TAXATION  OF  NATIVES  IN  NORTHERN  NIGERIA.

11

so  far  as  it  was  modified  by  the  Resident,  and  consolidated  and
fixed  alternatively  at  a  money  value,  payable  only  once  in
the  year,  it  inaugurated  the  beginnings  of  principles  recognised
in  more  advanced  communities,  and  enabled  the  collection  to  be
made  in  a  manner  in  which  the  proceeds  could  best  be  utilised
by  the  Administration,  and  accounted  for  in  accordance  with
financial  instructions,  while  it  ensured  a  more  just  incidence
and  greater  uniformity.
The  general  tax  thus  embraced  all  taxes  upon  the  village
community.  If  the  village  was  rich  in  herds  and  flocks  it  paid
proportionately  to  its  wealth.  If  it  was  an  industrial  community, ­
  which  gained  its  livelihood  by  smelting  and  working
iron,  or  by  dyeing  cloth,  it  similarly  paid  in  proportion  to  its
tax-paying  capacity.  The  unit,  so  far  as  Government  is  concerned, ­
  is  the  village,  and  the  proportion  to  be  paid  by  the  individual ­
  is  left  to  the  village  headman,  as  in  India.*
Jangali.
9.  The  taxation  of  nomad  herdsmen,  who  have  no  settled
village,  had,  however,  to  be  undertaken  separately,  and  for  this
reason  a  second  tax,  applicable  only  to  them,  viz.,  the  jangali
or  cattle  tax,  was  recognised.  It  was  fixed  at  5  per  cent,  instead
of  the  former  10  per  cent.,  and  for  the  sake  of  facility  in  assessment, ­
  large  herds  (especially  those  belonging  to  pagan  communities), ­
  though  not  strictly  nomad,  were  included  in  this  category. ­
  The  taxation  imposed  under  the  “Native  Revenue”
Proclamation,  No.  2,  of  1906,  is,  therefore,  shown  under  two
heads,  viz.,  the  “general  tax”  and  the  “jangali,”  though  they
are  identical  in  principle,  and  in  the  course  of  time  will
probably  be  merged  into  one.
Kurdin  Sarauta.
10.  I  have  included  in  my  review  of  the  taxation  under  this
Proclamation  the  tax  called  “  kurdin  sarauta,”  though  it  has,
properly  speaking,  no  place  in  this  connection,  and  is  not  a
tax  which  falls  upon  the  population  at  large.  The  traditional
custom  in  Northern  Nigeria  is  that  any  person  appointed  to  an
office  pays  a  fee  on  appointment.  This  led  to  great  abuses,
to  the  sale  of  offices,  to  bribery,  and  to  continual  deposition
of  holders.  No  appointment  can  now  be  made  without  the  concurrence ­
  of  the  Resident,  and  these  abuses  have,  I  think,  wholly
and  absolutely  ceased.  It  has  been  urged  that  the  fee  on
appointment  should  be  retained,  and  that  half  should  be  taken
by  Government,  so  that  it  should  be  the  more  obligatory  upon  a
chief  to  report  any  appointments  he  desires  to  make,  and  That
*  I  believe  that  under  the  Act  of  1856  the  Magistrate  in  India  appoints
a  “  panchayet  ”  (native  council  of  five)  to  apportion  the  tax  imposed  upon
a  village  to  the  individuals.  This  is  done  (a)  by  actual  valuation  of
property,  which  is  rare,  or  (b)  by  their  general  knowledge  of  the  circumstances ­
  of  each  individual,  a  system  which  works  much  better.  The  latter
is  the  system  of  Northern  Nigeria.