7th. (Gizzia,) The poll-tax levied on the Jews, viz. the pro rata of every Jew is calculated according to his property, by a committee appointed by themselves. This tax may amount to about ten per cent. on their income or profits.
8th. (El Worella.) The hereditary tax. The Emperor is heir to all the estates of his subjects who die without heirs; so that at the termination of the plague, in 1800, he gained an incalculable accession of wealth in gold, silver, and in estates, many of which latter he has since given to the (Jamaat) mosques. This property of the mosques is called Wak’f, a term significant of any thing, the right of which continues in the original proprietor, but the profit issuing from it belongs to some charitable institution; so that the mosque lands are now extensive, and, consequently, the priests are amply provided for.
9th. Duties on the importation of merchandize from Europe, and on the exportation of the produce of the country. On the former, the regulation is generally 10 per cent., which is paid in kind, except only on iron, steel, Buenos Ayres hydes, lead, and sulphur, which pay a duty on importation of three dollars per quintal. The duties on the produce of the country are regulated by the option of the Emperor.
| The duty | on | Wax now is | 12²⁄₁₂ | per cent. | |
| on | Bitter Almonds | 2 | |||
| on | Gum | 3 | |||
| Oil | ⎫ ⎪ ⎪ ⎬ ⎪ ⎪ ⎭ | now prohibitedfrom exportation. | |||
| Sweet Almonds | |||||
| Raisins | |||||
| Figs | |||||
| Dates | |||||
| Corn | |||||
| And all kinds of Provisions | |||||
10th. All ambassadors, envoys, consuls, merchants, and, in short, every individual who presents himself to the Emperor, whether in a public or private capacity, must necessarily be accompanied with a present, a custom established from time immemorial in Africa, as well as in the East; and these presents are in proportion to the magnitude of the negociation. The king of Spain, during the reign of Seedy Mohammed ben Abd Allah, the father of the reigning Emperor, sent presents to an enormous amount, in order to purchase the friendly alliance of the Emperor, and to induce him to continue the exportation of grain to Spain.
11th. In addition to all these sources of revenue, may be mentioned the duties on the exportation of cattle and vegetables to our garrison of Gibraltar, and on a few similar supplies to Spain and Portugal.
Before the present Emperor ascended the throne, the produce of the country was allowed to be exported from all the ports on the coast, and formed a very considerable source of revenue; the duties on grain alone, from Dar El Beida, in one year, amounted to 722,000 dollars. The exportation from the ports of Arzilla, El Araiche, Mamora, Rabat, Fedella, Azamor, Mazagan, Saffy, Mogodor, and Santa Cruz, in Suse, were not quite so considerable. The present prohibition of the exportation of grain, together with all the articles enumerated above, to which may be added, wool, flax, and cotton, cannot be a proof of the Emperor’s avarice, a passion ascribed to him by many; as, by allowing their exportation, and encouraging their cultivation, an accession of several millions would annually be added to the revenue of his empire.
FOOTNOTES:
[126]Some persons have affirmed that the Berebber and Shelluh languages are one and the same. I had considerable difficulty in procuring incontestible proofs to the contrary; a specimen of the difference will be seen by the vocabulary in the chapter on languages.
[127]Lat. N. 22°. See [Map of the tract across the Desert.]