- 46 -Their election is that each country elects a delegate for itself, and every adult male in it has the right to vote. These delegates then follow up and elect members for the province from which they come, were it not for the need to explain their duties in detail (1). Then the provincial councils elect members of the Legislative Council, and the General Assembly is composed of the Speaker, and 46 notables, the President of the Legislative Council, his deputies, and his members. Of these, 11 are from the major cities of Egypt, and the rest are from 30 centers, and the method of their election is like the method of electing members of the provincial councils. The Legislative Council meets six times a year. The General Assembly meets at least once every two years. No law or high order containing a public administration regulation is issued except after it is presented to the Legislative Council. If the government does not rely on the Council's opinion, it must explain its reasons for rejecting it. The Council may request the government to enact laws. The budget for the current year and the final government accounts for the past year must be presented to it. The Council may present its opinions and desires on any part of the budget. If the government rejects them, it must state the reasons for its rejection. No new tax may be imposed on movable or immovable property, nor personal taxes, except after the General Assembly's decision approves it. This matter, which Lord Dufferin insisted on, is very important, but people did not pay much attention to it, because no new tax had been imposed on them since the establishment of the General Assembly. The General Assembly must participate (1) in any public loan (2) in the construction of any canal or railway passing through several provinces, or in the cancellation of that canal or railway (3) in the assessment of the Egyptian country's assets to estimate their values. So, if the two are elected, I have said what I can about the authority and composition of these two bodies. I see people saying that Lord Dufferin intended to promote them immediately, perhaps. But the British and Egyptian governments did not disagree, because they did not fulfill the promises they claim Lord Dufferin made, but rather disagreed. I do not know the proof of those people for the correctness of this statement, as there is not the slightest evidence in Lord Dufferin's report. Anyone who reads that report cannot but conclude that the idea that was foremost in the mind of its author, at the time of writing, was against the promotion of the councils in question, quickly in Egypt. For after mentioning how the process was carried out "with deliberation, hesitation, induction, and experience" in India, he said, "As for what we have indicated for establishment in Egypt, it is characterized by haste and generosity.