Printed papers on the political situation and military policy in Egypt [‎38v] (76/176)

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“ It cannot be expected that these men will be willing to give up these
advantages; they are a semi-educated class, most of them being able to read and
write a little, soaked in Communistic ideas and very independent. As an
instance, in many cases they have lately been insisting on an uniform rate of pay
based on the highest for all workmen on the job, with no regard to the degree of
efficiency, a degree which varies very much more, 1 believe, amongst Egyptians
than amongst European workers.
“ As I have mentioned in the report, I believe that, if the decrease of wages
is gradual enough, and is accompanied by a similar decrease in the price of
commodities and necessities, it is possible that the matter may adapt itself, but
if, as also is possible, a sudden slump in the price and demand for labour should
occur, I expect that there will be considerable trouble with the workmen,
especially in the classes mentioned, whose impatience of contiol of any kind has
become so marked lately.’’
16. Drug Traffic.
46. In view of the fact that morphia from the United Kingdom and elsewhere
appeared to be reaching the Ear East in quantities largely in excess of the amount
required for legitimate purposes, the problem of the drug traffic was considered
comprehensively during 1920 with a view to giving effect in Egypt by local legisla
tion to a system of control similar to that provided in the international Opium
Convention, it being undesirable, for political reasons, to raise the question ol the
adherence of Egypt to the convention.
47. The problem of the cultivation of the opium poppy in Egypt was carefully
examined. Before the war the area under such cultivation in Egypt was small,
averaging about 410 acres. Egyptian opium, which is grown almost exclusively in
Upper Egypt in scattered patches along the Nile banks, is of an inferior quality,
and the crop was almost entirely consumed locally in crude form by natives. The
only existing law on the subject of drugs, the Pharmacy Law of 1904. did not touch
this abuse, containing no reference to the cultivation of the opium poppy or to the
production of raw opium.
48. By 1918, owing to the inflation of prices resulting from restricted import,
no less than 2,543 acres in Egypt has been planted with opium; and in October of
that year the Government, in view of the necessity of increasing the area under
cereal ciops, prohibited its cultivation altogether. This prohibition was removed in
October 1919 with the disappearance of the danger of a shortage in cereals, and in
1920 some 1,660 acres, i.e., more than four times the average area of before the war,
were again reported to be under opium cultivation.
49. It was finally decided not to prohibit the cultivation of the poppy in Egypt,
but to follow the example of India and experiment in improving it scientifically for
medicinal purposes under Government control. Apart from the difficulty of enforc
ing prohibition in Egypt, it was felt that, at a time when the future of Egyptian
cotton was so precarious, no legitimate means of increasing the economic resources of
the country should be neglected. Work on the basis of plant selection was accord
ingly started towards the end of the year under review, under the supervision of the
Ministry of Agriculture.
50. As regards the import and export of dnms, the practical difficulties of
securing adequate contiol in Egypt, due mainly to her geographical configuration
and to her international commitments, were found to be considerable, and a series
of proposals were successively examined and rejected. It was finally recommended
that the Pharmacy Law of 1904 should simply be supplemented by a decree forbid
ding the export or import of poisonous drugs except under licences to be issued by
the Ministry of the Interior. Owing, however, to the political developments recorded
elsewhere, this decree has not yet been passed by the Council of Ministers.
51. The cultivation of hashish (Indian hemp) in Egypt is the subject of a
special law, of March 1884, which forbids its cultivation in Egypt, and the posses
sion. importation or sale of the crude article. In addition to heavy fines inflicted,
the hashish is confiscated and destroyed. Efforts, however, to enforce that law are
only partially successful, and a large quantity of the drug is smuggled into the
country. The quantities of medicinal preparations of hashish imported are small.
17. The Cotton Seed Control Board.
52. It was found, during the course of the 1916-17 season, that the supply of
cotton seed to Allied countries was seriously impeded bv scarcity of tonnage "and