The Sun.
London, England, 1862-01-14 00:00:00

EGYPT.

A letter from Alexandria, dated Jan. 3, says—
The perseverance shown by the Egyptian Govern-
ment in its attempts to put its affairs in order, by
strictly retracting its expenses, husbanding its re-
sources, and punctually meeting its engagements, is
already bearing its fruits in renewed and increasing
feelings of confidence, and in strong hopes on all
sides that the crisis, which a few months ago was
watched with so much anxiety, has been safely
passed over. I write of course of things as they
aro at the actual moment. It may be, as some
persons maintain, that the present state of affairs
will not last, and that the finances of the Govern-
ment will before long be in as bad a plight as ever ;
but we may look upon it as a hopeful symptom
that the Government has thus far persevered in
placing its chief reliance upon the best, albeit the
most trying, remedy—namely, a system of rigid
economy in its expenditure. Beyond this point I
shall:not be expected to venture an opinion,and must
content myself with recording the events and public
impressions of the day.
The main source of embarrassment that still
existed when I last wrote on the subject has been
removed by the Porte having rescinded the order
whereby the Egyptian Government was prohibited
from accepting a loan. The Viceroy is now for-
mally authorised to borrow to the extent of 20
millions of francs for the purpose of supplying im-
mediate requirements, which, though not large,
would have given most trouble. The relaxation of
the order previously received from the Imperial
Government is reported as having been granted in
reference chiefly to the offers received from the
German capitalists ; but the Viceroy has intimated
his determination to wait until the minor, but still
existing obstacles, arising from his engagements
with his French creditors, are removed by means of
the intervention of M. Thouvenel, who, as I have
informed you, has undertaken the arbitration of
the questions between the Egyptian Government
and the Comptoir d'Escompte. It is believed
that the contract will then probably be offered to
public competition. Meanwhile, however, the Vice-
roy has left on a visit to Upper Egypt, and, I be-
lieve, without coming to any formal determination
on the subject.

I have given priority of notice to what must be
considered the more important question of the day,
as regards Egyptian affairs ; but, however strange
the statement may appear when coming from this
country, I must in truth proceed to say that it is the
state of the weather that has of late afforded the
most prominent subject of remark at Alexandria.
For some six weeks past we have had almost inces-
sant rain, and the consequence to the inhabitants of
the town and to the mercantile community in par-
ticular through the effects of the rain upon the
streets and roads are becoming more serious than a
person unacquainted with the place would readily
imagine. I have spoken in praise of the economy
now practised by the Government in its expendi
ture; but even the highest virtue may be carried to
an extreme, and the truth of the adage will cer-
tainly be exemplified here, unless the Government
find means to repair the roads in and about the town.
That along the banks of the canal, where the mer-
cl.ants' stores are situated, and where most of the
produce is bought and landed, and the roads lead-
ing thence to the shipping wharves, are in a state I
could hardly attempt to describe without running
the risk of being suspected of exaggeration. The
merchants are loudly, and certainly with reason,
complaining of the growing difficulties, delays, and
confusion experienced in the transport of goods for
shipment. Every moment one or more laden, or even
empty, carts may be seen stuck fast in the deep and
peculiarly tenacious mud that belongs to those par-
ticular localities, of course obstructing the road to
other vehicles, while the desperate struggling and
plunging of the horses only add to the confusion.
Even the streets in town are in most places at least
ankle-deep in mud, yielding exhalations the unfra-
grancy of which is perhaps not their lightest evil.
I cannot undertake to say how far this state of
things may be chargeable with the matter, but it
appears that the state of public health here is
far from satisfactory. According to the sanitary
returns for the past year, the number of births is
only about 1,000 in excess of the deaths. At Cairo,
it is true, the state of things is still worse. The
number of deaths there actually exceeds the births,
being in round numbers 11,000 and 12,000 respec-
tively.

A notice has for some days been affixed at the
doors of the French Consulate, by which the com-
munity of that nation is informed that the Viceroy,
in compliance with the desires expressed to him,
has given orders for immediate repairs to the roads.
As yet we see no sign of work, but it is really to
be hoped that the Government, for the sake of its
own credit, will speedily redeem its promise. Peo-
ple, of course, feel indebted to the French Consul
for his valuable support of the public demands, even
though his somewhat pompously-worded notice has
not escaped being made the subject of a little plea-
santry. But the incident affords no bad illustration
to the talent generally displayed by the French
Consular authorities in associating their names with
acts of general utility, whether it be in matters of
minor importance, such as the present, or in others
of greater moment, as in the case of the recent finan-
cial reforms. For urging them upon the Viceroy,
M. de Beauval has received a large share of credit.
The Consulate at Cairo, through the death of
Mr. Crowe, who had just been appointed to it, still
remains vacant. The English residents there have
been actively engaged collecting subscriptions to
present Mr. Walne, their late Consul, with a testi-
monial on the occasion of his official retirement.
At a numerous meeting under the presidency of Mr.
Ayrton, of Cairo, the brother of the member for the
Tower Hamlets, the sum collected was announced
as little short of £5OO, and a highly complimentary
address to Mr. Walne was unanimously agreed to.
A similar address was also voted to Mr. Vice-Con-
sul Calvert, who for the past two years has effi-
ciently filled the office of acting-consul at Cairo,
during Mr. Walne's absence.
The Manilla arrived here this evening, bringing
the overdue mail for Bombay as well as those for
Calcutta and China. The Bombay boat was to
sail from Suez immediately on receiving her
mails and passengers, who were at once sent
forward. At the present moment our latest intelli-
gence from London is of the Ist inst.