The tenure of land is an important question just now, and men's
minds are disposed to give the subject consideration. Mr. George's
exciting book has attracted surprising attention. "Thou shalt not
sell the land of the Lord thy God for ever," seems likely to prove
correct. Egypt has a land history of much significance. Anciently
the land was the property of the priests, and of the king and the
military class. Although there were no castes, still the fact that
the son usually followed his father's occupation, served the
purpose of caste. Even Joseph did not purchase the land of the
priests when he bought all the rest. Before the time of Mehemet
Ali, say up to about a hundred years ago, a kind of feudal system
prevailed, but by the massacre of the Mamelukes the feudal system
was destroyed. Mehemet Ali seized almost all the landed property,
and gave the owners pensions for life. There is scarcely such a
thing as private tenure of land now in Egypt.
This little bit of cultivated land has actually borrowed in the
last fifteen years no less than L80,000,000 sterling
($400,000,000). Twelve hundred miles of railway have been built,
and numerous canals, harbors, and lighthouses constructed; but the
amount spent in useful works bears but a small proportion to that
squandered. The greatest item of all, however, is the discount
paid upon the five successive loans by which funds were obtained.
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