10

COLONIAL  REPORTS—MISCELLANEOUS.

ï  he  “Land  Revenue”  or  “General  Tax.”
8.  Turning  to  the  actual  taxation.  The  main  taxes  of  the
country  were  those  recognised  by  the  Koran,  viz.,  a  tithe  of  the
produce  of  the  land,  and  of  cattle  and  flocks,  and  an  impost
upon  the  pagan  vassals,  which  varied  in  severity  chiefly  in  proportion ­
  to  the  ability  of  the  suzerain  to  collect  it.  Rut  these
taxes  had  become  modified.  The  tithe,  or  “  Zakka,”  had  almost
universally  lost  its  religious  significance—though  in  some  provinces ­
  it  had  not—and  had  become  a  mere  tax  for  the  use  of
the  Emir  and  his  chiefs.  It  was,  for  the  most  part  (if  not
entirely)  confined  to  a  tithe  on  the  one  staple  grain,  “  dawa  ”
(sorghum),  in  Eulani  Emirates,  “gero”  (millet)  in  Bornu.  Other
produce  was  exempt  from  taxation,  except  where  it  was  liable
to  special  taxes  (as  in  Kano  and  Zaria,  &c.),  which  varied  with
the  value  of  each  different  crop,  and  was  not  apparently  fixed
on  the  principle  of  a  tithe.  Thus,  sugar-cane,  cassava,  onions,
and  other  irrigation  crops  were  specially  taxed.  The  tithe  on
cattle—“  jangali  ”—was  apparently  only  levied  on  large  nomad
herds,  and  sheep  and  goats  were  generally  exempt.  The  pagan
tribute,  called  “  kurdin  kasa,”  was,  it  would  seem,  levied
throughout  the  greater  part  of  the  Protectorate  indiscriminately
on  subject  races  without  regard  to  their  nominal  profession  of
Islam,  and  was  largely  paid  in  slaves.  In  addition  to  these
regular  taxes  innumerable  other  imposts  were  levied—taxes  on
each  dye  pit,  on  artisans  (cloth  weavers,  blacksmiths,  &c.),
market  dues,  taxes  on  butchers,  grain-sellers,  &c.,  &c.,  &e.  The
new  system  aimed  at  consolidating  all  these  taxes  into  a  single
“  land  revenue  ”  or  general  tax.  The  former  name  is  not  strictly
correct  since  it  would  be  paid  in  proportion  to  wealth  by  artisans ­
  as  well  as  by  agriculturists  and  nomad  pastorals.  In
principle  it  is,  in  fact,  an  income  tax.  A  popular  tax  already
existed  in  Bornu,  under  the  name  of  binirum,  where  it  superseded ­
  all  but  the  zakka  and  jangali,  while  in  Katagum  and  elsewhere ­
  it  was  also  more  or  less  in  vogue.  The  principle  of  a
graduated  tax  proportionate  to  wealth  is  not,  however,  understood ­
  or  easily  grasped  by  the  people  of  Northern  Nigeria,  and
it  will  take  some  years  to  enable  them  to  appreciate  it.
The  binirum  of  Bornu,  and  the  house  tax  of  Katagum,  &c.,
were  rather  capitation  or  poll  taxes  than  income  taxes.
The  assessment  of  the  new  general  tax  was  based  upon  the  sum
of  the  existing  taxation  (where  that  taxation  existed)  modified
by  the  Resident  after  careful  personal  enquiry,  and  in  accordance ­
  with  the  actual  present  wealth  and  ability  of  a  village  to
pay.  It  was  thus  neither  a  mere  consolidation  of  existing  taxes
—increased  or  decreased  as  the  case  might  require—nor  was  it
(except  in  hitherto  untaxed  districts)  an  arbitrary  assessment,
de  novo,  by  the  Resident.  Its  merit,  in  my  view,  was  that  it
partook  of  both  characters.  So  far  as  it  was  based  on  tradition
and  custom,  it  ensured  ready  acceptance  among  a  conservative
people,  and  its  collection  presented  no  novel  difficulties,  while