MINERAL REsorticEs. The country is rich in de posits of copper, iron ore, antimony, and rock salt (north of Fez), and gold and silver are re ported. The exploitation of all this mineral wealth, however, is hardly to be thought of under the existing conditions on account of the deep aversion of the official classes to foreigners.
_Agriculture and stock-raising ale almost the only Industries. The alluvial soil of the wide plain• of the west and east is espe cially adapted to the cultivation of cereals. and could be brought to a high degree of produc•tive nes.s by the application of modern agricultural methods. Ilut the strict prohibition of the portation of grain prevents the natives from utilizing the natural resources of the country and large of fertile land remain idle. Agriculture is also greatly hindered by the gen eral misrule prevailing in the country, and espe cially the corrupt system of taxation. The chief agricultural products, besides wheat, barley, and other cereals. are olives, dates. oranges. figs, and other kind's of southern fruit, as well as munier• ous varieties of vegetables. Cotton and sugar cane. Once cxtensiveh• cultivated, have now en tirely disappeared, and the cultivation of tobacco is greatly hindered by the adverse to ward its The manufacturing, industries of are chiefly devoted to the production of leather, pottery, text iles, inclining ea rpets, metal pads of copper and brass, and silver filigree. Fuzes are chiefly imported from Austria.
Ctiumma E. The chief export, are beans, skills and hides. fruits. olive 1)11, and The ex port of grain, horses. cattle, and many other articles is forbidden. Imports include metal products. emtttil, sugar. and tea. Purchases of clothing stuffs and metal wares from Europe are constantly increasing. The commerce With Eu rope is carried on through the ports of Tan gier. Tetuan. Larash, Babat. :Nlogador. Ma zagan, and Safi, al] of them. with the exception of Tetuan, situated on the Atlantic. Fez in the north and the city of Nloroceo in the south are the centres of the interior caravan trade. The cominereM1 statistics of the country are vary incomplete, but from the partial returns of most of the Moroccan ports it is estimated that the imports ;1111111Int tD a bOnt i.46,000,000 :11111 the
exports to about S5.000.0011 a year. The trade would be much smaller were it not that the Euro pean l'imers have used their joint influence to keep the Atlantic. ports open to COMIllerce. (:reat Britain leads in the trade, with l'ranee.flerniany, Belgium. and Spain following in the order named. As wagon roads and bridges are unknown, corn nualities can be moved Duly at large expense.
lloNrItSMENT. In its inrin of government .1\10 rodeo presents an cx:u,lipIc lif perfect absolutism. The sultan is in unrestricted control of both the secular and the religious affairs. but his Cabinet of -ix ministers has outsider:able influenve in the management of the State. The country is divided into provinces administered by 1Iovern0rs. 'lc:lids.' whose sway is as absolute in the re spective as that of the Sultan. In S01111' of these particularly among the Rif Mountains of the Nlediterranean coast. the rule of the is hardly recognized. The revenue Ifor which no reliable statistics are available) is derived from monopolies, taxes, tithes, and gifts. The receipts from the tariff on foreign eoininerce at the seaports are from $1,500.000 to $2.000.000 a year. Taxes are col lected without any system or eontrol, each tax gatherer being obliged to deliver a certain regardless of the amount at') collected. .\ iv reluctance to pay taxes is it.ttally followed by bloody punitive expeditions not infrequently tin der the per.onal direction of the Sultan. An int partial stud well-regulated system of administra tion of justice is naturally out of the question. The evidence of a Jew or a Christian against a _Mohammedan is considered invalid by the native judges. Persons who are under the protection of foreign consuls are exempted from the juris diction of native judges. The army of the Sultan consists of about 12,10a) drilled men, of whom about 10.000 are infantry. Most of them are usually stationed at that one of the three capitals ( Fez. Morocco. or Mekinez) where the Sultan is in residence; European officers arc used to drill the army. The militia forces number about 18,000 men, and the number of men avail able ill case of emergency is estimated at about 40,000.