The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1858-07-13
THE GOVERNMENT OF MOROCCO,

Inc iteoNe Contemp0rdtae says the Boston Post)
contains interesting article by NJ. Narcisse Cote
on the political and social state of the empire of
Morocco from which we condense the following ac-
count of the administration of that country:
"The whole system is compared by the author to
winepress, of which the political hierarchy is the
screw, and the Sultan Abderrehman the motive
power. What the said press is required to do is to
produce torrents of gold Obtaining treasure is
the sole object of the government. The army is
but a fiscal engine; there is no navy; the admins
tration of Justice is of the chief of rev.
enue, and the public works are limited to stopping
up the crevices in the tottering mosques with few
handfuls of mud and mortar All other edifices are
allowed to fall to ruin. Houses fall in frequently
crushing the inmates to death, and yet elicit no
other remark but that lit writtenn As to for
egn relations, they are, in principle, regarded
pestilence, to be avoided as much possible. The
Sultan does not desire any trade with Christian
tions, the encroaching spirit of which he breads
above all things; nay, he would willingly give up
all his maritime towns were he but sure that the
Christians would not encroach any further. He
wants to remain at peace In the midst of his wives
and Golfers; but his greatest desire is to be kept in
ignorance of what takes place on the points of his
territory which are defiled by the presence of the
Nazarenes. Tangier, the residence of the Christian
consuls, is particularly odious to him; its very name
is pronounced with contempt, and its Mussulman
inhabitants COMPOUNDED in the same class with
the Jewish and Nazarene dogs with whom they
converse
"The Sultan has vizier, called Sidi-Mahomed-el-
Katib. This man, once grocer, and now honored
with the title of excellency, desires nothing more
earnestly than to be rid of his Office for he is placed
between the constant complaint of the consus gene
raj who are never satisfied, and the instructions of
his master, which simply these to promise eve
rything, but do nothing; to gain time to raise con-
slant obstacles to their Wishes in Short to tire them
out, and, above all, never to mention word about
them to the Sultan. The financial system recon-
mends itself by its wonderful simplicity; there are
no costly government offices, clerks, and no book
keeping-nothing but good stick and few yards
OF rope. The Sultan says to one of his pashas, q
want loo, 900 pastres.' The pasha calls his kaids
or governors of towns, and says to them, 'Sidna
(our lord) wants money; whichever of YOU does
not bring me 100, 900 piastres shall die in PRISON.
The kaids each convoke the richest merchants and
notabes of their towns, and say, 'Sidna wants mo-
ney; let each of you bring me 1000 piastres: he
that fails to do so shall die under the bastnado-
BY this means the royal exchequer receives the sum
required, being but small portion of what has been
extorted.
"Ihe pashas, of course, get immensely rich: but
their turn never fails to come. As soon as one of
them is believed by the Sultan to have rather too
much property, detachment of the black guards
1--WE mean offence to that respectable force for
such is its official name is sent to surround the
palace OF the unucky oficial he is seized without
ceremony, thrown across the back of mule tied
down like bundle of straw, and thus taken to the
capital exposed all along to the most brutal treat
ment He is then thrown into prison, and bastina-
doed daily until he reveals where he keeps his treas
ure. Four years ago the kad of Dar-el-Beid I'M
derWent Tor whole month the daily torture of being
holsted up between two erect poles, and let fail
again upon heap of branches of the Barbary fig
tree, which armed with long thorns penetrating
deep into the flesh. Still, all that was got out of
him only amounted to few thousand piastres, and
he expired under the barbarous torture prescribed
without telling the place where he had buried his
immense treasure. But the Sultan seldom proceeds
to such extremities When he has extorted suffi-
cient he restores his victim to all his former
honors and waits till he is ripe for fresh operations
| Majesty
of of his dgnitaries, he sends for him. and re-
ceives him with extraordinary favor and offers him
cup of coffee. few hours after the audience
the favored one expires in violent COMMISSIONS and
tho bvstandarS