifteenth 
 
 Total Area 
 
 341,662 
 
 13 
 
 16 
 
 
 
254 
 
 ON LANDED PROPEETY IN EGYPT. 
 
 (Table A continued.) 
 5 AND 6. MA.NOUFIAH AND GALIOUBIAH. 
 
 Classes. 
 
 Bates 
 of the 
 Tax in 
 
 Mishts. 
 
 Mishts 
 
 reduced to 
 
 Piastres. 
 
 Area of each Class in 
 I'add^ns, Kirats, and Sahtns. 
 
 F. 
 
 K. 
 
 s. 
 
 5. MaNOUPIAH. 
 First 
 
 20 
 15 
 14 
 13 
 12 
 11 
 10 
 8 
 
 Piast. Paras. 
 45 — 
 33 30 
 31 20 
 29 10 
 27 — 
 24 30 
 22 20 
 18 — 
 
 43 
 
 193,198 
 
 54,508 
 
 20,396 
 
 16,630 
 
 716 
 
 274 
 
 860 
 
 4 
 15 
 
 2" 
 
 7 
 12 
 19 
 18 
 13 
 
 16 
 16 
 
 4 
 16 
 12 
 20 
 
 4 
 
 Second 
 
 Third 
 
 Fourth 
 
 Fifth 
 
 Sixth 
 
 Seventh 
 
 Eighth 
 
 
 
 
 Total Area 
 
 286,628 
 
 21 
 
 16 
 
 6. Galioubiah. 
 First 
 
 4Hi 
 
 15 
 
 14 
 
 13 
 
 12 
 
 11 
 
 10 
 
 8 
 
 7 
 
 100 1| 
 33 30 
 31 20 
 29 10 
 27 — 
 24 30 
 22 20 
 18 — 
 15 30 
 
 18 
 
 52,878 
 
 23,574 
 
 27,648 
 
 13,064 
 
 15,449 
 
 3,319 
 
 119 
 
 201 
 
 6 
 2 
 5 
 
 14 
 17 
 18 
 3 
 23 
 19 
 
 16 
 
 4 
 4 
 
 20 
 4 
 4 
 8 
 
 20 
 
 
 Third 
 
 Fourth 
 
 Fifth 
 
 Sixth 
 
 Seventh 
 
 Eighth 
 
 Ninth 
 
 
 
 
 Total Area 
 
 136,274 
 
 14 
 
 8 
 
APPENDICES. 
 
 255 
 
 ( Table A continued, ) 
 
 7 AND 8. GUIZAH AND ITFIH (GUIZAH). 
 
 Classes. 
 
 Bates 
 of the 
 
 Tax in 
 Misbte. 
 
 MishtB 
 
 rHiluced to 
 
 Piastres. 
 
 Area of each Class in 
 Paddans, Kir3,ts, and Sahms. 
 
 F. 
 
 K. 
 
 s 
 
 7. GfllZAH. 
 
 First .- 
 
 Second 
 
 15 
 14 
 13 
 
 12 
 
 11 
 
 10 
 
 9 
 
 8 
 
 Piaat. Paraa. 
 33 30 
 31 20 
 29 10 
 27 — 
 24 30 
 22 20 
 20 10 
 18 — 
 
 18,574 
 
 16,391 
 
 20,071 
 
 19,543 
 
 4,025 
 
 5,287 
 
 814 
 
 60 
 
 23 
 2 
 
 7 
 16 
 2 
 8 
 4 
 1« 
 
 16 
 16 
 
 20 
 
 Third 
 
 Fourth 
 
 Fifth 
 
 Sixth 
 
 Seventh 
 
 Eighth 
 
 
 
 Total Area 
 
 84,768 
 
 10 
 
 4 
 
 8. ItfIh (Guizah). 
 First 
 
 14 
 
 12 
 
 11 
 
 10 
 
 9 
 
 8 
 
 7 
 
 5 
 
 31 20 
 27 — 
 24 30 
 22 20 
 20 10 
 18 — 
 15 30 
 11 10 
 
 108 
 2,125 
 1,190 
 9,559 
 3,528 
 8,203 
 
 365 
 22 
 
 14 
 2 
 
 15 
 2 
 
 17 
 
 19 
 
 8 
 
 20 
 
 4 
 
 12 
 
 Second 
 
 Third 
 
 Fourth 
 
 Fifth 
 
 Sixth 
 
 
 Ilighth 
 
 
 
 
 Total Area 
 
 25,103 
 
 6 
 
 12 
 
256 
 
 ON LANDED PEOPEETY IN EGYPT. 
 
 ( Table A continued. ) 
 
 9 AND 10. FAYYOUM AND BAHNASAWIAH (MINIAH). 
 
 Classes. 
 
 Rates 
 of the 
 'J a c in 
 Mishts. 
 
 Mishts 
 
 reduced to 
 
 Piastres. 
 
 Area of each Class in 
 Fadd^na, Klrirs, and Sahms. 
 
 ¥. 
 
 K. 
 
 S. 
 
 9. Fay YOU M. 
 First 
 
 9 
 
 8 
 7 
 6 
 5 
 4 
 2 
 
 Piast. Paras. 
 20 10 
 18 — 
 
 15 30 
 
 13 20 
 
 11 10 
 
 9 — 
 
 4 20 
 
 3,340 
 
 846 
 
 6,222 
 
 95,607 
 
 6,139 
 
 193 
 
 468 
 
 14 
 14 
 14 
 18 
 13 
 9 
 20 
 
 20 
 16 
 12 
 8 
 20 
 20 
 20 
 
 Second 
 
 Third 
 
 Fourth 
 
 Fifth 
 
 Sixth 
 
 Seventh 
 
 
 
 
 Total Area 
 
 112,819 
 
 10 
 
 20 
 
 10. Bahnasaw(ah 
 
 (Miniah). 
 
 First 
 
 Second 
 
 Third 
 
 22 
 17 
 12 
 11 
 10 
 8 
 6 
 
 49 20 
 38 10 
 
 27 — 
 24 30 
 22 20 
 18 — 
 13 20 
 
 878 
 
 248 
 
 215,331 
 
 96 
 
 1,918 
 
 9 
 
 6,487 
 
 2 
 1 
 10 
 21 
 23 
 23 
 7 
 
 16 
 4 
 
 16 
 
 16 
 4 
 
 12 
 8 
 
 Fourth 
 
 Fifth 
 
 Sixth ,... 
 
 Seventh 
 
 
 
 
 Total Area 
 
 224,970 
 
 18 
 
 4 
 
APPENDICES. 
 
 257 
 
 (Table A continued.) 
 
 11 AND 12. ASHMOUNAIN (ASSIOUT) AND MANFALOUT 
 
 (ASSIOUT). 
 
 Classes. 
 
 fiates 
 of the 
 Tax in 
 
 Mishts. 
 
 Mishts 
 
 reduced to 
 
 Piastres. 
 
 Area of each ClasR in 
 Faddans, KSrats, and Sahms. 
 
 F. 
 
 K. 
 
 s. 
 
 11. ashmounain 
 (Assiout). 
 
 First 
 
 22 
 17 
 12 
 10 
 
 n 
 
 6 
 
 5| 
 
 5 
 
 3 
 
 Piast. Paras. 
 
 49 20 
 38 10 
 27 — 
 22 20 
 19 05 
 16 20 
 13 20 
 12 30 
 11 10 
 6 30 
 
 1,795 
 
 1,091 
 
 174,060 
 
 4,429 
 
 7 
 
 9,414 
 
 37 
 
 6 
 
 115 
 
 19 
 20 
 22 
 20 
 
 1 
 12 
 19 
 
 5 
 16 
 
 8 
 12 
 20 
 12 
 20 
 12 
 8 
 8 
 12 
 
 Second 
 
 Third 
 
 Fourth 
 
 Fifth 
 
 Sixth 
 
 Seventh 
 
 Eighth 
 
 Ninth 
 
 Tenth 
 
 
 
 
 Total Area 
 
 190,959 
 
 18 
 
 16 
 
 12. Manfalout 
 (Assiout). 
 
 First 
 
 22 
 17 
 12 
 11 
 10 
 6 
 5 
 
 49 20 
 38 10 
 27 — 
 24 30 
 22 20 
 13 20 
 11 10 
 
 177 
 
 34 
 
 95,085 
 
 12 
 
 1,346 
 
 2,540 
 
 30 
 
 10 
 18 
 
 6 
 13 
 14 
 
 7 
 19 
 
 8 
 20 
 
 16 
 20 
 16 
 20 
 
 Second 
 
 Third 
 
 Fourth 
 
 Fifth 
 
 Sixth 
 
 • 
 Seventh 
 
 
 
 Total Area 
 
 99,227 
 
 19 
 
 4 
 
268 
 
 ON LANDED PKOPEETY IN EGYPT. 
 
 (Table A contvnued.) 
 
 13 AND 14. GUIRGAH AND PROVINCES OF EL-SHALLAL 
 (OATARAOT) AND OF IBRIM. 
 
 Glass. 
 
 Rates 
 of the 
 Tax in 
 Mishts. 
 
 Mishts 
 
 reduced to 
 
 Piastres. 
 
 Area of each Class in 
 Fadd^ns, Ktr^ts, and Sahms. 
 
 P. 
 
 K. 
 
 s. 
 
 13. GUIRGAH. 
 
 First 
 
 22 
 
 17 
 
 12 
 
 11 
 
 10 
 
 6 
 
 5 
 
 3 
 
 Piast. Paras. 
 49 20 
 
 38 10 
 27 — 
 24 30 
 22 20 
 13 20 
 11 10 
 6 30 
 
 1,219 
 
 488 
 
 396,499 
 
 49 
 
 12,425 
 
 12,793 
 
 10,623 
 
 8 
 
 22 
 9 
 4 
 7 
 
 14 
 
 1 
 
 7 
 
 8 
 
 12 
 
 8 
 
 8 
 
 20 
 
 12 
 12 
 
 Second 
 
 Third 
 
 Fourth 
 
 Fifth 
 
 Sixth 
 
 Seventh 
 
 Eighth 
 
 
 
 
 Total Area 
 
 434,106 
 
 19 
 
 8 
 
 14. Tee Provinces oe Bl-Shallal and IsEfM are now- 
 comprised within the Moudiriah of Issnah, and are 
 known under the name of " Quissm Halfah." See end 
 of Note 3 on page 220. 
 
 In those Provinces Dues or Taxes were levied on : — 
 
 1. The Sakiahs, at the rate of P.T. 70 per Sakiah ; 
 
 2. The Shadoups „ ,, „ 00 |^ per Sha- 
 
 douf. 
 
APPENDICES. 
 
 259 
 
 SUMMARY OF TABLE A, 
 
 Showing the Total Area of Kharddji Lands on which 
 Taxes were laid in 1813 = 1228 A.H. 
 
 Province. 
 
 1. Buhairah 
 
 2. Gharbiah 
 
 3. Sharkiah. 
 
 4. Dakahliah 
 6, Manoufiah 
 
 6. Guizah. 
 
 7. Kalioubiah 
 
 8. Itflh ... 
 
 9. Fayyoum 
 
 10. Ashmounain 
 
 11. Bahnasawiah 
 
 12. Manfalout 
 
 13. Guirgah 
 
 F. 
 
 K. 
 
 s. 
 
 135,831 
 
 17 
 
 16 
 
 511,920 
 
 19 
 
 8 
 
 319,995 
 
 6 
 
 16 
 
 341,662 
 
 13 
 
 16 
 
 286,628 
 
 21 
 
 16 
 
 84,768 
 
 10 
 
 4 
 
 136,274 
 
 14 
 
 8 
 
 25,103 
 
 6 
 
 12 
 
 112,819 
 
 10 
 
 20 
 
 190,959 
 
 18 
 
 16 
 
 224,970 
 
 18 
 
 4 
 
 99,227 
 
 19 
 
 4 
 
 434,106 
 
 19 
 
 8 
 
 Cadaster of 1813, Kharddji Lands 2,904,270 3 4, 
 
260 
 
 ON LANDED PROPERTY IN EGYPT. 
 
 Table B. 
 
 Showing the Highest and Lowest Taxes on the 
 Kharadji Lands in 1867 = 1284 A.H. 
 
 Name of Province. 
 
 Athariah Lands. 
 
 Higheet 
 Rate. 
 
 Lowest 
 Rate. 
 
 Mazronf Lands. 
 
 Highest 
 Rate. 
 
 Lowest 
 Rate. 
 
 1. Buhairah .... 
 
 2. Gharbiah .... 
 
 3. Sharkiah .... 
 
 4. Dakahliah 
 
 5. Manoufiah . 
 
 6. Galioubiah . 
 
 7. Guizah 
 
 8. Fayyoum 
 
 9. Bani-Souef . 
 
 10. Miniah 
 
 11. Assiout 
 
 12. Guirgah 
 
 13. Kina , 
 
 14. Issnah 
 
 Piast. 
 136 
 
 159 
 
 141 
 
 174 
 
 163 
 
 168 
 
 166 
 
 133 
 
 153 
 
 154 
 
 136 
 
 147 
 
 134 
 
 129 
 
 Paras, 
 2 
 
 21i 
 
 4 
 33| 
 
 5| 
 23i 
 
 1^ 
 231 
 
 30 
 
 048 
 
 Piast. Paras. 
 
 57 30 
 
 32 3} 
 
 51 13i 
 
 51 13^ 
 
 52 24 
 65 18 
 30 32 
 64 6f 
 51 13^ 
 39 31^ 
 64 6| 
 77 — 
 64 6| 
 14 — 
 
 Piast. Paras. 
 
 449 7 
 
 300 12 
 
 223 12 
 
 1,212 30 
 
 917 24 
 
 1,953 35 
 
 675 4 
 
 344 36 
 
 252 25 
 
 Piast. Paras. 
 
 107 32 
 
 33 14| 
 
 155 llj 
 
 148 34| 
 
 4 15 
 
 148 9 
 
 142 33 
 
 54 
 
 322 
 
 4.9 
 
 166 33^ 
 
 314 16| 
 
 160 16| 
 
 269 20 
 
 6| 
 
 51 13i 
 
 26 38 
 
 77 — 
 
 83 16f 
 
 51 13i 
 
 23 — 
 
 Throughout all 
 
 Egjpt 
 
 Highest Rate 
 per Fadd^n. 
 
 174 21^ 
 
 Lowest Rate 
 per Fadd^n. 
 
 14 — 
 
 Highest Rate 
 per Paddan. 
 
 1,953 35 
 
 Lowest Rate 
 per Paddan. 
 
 4 15 
 
 Note. — The gradations between the Highest and Lowest Rates are 
 very numerous ; thus, for example, in Dakahliah there are 87 different 
 rates of tax, of which the highest is P.T. 174'21^, and the lowest is 
 P.T. 51'13^, on the Athariah Lands; and in Guirgah there are 73 
 different rates of tax-lease, of which the highest is P.T. 31 4 '161, and 
 the lowe-"*': is P.T. 83'16|, on the Mazrouf Lands. 
 
APPENDICES. 261 
 
 Table 0. 
 
 I here give a comparative table of the number of 
 date-palms counted in the censuses of 1862, 1876, and 
 1884. 
 
 The figures for the first two years have been taken 
 from the excellent report on the tax of the palm-trees 
 which Baron von Kremer made for the High Com- 
 mission of Enquiry, of which he was a member as the 
 delegate of Austria-Hungary. 
 
 The figures for the third of those years have been 
 taken from the collection of statements relating to the 
 land-taxes and to the date-palm tithe for the year 1884, 
 published by the Direction des Goiitributions Directes of 
 the Finance Ministry. 
 
 It must be remarked that the date-palms of the Pro- 
 vinces of Kina and Issnah not having been taxed in" 
 1862, they were left out of the rolls of the taxes, and 
 hence their number for that year is not known. 
 
 All the date-trees having come under taxation, in 
 consequence of the law of 10 Eadjab 1868, as we have 
 said, those of both the aforenamed Provinces were 
 counted ; thus we have their number for the year 1876. 
 
 The figures given for 1884 are those of the census 
 which was made in consequence of the decree of 28th 
 May, 1881. 
 
262 
 
 ON LANDED PEOPEBTY IN EGYPT. 
 
 (Table continued.) 
 
 Numbers of Palm-Te.ebs in Egypt eob the Ybaes 
 1862, 1876, and 1884. 
 
 Prorince. 
 
 1862. 
 
 1876. 
 
 1884. 
 
 Buhairah 
 
 51,896 
 95,968 
 72,602 
 419,469 
 104,412 
 21,806 
 
 387,543 
 116,522 
 365,285 
 192,821 
 360,510 
 393,332 
 
 52,009 
 220,989 
 119,048 
 499,854 
 110,889 
 
 21,566 
 
 374,305 
 87,715 
 312,450 
 176,398 
 333,994 
 679,765 
 566,875 
 528,142 
 
 58,016 
 180,077 
 122,315 
 504,175 
 131,557 
 
 26,674 
 
 352,303 
 106,986 
 241,657 
 204,580 
 355,903 
 315,586 
 262,381 
 522,088 
 
 Gharbiah 
 
 Dakahliah 
 
 Sharkiah. 
 
 Kalioubiah 
 
 Manoufiah 
 
 Guizah 
 
 Bani-Souef 
 
 Fayyoum 
 
 Miniah 
 
 Assiout 
 
 Guirgah 
 
 JCina 
 
 Issnah 
 
 
 Totals. 
 Lower E2fVDt 
 
 1862. 
 
 766,153 
 1,816,013 
 
 1876. 
 1,024,355 
 3,059,645 
 
 1884. 
 1,021,811 
 2,361,434 
 
 XJiDDer EffVDt 
 
 
 Grand Totals 
 
 2,582,166 
 
 4,084,000 
 
 3,383,245 
 
 
"WTMAW Aim SONS, PEIMTEES, 
 GREAT QUEEN STEEET, IINCOLN'S-IKM" riBLDS, 
 LONDOW, W.C.