- 50 -others that it consults on matters such as the promotion of public knowledge and agriculture, the filling in of ponds and marshes, the improvement of morals, and the prohibition of expenses and the like. The weakness in the system of these councils is what I previously alluded to in my discussion of the Legislative Council and the General Assembly. I mean by this that their composition depends on the individuals elected by the people as their representatives. For these are the ones who elect its members. Mr. Milner wrote, stating that the candidates for these councils are usually from one class of people and have common interests. By this, he means that they are usually from the 'umdas, as I mentioned, or from those aspiring to civilization, and all of them are landowners. This is what I intend to reiterate for the second time, not because I doubt the effectiveness of the provincial councils, but so that it is kept firmly in mind when considering any gradual change in them aimed at expanding their scope. The reason for this matter, and what is related to it, is that the vast majority of the populace has not advanced sufficiently to benefit from the material and intellectual facilities offered to them. Rather, the few aspiring individuals from the country have seen otherwise. This situation can hardly be changed to any significant degree except by the passage of a long time in educating the entire populace, spreading knowledge, and improving their morals and conditions gradually according to the requirements of that time, until independent thought and deliberation spread among its classes. As for the villages and hamlets, the vast majority of the Egyptian people remain content with being represented by European officials or Egyptian officials whose thoughts and desires have been enslaved by European thoughts and desires, until that time comes. And that time is still far away, removed from any effort or endeavor to bring it closer. As for a constitution written in ink on paper, no matter how brilliant its formulation, it cannot achieve this, by voting and renouncing it all at once, while centuries have passed with them having no voice or say, and they have not yet shown any reliable evidence that they desire representation, even though the opportunity to express that desire is offered to them. There is another weakness in the system of provincial councils, but before I discuss it, I will mention what happened after Lord Dufferin wrote his report, aiming to promote local self-government in areas other than those already established. Some municipal councils have been established in Egyptian cities, but there is an obstacle to their expansion and implementation soon. The essential matter in these councils is that their members have the authority to impose taxes on the people of the cities in which they are located for local purposes. This authority cannot be granted over Europeans from