168 Revenue. cases, able (Lokiels) pleaders, is attended with similar advantages, as with us. Ill these disputes, however, a paper or two, written in the most concise manner, is a ll that is necessary; the wheels o f justice are not clogged with such volumes o f cases and briefs as with us. 4 th. Immense presents are occasionally made b y the bashaws, alkaids, See. to the Emperor, to secure the imperial favor, and to enable them to hold their places against the attacks continu ally made b y others, who spare no expense in presenting, through the ministers, their claims for preferment. T h e bashaw Ben Hammed, who governed Duquella in the reign o f the p re sent Emperor’s father, Seedy Mohammed, e ve ry Friday, as the Emperor came out o f the mosque, presented him w ith a large wedge o f pure gold o f Soudan. 5th ly . T he fish called Shebbel (similar to salmon), the produce o f the great rivers, v iz . the El Kose, the Seboo, the Mor- beya, the Tensift, and the riv er Suse, pay to the imperial treasury a h e a v y d u ty ; but that duty is generally farmed to some w ea lth y individual, who pays'about 20 per cent, on the v a lu e o f the fish caught, or gives so much per annum for the priv ile ge o f fishing in the rivers. 6th. E l Beb, or gate-duty, an impost o f from (one blanquil to two ounces) I\d . to Is. on eve ry camel-load o f merchandize carried out or brought into any c ity or town, 7 th. (Gizzia,) T h e poll-tax levied on the Jews, v iz . the pro rata o f e v e ry Jew is calculated according to his property, by a committee appointed by themselves. This tax ma y amount to about ten per cent, on their income or profits. 8th. [E l Worella.) T h e hereditary tax. T h e Emperor is heir to all the estates o f his subjects who die without h e irs; so that at the termination o f the plague, in 1800, he gained an incalculable accession o f w ealth in gold, silver, and in estates, many o f which latter he has since given to the (Jamaat) mosques. This property o f the mosques is called Walif, a term significant o f any thing, the right o f w hich 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 o f m erchandize from Europe, and on the exportation of the produce o f 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 o f three dollars per quintal. T he duties on the produce o f the country are regulated by the option o f the Emperor. The duty on W a x now is on Bitter Almonds on Gum Oil Sweet Almonds Raisins Figs Dates Corn A n d all kinds o f Provisions 12-^2 per cent. 2 now prohibited from exportation. 10th. A ll ambassadors, envoys, consuls, merchants, and, in short, eve ry individual who presents himself to the Emperor, whether in a public or p riv ate capacity, must necessarily be
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