512 A SPORTING TRIP THROUGH ABYSSINIA 



Gums and resins ..... 



Ivory ...... 



Ostrich feathers ..... 



Ghee (clarified butter) .... 



Mother-of-pearl ..... 



Harbour dues are levied only at Bcrbera. The import duties at Zeila 

 have of late been considerably reduced. They now vary from one per cent 

 (silks), and two per cent (cotton goods), to five per cent (wines). At 

 Berbera ^m ,ui ^hilorcm duty of five per cent is charged on all imports ; at 

 both ports an ad I'aloreiii duty averaging one per cent on exports. Specie 

 and live-stock are admitted duty free, specie and gold are e.xported without 

 tax. The importation of arms is strictly prohibited. The import and 

 export duties levied constitute the entire revenue of the Protectorate, as 

 there is no other taxation. 



It is satisfactory to find that in spite of many adverse circumstances, 

 such as political unrest, drought and cattle disease in the interior, the 

 prevalence of plague in India and Aden, and the above-mentioned fall in 

 the price of coffee, the trade of the Protectorate reached its highest figure 

 in 1 899-1 goo. Less satisfactory is the circumstance that this is due, not 

 to the enterprise of English merchants and manufacturers, who, up to the 

 present, seem to have ignored this country and its possibilities, but to the 

 push and energy of foreigners. The Americans practically monopolise the 

 the two chief branches of trade (which together account for a good half of 

 the duty-paid commerce), viz. the importation of grey shirting, and the export 

 of skins and hides. Of the former H.M. Consul-General in Somaliland 

 says in his last report : " In this shirting America has hit off the exact 

 requirements of the country. I have had a few inquiries from British 

 merchants, but they have led to nothing. The value of the imports in 

 American grey shirting has risen during the last three years from 

 Rs. 16, 61, 424 to Rs. 24, 5, 403." The Bombay manufacturers have 

 introduced an imitation of "Americani," of which the consul speaks as 

 follows : " Country grey shirting (made in Bombay) has never taken a 

 hold on the market. The cotton is inferior to the American, the article is 

 over-sized and does not wear. The importation has almost ceased." 



These, and similar statements about the trade in skins and hides, are 

 poor reading for the patriotic Briton, who likes to see his country ever 

 foremost in the race for power and wealth : but they are amply borne out 

 by what I saw and heard on all sides during my journey in Somaliland and 

 Abyssinia. And, what is worse, they tell only one-half of the unpleasant 

 truth. The other half, which is not likely to find expression in an official 

 publication, is that the apathy of the British merchant, who confines 



