ALGERIA
316
whole, but this estimate, due to General Faidherbe, is not easy to verify. The total population increased from 3,310,402 in 1881 to 4,393,696 in 1896. In those years the numbers of the native and of the European inhabitants are shown in the above table. According to these figures, the native element increased by 28 per cent., the French by 25 per cent., and the non-French European by 12 per cent. Of the European (non-French) population in 1896, 63,205 lived in the department of Algiers, 113,279 in the department of Oran, 35,051 in the department of Constantine. About half the number were Spanish ; after them came Italians, Maltese, Germans, &c. In 1896 the area and population of the three departments and the population of the military territory in each department were as follows:— Population of Area, Square Total Military Departments Miles. Population. Territory. Algiers 65,929 213,461 1,526,667 Oran 44,616 1,028,248 140,071 73,921 202,611 Constantine 1,838,781 Total
184,466
4,393,696
556,143
The area of the Algerian Sahara is about 123,500 square miles, and the population about 50,000. Movement of populodion.—During three years the registered marriages, births, and deaths were as follows :—
In 1897 the divorces numbered 12,267 ; in 1898, 11,876 ; in 1899, 12,364. In those years, respectively, the still-births numbered 2423, 2837, and 2803. Of the living births in 1899, 17,637 were European, 2464 Jewish, and 115,274 Mussulman. In 1899, 1017 persons were naturalized. From 1865 to 1899, 25,611 were naturalized, of whom 8001 were Italian, 4816 Spanish, 6633 German, and 1315 Anglo-Maltese. Algeria, in its three departments, contains 17 subordinate prefectures and 348 communes. The important towns are Algiers (96,784 inhabitants), Blidah (27,772), Medea (16,235), Tizi-Ouzou, (27,466), in the department of Algiers; Constantine (51,997), Bone (34,498), Bougie (14,299), Guelma (7288), Philippeville (20,450), Setif (16,061), in the department of Constantine; Oran (85,081), Mascara (22,203), Mostaganem (17,353), Tlemcen (34,866), in the department of Oran. Government. — AXgzvia. is administered by a civil governorgeneral. By decree of 26th August 1881, the budget of the colony was divided among the budgets of the various ministries, and the various services were placed under the direct authority of the respective ministers of France (a system called the rattachement), but, after the parliamentary inquiry of 1891, the system was modifie.l, and the decree of 1st January 1897, augmenting the powers of the governor-general, suppressed the rattachement, except as regards worship, non-Mussulman justice, public instruction, and the customs. The governor is assisted by a superior council of government, the number of members of which was increased by a decree of 23rd August 1898. Another decree of the same date created the Algerian financial delegations, an elective body representing three categories of taxpayers : (1) the colonists, (2) taxpayers other than colonists, and (3) the natives. The duty of the delegations is to investigate all questions of taxation. Since 1900 Algeria has had a special budget of its own. Education.-—Algiers is the capital of an academic circumscription comprising the whole colony, and is besides the seat of an establishment for superior instruction consisting of faculties of law and of sciences, and a superior school of letters. The total number of students is 786, of whom 300 are students of law. Algeria has three lycees (at Algiers, Constantine, and Oran) with 2000 pupils, and nine communal colleges with 3863 pupils, besides a college for girls at Oran with 194 pupils. Most primary schools are Arab-French ; the purely Arab are not numerous ; some purely French exist. In the year 1897-98 the total number of primary schools was 1168, of which 489 were in the department of Algiers, 347 in that of Constantine, and 332 in that of Oran. The total number of pupils in the schools was 108,000, of whom’ 65 000 were boys and 43,000 girls. In the year 1897-98 the number of children at infant schools was 29,000. There are three superior Mussulman schools at Algiers, Plemcen, and Constantine, where pupils are prepared for native employments. Justice.—Justice is administered in the last resort by a court of appeal sitting at Algiers. There are sixteen tribunals of arrondissements or tribunals of first instance, besides tribunals of commerce I
and justices of the peace with extensive jurisdiction. Criminal justice is organized as in France. In 1897, 470 criminal charges were laid, resulting in 439 convictions; 71,210 persons were accused of minor offences and 21,228 of misdemeanours. In the penal establishments there were registered 50,223 entrances, of which 797 were for long terms of imprisonment and 49,426 (including 1416 women) were for shorter terms. Concurrently with the French there is a Mussulman system of justice for the decision of suits between natives. It is administered in the first instance by the cadis, whose sentences, on appeal, are within the jurisdiction of French courts. Finance.—The increase of the expenditure is shown by the following budget estimates for 1880, 1890, and 1899 (25 francs = £1):— Years. Expenditure. 1880 £4,040,000 1890 4,920,000 1899 5,100,000 In 1899 the civil expenditure amounted to £2,920,000, the military to £2,080,000, and the pensions to £100,000. The receipts for 1899 were put at £2,166,000, of which £1,584,000 was from taxation, £218,000 from monopolies, and £178,000 from customs. The expenditure thus exceeded the receipts by £2,934,000, the deficit being met by the French Treasury, which besides providing for the military outlay contributes £860,000 towards the civil expenditure. But for a proper estimate of the cost of Algeria to France, besides the sums paid to the state as contributions to the public service, those paid to the departments and to the communes, amounting to about £1,600,000 annually, must be taken into account. Altogether Algeria spends about £6,680,000, towards which it contributes only £3,760,000. Army.—The army constitutes the nineteenth French army corps. Its three divisions are at Algiers, Oran, and Constantine respectively, and contain a total strength of 60,800 rank and file. The elements of the divisions are the Zouaves (13,670), Algerian Rifles (15,249), the foreign legion (10,759), the African light infantry (8253), the African chasseurs (5314), and the Spahis (3532). Agriculture.—By far the most important of the resources of the colony is agriculture, on which on 1st January 1898, 3,644,614 persons were estimated to be dependent, 207,310 being Europeans. At the same date the area cultivated was estimated at 26,182,000 acres, of which 7,647,100 acres were under wheat and other cereals (1,188,100 acres belonging to Europeans, and 6,459,000 acres to natives). In 1880 the area under cereals did not exceed 7,768,000 acres. The crops of wheat, barley, and oats yielded respectively 12, 16, and 1-2 millions of cwt. in 1880, and 14-6, 18, and 1-6 in 1898. In the latter year rye and maize yielded respectively 1,748,000 and 200,000 cwts. The cultivation of the vine, after encountering serious difficulties, has greatly extended. The vineyard area and produce in various years were :— Years. 1872 1880 1888 1898
Acres. 39,500 55,800 308,750 348,270
Gallons. 4,994,000 9,504,000 60,742.000 100,194,600
The value of the wine-yield in 1898 was not less than £6,600,000 sterling. Of the three departments Oran produced the largest quantity, 40,772,600 gallons; then Algiers, 37,037,000 gallons; and Constantine, 22,385,000 gallons. Tobacco covers 17,330 acres, yielding 106,480 cwt. Early fruits are cultivated with success in the Mitija. There are about 7,000,000 olive-trees, which promise to become a source of wealth. Alfa-grass, an important article of commerce with England, grows on the high plateaus, where about 410,000 tons are annually gathered on an area of about 2,964,000 acres or 4630 square miles. Forests. The forests cover an area (chiefly on the mountain slopes) of about 7,410,000 acres, or 11,600 square miles. About 1,235,000 acres are in private ownership, 247,000 acres belong to communes, and the whole of the remainder is the property of the state. The cork-oak extends over an area of 684,000 acres, the zeen-oak and the aleppo pine belong to valuable species. The date-palm is cultivated in the oases ; at Biskra there are 150,000 palm-trees ; in the Ziban,,556,000 ; in the Wed Kir, 637,000 ; in the Souf, 180,000. Live Stock.—The live stock in 1898 consisted of 202,343 horses, 142,/96 mules, 25o,8r0 asses, 205,827 dromedaries, 1,004,175 cattle, 7,026,290 sheep, 3,566,508 goats, and 90,765 pigs ; in all, 12,494,574 animals, of which 831,457 belonged to non-natives and 11,663,’ll? to natives. The value of the agricultural material was estimated at £1,160,000 sterling. Mines and quarries.—In the department of Algiers are coal-mines yielding about 10,000 tons of coal annually. Iron is mined at Mokta el Hadid, at Ain Mokra, and at other places ; the yearly
