138 The British Campaign in the Soudan.

had to pay in extortions nearly as much again as the just amount of taxes which found its way to the government chest. But yet he had enough left to live easily in his frugal way, and was'secure in the enjoyment of this surplus ; whereas, before the conquest he never knew when war or the roving Bedouins would rob him of his sustenance and his life. No doubt there were numerous cases of wrong and oppression. ‘Traders frequently had to pay heavy backsheesh to avoid worse extortion ; but, after all, the government gave them the protection without which they could not have carried on their trade at all. Many poor wretches received the kourbash to force from them the payment of their taxes ; but it was a point of honor with them, and they would have been branded as cowards by their fellows if they had paid up before taking as many strokes as they could bear. <A. civilized people is ruled by moral suasion, not, however, without severe penalties to enforce its laws; but barbarians cannot be controlled without a good deal of brute force. Full allowance being made for taxation and extortion, the population did not have to bear nearly so heavy a burden as that laid upon the Irish people in rents alone; nor had they to contend with evictions and starvation. The mildness of the climate making clothing and shelter almost a superfluity, the fertility of the cultivated land, and the increase of their flocks combine to procure to the Egyptian and Soudanese people a far easier life than falls to the lot of the peasantry of Ireland and all northern Europe. If law, order, and a regular government, even though defective, are preferable to anarchy, brigandage and incessant war, the Soudan was in vastly better condition under Ismail-Pasha than it had ever been before the |