For Every Slave, Great Or Small, He Receives, On Their Entering His Kingdom, Two Spanish Dollars; In Some Years The

Number of slaves amount to 4,000; for a camel's load of oil or butter, seven dollars; for a load

Of beads, copper, or hardware, four dollars; and of clothing, three dollars. All Arabs, who buy dates pay a dollar duty on each load, equal at times to the price of the article, before they are allowed to remove it. Above 3,000 loads are sold to them annually. Date trees, except those of the kadi and mamlukes, are taxed at the rate of one dollar for every two hundred; by this duty, in the neighbourhood of Mourzouk, or more properly in the few immediately neighbouring villages, the sultan receives yearly 10,000 dollars. Of all sheep or goats, he is entitled to a fifth. On the sale of every slave, he has, in addition to the head-money, a dollar and a half, which, at the rate of 4,000, gives another 6,000 dollars. The captured slaves are sold by auction, at which the sultan's brokers attend, bidding high only for the finest. The owner bids against them until he has an offer equal to what he considers as the value of the slave; he has then three-fourths of the money paid to him, while one-fourth is paid by the purchaser to the sultan. Should the owner not wish to part with his slaves, he buys them in, and the sum which he last names, is considered as the price, from which he has to pay the sultan's share.

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