77 c'.:.

The Budget of the forty-eight mixed municipalities and local commissions in ;[914_15 showed the following totals :— Ordinary Budget—' Government subvention Other resources £E. 112,034 189,986 Total Extraordinary Budget 302,020 103,108 In 1919-20, the budgets of the fifty-seven mixed and local commissions showed the following totals :— Ordinary Budget— Government subvention Other resources £E. 125,645 321,964 Total Extraordinary Budget 447,609 248,080 It should, however, be observed that among “other resources” is included in 1919-20 a sum of £E. 40,037 representing the Government donation for the year to municipal staff to meet the increased cost of living.

The provident funds for municipal stall first established in 1913 have proved a success and are now in full working order.

Alexandria Municifality.

The revenues of the Alexandria municipality have increased from £E. 325,000 in 1914 to an estimated £E. 422,000 for 1920 by the development of old sources of taxation, the imposition of new taxes on dogs and on the sale of alcoholic liquors, and the rent of the Bourse, wliichi became municipal property in 1917. Expenditure, however, has increased, owing to the increased cost of materials and the rise in wages, from £E. 322,500 in 1914 to £E. 445,500 (estimated) in 1920. The Budget for the current year therefore shows a deficit of £E. 23,500; and it appears likely that fresh sources of revenue will have to be found if the municipal development of Alexandria, which has hitherto made creditable progress at a moderate cost, is not to be interrupted.

The construction and repair of roads was considerably reduced during the war, but drainage w'orks continued, and the construction of a breakwater, based on Eort Kaid Bey, and designed to protect the quays of the eastern harbour, was begun in 1914 and finished in 1916. Nev/ building regulations will shortly be put into force, and a town-planning scheme is in preparation.

The development of parks and gardens in the town was also interrupted by the war, but much time and labour was devoted to the decoration of military hospitals, camps, and soldiers’ clubs with plants and' flowers. Mr. A. Antoniadis has generously given to tlie town his fine garden property which adjoins the municipal garden at Nuzha on the Mahmudia Canal.

A certain amount of excavation has been done in Alexandria and at Abukir, and the time is approaching when it will be necessary to build a larger museum.

The mortality at Alexandria has increased from 34-1 per thousand in 1915 to 42 in 1919.

48. Provincial Councils.

The financial situation in the years 1914 and 1919 was as follows :— INCOME.

Year. Direct Taxes. Other Eeceipts. Economies. Total.

nil 4 1019 £E. 242,142 2.08,338 £E. 58,791 122,245 £E. 279,883 293,279 £E. .580,816 673 862 House of Commons Parliamentary Papers Online. Copyright (c) 2006 ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved.