export. Sugar, coffee, machinery, metal work of all kinds,
clothing and pottery are largely imported. Of these by far
the greater part comes from France. The British imports
consist chiefly of coal, cotton fabrics and machinery.
Communications.--Algeria possesses a railway system covering
over 2000 m. A decree of 1857 granted to the Paris-Lyons
Company the right to construct a line linking Algiers with
Oran (266 m.) and Constantine (290 m.) and shorter lines
joining the seaports to the trunk line, notably Philippeville
to Constantine (54 m.). These lines were opened between
1862 and 1871, but it was not until 1879 that a general
scheme for railway construction was adopted. A trunk line
runs from the frontier of Morocco at Lalla Maghnia, 44
m. W. of Tlemcen, across the Tell to the Tunisian frontier,
whence it is continued to the city of Tunis; while traverse
railways connect the seaports with the trunk line and with
towns to the south, the Philippeville line being continued to
Biskra. From Arzeu a line goes south across the plateaus and
crossing the Ksur range at a height of 4211 ft. enters the
Sahara. Passing Ain Sefra and Figig (372 m. from Arzeu)
the line is continued towards Tuat. The normal gauge of the
railways is 4 ft. 8 1/2 in.; a few ``light lines'' have a gauge
of 3 ft. 3 in. Algeria is also traversed by a network of roads
constructed by the French, of which the routes nationales
alone are 2000 m. in length. There are complete postal and
telegraphic facilities in all parts of the colony save the
Saharan Territories, and cable communication with France.
Central Government.--By the Turks the country was divided
into four provinces--Algiers and Titeri in the centre and
south, Constantine in the east and Mascara or Oran in the
west.3 The last three were governed by beys dependent upon
the representative of the Porte resident at Algiers. The
Turkish governors were in the 17th century replaced by deys
(see below, History.) The French rule was at first (1830)
purely military. In 1834 the post of governor-general was
created. Under the direction of the ministry of war that
official exercised nearly all the executive power. At the
same time a civil administration and consultative council were
formed. The principle of unity of authority was set aside
by the second republic in 1848, when many of the public
services were attached to the corresponding ministries in
Paris, and the departments organized on the metropolitan
model by division into arrondissements and communes and by
placing a prefect at their head. Under Napoleon III. the
governor- generalship was abolished, a minister of Algeria
and the colonies created (24th of June 1858), and the whole
administration conducted from Paris. At the same time the
powers of the prefects were augmented and each department
given a general council. This arrangement was not of long
duration. By decree of the 24th of November 1860, the
ministry of Algeria and the colonies was abolished and the
office of governor-general re-established with increased
powers. This regime, strongly military in its type, ended
with the fall of the second empire. After a brief transitional
period, a decree of the 29th of March 1871 placed at the
head of Algeria a civil governor-general and gave the control
in Paris to the ministry of the interior. In 1876, on the
initiative of General Chanzy, then governor-general, that
official was accorded the right to correspond direct with
all the ministers in Paris. This concession led, however,
to the diminution of the authority of the governor-general,
whose powers were, step by step, absorbed by the various
ministries in France. It had its logical end in the system
adopted in 1881 and known as the rattachement. Under this
system the plan of 1848 was carried out more completely,
every department of state being placed under one or other of
the ministries in Paris, whilst the governor- general became
little more than an ornamental personage. After lasting
fifteen years the rattachement was, with the approval of the
legislature, abrogated by decree dated the 31st of December
1896. The opposing principle, that of concentrating power
in the hands of the governor-general, was re-affirmed, but
in practice was modified by the retention of the direction
from Paris of a few of the public services. The decree of
1896, which was of a provisional character, was replaced by
another, dated the 23rd of August 1898, defining the powers
of the governor-general under the new scheme. By a law of
the 19th of December 1900, Algeria was constituted a legal
personality, with power to own goods, contract loans, &c.,
and a decree of 1901 placed the customs department, until then
directed from Paris, under the control of the governor-general,
whose hands were also strengthened in various minor matters.
It will be seen that the form of government is entirely
dependent on the will of France. The French chambers alone
possess the legislative power, though in the absence of express
legislation decrees of the head of the state have the force of
law. To the legislature in Paris Algeria elects three senators
and six deputies (one senator and two deputies for each
department). The franchise is confined to ``citizens,'' in
which category the native Jews are included by decree of the
24th of October 1870. The Mahommedans, who number nearly
eight-ninths of the population, are not, however, ``citizens''
but ``subjects,'' and consequently have not the vote. They
can, however, acquire ``citizenship'' at their own request, by
placing themselves absolutely under the civil and political laws
of France (decree of 1865, confirmed in 1870). The number of
Mahommedans who avail themselves of this rule is very small;
naturalizations do not exceed an average of thirty persons a
year. For certain specified objects, financial and municipal,
Mahommedans are, however, permitted to exercise the franchise.
The actual form of government may be summarized thus:-- At the
head of the administration in Algeria is a governor- general,
who exercises control over all branches, civil and military,
of the administration, except the services of justice, public
instruction and worship (as far as concerns Europeans) and the
treasury. He corresponds directly with thn other Barbary
states; draws up the budget, and contracts loans on behalf
of the colony. The governor-general is assisted by:--
(1) The Council of Government, a purely advisory body,
composed entirely of high officials;
(2) A Superior Council, composed partly of elected and partly
of nominated members, including representatives of the
Mahommedans. Its duty is to deliberate upon all
administrative matters, including the budget, and it possesses
certain powers over the finances;
(3) The Financial Delegations (created by decree in 1898), an
elective body whose duty is to investigate all matters
affecting taxation and to vote the budget. The
delegations consist of representatives of (a) ``colonists,'' i.e. the
rural community; (b) taxpayers, being citizens other than
``colonists,'' i.e. the urban community; (c) the
Mahommedan population. The last section is partly elective and
partly nominated. A proportion of the members of the
delegations are elected to the superior council.
Local Government.--The departments, presided over by
prefects, are divided into territoires civils and
territoires du commandant. In the regions under civil
administration the local organization closely resembles that of
France. The country is divided into arrondissements and
communes, with most of the apparatus of self-government
enjoyed by the corresponding units in France. The canton
(in France a judicial area) has, however, no existence in
Algeria. In the territoires du commandant, which are the
districts farthest from the coast, and in which the European
population is small, the prefect is replaced by a high military
officer, who exercises all the functions of a prefect.
The prefect of each department is assisted by a general
council, consisting of members elected by the citizens and of
nominated representatives of the Mahommedan population. The
powers of the council correspond to those of the councils in
France. Communes are of three kinds: (1) those with full
powers, (2) mixed, (3) native. In those of the first kind,
modelled on the French communes, the Mahommedans possess
the municipal franchise. The ``mixed'' communes are under
an administrator nominated by the governor-general and
assisted by a municipal council composed of Europeans and
natives. These communes are large areas, each containing
several towns or villages. In the territoires du commandant
the mixed commune is presided over by a military officer who
fulfils the duties of mayor. Native communes are organized
on the same plan as those last mentioned. It will be seen
that communes do not correspond with any natural unit. The
unit among the Mahommedans is the douar, a tribal division
administered by a cadi. The communes with full powers have
each for centre a town with a considerable European population.
By decree of the 14th of August 1905, the frontier between
Saharan territory dependent on Algeria and that attached to
French West Africa was laid down. The Algerian Sahara was
divided into four territories, officially named Tuggurt,
Ghardaia, Ain Sefra and the Saharan Oases (Tuat, Gurara and
Tidikelt). The governor-general represents the territories
in civil affairs; the budget is distinct from that of
Algeria and an annual subvention is provided by France.
Finance.--Revenue is derived chiefly from direct taxation,
customs and monopolies. The heaviest item of expenditure
chargeable on the Algerian budget is on public works, posts and
telegraphs and agriculture. Algeria has had a budget distinct
from that of France since 1901. This budget includes all
the expenses of Algeria save the cost of the army (estimated
at L. 2,000,000 yearly) and the guarantee of interest on the
railways open before 1901. Both these items are borne by
France. The Algerian budget for 1906 showed revenue and
expenditure balancing at L. 3,820,000. The country has a debt
(1905), including capital, annuities and interest, of some
Defence.--The military force constitutes the XIX. army corps of
the French army. There are in addition a territorial army reserve
and a special body of troops, largely Arab, for the defence of
the Saharan territory. The troops quartered in Algeria exceed
50,000. The defence of the coast is provided by the French navy.
Land Tenure.--The colonization of Algeria by the French has
been greatly hampered by the system of land tenure which they
found in force. Except among the Kabyles, private property
in land was unknown. Amongst the Arabs, lands were either
held in common by a whole tribe, under a tenure known as
the arch or sabegha, or sometimes, especially in the,
towns, under a modified form of freehold (melk) by the
family. At the same time the boundaries of property were
ill defined and difficult to determine. This system made
it impossible for French immigrants to obtain land by lawful
transfer. The only lands at the outset available for
settlement were, in fact, the confiscated domains of the
dey. The obvious solution of the difficulty was to encourage
the free movement of real estate by substituting private
ownership for the traditional system. Before doing this,
however, it was necessary to define the limits of tribal
properties already existing--a work of great difficulty--with
