SOURCES OF REVENUE AND TAXATION.
The revenue is derived at present from the following taxes, etc., which are imposed according to the circumstances of the Province:—
| Land Tax. | Royalties. |
| Date Tax. | Customs. |
| Animal Tax. | Sales (of Government properties,etc.). |
| Road Tax. | Woods and Forests. |
| House Tax. | Miscellaneous, includingrents, ferries, licences, stamped paper, market and court fees,slaughtering dues, etc., etc. |
| Boat Tax. | |
| Tribute from Tribes. |
Land Tax.—A proportion of this tax is derived in certain Provinces from the “Ushur,” or tenth part, tax. This is assessed on the value of the products of the land, and is paid sometimes in kind, but generally in cash.
The land tax is assessed on the extent and value of the irrigated land, and varies from 10 piastres to 60 piastres a feddan (acre). Rain lands pay less than irrigated lands, whilst those only recently coming under cultivation pay less than those already long cultivated, etc., etc.
The Date Tax is levied on date palms, at the rate of 2 piastres per tree, whether male or female.
Animal Tax is levied on camels, mules, sheep, horses, etc., etc., at the following rates:—
| Piastres. | Piastres. | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Camel | 20 | Sheep | 1 |
| Horse | 3 | Head of Cattle | 5 |
| Mule or donkey | 3 | Goat | ½ |
The Road Tax is a light tax levied in certain places with the object of keeping the roads open and safe, and the wells dug and in good order.
The Boat Tax amounts to 2 piastres per ardeb capacity.
The House Tax amounts to one-twelfth of the annual rental value of the building.
The Tribute from Tribes is levied on those nomad tribes who own no lands or are not agriculturists. It is assessed by the Governor broadly on the value of their possessions in herds and other property.
Gum, ivory, ostrich feathers and india-rubber[10] are the articles at present which pay a Royalty of 20 per cent. ad valorem to Government. The Royalty on ivory has been recently reduced to 15 per cent. as a temporary and tentative measure.
Sales and Miscellaneous explain themselves.
Budget.The following are the special services and estimated receipts and expenditure for 1904-5:—
SPECIAL SERVICES.
| 1905. | 1904. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I.—Loans not yet wholly expended. | ||||
| £E. | £E. | £E. | £E. | |
| Loan for the development of the SudanRailway | 55,000 | |||
| Loan for the purchase of iron basesfor Telegraph poles | 18,500 | |||
| Loan for improving the Sudan Railway andpurchasing Rolling Stock | 528,000 | 528,000 | ||
| Advance for special survey, Suakin-Berberprojected Railway | 10,000 | 10,000 | ||
| Advance for the construction of theSuakin Port | 30,985 | 30,985 | ||
| Advance for the construction ofLight-houses at Suakin | 15,800 | 15,800 | ||
| Advance for the excavation of a cuttingand for improving and digging wells on the Suakin-Atbara line | 16,000 | 16,000 | ||
| 600,785 | 674,285 | |||
| II.—Credits not yet wholly expended. | ||||
| Credit from Wakfs Administration forbuilding mosques | 5,000 | 10,000 | ||
| Credits from the EgyptianGovernment:— | ||||
| 1. Relief of poor Refugees | 4,000 | 4,000 | ||
| 2. Extension of Telegraph line to theBahr-el Ghazal Province | 12,150 | |||
| 3. Partial cost of a steamer fordevelopment of trade on the Upper Nile (total cost being£E.4,000) | 2,850 | |||
| Credits sanctioned against the surplusesof the years 1902 and 1903 | 68,200 | |||
| 92,200 | 14,000 | |||
| III.—Services outside the Budget. | ||||
| Gordon Memorial College | 3,590 | 3,590 | ||
| 3,590 | 3,590 | |||
| Grand Total | 696,575 | 691,875 | ||
TABLE SHOWING THE SUDAN GOVERNMENT BUDGET FOR THE YEARS 1904-5.
| RECEIPTS | EXPENDITURE | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1905. | 1904. | 1905. | 1904. | ||||||
| £E. | £E. | £E. | £E. | £E. | £E. | £E. | £E. | ||
| Khartoum | 10,657 | 9,660 | Khartoum | 16,952 | 14,862 | ||||
| Gezira (Blue Nile) | 18,049 | 25,000 | Gezira (Blue Nile) | 16,796 | 18,220 | ||||
| Sennar | 22,489 | 22,126 | Sennar | 28,383 | 21,647 | ||||
| White Nile | 27,833 | White Nile | 13,495 | ||||||
| Kordofan | 43,122 | 55,390 | Kordofan | 25,352 | 24,557 | ||||
| Upper Nile | 7,700 | 8,300 | Upper Nile | 18,853 | 12,617 | ||||
| Bahr-el-Ghazal | 5,990 | 5,500 | Bahr-el-Ghazal | 25,503 | 19,117 | ||||
| Kassala | 10,425 | 8,310 | Kassala | 16,937 | 14,615 | ||||
| Berber | 18,820 | 18,000 | Berber | 20,180 | 17,909 | ||||
| Dongola | 32,900 | 30,900 | Dongola | 19,350 | 18,045 | ||||
| Halfa | 12,730 | 11,300 | Halfa | 9,210 | 6,279 | ||||
| Suakin | 10,845 | 16,000 | Suakin | 16,092 | 14,364 | ||||
| 221,560 | 210,486 | 227,103 | 182,232 | ||||||
| Central Administration | 47,187 | ||||||||
| Governor General’s Office | 5,808 | ||||||||
| Secretary General’s Department (StoresSection) | 800 | Inspector General’s Office | 2,723 | ||||||
| Secretary General’s Department | 33,358 | ||||||||
| Finance Department | 17,681 | ||||||||
| Legal Department | 4,000 | 3,000 | Legal Department | 18,630 | 15,760 | ||||
| Controller of Stores’ Department | 1,000 | Controller of Stores’ Department | 16,680 | ||||||
| Education Department | 250 | Education Department | 12,806 | 8,552 | |||||
| Forestry Department | 15,602 | 14,289 | |||||||
| Agriculture and Lands Department | 1,550 | Agriculture and Lands Department | 4,639 | ||||||
| Game Preservation Department | 1,200 | Game Preservation Department | 1,051 | 840 | |||||
| Prisons Department | 12,568 | ||||||||
| Customs | 12,000 | Customs | 6,237 | ||||||
| Hospitals | 795 | 600 | Hospitals | 13,584 | 10,523 | ||||
| Cattle Plague | 1,670 | 1,622 | |||||||
| Survey Department | 7,909 | 5,045 | |||||||
| Khartoum Town | 8,055 | 6,000 | Khartoum Town | 16,002 | 10,385 | ||||
| General Central Receipts | 8,700 | 9,090 | General Central Expenditure | 38,259 | 29,407 | ||||
| Public Works | 47,314 | 47,245 | |||||||
| Steamers and Boats | 97,031 | 75,554 | Steamers and Boats | 92,975 | 90,864 | ||||
| Posts and Telegraphs | 25,771 | 22,155 | Posts and Telegraphs | 32,260 | 31,508 | ||||
| Railways | 154,171 | 141,237 | Railways | 133,278 | 140,478 | ||||
| 314,323 | 258,636 | 501,786 | 482,953 | ||||||
| 535,883 | 469,122 | 728,889 | 665,185 | ||||||
| Contribution by Egyptian Government | 379,763 | 379,763 | Egyptian War Department for maintenance ofArmy in the Sudan | 186,757 | 183,700 | ||||
| Total | 915,646 | 848,885 | Total | 915,646 | 848,885 | ||||
COMMUNICATIONS.
(See [Chapter X] for details.)
Communication in the Sudan is maintained by:—(I) Railways; (II) River; (III) Roads.
(I) The Railway.—The Sudan Government Railway, a single line completed on the last day of 1899, runs from Halfa, crossing the Nubian desert, to Abu Hamed along the Nile bank to Khartoum North on the right bank of the Blue Nile opposite Khartoum (575 miles).
Another branch, also single, 203 miles, runs from Halfa to Kerma (35 miles north of Dongola) following the Nile. This is to be abandoned after the 31st December, 1904.
A line of railway joining Suakin on the Red Sea to the Nile near the mouth of the Atbara is now under construction; it will be of the greatest benefit to the trade and development of the Sudan. Other railway projects at present under consideration are:—Abu Hamed to Merowe, Thamiam (near Suakin) to Kassala, and Omdurman to El Obeid.
The distance between Halfa and Aswan forms the only break in the railway communication between Khartoum and the Mediterranean Sea; a service of Sudan steamers plies on this reach.
(II) River.—North of Khartoum the river is navigable throughout except at the five cataracts; at certain times of the year most of these are navigable, with difficulty. South of Khartoum communication is maintained along the White and Blue Niles and their affluents. During low Nile—January to June—the Blue Nile is not navigable. The White Nile is navigable up to Gondokoro in Uganda, though there are some difficulties in the way of navigation (vide [p. 73]). The Sobat and Baro are not navigable from January to beginning of May.
(III) Roads.—Roads are, and must be for some time to come, the principal means of communication in the Sudan. Transport is chiefly performed by camels, mules and donkeys. The greater part of the Sudan, being level, lends itself without much difficulty to the making of roads suitable for carriages, though draught transport has not been in use hitherto to any extent. Bullock wagons are in use in the Bahr El Ghazal.
Some automobile carriages are now being tried in the different parts of the Sudan, and have so far given fairly good results.
RESOURCES AND COMMERCE.
The chief natural resources of the Sudan at present lie in the forests of Kordofan and the Blue Nile, which produce gum (Hashab and Talh), ebony, furniture woods and fibre; and in those of the Bahr El Ghazal, which produce india-rubber, gutta-percha, etc.; also in the products of animals, such as ivory, ostrich feathers, rhinoceros horns, skins, etc.
There are large quantities of fine cattle in the country, especially on the Upper White Nile, but export of these is for the present forbidden.
As regards agricultural products, only the country lying close to the Nile and its tributaries is, as a rule, cultivated, and the people do not, so far, grow more than is necessary for their own use. The principal crops are dura (a kind of millet), beans, lentils, dukhn, sesame, onions, melons, and a little wheat and barley. In the Gezira, however, between the White and Blue Niles, and in the Gedaref district, large tracts are cultivated.
The Dongola Province is rich in date palms, and exports large quantities of dates.
There is a large opening for the growth and export of cotton. Little is grown at present, but the soil is favourable and the quality is good. Inducements, therefore, in the way of seed and promises to purchase what is grown, are being offered to the natives to cultivate this invaluable plant, and it is expected that the opening of the Nile-Red Sea Railway will considerably increase its production.
Sugar could also be grown: there was formerly a sugar factory at Kamlin.
Land and settlement.The fertility of the land in the Sudan varies enormously, from the sterile desert wastes of Northern Kordofan and the Eastern Sudan to the rich soil bordering the river banks. There are also large tracts of fertile soil round Gedaref, Kassala and Tokar, where rich crops are grown with little effort.
Inducements are, according to circumstances, held out by the Government to would-be settlers in the shape of free or easy grants of lands, remission of taxes for a time, low rates of transport, etc., and purchasers and cultivators are slowly trickling in. The settlement, especially in view of the dearth of native population and labour, must necessarily be a slow one. As larger tracts are brought into cultivation, as canals are dug, and as irrigation and communications are improved, so will the export of cereals and produce of all sorts increase. The Nile-Red Sea Railway is expected to give Sudan trade a great impetus, and the population is rapidly increasing. But although those best qualified to judge are convinced of a great economic future before the country, it can hardly be expected that the Sudan will pay its own way for some years to come.
MARKET SCENE—GEZIRA.
Produce and Industries.The following is a list of the chief articles of produce of the Sudan, with the districts where such are mostly found:—
| Cotton | Throughout the Sudan in small quantities, but increasing in Dongola, Berber, and Gezira Provinces. |
| Hides | Kordofan and Eastern Desert. |
| Gum | Kordofan, Blue Nile, and Gedaref District. |
| Ivory | Bahr El Ghazal, Kordofan, and Upper Nile Provinces. |
| India-rubber | Bahr El Ghazal and Kordofan. |
| Feathers | Kordofan. |
| Woods | Chiefly up the White and Blue Niles and in the Bahr El Ghazal. |
| Grain and Cereals | Chiefly Dongola, Tokar, Gedaref, the Gezira, Sennar, and Upper Nile Provinces. |
| Sugar | Small quantities in Berber. Increasing. |
| Dates | Dongola. Best quality at Sukkot. |
| Gold | Indications in Northern Sudan and Upper Blue Nile. |
| Copper | Hofrat Nahas—Bahr El Ghazal. |
| Iron | Bahr El Ghazal and Kordofan. |
| Other Minerals | Kordofan, Upper Blue Nile and Abyssinian border, Eastern and Northern Sudan. |
| Mother of Pearl | Suakin. |
The native industries are, so far, limited in number. Cultivation is the usual occupation of the people. Cotton-cloth weaving, boat-building on the Niles, camel breeding in the northern and western deserts, and iron-smelting in the Bahr El Ghazal practically exhaust the list. Agricultural and industrial shows at the chief towns have, however, been started, and receive considerable support. Minor industries, such as pottery, leather work, improved carpentry, etc., are quickly coming to the fore.