10 
TAXES. 
[chap. I. 
institutes a complete reform, concluding his sanitary 
and philanthropic arrangements by the imposition of 
some local taxes. 
The town is comparatively sweet; the bread is of 
fair weight and size, and the new governor, like a new 
broom, has swept all clean. A few weeks glide away, 
and the nose again recalls the savoury old times when 
streets were never swept, and filth once more reigns 
paramount. The town relapses into its former state, 
again the false weights usurp the place of honest 
measures, and the only permanent and visible sign of 
the new administration is the local tax. 
From the highest to the lowest official, dishonesty 
and deceit are [the rule—and each robs in proportion 
to his grade in the Government employ—the onus of 
extortion falling upon the natives; thus, exorbitant 
taxes are levied upon the agriculturists, and the 
industry of the inhabitants is disheartened by oppres¬ 
sion. The taxes are collected by the soldiery, who 
naturally extort by violence an excess of the actual 
impost; accordingly the Arabs limit their cultivation 
to their bare necessities, fearing that a productive farm 
would entail an extortionate demand. The heaviest 
and most unjust tax is that upon the “sageer,” or 
water-wheel, by which the farmer irrigates his other¬ 
wise barren soil. 
The erection of the sageer is the first step necessary 
to cultivation. On the borders of the river there is 
much land available for agriculture; but from an 
almost total want of rain the ground must be constantly 
irrigated by artificial means. No sooner does an enter¬ 
prising fellow erect a water-wdieel, than he is taxed, 
not only for his wheel, but he brings upon himself a 
perfect curse, as the soldiers employed for the collection 
of taxes fasten upon his garden, and insist upon a 
variety of extras in the shape of butter, corn, vegetables, 
sheep, &c. for themselves, which almost ruin the pro¬ 
prietor. Any government but that of Egypt and 
Turkey would offer a bonus for the erection of irri- 
