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sort. In that character he was appointed by the old government of Holland, agent to the States General, and, having negotiated with the Emperor Muley Yezzid, hoisted their flag at Agadeer or Santa Cruz, and opened that port to foreign commerce. Here he established himself in trade, till he was obliged to leave Santa Cruz, when the present Emperor, jealous perhaps of the natural strength of the place, situated at the extremity of the Atlas Mountains, ordered it to be evacuated. This measure, dictated in the suspicious character of Marocco policy, obliged Mr. Jackson to cross the Atlas Mountains with the Prince's army, and repair to the Emperor, who then held his court at Marocco: this inland capital was no station for our author's purpose, and he was permitted to go to Mogodor on the coast at the distance of about a hundred miles, where he again established a house of commerce, under the firm of James Jackson and Co. when upon the death of Mr. Layton the partnership being dissolved, the survivor came to England, and having no other object but to render his communications useful to the African association, after several interviews with them, was induced by the liberal suggestions of the Earl of Moira to publish those remarks and that body of information, which are to be found in the volume now under my review.

Thus it came to pass, that Mr. Jackson, without courting the fame of an author, has become the unobtrusive narrator of his own observations, and these he has committed to the public with less parade of dictation, and more modest avoidance of egotism, than I can recollect to have observed in any other writers of the same description, whether their scale of travel has been great or small, foreign or domestic. For it shall sometimes happen that the passenger in a stage-coach between Bath and London, shall blow as loud a trumpet to puff his pennyworth of adventures, as if he had penetrated into unexplored latitudes, and added newly-discovered countries to the map of Earth.

Travellers of this sort have been successfully exposed of late by some, who seem to have a way of getting at their pocket-books, and yet keeping clear of the penalties of the law.

Of Barbary it may be said, that no country on the globe, of which so much has been written, is so little known. In the mean time its natural fertility entitles it to be considered as the garden of the world; in its products it possesses every thing, that can invite the trader to its coasts, in its government much, that may discourage him from resorting to them. By referring to the eleventh chapter of this volume, (p. 193.) where a statement is given of exports and imports, accurately transcribed from the original Arabic books of the Customhouse at Mogodor, a correct idea may be formed of the trade carried on in that port. In the list of exports will be found almost every article, that is in request either for luxury or for general use; the advantages, that our traders might derive from the vast abundance of raw materials, that would be bartered in exchange for manufactured goods, are in a manner incalculable; yet such is the wretched state of this neglected trade, that, " with the exception of two or three houses, there " is, at present, no European establishment of any conse "quence at Mogodor," and it is to be feared that Mr. Jackson is too well founded in his remark, "that with Consuls, "who are equally unacquainted with the language of the "country, and the manners, politics, and complexion of the "Court, we must not expect that the British merchant will " be sufficiently encouraged to make considerable adventures " to West Barbary."

Still it should appear from the opinion of this well-informed writer, that means are in our power by prudent regulations, and intelligent well-chosen agents, to revive this languishing, but important, branch of trade.

" A close connexion, (he observes) with the empire of Marocco " is of the greatest importance to Great Britain, both in a politi.

"cal and commercial point of view; for, besides the various arti. "cles of trade already enumerated, it affords ample supplies of "provisions; and, if a friendly intercourse between the two na"tions were firmly established, we should never have any difficulty " in victualling not only Gibraltar, but also all our different fleets "which cruize in the Mediterranean, and on the northern coast "of Africa; a resource, which, in the present state of things, cer"tainly merits the serious attention of this country. The advan. "tages of a trade with this empire must be evident, from what has "been detailed in the preceding pages, where it will be seen that "nearly the whole of the exports to Marocco consists of "manufactured goods, and that the returns for these are en. "tirely raw materials, many of which are essentially necessary " in our manufacture."

Greater advantages in point of trade than these, no country can hold forth; and it is Mr. Jackson's opinion,

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"That we have it in our power, by proper representations and "a judicious negociation, to supply through this channel a great " part of the interior of Africa with our superfluous manufactures, "while we might receive in return many very valuable and useful "articles; such as oil of olives, hides, skins, almonds, gums, wax, silver and gold; in addition to which may be mentioned, "oranges and lemons, of which a greater quantity might be pro"cured from two ports (Tetuan and Rabat) in the empire, than is "afforded both by Spain and Portugal. The oranges of Tetuan "(he says) are the finest in the world, and are sold for eight "drahims, or about 3s. 6d. per thousand. In short, nothing is "wanting to secure a most extensive and lucrative trade with "Marocco, but an established friendship between the two nations, "strengthened by a mutual return of good offices and attentions. "Indeed (he adds) the present emperor, Muley Soliman, may be "said to have made overtures of this nature."

!

The fact I find to be as follows. - Muley Soliman, the reigning monarch, who is better versed in the laws of the Koran, than any man in his empire, and in his nature more merciful than any of the antecedent sovereigns of Marocco, wrote a letter with his own hand to his Majesty our King, which after being sent to the universities for interpretation, was rendered into English by the author of this volume, and we presume has been answered. In this imperial letter, Muley

Soliman, addressing his Majesty by the sacred title of Sultan, pays him the highest respect that ever was offered by a Mooselman to a Christian king.

In the twenty-four first pages of this work, the author gives a geographical account of the four grand divisions of the empire of Marocco, viz. northern, central, southern and eastern.

In the northern division, we find the towns of Fez, Mequinas, Tetuan, Tangier, and many others, whose names are not so familiar to us. This province extends along the shores of the Mediterranean sea, and abounds in corn and cattle. The vicinity of Tetuan produces (as has been already observed) the most delicious oranges in the world; figs, grapes, melons, apricots, plums, strawberries, apples, pears, pomgranates, citrons, lemons, limes, and the refreshing fruit of the opuntia or prickly pear. It has forests of oak, cork and other valuable trees of large growth. Hemp, cotton of a superior quality, honey, wax, gum-arabic, and the tobacco called Mequinasi, so much esteemed for making snuff.

In the central division, are the towns of Marocco, Saffee, and the port of Mogodor. This fine province abounds in horses and horned cattle. The horses of Abda are of the most select breed in the country: the goats are innumerable, and their skins form a principal article of exportation from the port of Mogodor. The mountains of Haha produce the famous wood called Arar, new to this country, which is proof against rot or the worm.

In the southern district, Suse is considered as the most extensive, and, excepting in grain, the richest province of the empire. The olive, almond, date, orange, grape and all the other fruits of the northern provinces abound here, particularly about Terodant, the capital of Suse; and according to our author's account, there is not perhaps a finer climate in the world than that of Suse, in which province he resided at Agadeer or Santa Cruz. The sugar-cane grows spontaneously about Terodant; cotton, indigo, gum and various kinds of medicinal herbs are produced, and the stick-liquorice in profusion. Wax in great quantity, the gums euphorbium, sandrac and amarad, wild thyme, worm-seed, orriss root, orchilla weed, and coloquinth; antimony, salt-petre of a superior quality, copper and silver are here found; the two latter in abundance about Elala and in Shtuka.

The eastern district so overflows in dates, that a camel load, or three quintal, is sold for two dollars. The people, who live beyond the Atlas mountains in the district of Tafilelt, are described of such inviolable honesty, that a robbery has scarcely been known in the memory of man, though they use no locks: gold dust is here the circulating medium in all transactions of magnitude. There are mines of antimony and lead ore, and they carry on a considerable trade to Timbuctoo, Housa and Jinnie, south of Sahara.

To these geographical observations, there is attached a map of West Barbary, including Suse and Tafilelt; also one other, shewing the tract across the desart as followed by the caravans from Fez to Timbuctoo. In these maps Mr. Jackson professes to have corrected the abuses and mistakes with respect to names, which in others will be found. He also vouches for their accuracy, and expresses his belief that in a short time they will be considered the most correct of any hitherto published.

In his Zoology, chapter the seventh, Mr. Jackson expatiates in an interesting manner on the beauty of the Gazel or Antelope, and quotes an Arabian sonnet to shew how the poets in that language have made it the vehicle to convey compliments to their mistresses-You have the eyes of an Antelope, O lady-you possess the beauty of a Gazel. "These," he says, " are irresistible compliments with the Arabs: in "short, perfect beauty and gazel beauty are synonymous

" terms."

The animal called El Horreh, an inhabitant of Sahara, and never found to the northward of the river Suse, is held in

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