But these receipts are far from being any criterion of the actual amount of work done. They exclude all that was done on Government account. Up till 1903 all passengers, goods, and messages on behalf of Government were carried free of charge. But it was found that this system tended to extravagance. A department, for example, wishing to buy dhurra for Khartoum, was apt to buy it at Dongola, possibly at a cheaper rate, and have it brought by rail for nothing, rather than buy it locally and disburse something for the cost of local camel or mule transport. This was good business for the department, which had only a certain credit allotted to it, but waste from the point of view of the railway, by which the cost of transport was borne. Now each department is charged in the books of the railway or post-office for all services actually rendered. The change is, of course, only one of book-keeping, but it is a good instance of the way in which good book-keeping works towards economy. With this alteration the working of the profit-earning departments makes a much better appearance. The estimates for 1903 are:

Receipts. Expenditure.
£E.£E.
Railways143,970143,777
Post and telegraphs24,42834,800
Steamers and boats69,02886,223

The maintenance of the army in the Soudan is the item most affected by this alteration. The sum to be paid to the Egyptian War Department is set down at £E193,658 for 1903 as against £E122,548 for 1902.

The Steamers and Boats Department has been too recently organized for an opinion to be formed upon its working, but the Railways are soundly and economically managed. The increase of traffic has made it possible to reduce the ratio of working expenses, though the high price of fuel is still a great obstacle. Besides the ordinary expenditure there has also been a good deal of capital expenditure, which was very necessary considering the haste with which the line was laid down as a purely military railway. These sums are: In 1899, a special credit of £E390,000 for the completion of the line from the Atbara to Khartoum; in 1900, a special credit of £E15,000 for culverts and bridges on the same portion of the line, and a loan of £E55,000 for general development and purchase of rolling-stock; and in 1902-1903, a loan of £E528,000 (spread over five years) for the same purposes; and a special advance of £10,000 for the survey of the proposed Suakin-Berber line. All these sums, together with an advance of £E31,000 for the improvement of the harbour at Suakin, have been found by Egypt. The Soudan pays 2½ per cent. on the loans.

The nature of the country makes it inevitable that the postal service should show a loss for some time; but the telegraph service would show a profit over actual working expenses, but for the fact that so much is expended every year on extension, and this is credited to ordinary expenditure. £E18,500 was, however, borrowed from Egypt in 1900 to meet a special difficulty. The wooden poles were sometimes devoured by white ants, and were also liable to rot. After various experiments it was found best to bolt the poles on to steel bases, and it was to meet this emergency that the loan was contracted. The new plan has been found to answer admirably, and it has also facilitated telegraph extension, because the shorter poles (12 ft. 6 in. instead of 18 ft.) make a much more convenient load for a camel. Besides the wires along the railway, there is now telegraphic communication from Berber to Suakin, Suakin by Tokar to Kassala, Kassala to Gedaref, and Gedaref to Gallabat. A line from Gedaref connects at Messalamia with a line down the Blue Nile from Khartoum by Wad Medani to Sennar, which then crosses over to Goz Abu Goma on the White Nile, and is continued to Fashoda. Another line runs from Khartoum to Duem, on the White Nile, and thence to El Obeid. In time the telegraph will be continued south to Uganda, and whenever this takes place the telegraph tariff convention arranged by Mr. Cecil Rhodes for through communication between Alexandria and Cape Town will come into force.

If the gross takings of the railways, post and telegraphs, and boats, are included in the revenues of the Soudan, the Budget wears a more imposing aspect than if only the net expenditure of each of these departments is included. The estimates for 1903 stand thus:

£E. £E.
Expenditure—Civil624,226
Military193,658
817,884
Receipts 428,163
Deficit 389,721

By starving the administration it would be possible to make this deficit a great deal less, and, on the other hand, it would be very easy to make it a great deal more. A country which has been going steadily, even rapidly, backwards for so many years affords unlimited opportunity for capital expenditure. Indeed, a large part of its ordinary expenditure is really capital, so far as it is incurred for permanent buildings, railways, telegraphs, and all the other machinery, not only of government, but of elementary civilization, which were all entirely wanting. The item of public works bulks very large in the civil expenditure. It is inevitable that the expenditure should increase with the development of the country, but it is a satisfactory symptom that it is not increasing so fast in proportion as the revenue. The civil expenditure, too, goes up, while the military expenditure goes down. In the following table only the net expenditure on railways, etc., is included:

Expenditure.

Civil. Military (including Gunboats, etc.) Total.
£E.£E.£E.
1899230,000281,000511,000
1900271,000282,000553,000
1901330,000222,000552,000
1902350,000193,000543,000
1903380,000193,000573,000