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CHAPTER 8: Slutsky Equation

TRUE/FALSE

1. A Giffen good must be an inferior good.

ANS: T DIF: 1

2. If a good is an inferior good, then an increase in its price will increase the demand for it.

ANS: F DIF: 1

3. The compensated demand function refers to the demand function of someone who is adequately paid
for what he or she sells.

ANS: F DIF: 1

4. The Slutsky substitution effect measures the movement between two points on the same indifference
curve.

ANS: F DIF: 2

5. In the case of homothetic preferences, the entire change in demand from a price change is due to the
substitution effect.

ANS: F DIF: 2

6. If two goods x and y are perfect complements, then if the price of x falls, the entire change in the
demand for x is due to the income effect.

ANS: T DIF: 1

7. If the Engel curve slopes up, then the demand curve slopes down.

ANS: T DIF: 1

8. A rational consumer prefers more of good x to less. If the price of good x rises and the prices of all
other goods remain constant, then the consumer must necessarily demand less of x.

ANS: F DIF: 1

9. When the price of a good rises and income remains constant, there is a substitution effect on demand
but there cannot be an income effect.

ANS: F DIF: 1

10. Ivan spends his entire income on two goods. One of them is a Giffen good. If the price of the Giffen
good rises, demand for the other good must fall.
ANS: T DIF: 2

11. An increase in the price of a Giffen good makes the people who consume that good better off.

ANS: F DIF: 1

12. Jessica’s preferences for peanut butter and jelly are represented by the utility function U(p, j) =
min2p, 5j. If prices and income change, but her old consumption bundle lies somewhere on her new
budget line, she will not change her consumption.

ANS: T DIF: 2

13. Jimmy’s utility function is U(a, b) = ab, where a is his consumption of apples and b is his consumption
of bananas. If prices and income change in such a way that Jimmy’s old consumption lies on his new
budget line, then Jimmy will not change his consumption bundle.

ANS: F DIF: 2

14. Suppose a consumer has strictly convex preferences and her Engel curve for a good is a vertical line
for some range of income. In that same income range, her demand curve for the good slopes down.

ANS: T

15. John purchases two goods, x and y. Good x is an inferior good for some range of income. There must
be another range of income for which good x is a normal good.

ANS: T DIF: 2

16. A consumer has the utility function U(x, y) = x + 2y1/2. The price of good x is 2 and the price of good y
is 1. The consumer’s income is 20. If the price of good y rises to 2, then entire change in demand for y
is due to the substitution effect.

ANS: T DIF: 2

17. The Hicks version of the substitution effect of a price change measures the change in a consumer’s
demand if the consumer’s income were changed just enough so the consumer would remain on the
same indifference curve as before the price change.

ANS: T

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. Cindy consumes goods x and y. Her demand for x is given by x(px, m) = 0.05m −5.15px. Now her
income is $419, the price of x is $3, and the price of y is $1. If the price of x rises to $4 and if we
denote the income effect on her demand for x by DI and the substitution effect on her demand for x by
DS, then
a. DI = −0.28 and DS = −0.52.
b. DI = −0.28 and DS = −4.88.
c. DI = −0.52 and DS = −0.52.
d. DI = 0 and DS = −2.00.
e. None of the above.
ANS: B DIF: 3

2. Cindy consumes goods x and y. Her demand for x is given by x(px, m) = 0.04m −4.24px. Now her
income is $322, the price of x is $2, and the price of y is $1. If the price of x rises to $3 and if we
denote the income effect on her demand for x by DI and the substitution effect on her demand for x by
DS, then
a. DI = 0 and DS = −2.00.
b. DI = −0.18 and DS = −0.52.
c. DI = −0.52 and DS = −0.52.
d. DI = −0.18 and DS = −4.06.
e. None of the above.
ANS: D DIF: 3

3. Walt considers x and y to be perfect substitutes. They originally cost $10 and $9 respectively. His
income is $720. One day the price of x drops to $8.
a. The income effect increases the quantity of y by 90.
b. The substitution effect increases the quantity of y by 80.
c. The substitution effect increases the quantity of x by 90.
d. The income effect increases the quantity of x by 80.
e. None of the above.
ANS: C DIF: 1

4. Ernest’s income elasticity of demand for natural gas is 0.4. His price elasticity of demand for natural
gas is −0.3, and he spends 10% of his income on natural gas. What is his substitution price elasticity?
a. −.26
b. −.34
c. .20
d. −.12
e. None of the above.
ANS: A DIF: 2

5. Suppose that bananas are a normal good and Woody is currently consuming 100 bananas at a price of
10 cents each.
a. His Slutsky compensated demand curve going through this point is steeper than his
ordinary demand curve.
b. His ordinary demand curve going through this point is steeper than his Slutsky
compensated demand curve.
c. His ordinary demand curve is steeper to the left and his Slutsky compensated demand
curve is steeper to the right of this point.
d. Whether his ordinary demand curve or his Slutsky compensated demand curve is steeper
depends on whether his price elasticity is greater than 1.
e. None of the above.
ANS: A DIF: 2
6. The following can be said about the income and substitution effects of a price increase on the demand
for a good whose price rose:
a. The former is always positive and the latter is always negative.
b. Both can be either positive or negative.
c. While the latter is always negative, the former can be either positive or negative.
d. While the former is always negative, the latter can be either positive or negative.
e. The former can at times be negative, but it will never overwhelm the latter.
ANS: C DIF: 2

7. In 2000, Bruce spent his income on two goods, x and y. Between 2000 and 2001, the price of good x
rose by 8% and the price of good y rose by 8%. In 2001, Bruce bought the same amount of x as he
bought in 2000, but he bought more of good y than he had bought in 2000.
a. y is a normal good.
b. y is an inferior good.
c. x is an inferior good.
d. Nothing can be said about inferiority or superiority, since we don’t know what happened
to income.
e. Bruce is acting irrationally, since the relative prices of x and y did not change.
ANS: A DIF: 3

8. When the price of x rises, Marvin responds by changing his demand for x. The substitution effect is the
part of this change that represents his change in demand
a. holding the prices of substitutes constant.
b. if he is allowed to substitute as much x for y as he wishes.
c. if his money income is held constant when the price of x changes.
d. if the prices of all other goods are held constant.
e. None of the above.
ANS: E DIF: 1

9. Polly consumes crackers and fruit. The price of fruit rose and the price of crackers stayed constant.
The income effect on Polly’s demand is
a. zero because Polly’s income didn’t change.
b. the change in Polly’s demand if her income is decreased by the change in the price of fruit
times her old consumption of fruit.
c. the change in Polly’s demand if her income is decreased by the total amount she used to
spend on fruit.
d. the change in Polly’s demand if her income is increased by the amount she used to spend
on fruit.
e. the change in Polly’s demand if her income is increased by the change in the price of fruit
times the amount she used to buy.
ANS: B DIF: 1

10. Waldo consumes only apples and bananas and bananas are an inferior good for him. The price of
apples increases, but there is an increase in his income that keeps him on the same indifference curve
as before. (Waldo has convex preferences, and he prefers more to less of either good.)
a. After the change, Waldo will buy more bananas and fewer apples.
b. After the change, Waldo will buy fewer bananas and more apples.
c. After the change, Waldo will buy more of both goods.
d. After the change, Waldo will buy fewer of both goods.
e. We would need to know his utility function to determine whether any of the above
statements are true.
ANS: A DIF: 2

11. Charlie consumes apples and bananas. His utility function is U(XA, XB) = xAx2B. The price of apples is
$1 the price of bananas is $2, and his income is $30 per week. If the price of bananas falls to $1
a. Charlie demands fewer apples and more bananas.
b. the substitution effect of the fall in banana prices reduces his apple consumption, but the
income effect increases his apple consumption by the same amount.
c. the substitution effect of the fall in the price of bananas reduces his banana consumption
but the income effect increases his banana consumption by enough so that his banana
consumption rises.
d. the income used to calculate the substitution effect is higher than his original income,
since the change made Charlie better off.
e. More than one of the above is true.
ANS: B DIF: 2

12. Rob consumes two goods, x and y. He has an allowance of $50 per week and is not endowed with
either of the goods. If the price of good x increases and his substitution and income effects change
demand in opposite directions,
a. good x must be a Giffen good.
b. good x must be an inferior good.
c. WARP is violated.
d. good x must be a normal good.
e. There is not enough information to judge whether good x is a normal or inferior good.
ANS: B DIF: 2

13. Ben consumes two goods and his utility function is U(x1, x2) = x21x42. The price of good 2 does not
change and his income does not change, but the price of good 1 decreases.
a. The income effect is zero, since his income remained constant.
b. The substitution effect on the demand for good 2 is zero, since the price of good 2 did not
change.
c. The substitution effect reduces the demand for good 2, and since the income effect is zero,
the demand for good 2 falls.
d. The substitution effect of the price change reduces the demand for good 2 and increases
the demand for good 1.
e. More than one of the above statements is true.
ANS: D DIF: 1

14. Herbie consumes two goods and his utility function is U(x1, x2) = x31x42. The price of good 2 does not
change and his income does not change, but the price of good 1 decreases.
a. The substitution effect of the price change reduces the demand for good 2 and increases
the demand for good 1.
b. The substitution effect reduces the demand for good 2, and since the income effect is zero,
the demand for good 2 falls.
c. The substitution effect on the demand for good 2 is zero, since the price of good 2 did not
change.
d. The income effect is zero, since his income remained constant.
e. More than one of the above statements is true.
ANS: A DIF: 1

15. Charlie’s utility function is xAxB. The price of apples used to be $1 per unit and the price of bananas
was $2 per unit. His income was $40 per day. If the price of apples increased to $2.25 and the price of
bananas fell to $1.25, then in order to be able to just afford his old bundle, Charlie would have to have
a daily income of
a. $57.50.
b. $116.
c. $28.75.
d. $86.25.
e. $230.
ANS: A

16. Charlie’s utility function is xAxB. The price of apples used to be $1 per unit and the price of bananas
was $2 per unit. His income was $40 per day. If the price of apples increased to $1.50 and the price of
bananas fell to $1.75, then in order to be able to just afford his old bundle, Charlie would have to have
a daily income of
a. $23.75.
b. $47.50.
c. $96.
d. $71.25.
e. $190.
ANS: B

17. Charlie’s utility function is xAxB. The price of apples used to be $1, the price of bananas used to be $2,
and his income used to be $40. If the price of apples increased to $6 and the price of bananas stayed
constant, the substitution effect on Charlie’s apple consumption would reduce his consumption by
a. 16.67 apples.
b. 5 apples.
c. 8.33 apples.
d. 13.33 apples.
e. None of the above.
ANS: C

18. Charlie’s utility function is xAxB. The price of apples used to be $1, the price of bananas used to be $2,
and his income used to be $40. If the price of apples increased to $5 and the price of bananas stayed
constant, the substitution effect on Charlie’s apple consumption would reduce his consumption by
a. 4 apples.
b. 13 apples.
c. 8 apples.
d. 16 apples.
e. None of the above.
ANS: C

19. Neville from your workbook has a friend named Peregrine. Peregrine has the same demand function
for claret as Neville, namely q = .02m − 2p, where m is income and p is price. Peregrine’s income is
$6,500 and he initially had to pay a price of $50 per bottle of claret. The price of claret rose to $60.
The substitution effect of the price change
a. reduced his demand by 20.
b. increased his demand by 20.
c. reduced his demand by 14.
d. reduced his demand by 26.
e. reduced his demand by 24.
ANS: C DIF: 2

20. Neville from your workbook has a friend named Cedric. Cedric has the same demand function for
claret as Neville, namely q = .02m − 2p, where m is income and p is price. Cedric’s income is $6,000
and he initially had to pay a price of $40 per bottle of claret. The price of claret rose to $60. The
substitution effect of the price change
a. reduced his demand by 24.
b. reduced his demand by 40.
c. reduced his demand by 56.
d. increased his demand by 40.
e. reduced his demand by 34.
ANS: A DIF: 2

21. Goods 1 and 2 are perfect complements and a consumer always consumes them in the ratio of 2 units
of good 2 to 1 unit of good 1. If a consumer has an income of $300 and if the price of good 2 changes
from $5 to $6, while the price of good 1 stays at $1, then the income effect of the price change
a. is 6 times as strong as the substitution effect.
b. does not change the demand for good 1.
c. accounts for the entire change in demand.
d. is exactly twice as strong as the substitution effect.
e. is 5 times as strong as the substitution effect.
ANS: C DIF: 1

22. Goods 1 and 2 are perfect complements and a consumer always consumes them in the ratio of 2 units
of good 2 to 1 unit of good 1. If a consumer has an income of $120 and if the price of good 2 changes
from $3 to $4, while the price of good 1 stays at $1, then the income effect of the price change
a. is 4 times as strong as the substitution effect.
b. does not change the demand for good 1.
c. is exactly twice as strong as the substitution effect.
d. accounts for the entire change in demand.
e. is 3 times as strong as the substitution effect.
ANS: D DIF: 1

23. Suppose that Agatha has $465 to spend on tickets for her trip. She intends to spend the entire amount
$465 on tickets and prefers traveling first class to traveling second class. She needs to travel a total of
1,500 miles. Suppose that the price of first-class tickets is $.40 per mile and the price of second-class
tickets is $.10 per mile. How many miles will she travel by second class?
a. 450
b. 600
c. 225
d. 550
e. 150
ANS: A
24. Suppose that Agatha has $825 to spend on tickets for her trip. She intends to spend the entire amount
$825 on tickets and prefers traveling first class to traveling second class. She needs to travel a total of
1,500 miles. Suppose that the price of first-class tickets is $.60 per mile and the price of second-class
tickets is $.30 per mile. How many miles will she travel by second class?
a. 125
b. 400
c. 350
d. 250
e. 83.33
ANS: D

25. Maude thinks delphiniums and hollyhocks are perfect substitutes, one for one. If delphiniums currently
cost $5 per unit and hollyhocks cost $6 per unit and if the price of delphiniums rises to $8 per unit,
a. the income effect of the change in demand for delphiniums will be bigger than the
substitution effect.
b. there will be no change in the demand for hollyhocks.
c. the entire change in demand for delphiniums will be due to the substitution effect.
d. 1/3 of the change will be due to the income effect.
e. 2/3 of the change will be due to the income effect.
ANS: C DIF: 2

26. Maude thinks delphiniums and hollyhocks are perfect substitutes, one for one. If delphiniums currently
cost $2 per unit and hollyhocks cost $3 per unit and if the price of delphiniums rises to $7 per unit,
a. there will be no change in the demand for hollyhocks.
b. the income effect of the change in demand for delphiniums will be bigger than the
substitution effect.
c. 1/5 of the change will be due to the income effect.
d. the entire change in demand for delphiniums will be due to the substitution effect.
e. 4/5 of the change will be due to the income effect.
ANS: D DIF: 2

27. Carlos consumes only two goods, apples and bananas. His utility function is given by U(x, y) = a3b2.
He is endowed with wa apples and wb bananas. Unaware that prices are about to change, Carlos buys
the quantities of apples and bananas that maximize his utility subject to his budget constraint. After he
has made his purchases but before he has eaten them, the relative prices change. Carlos is then free to
make further trades at the new relative prices if he wishes.
a. Carlos will definitely be better off after the price change.
b. Carlos will definitely be worse off after the price change.
c. Carlos will be better off after the price change if the price of the good for which he is a net
seller rises relative to the price of the other good.
d. Carlos will be better off after the price change if the price of the good for which he is a net
buyer rises relative to the price of the other good.
e. Carlos’s utility will not be affected by the price change.
ANS: A
28. Carlos consumes only two goods, apples and bananas. His utility function is given by U(x, y) = minx,
2y. He is endowed with wa apples and wb bananas. Unaware that prices are about to change, Carlos
buys the quantities of apples and bananas that maximize his utility subject to his budget constraint.
After he has made his purchases but before he has eaten them, the relative prices change. Carlos is then
free to make further trades at the new relative prices if he wishes.
a. Carlos will definitely be better off after the price change.
b. Carlos will definitely be worse off after the price change.
c. Carlos will be better off after the price change if the price of the good for which he is a net
seller rises relative to the price of the other good.
d. Carlos will be better off after the price change if the price of the good for which he is a net
buyer rises relative to the price of the other good.
e. Carlos’s utility will not be affected by the price change.
ANS: E

29. Gladys loves music and spends her money only on tapes and compact discs. She is always willing to
trade 2 tapes for 1 compact discs. Originally, music stores sold compact disc for $9 each and tapes for
$5 each. Then the price of compact discs fell to $8 each. The change in her consumption of compact
discs that resulted was
a. entirely due to the substitution effect.
b. entirely due to the income effect.
c. partly due to the income effect and partly due to the substitution effect.
d. due to the income effect for low incomes and the substitution effect for high incomes.
e. There was no change in her demand for compact discs.
ANS: B

PROBLEM

1. A taxpayer says, “Sure I pay a lot of income tax, but I don’t mind because I get back just as much
money as I pay in.” Assuming that his facts are correct, explain why the taxpayer’s reasoning is faulty.
Use a diagram to show that an income tax can make a person worse off even if he is rebated an amount
of money equal to what he paid in.

ANS:
Since an income tax lowers the price of leisure relative to all other goods, a taxpayer will consume too
much leisure, leaving him worse off even after a full tax rebate.

DIF: 2

2. Use a diagram to prove that in case there are two goods, the substitution effect of an increase in the
price of good x reduces the demand for good x.

ANS:
A good way to proceed is to suppose that the price of x increases and the substitution effect increases
demand for x. Draw the pivoted budget and notice that the new bundle would have to be a bundle that
was previously rejected in favor of the old bundle. Since the pivoted budget still allows the old
purchase, the weak axiom of revealed preference would be violated.

DIF: 3
3. Draw two different diagrams, one illustrating the Slutsky version of income and substitution effects
and the other illustrating the Hicks version of income and substitution effects. How do these two
notions differ?

ANS:
The diagrams can be found in the text. The Slutsky version of the substitution effect has income
adjusted so the consumer is just able to afford the old bundle at the new prices. The Hicks version has
the consumer’s income adjusted so he is exactly as well off as he was at the old prices.

DIF: 2

4. What conditions ensure that the quantity of a good demanded increases as its price falls? Explain your
answer, using diagrams.

ANS:
The standard Slutsky analysis is called for here. See the text.

DIF: 1

5. Suggest at least one reason why it might be worth the trouble it takes to learn how to decompose the
effects of a price change into an income effect and a substitution effect.

ANS:
The substitution effect of a price increase must decrease demand for that good. We know that if
demand for the good increases as income increases, then the income effect works in the same direction
as the substitution effect. Therefore the decomposition into income and substitution effects allows one
to prove that the demand curve slopes down whenever the Engel curve slopes up. A second reason is
that someone who has already purchased his planned consumption bundle faces only a substitution
effect and not an income effect when prices change, since in this case his budget line just pivots
around the current consumption.

DIF: 2
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signet of Joab, who was sent to collect tribute from them in the time
of the son of David.
In 1844 there still existed an ancient inscription in Hebrew graven
on a stone in the Dra country, which was said to be as follows: ‫עד כאן‬
‫ הגיץ יואב בן צרויה לקבל המס‬which is interpreted thus, ‘So far as this
place came Joab Ben (son of) Serruia to receive the tribute.’
Joab, chief of the army of King David, is called in the recognised
translation of the Bible ‘the son of Zeruiah.’
A drunken Rabbi, named Judah Azalia, called on me the other
day; he has been travelling for three years in the southern districts of
Morocco, and he visited also many of the towns and villages
bordering on the Great Desert beyond Dra, which province you will
find marked in the map. Judah was half intoxicated, as usual, when
he visited me, and he left Tangier before I could entrap him in a
sober moment. Judah had travelled much in the East, had read a
number of curious old books, and was full of traditions he had picked
up in the interior of this country; but all he told me was in such a
jumbled state that I could not retain it, but requested the learned and
drunken Rabbi to commit to paper the subject-matter of our
conversation.
I send you a translation of the Hebrew original.
From the preface you will expect much; but, alas! there is only the
phantom of a skeleton, whose doubtful apparition leaves us big with
fancies and uncertainty. The man knows nothing of geography or
history, except the Bible.
You will be struck with the tradition of the Jews of the interior
respecting the tribe of Naphtali, the tombs, &c. I regret he has
curtailed greatly his verbal statements; for, amongst other curious
matter, he told me of a burial-ground of the Jews in the interior—
some mile or mile and a half in circumference.
The story about the Israelite warriors is curious, but the staining of
the hair before battle looks more like the Goths.
Judah supposes that Wadan is much nearer the Red Sea than it
really is; but if the Naphtali tribes fled from captivity, through Central
Africa, towards Dra and the South of Morocco, one of the first towns
or villages at which they would have found means of subsistence,
would have been Wadden or Yaden.
The names of the places and towns are so different from those
given in our maps, as indeed they always appear to be when
mentioned by natives of the interior, that I can hardly recognise
them, and have no time just now to refer to my maps of Africa.
Judah has promised to send me a further memorandum, but the
fumes of ‘agua ardiente’ will, I fear, stifle all recollection of his
promise.

Translation from the Hebrew.


I am about to give a description respecting my brethren of Israel, who, through
captivity, are now dwelling in Western Barbary, and to tell—as far as my
knowledge permits—of their state, their mode of living and genealogy; being in
conformity with what has been related to me by wise old men and persons of
integrity and good faith, incapable of stating an untruth. I will further relate what I
have personally witnessed during the travels of my youth, as also the information I
have obtained from ancient and exact tradition, both in manuscript and in print.

It is well known that when Sennacherib (? Shalmaneser[15]), king of Assyria,


conquered the people of Israel, these (the Israelites), were led into captivity to
Lahleh (? Halah) and Habor. Thence all the Israelite tribe of Naphtali, or the
greater portion thereof, sought refuge in Vaden, a town situated on the limits of
Guinea (meaning Central Africa), which town had at that time direct
communication with Lahleh and Habor. From Vaden they (the Israelites) were
scattered to Daha[16], Tafilelt, and Vakka[17] which are situated on the confines of
the Province of Daha towards Ofran, according to the writings of the pious Rabbi,
Jakob Benisargan, who places Vakka upon the borders of the river of Daha. Thus
were the Israelites spread throughout the interior of Africa.
In Vaden there is a large burial ground of Jews, whose sepulchres are covered
with slabs of stone bearing very intelligible epitaphs. In Vaden there is a
synagogue where fragments of the Pentateuch and of the Prophets, written on
parchment, are to be found.
In Ofran is to be seen a carved stone with a Hebrew inscription which has
existed since the destruction of the first temple. In the burial ground there are
several tombstones bearing epitaphs, of which the genealogy is written in the
Hebrew character but in the Arabic tongue: some of these are dated three hundred
years ago, others go as far back as twelve hundred years.
From Ofran you journey to Eleg[18], where there exists a large congregation of
Jews; exactly as is related by the famous and illustrious Rabbi, Izak Barseset. In
Ofran there stands a building which it is supposed was erected by one of the
ancient kings of Western Barbary. It is constructed with large hewn square stones.
There are also ruins of buildings which are supposed to be Roman.
Then comes the town of Telin, and later that of Thala, where there exists even
at the present time an immense stone, and at its foot is a pool of water. The old
people of the place tell you of a tradition that upon this stone the Israelite warriors
prepared a dye of ‘henna[19]’, with which they dyed their hair before going to
battle. They relate that the number of the said warriors amounted to four hundred
thousand cavalry. It is said that on one occasion the enemies of these warriors
treacherously came to offer peace upon any conditions that might be imposed.
The peace having been concluded on the sacred day of Kipur[20], all the Israelites
were unarmed, but the enemy had hidden their own arms in the sand.
The Israelites, glad to profit by so advantageous a peace—and not suspecting
any treachery—approached the hostile army, perceiving also that they had no
arms, when suddenly a preconcerted signal was given, and the latter, rushing
upon the Israelites, cut them to pieces. One slave alone survived this most fatal
misfortune, and he buried the bodies of the slain. On account of their number he
put ten bodies into each grave, but for the last grave there were only nine bodies,
so the slave—overwhelmed with grief and sorrow—threw himself into the grave to
complete the ten. Even to the present time this spot is called ‘The sepulchre of the
ten.’
At a little distance from Eleg, there is a celebrated fountain called Ras-el-Ain
(the source of the spring), so called because there is a spring of water at forty
fathoms below the surface. The fountain can be followed three days’ journey
irrigating the olive, fig, pomegranate, almond, and palm trees, and the land is also
thereby watered for the cultivation of grain and vegetables.
The following towns or villages are to be noted as having Hebrews among the
population: Zaachian, Lasakia, Takulebat, Torribat, Bardlaiimi, and Taheret[21].
This last-mentioned town is noted for being the birthplace of many learned Jews
and Rabbis in very ancient times. The most celebrated and illustrious Rabbi,
Judah El Hayugni, was born at Taheret. He it was who founded the grammar of our
sacred language.
Beyond Taheret is the town of Lasats, which has a large Jewish population. In it
there are gardens and fruit trees, which are cultivated with great success.
The best limes in Barbary are grown here, and are used in the religious
ceremonies of the Jews throughout Morocco.

Mulai Hashem, a native of Tafilelt, tells me that the Jews are very
numerous in his country. He says there are two races of Jews
among them, one race has been in Tafilelt since eight years previous
to the Hegira of Mohammed, the other having been brought in by a
chief named Mulai Ali, the son of Mulai Hassan.
Mulai Ali, says my informant, had purchased these Jews from
some distant country of the East—where he found them in great
distress—and he gave fifty pieces of money for each: what money
he does not know.
Mulai Hashem says that these two races are thus distinguished.
The older race have the whole head shaved. The colony brought by
Mulai Ali leave a small segment of a circle unshaved on the top of
the forehead. These latter also wear a black cap, somewhat pointed
at the top, where it is made to curl down on one side of the face.
The Jewesses are not dressed like those that live in Tangier, but
in the costume of the Moorish woman, and wear rich dresses with
jewels. They are however to be distinguished from the Moorish
woman by the arrangement of their hair, which the latter draw
backwards from either side of the forehead over the temples to the
back of the head; whereas the Jewesses (unmarried) twist their hair
in circles on the top of the head. The married Jewesses are not
allowed by the law to show their hair. This law, by the way, is not
from the Bible, but is an invention of the Rabbis.
The Jews, said Mulai Hashem, are well treated in Tafilelt, whilst
they behave well and according to the rules laid down for them;
which, by the specimen of one that he gave, appear sufficiently
humiliating—viz. that should a Jew pass or be passed by a Sheríf,
he, the Jew, must take off his shoes; or, if mounted, must dismount,
unless specially absolved by the Sheríf.
He tells me that they exercise all the crafts which are practised in
the country, except tilling the soil. It appears that the Jews
themselves seldom, if ever, accompany the ‘kafilas’ (caravans), but,
he says, they have commercial dealings with the Sudan country.
It would appear that the Tafilelt Jews are much at their ease, if
one may judge from the joking adage—according to Mulai Hashem
common in Tafilelt—that ‘forty Mohammedans work for one Jew.’
Mulai Hashem said that the Filali Jews, or Jews of Tafilelt, speak the
Shloh tongue as well as the Arabic, and whenever they wish to say
what they would not have known to Moors or others they speak in
Hebrew.
A learned Jew of this country tells me that all Arabs and Moors
whose names are composed with Ben are of an Israelitish origin.
Mulai Hashem tells me that the following oath is administered in
his country to the Jews, and that they will rather give back anything
they may have come by unjustly than take so grave an oath:—
‘By God, there is no other God but He, the Eternal and Just—who
uttered His word upon the mighty hill—and by the truth of the
existence of the two palm-trees which meet together over the river
Sebts, and by the Book of Moses—peace be upon him—and by the
Ten Commandments delivered unto Moses, and by all that is
contained in his Book, the Gadi, God forbid that I should add or
diminish in this affair, else may God destroy my memory, and may
the name of my family be never mentioned in the world.’
Sebts is the Arabic for Sabbath, and is here applied to the fabled
river called by the Jews Sabbatyon.
It is not clear what is meant by Gadi.
A Jewish Rabbi, named Benshiten, tells me that two and a half
tribes of Israel are the portion which make up the number of Jews
that are found in Europe and Africa—and the remaining nine and a
half are found to exist on the East of a river which is named
Sabbatyon, and is said to be to the East of Mecca. This river, said
he, has the peculiarity of the stones in its bed fighting with each
other all the week excepting the Sabbath, on which day Hebrews
cannot travel; so that the nine and a half tribes cannot communicate
with their separated brethren.

Mr. Hay, it may be added, was the first to break through some of
the despotic rules imposed by the Moors on the Jews. On his arrival
at Tangier in 1844 the Hebrew interpreters attached to the different
Consulates were obliged to remove—as did their brethren—their
slippers on passing a mosque or other sanctuary. When he paid his
visit of ceremony to the Basha, on succeeding his father as Consul-
General and Political Agent, Mr. Hay went, according to the custom
of those days, in full uniform. He was accompanied by his staff, of
which one member—the Interpreter, Mr. David Sicsu—was a Jew, a
shrewd and able man, who had been attached for some years to the
British Consulate. On their way to the Basha’s residence they
passed the great mosque. Mr. Hay noticed that Sicsu stopped and
took off his shoes; so turning, he called out to him in a loud voice,
that all might hear, ‘What are you doing? Put on your shoes.
Remember you are an English employé and, as such, have all the
privileges of British subjects. If ever you do that again, I shall dismiss
you.’
Also, on his first visit to the Sultan’s Court, in 1846, Mr. Hay
insisted on his Jewish interpreters being allowed to ride about the
capital on mule-back, and to enjoy the same rights and privileges as
granted to other members of his staff.
It is only within the last thirty years that Jews in Morocco—not
foreign employés or protected subjects—have been allowed to
assume the European dress, or to wear yellow slippers or red caps
when in native costume. Formerly they were compelled to confine
themselves to black slippers and caps and the Jewish gaberdine.
CHAPTER X.

DIFFICULTIES OF MR. HAY’S POSITION AT TANGIER. 1846-54.

With characteristic energy and perseverance Mr. Hay


endeavoured to increase the influence and develope the trade of
Great Britain in Morocco, then greatly on the decline. But at every
turn he met with many obstacles. Not the least of these was the
warlike attitude of France towards Morocco as compared with the
peaceful policy of Great Britain. To the ignorant, barbarian Moors
quiet strength appeared to be weakness, while they were in a
corresponding degree impressed by the restless activity of the
French, who, in consequence of the machinations of Abd-el-Kader,
were then on uneasy terms with the Sultan, and left no means
untried to consolidate their influence and to acquire sole
predominance over him. In pursuance of these objects the French
Representatives, with whom Mr. Hay individually was on excellent
terms, were unceasing in their efforts to promote French interests
and gained over to their cause all the most powerful men connected
with the Moorish Court,—not a difficult matter with a corrupt and
venal Government.
The Sultan dared not depend on the countenance of any nation
but the French—fearing that the latter power, if he sought other
protection, might, on the pretext of sending a force in pursuit of Abd-
el-Kader or rebel Algerian tribes, invade Maroquin territory. But the
natives generally were strongly in favour of Great Britain and hostile
to France.
Legitimate commerce, then principally in British hands, was ever
on the decrease, while contraband traffic was largely increasing.
Mr. Hay urged that, to counterbalance French military influence, a
more authoritative tone must be adopted by Great Britain in her
dealings with the Sultan, and that certain commercial concessions
and reforms should be demanded. He also advised that more
frequent visits should be paid by British men-of-war to Moorish ports,
from which some vessel of the French navy was seldom absent,
while British ships were rarely seen. A year later he pointed out that
his rank, as Consul-General and Agent only, militated against his
efforts to increase British influence, since both the French and
Spanish Governments had Ministers accredited to the Moorish
Court, and the Moors, who neither had newspapers of their own nor
read those of other countries, who had no postal system, and no
native society in which Europeans could mingle, estimated the
comparative importance of different nations by the status of their
respective employés.
Mr. Hay’s efforts were not unrecognised by the Foreign Office.
Encouraging letters reached him from the Chief Clerk signifying Lord
Palmerston’s satisfaction, and at the close of 1847 he was promoted
to the rank of Chargé d’Affaires.
It was also owing to Mr. Hay’s persistent representations that
duties on imported goods were, in September, 1848, reduced ten per
cent. The reduction gave fresh impetus to British trade and
prevented its diversion into Franco-Algerian channels which seemed
at one time imminent.
In the meantime the feelings of the people of Morocco were
growing still more in favour of Great Britain and antagonistic to the
policy of the Sultan. This potentate evinced great ill-will to Mr. Hay,
and even threatened at various times to insist on his recall, should
he persist, as hitherto, in enforcing the claims of British subjects.
This ill-will on the part of the Sultan arose, no doubt, in great
measure from his having been erroneously led to believe by evil
advisers in 1844 that Great Britain would employ armed force on
behalf of the Moors, and from his conviction that she had broken
faith in failing to do so.
A better feeling towards Great Britain was brought about,
however, by an act of kindly courtesy on the part of Her Majesty’s
Government. In July, 1849, a British vessel of war was sent to
conduct H.S.M.’s two sons to Alexandria, whence they were to
journey to Mecca, the same vessel afterwards bringing them back.
This act of kindness was received with great gratitude by the Sultan,
and in acknowledgement he shortly after sent to the Queen a
present of wild animals, horses and specimens of Moorish
manufactures. Several Moors accompanied the Sultan’s gift to the
Queen and, on their return, in May, 1850, Mr. Hay wrote to Mr.
Addington, then Chief Clerk at the Foreign Office, telling him of their
delight at their reception:—

The Moors have returned, delighted with their visit to the land of the
Nazarenes. Around my house, groups of respectable men may be seen listening
to the wondrous tales of Kaid Abd-el-Kerim or of my groom. The old chief hunter,
Hadj Abdallah, sits in his village—amidst a motley crowd of Arabs and Rifians—
telling them of the magnificence and wonders of London, and the kindness the
poor Moors received, from the Queen down to the servants that assisted them. He
proclaims loudly to the astonished fanatics that power, wealth, honesty, and charity
are to be found in the land of the Infidel and not in the land of the Moslem.
The Hadj tells me that at one time he had almost lost his reason in thinking
over what he had seen. His stories have amused me as much as they do the
Moors, and I have been almost inclined to publish the ‘Travels of the Hadj,’ or get
my brother to do so, as I am rather lazy about writing when it is not a duty.
All the Moors talk much of the Queen and Prince Albert, who they declare sent
for them more than once. So England and the English are in the mouth of every
Moor since the return of the travellers.

In direct contrast to this exchange of courtesies, the French had


continued their dictatorial policy and the feeling in Morocco ran high
against France.
Thus, in April, 1849, the French Chargé d’Affaires struck his flag
in consequence of an altercation with the Lieutenant-Governor
regarding a courier in French employ who had been imprisoned by
that official. This courier was found carrying letters of a purely private
character from Abd-el-Kader to his former lieutenant, then a State
prisoner at Fas. The Moorish Government refused to release the
courier who eventually died in prison. After much negotiation and
pacific counsel on the part of the Neapolitan Consul, who was in
charge of French interests, and of Mr. Hay—who, as he wrote to a
relative, could not have worked harder to bring about a peaceful
issue, had he been himself a Frenchman—the Moors gave way and
offered every reparation. But French pride was roused. Fresh
complications ensued, and finally all the French subjects at Tangier
and the Ports embarked on board vessels of war. In the meantime
the Sultan had begun to collect troops on the Algerian frontier and
war seemed imminent. Mr. Hay hurried off to El Araish by sea and
interviewed the Moorish Minister for Foreign Affairs who, by an
anomalous—though essentially Moorish—arrangement, resided
there. He succeeded in persuading him to check all warlike
preparations; but it was not till the close of September that matters
were brought to a peaceful termination and the French flag hoisted
and saluted.
In connection with the foregoing events Mr. Hay relates the
following story, which he had from an authentic source.

When relations between France and Morocco were in a critical condition and a
declaration of war seemed imminent, the Sultan sent for Abd-el-Hadi, the Kadi of
his Capital, said to be the wisest man in Morocco, and asked him what he was to
reply to the demands of the French.
‘Refuse the infidel,’ said Abd-el-Hadi. ‘Order the destruction of all your ports;
blow up the fortifications; let every man arm and become, as were his ancestors, a
wandering Arab, and then tell the French to do their worst!’
When Abd-el-Hadi had retired, the Sultan turned to his Uzir and said, ‘The Kadi
ought to have added—Abdicate, encourage anarchy and revolution, and destroy at
once the Empire.’
It may be surmised, however, that Abd-el-Hadi was a wiser man than he
appears. Desirous of humouring his lord and master by recommending war, he yet
put his advice in a light which would show the Sultan the folly of resisting the
French.
Not only was the residence of the Minister for Foreign Affairs at El
Araish most inconvenient at all times to the Representatives—all of
whom lived at Tangier—but it necessitated, as has been seen,
frequent hurried journeys on their part to that port.
On one such occasion, Mr. Hay had proceeded to El Araish by
land to interview Sid Buselham, and had succeeded in getting from
him a reply, which he desired to forward at once to head-quarters by
one of the rare steamers to England due to leave Tangier next
morning. In expectation of this he had, on his way to El Araish,
arranged that four relays of horses were to await his return at
different points of the road between that town and Tangier, a
distance of sixty miles—and, as soon as he had obtained the
Minister’s signature, he mounted and dashed off homewards.
The Governor of El Araish, anxious for the British Agent’s safety
in those troubled times, had given orders that a mounted escort
should also await him with every fresh horse and follow him on the
road. These, however, were unable to keep pace with him. On arrival
at the little town of Azaila, situated about halfway between Tangier
and El Araish, he found no horse prepared for him. Riding at once to
the British Consular Agent’s house, Mr. Hay demanded his horse.
The Agent, a Jew, explained that it was locked up in the stable of the
Basha, who was away, and that the groom was not to be found.
‘Take me to the stable,’ said Mr. Hay, and, calling to four men of the
little crowd of idlers that had gathered, he ordered them to lift a large
log of wood which lay near and direct it as a ram against the door.
‘Now, all together,’ said Mr. Hay. Down came the door with a crash,
and quickly putting his saddle on the fresh horse, and throwing
money to the Agent to repay the damage to the door, he mounted
and rode on.
Before reaching the river Mishra-el-Hashef, some miles to the
west of Tangier, he found his own sturdy pony awaiting him, and
riding this, his favourite mount, he galloped to the river bank where
the ferry, rowed by two men, awaited him. Shouting to them to stand
clear, he jumped his pony into the boat, and out again on reaching
the further side. He arrived at Tangier having ridden the whole
distance in five hours.
The escorts appointed to accompany him returned to their
quarters, having failed to keep Mr. Hay in sight. ‘It was useless,’ said
they. ‘We galloped along behind him but he ran away from us, and
as soon as he had gone a little way ahead he spread large wings
and flew away with his horse!’
As Mr. Hay wore a loose Inverness cape, to protect him from sun
and weather, the fluttering of this may have suggested the idea of
wings.
An account of a curious and unpleasant adventure which befell
Mr. Hay, and which points to the unsettled and fanatical state of the
inhabitants of Tangier at that time is given in the following letter to his
wife’s sister, Mme. Marcussen.

July 29, 1849.


I have also had an affair—and as it may probably be stuffed into some
newspaper which might report my death, as was done once before, I will tell you
about it in a few words.
A few days ago I was accompanying A., perched on her donkey, and the two
children to Madame F.’s. On passing through the little market-place I had remained
rather behind to take care of R., who was holding my hand, when I was assailed
with abuse without the slightest cause by a wild-looking Hadj from the interior—
and, on my calling on the bystanders to arrest him, the fanatic made at me and
struck me a blow in the face and on the shoulder, hitting also by chance poor little
R. I had nothing in my hand but my little gold-headed cane. Of this, however, I
made good use; for I immediately struck the bare head of the Moslem who
instantly fell to the ground, stunned, with a gash of several inches from which
issued torrents of blood, whilst the wretch looked livid and appeared to be
quivering in the convulsions of death. Several of the Hadj’s brethren were near me,
but they all seemed so alarmed at the fate of the wounded man that they did not
venture within reach of my little stick. You may imagine my astonishment at the
effect of such a blow from so small a weapon, and you may imagine also, though I
was justified in defending myself, my horror at the appearance of the wounded
man.
The man was sent to prison and his head examined. The skull was not hurt, but
there was a large gash of the skin and plenty of blood from a severed vein. This
was soon put to rights, and as the wretch had received a good lesson for attacking
a Christian, and all his brethren came to me to intercede for him, as he was about
to embark on board a vessel for Alexandria, I let him out of prison and prevented
Basha giving him the bastinado as he had intended. ‘Voilà tout.’

It may be added in connection with the incident here recounted by


Mr. Hay that, surrounded though he was by a crowd of angry fanatics
—very different in those remote days from the generality of the
native population as known to the tourist in these later and more
civilised times—he stood his ground, alone and undaunted, and the
moment after he had felled his assailant, his only remark was, while
pointing to the fallen man with his stick, ‘Erfed e’jifa’ (Take away the
corpse).
No fear of consequences held back the wild pilgrims who hated
the Christian with the blind, unreasoning hatred of ignorance and
fanaticism; his individuality alone kept them in check, where another
man might have been torn to pieces.
The Basha, after seeing the wounded man, sent to inquire what
manner of sword Mr. Hay had employed which produced such a
peculiar and dangerous wound—and was much astonished when
shown a light but strong cane with a silver gilt head, formerly the
property of Sir Walter Scott, by whom it had been given to Mr. Hay’s
father.
The attitude Mr. Hay had adopted in dealing with the barbarous
Moorish Government, his firm, upright, and frank policy, began to
bear fruit, and in 1850 he writes to his cousin, Mr. R. W. Hay, then
Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies:—

I am glad to find that the straightforward course I have always pursued with this
Government—though often not very flattering to their vanity and fanaticism—
begins to be understood and appreciated, rather than the cajolery they are
accustomed to meet with from others.

On the other hand, to Sir Stratford Canning in February, 1851, he


says:—
In this country there is nought of interest passing. Our Sultan is a fanatic, and is
guided by a set of ignorant and venal ministers, who are doing all they can to ruin
the commerce of the country by a system of monopolies. It is no use talking or
writing to those who, it appears, won’t or can’t understand.
Their disputes with the French, about frontier, &c., have ceased for the
moment, but there are difficulties we must expect to the end of the chapter—or
rather, until Algiers becomes Morocco or Morocco part of Algiers.

The difficulties he anticipated were not long in abeyance. In the


following December, in a letter to Mme. Marcussen, he tells her:—

The French bombarded Salli on the 25th ult., without giving any notice to us
here or to the Sultan or his Government. Not much harm is done to the town: some
thirteen persons killed in all, and the French have five killed and thirty wounded.
One of their steam frigates was compelled to retire from the combat. After the
bombardment they came here, and all the petty affairs they had to settle were
settled at once—as they would have been before the bombardment if they would
only have been inclined to arrange matters amicably. They saluted the town and
peace was concluded. A reference was then made to the Sultan. His Majesty
accepts the peace, but asks for explanations about bombardment; so B.[22] has
taken umbrage and embarks with all the French subjects, or most of them, leaving
the French flag flying and the Sardinian Consul-General in charge. It has been
mere bullying; the strong trampling on the weak.

In the midst of these difficulties Mr. Hay continued to press upon


the Moorish Government the necessity of a more liberal policy in
matters of trade; but French schemes of political aggrandisement
and the natural apathy of the Sultan, combined with fear of France,
for the time rendered his best endeavours fruitless. In 1853 Mr. Hay
seemed as far from his object as ever. Writing in that year to Mme.
Marcussen, he says:—

I have been very busy, and have been compelled to suspend all relations with
the Moorish Court—though I do not strike my flag. I have given them ten days in
which to give way, and have no doubt they will. My demands have reference to our
rights in trade in this country, which we are anxious to place on a better footing, not
only for Great Britain but for Morocco itself and all countries.
The Moorish Government have announced that they send an Envoy to
England; and his object, it is reported, is to complain of the insistance and audacity
which I have shown in this negotiation. I am delighted at this manœuvre because it
will only tend finally to show these people I am acting up to my instructions and the
views of Government. So much for Moorish politics.

Such representations on the part of the Moorish Government to


the British Foreign Office were not likely to bear much weight, as
may be gathered from the following farewell letter addressed to Mr.
Hay by Mr. Addington, then retiring from his post as Chief Clerk at
the Foreign Office.

May 18, 1854.


My dear Sir,
I have been much gratified by the receipt of your letter, written on hearing of
my retirement from the Foreign Office. . . .
No act of mine, while I was in office, is remembered by me with more
satisfaction and confidence than the part I had in forwarding your appointment to
the post which you now enjoy so creditably to yourself and so beneficially to the
public.
Some thought so young an appointment hazardous. I felt satisfied it would
succeed, and I therefore pushed it on so far as it depended on me. And it has
succeeded, and will yet succeed.
Go on, without swerving, in the same track; vigorous but temperate;
straightforward; never condescending to indulge in paltry and un-English intrigue
or tortuosity; but not despising the ‘reculer pour mieux sauter’ principle whenever
you find turning the bull’s flank more likely to succeed than taking him by the
horns; and always remembering that, ‘suaviter in modo, fortiter in re,’ is the real
adage for subduing the world and any individual in it.
I wish you every success, and am ever yours very sincerely,
H. Ch. Addington.
CHAPTER XI.

LIFE AT TANGIER.
Mr. Hay had married, in 1845, a daughter of Mr. Carstensen, a
former Danish Consul-General to Morocco. Except when the
exigencies of a climate which proved very trying in summer for
children of northern race compelled him to send them home, he, with
his wife and young family, resided either at the old Government
House in Tangier or in a villa called by him ‘The Wilderness,’ outside
the walls, which had belonged to his father-in-law. This existence
was only varied by missions to the Court or occasional visits to
England. Beyond the very small European society, composed chiefly
of the various Representatives and their families, residence in
Tangier offered no occupation for the leisure hours of a young and
active man. Thrown therefore on the resources of sport, he mingled
constantly with the wilder natives of the hills as well as with the less
uncivilised farmers and agricultural peasantry of the plains. His
interest in these folk grew, and he gained their respect and even
affection.
Justice amongst these people, when regarded from a purely
personal point of view, as Mr. Hay found, often took rather a romantic
than a strictly logical form. But his hope was to gain the hearts of the
natives, and he knew that such an aim was best attained by bending
in some cases to such national prejudices and customs as those
which are illustrated in the following letter to his mother.

‘The Wilderness,’ Tangier, June 22, 1852.


The other night A. and I were woke by my servant Azdot informing me he had
just seized a robber who had come into the garden to steal our horses, but that the
fellow, though stabbed in the breast by the son of Hadj Abdallah, whom he had
attacked with a sword, had managed to slip out of his jelab (outer cloak) and get
away, leaving as trophies the jelab and a sword they had wrested from him.
A quarter of an hour after I had dismissed Azdot, I heard a couple of shots
close by the house. My people had found the companion of the robber, who
attacked them and then attempted to make off and was fired upon, but managed to
get away—though tracks of blood were found in the gap of the hedge through
which he had escaped.
This morning I sent off a body of my hunters into the country, about twelve
miles from here, to where I suspected the robbers lived: the men were identified
and brought before me. They confessed their crime, but declared that they had
only come to rob the fruit.
Whilst telling the man the punishment I was about to inflict on him, he escaped;
so we raised a hue and cry, and judge and attendants all made after him. His
object, however, was only to get hold of my horse, whose protection he claimed,
according to Moorish custom. He was again brought before me and I was
compelled to let him off the bastinado[23], condemning him to prison only. R. was
standing near me at the time and, to his surprise, the robber sprang towards him,
and seizing him by the hand said to me, ‘I call on you in God’s name and for the
love of this boy, under the hem of whose garment I seek refuge, to have pity on
me.’
After this appeal there was no use in talking of punishing the man, and the
upshot of all was that I caused the rascal to pay a doubloon to my men and two of
the Kaid’s soldiers for arresting him. The man and his brother are the Robin Hoods
of this neighbourhood, and, grateful for my pardon, declare that they are ready to
defend me and mine whenever I call on them: or if any of my cows, camels, or
horses are robbed to cause them to be restored.
Our Governor has given an order to my people to kill any man coming into my
garden at night. This order is published: so we are safer from thieves than you are
in England. I have generally some dozen fine fellows, armed to the teeth, who
guard my garden all night, and who seek for no other compensation than to be my
friends.

The promise made by the robber was faithfully kept, and Mr. Hay
reaped the reward of his leniency in after years, as, by this clan at
least, his property was always respected.
An indefatigable sportsman, Mr. Hay delighted in expeditions into
remote districts of the country in pursuit of game. It was thus in part
that he acquired his intimate knowledge of the character of the
people. Brought into personal contact with the wild tribesmen, in
circumstances which strongly appealed to their natural chivalry, he
gained an influence among them which he was often able to turn to
useful account. A good illustration of his power of dealing with the
native races is afforded by his suppression of piracy among the
Rifians. The story is told in his own words.
Before the year 1856, vessels becalmed on the Rif coast between
the Algerian frontier and the Spanish fortress Peñon, which is
situated about sixty miles to the eastward of the Moorish port of
Tetuan, were frequently captured by Rifian ‘karebs,’ large galleys
manned by thirty or forty men, armed with long guns, pistols, and
daggers.
When a vessel becalmed, drawn by the current, approached the
Rif coast, especially in the vicinity of the village of Benibugaffer, near
Cape ‘Tres Forcas,’ about fifteen miles to the westward of the
Spanish fortress of Melilla, the natives launched their ‘karebs,’
hidden in nooks on the rocky coast, or buried under sand, and set
out in pursuit, firing volleys as they neared the vessel. The crew, if
they had not escaped in the ship’s boats when the piratical craft
hove in sight, were made prisoners, but were not in general ill-
treated unless they attempted to offer resistance.
On landing, they were compelled to labour in the fields, receiving
a daily allowance of very coarse food. The captured vessel was rifled
of cargo and rigging, and then burnt, so as to leave no vestige.
In the year 1851 a British vessel was taken by the ‘karebs’ of
Benibugaffer.
In pursuance of instructions from H.M.’s Government, a strong
representation was made by me to the Sultan of Morocco, then Mulai
Abderahman, demanding that the pirates should be chastised, that
compensation should be given to the owner of the vessel, and that
energetic steps should be taken by His Sherifian Majesty to put a
stop to these piratical acts of his lawless subjects of the Rif.
The Sultan, on the receipt of this demand, dispatched officers
from his Court to the Rif country with a Sherifian edict to the
chieftains, directing that the sums demanded for the destruction of

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