1252 THE PROGRESS OF REFORM IN EGYPT.

relate to a large number of samples, were quite satis-

factory, as may be gathered from the following examples. In

the first instance, a prescription was presented containingliquor arsenicalis and tinctura ferri perchloridi as its

important constituents. The amount of arsenic in the

mixture worked out at 0’036 grain per half fluid ounce andthe iron at 0’91 grain per half fluid ounce. In one prescrip-tion the amounts of arsenic and iron found were 0’ 038 grainand 1’0 grain respectively. At another shop the medicinewas found to contain 0’045 grain of arsenic and 1’46 grainsof iron respectively per half fluid ounce. On anotheroccasion quinine hydrochloride with hydrobromic acid wasordered, five grains of the former and hydrobromic acidequivalent to 1’82 grains per fluid ounce. The amountsof quinine hydrochloride and hydrobromic acid found inthe medicine made up at one shop were respectively5’05 grains and 2’ 0 grains. At another shop the amountsrespectively found were quinine hydrochloride 4’90 grainsand hydrobromic acid 1 80 grains per fluid ounce. In athird instance a mixture was ordered containing per fluidounce 10 grains of ammonium bromide, five grains of sodiumbromide, and five grains of potassium bromide. Analysissubsequently showed 11-06 grains of ammonium bromide,4’50 grains of sodium bromide, and 5’2 grains of potassiumbromide. As time permits we hope to continue this inquiry,but meanwhile the results so far show that as ’a rule

prescriptions are made up with distinct accuracy. Weshould be surprised if it were otherwise, as the pharmacistrealises the pains and penalties which he is likely to riskby stepping from the path of integrity and he knowsthat he may at any time be subjected to an official test.

THE PROGRESS OF REFORM IN EGYPT.

THE Earl of Cromer’s annual report is more interestingthis year than usual, His Majesty’s Agent and Consul-general having decided that the moment was opportune forthe introduction of a historical retrospect extending overthe last 20 years. It is as well, he says, that the Egyptiansof the rising generation, to whom a good deal of rather wildtalk is at times addressed, should be reminded of the realfacts of the case. In 1878 a commission of inquiry, ofwhich Lord Cromer himself was a member, summed up the-situation as it then existed in the following terms : " 11 s’agit,en effet, de creer tout un systeme fiscal, et cela avec un

personnel tres restreint ; present presque rien n’existe dece qui doit exister." " The commission found that theabuses which had grown up in every branch of the

Egyptian body politic were so general and so deeplyrooted as to defy the application of any remedy whichwould be effectual and at the same time speedy."They had to deal, not with a patient suffering froma single malady, but with one whose constitution was

shattered and whose every organ was diseased." The task

- set before Lord Cromer and his select band of reformerswas truly herculean, demanding as it did a reduction of

excessive taxaticn and at the same time the introduction of

expensive reforms in every direction, but more especially inthe direction of drainage and irrigation. During the 20

years from 1882 to 1901 the total revenue from all sourcesamounted to ;6E.224,206,151, while the outlay during the

same period came to E. 213,765,415, the balance of

..BE. 10,440,736 representing the sums in reserve whichare at present at the disposal of the Commissioners

of the Debt. Irrespectively of the relief to the popula-tion in general by the reduction of the salt tax and bythe lowering of the postal, railway, and telegraph rates,taxation to the amount of about £ E.32, 000, 000 has beenremitted, and this in spite of an extra charge of upwards ofsix and a quarter millions which has resulted from the re-

occupation of the Sudan. The aggregate amount granted to

. the sanitary department during the 20’years was £ E.1, 852, 515,or less than 1 per cent. of the entire expenditure. The, greater part of this money was devoted to medical rather: than to sanitary work, and in addition " considerable sums

were spent on hospitals, being debited against the publicworks budgets. In this connexion Lord Cromer says :"Some further expenditure, notably in the direction of

making proper provision for lunatics, will probably berequired in the purely medical branch of this department."His lordship also says that it would be a great mis-

take to suppose that of late years nothing has been

done to improve the sanitary condition of the country. Suchits far from being the case. Suitable sites for cemeteries

have been provided for almost every village in Egypt. The

important and difficult work of placing the mosques in agood sanitary condition has been steadily proceeding for

many years. Pure drinking water has been provided inseveral of the larger provincial towns, the main difficultybeing to get the people to use it. Many of the birkets,or stagnant ponds, which exist in the neighbourhood of mostEgyptian villages have been filled up. Heavy expenditurehas also been incurred at the quarantine establishment atTor. At the same time it is certain that much remains to bedone. "My personal opinion, continues Lord Cromer, "isthat it would be a delusion to suppose that sanitation, which,it must be remembered, is a comparatively modern science,can produce in this country anything like the results obtainedin Europe until, with the advance of knowledge and education,the ideas and habits of the mass of the population undergo amaterial change. Nevertheless, I fully recognise that, to

some extent, the Government must take the lead in a matterof this sort. When funds are available more money should

certainly be spent on sanitation." This is a highly satis-factory declaration. The exigencies of finance have hithertointerfered sadly with the development of sanitation in

Egypt, but in 1890 Lord Cromer was able to announce thewelcome fact that " financial equilibrium was secured andhe now adds that the "moment has arrived when fiscalreform need no longer be placed in the front rank.

" That

the necessary funds for sanitation on a large scale will soonbe available is probable. In 1905 the increased revenue tobe derived from the construction of the reservoirs will beginto flow into the treasury. "From that time onwards, there-fore," says Lord Cromer in conclusion, "it may be hopedthat administrative reform, in so far as it depends onfinancial policy, may occupy a more prominent place in theGovernment programme than heretofore. I may add that,in my opinion, the points which most require attention arethe Police, the Department of Justice, and Sanitation."

AN IMPORTANT STEP.

THE pecuniary difficulty which may beset the youngmedical man who decides upon continuing work at his

hospital after qualification and the holding of resident

appointments is often an overwhelming factor in causinghim to alter his decision. As matters stand at present it isoften the case that the man who by nature and ability isbest fitted to continue hospital work and to devote himselfentirely to one particular branch of his profession is unableto do so because of the inadequate rewards attaching tothe posts which for many years he will be called uponto fill. That this should be the case is obviously a pity,not only from the point of view of the medical professionbut also of the general public Unfortunately, it is not

always as obvious to the lay mind as it is to the mind of themedical man that services such as those rendered by regis-trars, curators, and pathologists at hospitals are in reality ofas vital importance as those of the physicians and surgeons.The work of the latter is palpable and appeals to the mostuninformed; the necessary work of the former does not