In such cases, the Governor of the district is mulcted both for the murder and robbery.  The Emperor claimed two thousand dollars from one of the provinces, for the father of the murdered man.  This province escaped upon the plea that the murder had not been committed within its territory.  The other province refused to satisfy the demand for the same reason.  His Imperial Highness then made both provinces pay 2,000 dollars each, keeping one two thousand for himself, for the trouble he had of enforcing payment.

The people of Sous not long ago had a quarrel, which the Emperor fomented.  Its Sheikhs fought; his Imperial Highness sent troops to turn the balance of the fray, and to pacify the country.  Then, he made the belligerents pay each 40,000 dollars, as pacification-money, the value of which he levied on slaves.  In this politic way, the Imperial miser replenishes his coffers, and “eats up” his loving subjects.

I made the acquaintance of Mr. Treppass, the Austrian consul, and Chancellor of the French consulate.  Mr. Treppass has been upwards of twenty years in this country, and was himself once an Imperial merchant, but sold his business, preferring a small stipend and his liberty, to being a vassal of the Emperor, fed in luxury and lodged in a fine house.  We had a long conversation upon the various topics connected with this country.

Mr. Treppass says, the present system of the court is resistance to all innovation, to all strangers.  But the pressure of the French on the Algerine frontier is agitating the internal state of this country.  Money, which in other countries goes a long way, will almost do every thing with the Government of Morocco.  It will also effect much with the people.  Some fifty years ago, a Geneose merchant, resident in Mogador, had the two provinces of Hhaha and Shedma under his control, and could have made himself Sultan over them; this he effected solely by the distribution of money.  The Sultan of the time was in open war with a pretender; his Imperial Highness begged for the assistance of the all-powerful merchant.  The merchant bought the affections and allegiance of the people, and firmly established the Sultan on his throne.

The influence of the merchant was now prodigious, and the Sultan himself became alarmed.  Not being able to rest, and being in hourly dread of the Genoese, the Sultan ordered his officers to seize the merchant secretly, and put him on board a vessel then weighing anchor for Europe.  When the merchant was placed on board, this message was delivered to him—­“Our Sultan is extremely obliged to you, sir, for the great services you rendered him, by establishing him on his throne! but our Sultan says, ’If you could place him on the throne, you could also pull him off again.’  Therefore you must leave our country.  Our Sultan graciously gives you a portion of your wealth to carry away with you!” The officers then shipped several chests of money, jewels, and other valuables to be placed to the account of the merchant, and the Sultan-making Genoese quitted Morocco for ever.