Harper's New Monthly Magazine, No. XXVII, August 1852, Vol. VVarious
History
Harper's New Monthly Magazine, No. XXVII, August 1852, Vol. V
Various
American literature -- Periodicals; Civilization -- Periodicals; Culture -- Periodicals
An incident strikingly illustrative of these truths, occurred to a
traveler who was visiting Acre, about the year 1815. One morning, in
rambling about the city, he chanced to come into the vicinity of the
custom house, at the port, and there he overheard a violent dispute
going on between some fishermen and a certain farmer of the
revenue--probably a wealthy merchant of the town--who was standing
near. It seems that a duty of about thirty-three per cent., that is,
one-third part of the whole price, had been laid upon all fish that
should be taken in the bay and brought into the port for sale; and
the privilege of collecting the tax had been sold to the merchant,
who was engaged in the dispute. It had been calculated that the
remaining two-thirds of the value of the fish would be sufficient to
induce the fishermen to continue their vocation. It proved, however,
not to be so. The cost of boats and outfit, and the other expenses
which were necessarily incurred in the prosecution of the business,
were so great, that the poor fishermen found when they had returned
to the shore and sold their fares, and paid the expenses of their
trip, that the government tax took so large a portion of what
remained, as to leave little or nothing over, to reimburse them for
their labor. They accordingly became discouraged, and began to
abandon the employment; so that the farmer who had bought the right
to collect the tax, was alarmed at finding that the revenue was
likely to fail altogether, inasmuch as for every five boats that had
been accustomed to go out to fish before, only one went now. The
dispute which attracted the attention of the traveler was occasioned
by the anger of the farmer, who was assailing the fishermen with
bitter invectives and criminations, and threatening to compel them
to go out to fish, in order that he might receive his dues.
THE TYRANT DJEZZAR.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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