Revenue of the Police Treasury:—
1. Confiscated property of drunkards and gamblers.
2. Shop-tax.
Expenditure:—
1. Pay of police officers and men.
2. Expenses connected with Yakub's guest-house.
3. Expenses in connection with the building of the great wall.
It will be readily understood, that the above system produces a considerable revenue for the Khalifa's private treasury; and I know that a very large sum of money has been hoarded by him, and is stored in ammunition boxes, kept in his house; but I am unable to state, even approximately, what the amount may be. He has also several boxes, made of skins in which are quantities of gold and silver ornaments, collected from all parts.
As I have stated, a show is made of keeping correct accounts; but the system in vogue admits of endless peculation, and any persons having business in the Beit el Mal invariably acquire considerable fortunes. The Khalifa, however, is aware of this, and makes up for it by wholesale confiscations of property.
When the Mahdi first acquired possession of the Sudan, he naturally obtained considerable quantities of gold and silver money; and, with the assistance of Ahmed Wad Suleiman, he began to make his own coinage: he struck gold sovereigns which resembled the Egyptian sovereign; but, as he did not understand the exact amount of alloy which should be mixed with the gold, the weights and values varied considerably, and, as the amount of gold in the Sudan was small, the coining of sovereigns had soon to be suspended. Silver coining was then carried on with some vigour; and the following table, showing the various descriptions of dollars coined during the last ten years, is an interesting indication of the decline of Dervish power and government; for instance, the first dollar coined by the Mahdi was made up of seven parts silver and one part copper, whereas, the last dollar, coined by the Khalifa about a year ago, is composed of two parts silver and five parts copper,—indeed, the present dollar is merely a heavy copper coin covered over with a thin layer of silver.
| Weight in Dirhems. | ||
| Silver. | Copper. | |
| 1. The Mahdi dollar | 7 | 1 |
| 2. The first dollar made by Ibrahim Adlan | 6 | 2 |
| 3. The second dollar made by Ibrahim Adlan | 5 | 3 |
| 4. The first dollar of Nur el Gereifawi (this is | 4 | 4 |
| known as the Makbul dollar) | ||
| 5. The second dollar of Nur el Gereifawi (this is | 3 | 4 |
| known as the Abu Sidr or Makbul) | ||
| 6. The dollar of Suleiman Abdulla (this is known | 2½ | 4½ |
| as the Abu Kibs or "crossed-spear" dollar) | ||
| 7. The first dollar of Abdel Mejid (also called the Makbul) | 2½ | 4½ |
| 8. The dollar of Weki Alla | 2½ | 4½ |
| 9. The dollar of Omla Gedida (new money) | 2 | 5 |
Coining money is a lucrative trade; and, at present, the Mint is presided over by two individuals, who pay six thousand dollars a month each, for the privilege. All money issued by them must be accepted as good money. The merchants, of course, object most strongly to these arbitrary measures; but wholesale confiscation of their property, accompanied by flogging and imprisonment, has forced them to realise the futility of attempting to go contrary to the Khalifa's will. Maria Theresa dollars and Medjidi dollars were the principal currency when the Egyptian Government occupied the Sudan; and the present rate of exchange is:—
One Maria Theresa dollar = five Omla Gedida dollars.
One Medjidi dollar = eight Omla Gedida dollars.