- 46-The regulations stipulate that each town elects a delegate, and every adult male in it has the right to participate. These delegates then elect the members of the provincial councils, from which they are drawn. There is no need to detail their duties. The provincial councils then elect the members of the Legislative Council. The public body consists of the ministers, four notables, the president of the Legislative Council, his deputy, and its members. Eleven of them are from the major cities of Egypt, and the rest are from 35 districts. Their election method is similar to that of the provincial council members.

The Legislative Council meets six times a year, and the public body meets at least every two years. No law or order concerning the general administrative regulations can be issued without being presented to the Legislative Council. If the government does not accept the council's opinion, it must inform it of the reason for its refusal. The council may request the government to enact laws. The budget for the next year and the final accounts of the government for the past year must be presented to it. The council may express its opinions and desires on any part of the budget. If the government rejects them, it must explain the reasons for its rejection. No new tax can be imposed on movable or immovable property, nor can a personal tax be levied, unless the public body approves it. This order, issued by Lord Dufferin, is very important, but people have not paid much attention to it because no new tax has been imposed since the public body was established. The public body must be consulted on any public loan, on the construction of any canal or railway that benefits several provinces, or on the cancellation of such a canal or railway, and on the valuation of Egyptian lands to assess their capital.

I will now mention some of what is clear to me regarding the authority and composition of these two bodies.

I see what they say, that Lord Dufferin intended to promote them immediately and soon, but the British and Egyptian governments did not support them, not because they did not change the promises that Lord Dufferin allegedly made, but rather they neglected them. I do not know what evidence those people have for the correctness of this statement, as there is not the slightest evidence in Lord Dufferin's report. Anyone who reads that report can only conclude that the idea that dominated the minds of the writers when they wrote it was against the rapid promotion of the councils we are discussing in Egypt. After he mentioned how the process in India was carried out "with deliberation, hesitation, induction, and verification," he said, "As for what we have indicated by our hesitation in the land of Egypt and the people..." (1) Muhammad's words in (7) Local Self-Government.