Fifteen Merchants Were Introduced, And The Ceremony Of Presentation
Lasted About Twenty Minutes; This Being Concluded, The Merchants Were
Permitted To Perambulate The Gardens Of The Emperor, And To Pluck A
Little Fruit.
They were afterwards delayed a fortnight, waiting to
present a _cadeau_ to the Emperor's eldest son.
Such are the details of
this journey, which I got from the merchants themselves. Mr. Willshire,
being a consul and great customer of his Imperial Highness, also
received a gift of a horse in exchange. The united value of the presents
to the Emperor, on this occasion, was fifty thousand dollars, which
amply indemnifies him for his money-lending, and the credit that he
gives. They consisted principally of articles of European manufactures.
His Imperial Highness afterwards sells them to his subjects on his own
account. Of course, amongst this mass of presents, there are many nice
things such as tea, sugar, spices, essences &c., for his personal
comfort and luxury, as well as for his harem, besides articles of dress
and ornament.
It will not be out of place here, to give a brief account of the
commerce of Morocco. In doing so, we must take into consideration the
prodigious quantity of imports and exports, of which there are no
statistics in the Imperial custom-houses, and no consular returns. Let
us estimate the population of Morocco at its general compensation of
eight millions, and suppose that each spends a dollar per annum in the
purchase of European manufactures. This will raise the value of imports
at once to eight millions of dollars per annum. It is notorious that the
contraband trade of Tangier, and Tetuan, and the northern coast
generally doubles or trebles the commerce that passes through the
customhouse; but the legal trade is not well ascertained.
Mr. Hay once sent, I believe, to the Agent of Mogador, a list of
questions to be answered by the consular department. The gentleman, who
was an unsalaried vice-consul, appalled at the number of
interrogatories, immediately replied, "That he had his own business to
attend to; he could not sit down to compose consular returns, which
would require weeks of labour; and if it were considered part of his
duties to answer such questions, he begged to resign at once his
vice-consulship."
As to the Barbary Jews, who have charge of some of the vice-consulates,
they are necessarily incapacitated, by reason of their want of
education, for such an employment. It is, therefore, hopeless to attempt
to give any accurate account of the commerce of Morocco, I can only
annex a few details of those things of which we are actually cognizant.
Whatever may be said of the indolent habits of the Moors, they were
once, and still are, a commercial people. Spain, the neighbour of
Morocco, still feels the loss of the Moors. They were the really
industrious classes settled in Spain. The merchants, the artists, the
operatives, and agriculturists unfortunately have left behind them few
inheriting their habits of perseverance.
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