Introduction (1) I referred in my last report to the improvement of conditions and the reassurance of the people in the country, and I say now that this improvement has continued and has been satisfactory. The complete tranquility that encompassed Egypt throughout the year has been of the greatest benefit, because the success of the country's inhabitants in their economic affairs is linked to the continuation of this satisfactory state. And there is great hope that if natural conditions remain favorable, the country will experience continuous progress and prosperity without interruption.

And if we consider the unusually low Nile flood, it is evident that the year was more prosperous and abundant than expected. If the Nile waters had receded to this extent in previous years, this recession would have been a general and widespread disaster for the nation. However, the completion of the Aswan Dam in 1912 made available sufficient water reserves to achieve the cotton harvest, which is the greatest source of the country's wealth. Nevertheless, the small part of the Nile Valley where summer irrigation is not available suffered greatly from the severe drought, as the Nile waters did not reach its basins. Many people were forced to seek their livelihood elsewhere, and many of them found opportunities open by working in canal projects in the Delta. The government did what it could to help them, so the people of the drought-stricken regions were able to compensate for their losses to some extent by their ingenuity and foresight.

Furthermore, the low flood, which had such a bad effect in Upper Egypt, led at the end of the year to a great decrease in the Nile waters, unprecedented in a hundred years or more. Despite all the available means and measures, these waters will not be sufficient to irrigate the cotton crop in the spring of 1914. As for other crops, they will inevitably suffer from thirst, and rice, which requires a large amount of water, cannot be planted at all. This confirms the views I presented in last year's report regarding the necessity of increasing the supply of stored water for irrigation in early summer by building a dam on the Mediterranean Sea. It will become clear from what follows in another period that the necessary measures have been taken to bring this project from conception to reality.