Olive-oil is exported from the north, but not in great quantities. The
amount exported in a recent year was about the value of £6,000 sterling.
The olive is not so much cultivated in Morocco as in Tunis and Tripoli.
Besides the articles above mentioned, antimony, euphorbium, horns, hemp,
linseed, rice, maize, and dra, orchella weed, orris-root, pomegranate
peel, sarsaparilla, snuff, sponges, walnuts, garbanyos, gasoul, and
mineral soap, gingelane, and commin seeds, &c., are exported in various
quantities. [22]
It was reported in the mercantile circles, that representations would be
made to the Emperor to place the trade of the country upon a regular,
and more stable footing. All nations, indeed, would benefit by a change
which could not but be for the better. But I question whether his
Imperial Highness will give up his old and darling system of being the
sovereign-merchant of the Empire. It is not the interest of Great
Britain to annoy him, for we have always to look at Gibraltar. But it
would be desirable if Christian merchants could be found to undertake
the duty, to have all the vice-consuls of the coast Christians, in
preference to Jews. By having Jewish consuls, we place ourselves in a
false position with the Emperor, who is obliged to submit to the
prejudices of his people against Hebrews. British merchants ought to be
allowed to visit their own vessels whilst in port, to superintend, or
what not, the stowing or landing of their goods, as they are entitled to
do by treaty. Spanish dollars are the chief currency in Morocco; but
there are also doubloons and smaller gold coins. This currency, the
merchants manage very badly. A doubloon loses sixteen pence, or four
Maroquine ounces in exchange at Mogador, whilst at the capital of
Morocco, three days' journey from this, it passes for the same value it
bears in Spain and Gibraltar.
As to the revenues of the Government of Morocco, our means of
information are still more uncertain and conjectural, than those we
possess regarding commerce. A French writer asserts, that the tithes
upon land assigned by the Koran and the capitation tax on the Jews,
produce from twenty to thirty million francs (or say about one million
pounds sterling) per annum. This, perhaps, is too large a sum.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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