09 391 of the 19 principal Mehkemehs. Down to the end of 19US tlie work had been completed in 12 courts, and in 1909 it was finished in three more. The termination of this very considerable labour—consisting in the classification of documents some of which are upwards of 700 years old—may be expected to be reached in 1911, some ] 3 years from the date when the task was first undertaken.

43. Mixed Tribunals.

Attention was called last year to the congested state of business in the Mixed Tribunals, and to the various suggestions put forward for dealing with it, and I cited the opinion of the late Procureur-Gdueral to the effect that the increase of cases was largely due to the financial crisis, and that the situation would be relieved when the liquidation came to an end. During 1909 there has been a decrease in the arrears, owing to a substantial advance in the judicial output. Eoughly speaking, in 1903-9, with over 24,000 cases set down, more than 25,000 were disposed of, and the arrears accordingly diminished by about 1,000. It is interesting to note, as a symptom of the return to normal conditions, that the number of commercial cases was 4,614 in 1909, as compared \vitli .5,291 in 1908. There had been a large increase in these cases in the preceding year, so it may be presumed that merchants have been meeting their engagements more punctually, and that confidence is being gradually restored. Bankruptcies, how'ever, are not diminishing, and cases of frauduleut bankruptcy increased to 63 in 1909 as compared with 37 in 1908. There were 32 convictions, and of the convicted bankrupts 12 absconded and thus escaped punishment, as the Egyptian Government have no means of obtaining the extradition of fugitive criminals.

During the past year the general cpiestioii of introducing improvements into the existing organization of the Tribunals, with a view to increa.sing their efficiency, was under consideration. The Government have now, as a preliminary to addressing the Powers, submitted their proposals to the International Commission of Judicial Eeform. The modifications suggested are (1) that the number of judges required to constitute a bench should be reduced to five in the Court of Appeal and three in the Tribunals of First Instance; (2) that the Presidents of the Courts, including the Court of Appeal, should be appointed by the Egyptian Government; and (3) that an age limit of 65 years should be fixed both for judges and counsellors. In the meantime, the Government have accepted a suggestion put forward by the Court of Appeal, that, in view of the pressure of business, and of the long intervals which frequently occur between the death or departure of a judge and the appointment of his successor, a supernumerary European judge should be appointed, who would not be specially attached to any of the three Courts, but could be temporarily employed wherever his services were most needed.

It is with great regret that I have to report the death, in October last, of Mr. Sytow, British judge of the Mixed Tribunal in Alexandria since 1906, an able and hard-working magistrate, whose loss will be severely felt by his colleagues. Ho has been succeeded by Mr. Vaux, barrister-at-law, and licentiate of the Paris Faculty of Law, previously a judge of the Native Tribunals.

The Mixed Tribunals have .sustained another great loss by the recent death of the Procureur-Gdndral, M. Borchgrevink, who had rendered valuable and loyal service during sixteen years.

44. International Legislation.

It has been frequently pointed out both by my predecessor and myself that the present system, under which no important law can be made applicable to Europeans resident in Egypt Avithout the consent of fifteen different Powers, has reduced Egypt to a state of legislative impotence, and that the practical inconvenience resulting from this state of affairs is becoming greater every day, as the requirements of the country increase. The following statement of the present position of the various measures now under the consideration of the Powers affords very clear proof of the practical impossibility of working the present system, even when the Powers in general are conciliatory and the proposals themselves arc merely intended to remedy admitted administrative defects which could have no political bearing :— The question of the fusion of the land registry offices was first submitted to the Powers in May 190.3, and, after lengthy discussions throughout 1904, was accepted by a majority of the Great Powers at a meeting of the Plenary Commission in March 1905.

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