charge. Eating-houses are found in various places; and paint for beautifying the ladies is sold everywhere. We pass ladies, as we move along, completely covered from view with the exception of the eyes. Public baths and fountains are met with in various places, one bearing the inscription "Look and drink." There is even a system of sewerage, but there is a great need of competent sanitary inspectors to keep the streets and houses clean. We went into the slave-market, but found it empty.

On the morning of April 8, Cid Boobeker came to convey us to his garden, which is situated about two hours' ride from the city. On the way he pointed out the extent of what he calls his "garden": it is surrounded by mud walls similar to those of the city of Morocco.

It is as large as many a decent county, being nearly twenty miles square. Cid Boobeker, who is a man of about seventy years of age, stout, of good presence, with a most impressive face, possesses a thorough knowledge of Moorish character. He commenced his career in a very humble position in the employ of a Glasgow house which had a branch at Saffi: he soon rose to great influence and fortune, and has become the agent for the British legation in many difficult questions with the Sultan. He is very often at Court, and is consulted by his Majesty in various matters. His fortune consists of £80,000 in English consols—an investment which he made by the judicious advice of Sir John Hay: he owns whole streets in Morocco, and his garden, which is splendidly irrigated by water brought from the foot of the Atlas mountains. One thousand two hundred families find employment in it, receiving wages, and

As

he states that they are happy and contented: it produces several kinds of grain, and is planted with the date-palm, pomegranate, olive, citron, lemon, and other fruittrees. The yearly production of oil from this garden amounts to about £4000. He has in other places 50,000 head of sheep, and a large number of houses in Tangier, Fez, Casablanca, and other Moorish towns, which must altogether produce a handsome revenue. he is a British protégé he is free from taxation, and is not subject to Moorish jurisdiction: those under him, we believe, share the same privilege, so that his profit is entirely free from any burden. His habits are very simple and business - like: he comes to the town in the morning about 10 a.m. to attend to business; he remains until 4 P.M.; he is his own clerk and overlooker; he is as regular in his business habits as a merchant in the city of London. His dress and mode of life are simple and inexpensive; he sits down on the carpet in his business house under a verandah, with a cushion on which he at times rests his arms, and here he receives all his business friends, and the day's work passes as in Europe: at 4 P.M. be mounts his splendid mule, and rides away to his garden. Indeed Cid Boobeker may be considered one of the most important and interesting characters in Moorish diplomacy: he certainly possesses great talents, which would have made him an important personage in almost any country. found ourselves at his house, which is situated under the shade of some trees: it is quite a country place, nice and comfortable. On entering we were led into a beautiful, large, cool room, furnished in oriental fashion: having sat down, tea, the favourite beverage of Morocco,

We soon

was brought in by his females. His youngest daughter, a child of three years, came in also to salute her father, and he appears to be particularly fond of the child. Soon after tea was over the same females brought in a most sumptuous dinner, prepared in oriental fashion; we all ate out of these dishes with our hands according to Arab custom various kinds of meat and sweets were brought in to tempt our appetite. It was here, he said, that he entertained the British Minister, Sir William Green, when he was in Morocco city. After dinner was cleared, we settled down and talked on the condition of the Moorish empire. One of the first questions he asked was about Mr Goschen's conversion scheme, as he wished to know why his interest was reduced from 3 per cent to 2 per cent. We pointed out that this was a beneficial measure which was of great advantage to the British empire, as a lower interest had reduced the yearly charge on the British Government. Cid Boobeker replied, "As it was the will of God, he was contented." He pointed out that at one time he possessed a large number of slaves, but now he followed out the law of England, for, at a cost of £4000, he had freed all, with liberty to go wherever they wished; those who remained he paid wages, and they seemed contented.

He

said that slaves were still sold in the interior as much as ever; but the Arabs treated them well, and it was unlawful for a rich man, according to Mohammedan law, to make money out of slaves, and it was meritorious in the sight of God to free them. With reference to protection, he stated that he was the only protégé in Morocco city; he had no one in prison on account of claims; and he often appealed to the Sultan to release

prisoners, but the answer he received was that the Moors and all their possessions belonged to the Sultan, and he was free to do what he pleased. A short time ago a flagrant case of injustice occurred between himself and the Sultan: he said that he commenced building some houses in Morocco city, and it was reported to the Sultan that he had encroached on the street, and although Boobeker was with the Sultan at the time, he knew nothing of what was going on between the governor and his Majesty. An order was sent by the Sultan that Boobeker's shops should be shut up and the building stopped; but the governor understood the order to include all his property in the city of Morocco: he therefore went with soldiers and about 5000 people and stopped the work, closed his shops, and took possession of all his houses; and his family had to flee for shelter into the country. When Boobeker heard of this, he went in person to Morocco city, and on seeing what had been done, he immediately made representations to the Sultan, who ordered the governor to take away the soldiers from Boobeker's property and send them to prison, their only fault being that they obeyed the orders of the governor. Although he asked the Sultan to release these soldiers, who were innocent of any crime, and depose the governor, who was the actual culprit, he could get no satisfaction. The Sultan has, however, promised to dismiss this governor shortly. He himself is usually with the Sultan on English and other business: he remains only for a short period in Morocco city; he was just then about to depart. Regarding the Moorish Government, he said they opposed every reform, and existed only by keep

ing the representatives of foreign Powers in continual opposition to each other, and also by bribing some of the Ministers in order to have power over them. There was a clear proof of this custom when Sir William Green was in Morocco three years ago. The Sultan found that Sir William was very strong on the telegraph question. His Majesty spoke to Boobeker about giving £40,000 to the Telegraph Company and Sir William Green for the full settlement of the matter. Boobeker answered that he was perfectly sure the British Minister would not accept such a settlement of the question, but the Sultan insisted that the subject should be mentioned to Sir William. This was done, but the English Minister was very much disgusted with the suggestion. Boobeker told him the Sultan would speak with him when his Majesty met him. During the next interview the Sultan offered Sir William Green £40,000 if he could settle with the Telegraph Company that they should take up their cable and go away. Sir William replied that his Government gave him a large income to uphold his position comfortably, and he could not disgrace himself or his nation by accepting bribes; the cable must remain at all costs. Boobeker spoke regarding the Moorish Government in parables, which is characteristic of the oriental character: he compared Morocco to a man walking in the darkness without a light; in the end he must stumble and fall. He also compared it to an old house which seemed on the point of falling to the ground: the neighbours around that house might, for their own sakes and protection, prop it up, however old; but supposing the owner took no notice of the ruined condition of his house, and made no

improvement, it must in time fall about his head, notwithstanding the props that may have been put up by his neighbours. This was really the condition of Morocco.

Sir John Hay had from time to time made representations to the Sultan and given him advice, but without avail. Sir William Green has done the same, with similar results: many promises of reformation were made, but they were never fulfilled, and are never likely to be unless force is used. All the Powers are propping up the tottering empire of Morocco, but in the end it must fall unless there is a reform. If you ask the Sultan to go straight, he will just go crooked by some other advice: for instance, England asks the Sultan to do something; the French Minister comes in and says to his Majesty, "Beware of the English; you know that you require one eye for us, but you require two for the English." The Sultan is like a man riding a horse, who fears that if he were to hand the reins to another, perhaps he would never receive them back, and thus lose his control: now he holds the reins of government, but does not know what would happen if he let the foreign Powers govern. In this way he and his Ministers oppose all reforms proposed by Christians, and they do all in their power to keep them out of the country. The Sultan manages his country in this way if one province begins to get rich, he subdivides it into many, in order to weaken it; for instance, Ducala had at one time only one governor, now it has seven. The Moors are like birds— their wings are clipped when they begin to grow, in case they might become too independent and fly away from his authority; indeed his Majesty is obliged to imprison the principal chiefs of the tribes

:

of Morocco, and retain them as hostages, to ensure his own safety in travelling from place to place. If the people were allowed to get rich, they would soon turn round and kill the Sultan and his Ministers, and establish a government of the people.

To show how changeable and impracticable the Moorish Government is, Boobeker pointed out that the Sultan some time ago had actually agreed to a reform suggested by Sir William Green: it was all but signed, and after they thought all was arranged, the Sultan changed his mind, and the whole matter came to an end. This was a great disappointment to Sir William, and he believed it caused his illness. Sir William had a good heart, and wanted to see Morocco improved, but without force nothing could be done. Words are of no avail. He thought the best thing for Morocco was to establish mixed tribunals, which would ensure security over life and property. At present, so long as a governor sends plenty of bribes to the Court, he can do what he pleases, and the people have no redress. The governors, administrators of customs, and sheiks of villages were only one company of oppressors to squeeze the last farthing out of the poor people; for them there was no redress. Cid Boobeker remarked that the Moorish Government was so ignorant, that if one were to attempt to export mud from the city of Morocco, a royal order would immediately come to stop it, as they considered it of enormous value.

The Sultan feared the French the most. They were his near neighbours, and he was always afraid that they would take possession of his country from the Algerian frontier. The French always considered that they had

Fez in their pocket. The Spaniards were like hungry dogs chained for the present, but waiting to be let loose when there was a change. He added that the treasure of the Sultan is in Morocco city, and not in any other town.

Regarding the army, the Sultan had none that could be opposed to Europeans. Cid Boobeker spoke in the highest terms of Sir William Green, who has, by great courage, perseverance, and straightforward conduct, made the name of England feared and respected at the Moorish Court: he also referred in a kindly spirit to the great services of Sir John Hay.

During our stay in Morocco city we were enabled to gather further information on the questions in which we were interested from two European residents and from natives. Regarding the quarrel between Cid Boobeker and the Sultan, they said it was caused in this way: Boobeker purchased church property in Morocco from parties who had no right to dispose of it, as it belonged to Moorish trustees, who must give consent before it can be legally acquired. The order for closing the shops was misunderstood by the governor. When he was made aware of his mistake he withdrew his soldiers, keeping only the shops on the church property closed. Boobeker made a claim of 27,000 dollars against the Moorish Government, money which he alleges was taken from him, and at the same time he prepared a list of seventeen persons, who he declared were the guilty parties. All of them are asserted to be respectable neighbours of good position, perfectly innocent of any crime. Boobeker's claim receiving British support, the seventeen Moors were cast into prison without trial. One of them has since died. We hope

that the British Minister will make full inquiry into the conduct of this man, in his own interest and in that of England. Our informants declared that Boobeker was unfit to represent England, on account of his general character. He is said to be very much disliked by the Moors. They suggested that it would be a great boon for England if an Englishman were appointed as consular agent in Morocco. In this view we heartily concur. We were also informed that domestic slaves are used very harshly by their mas

ters. A little girl, who was cut with a red-hot knife for breaking a dish, and afterwards beaten for crying, was given as an illustration of the usual fate of the poor slave. We were also informed that a few days ago Boobeker had been asked to procure for the Sultan thirty female slaves to replace some old ones in the Sultan's palace.

After taking a very friendly leave of Cid Boobeker, who had been so kind to us during our stay, we took our departure from the city of Morocco on the 11th of April. We found the roads turned into pools of water on account of the incessant rain which fell almost every day. The rivers were so swollen that we had much difficulty and danger in crossing them. After a few days we entered into the beautiful province of Chiadma, which resembles in many respects an English county. Many parts are covered with Argan trees, which are not unlike oaks in the distance. It is fairly well peopled, and affords abundant pasture for numerous herds of cattle." On our left rose the great Atlas chain of mountains, whose lofty peaks were covered with a mantle of snow. When the weather is clear, the sight of these stupendous mountains at sunrise and sunset is

VOL. CXLIX.-NO. DCCCCIV.

truly enchanting. The sky like burnished gold for the background, and the many coloured shades which these mountains present, would delight the eye of an artist.

On the afternoon of the 13th of April we entered Mogador, the most southern port of the Moorish empire, inhabited principally by Jews. Here we took up our quarters in the house of our good friend Mr Zerbib, who is doing excellent work amongst the Jews on behalf of the Society for Propagating the Gospel amongst the Jews. Here our inquiry regarding the condition of Morocco came to a close, and here we terminated. our journey so far as Morocco was concerned. In closing this narrative, we beg to state that we have studied the whole question of protection with impartiality. Our information has been gathered from every available source, so as to make ourselves acquainted with every side of this difficult subject. We received during this inquiry very valuable assistance from the British Minister, the consuls and vice-consuls along the Moorish coast, as well as from other gentlemen connected with the country. After careful consideration of the evidence brought before our notice, we are of opinion that protection was first established for guarding the commercial interests of merchants in Morocco, but we find this system has been abused to a very enormous extent by foreign ministers and consular agents, and that indiscriminate protection has been granted to Moors and Jews: some doubtless did so for gain, others may have done it injudiciously. We have gathered abundant testimony to prove that crimes and oppressions of every kind have been carried on under this system: it has been used as an

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