5 IZ.)

“1. The inferior quality of the seed. “ 2. The serious attacks of rust; the wheats now grown are very subject to the attack of the rust fu:us.

“ 3. The absence of suf&ient natural manure. “ 4. The serious shortage of imported fertilisers. “ 5. The heavy drain on the soil owing to the steady increase of intensive farming.

“ A considerable amount of work has been done by the Botanical Section of the Ministry of Agriculture with a view to improve the existing wheats. A number of wheats have been imported from India, Australia and elsewhere, some of which promise well. No effort is being spared to obtain varieties which, while giving a good yield, are also immune to the attack of ‘ rust,’ About sixty diilerent varieties are being tested.

“ The great reduction in the number of cattle and builaloes in the country from 1,250,000 in 1904 to 940,000 in 1918 has reduced the production of farm manure, causing many cultivators to resort to nitrate of soda or sulphate of ammonia, which have of late years, owing to the war, been almost unprocurable. The shortage of fuel of all kinds has also had a most unfortunate effect, as much of the manure which under ordinaiy circumstances would have been put on the land has been used as fuel, with loss of the nitrogen, the constituent which in this country is the most valuable.

“ As regards supply of artificial manure, this has been seriously affected by the difficulty of snipping during the war; as shipping becomes normal all the chemical manures required can be obtained.

“ It is to be hoped that it may be possible to meet the country’s requirements in cereals by means of importations and without interfering with the liberty of each cultivator to plant his land as he sees fit. But clearly, in the last resort, it may prove necessary to take steps to secure that an adequate area is sown with wheat. This will largely depend on the results of the next harvest in the great grain-producing centres of the world.

“ By arrangements with the Compagnie des Sucreries de I’Egypte, the Government has secured that sugar shall be sold in the country in adequate quantities and at a price far below that which> would prevail in the absence of such special arrangements. The tariff prices are based on a wholesale price of £E. 45 a ton, while the cost of imported sugar in Egypt would be in the neighbourhood of £E. 80 a ton.

“ As regards certain other foodstuffs, the Government is considering the possibility of improving the supply and effectively reducing the price.

“■ The discovery and exploitation of petroleum fields in Egyptian territory have proved of enormous value to the country during the war. Although these fields have not sufficed to meet the whole of the Egyptian requirements for oil fuel, they have supplied sufficient quantities at a moderate price to enable the country’s expenditure of coal to be very materially reduced. Unfortunately the Eptian oilfields furnish a relatively small quantity of paraffin, not more than roughly one-fifth of the country’s requirements. As regards this commodity, therefore, Egypt has been unable to derive much advantage from the existence of its oilfields, and has been obliged to depend' in the main on imported kerosene at a price governed chiefly by the current world price and the cost of freight. The Government has, however, found it possible under its agreement with the Anglo-Egyptian Oilfields Company to moderate in a substantial manner the price which would otherwise be charged, and subject to some temporary irregularities in supply has, on the whole, been able to secure that the public requirements were met, “ The question of the supply of housing accommodation is one that has occupied the anxious attention of the Government. By the recently promulgated Bent Law, a limit has been imposed on the increase of rent which may be demanded of the tenant-s of dwelling-houses, the basis being the rent in force in August 1914, and the increase, subject to certain exceptions, being restricted to 50 per cent, thereon. At the same time the Government is studying the possibility of adopting measures to stimulate the construction of new houses.

“ I have _ indicated above some of the principal economic factors of the present situation. The dominant features are the enormous increase, -unevenly distributed, of the country’s accumulated wealth, and the greatly increased cost House of Commons Parliamentary Papers Online. Copyright (c) 2006 ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved.