e). The emir is the supreme civil and
military governor of his province, and is entirely responsible for its
administration.

The beit el mal at Omdurman is known as the "Beit el mal el Um[^u]m,"
and the head of it gives orders direct to all his provincial assistants.
Each emir is obliged to report all events of importance to the Khalifa,
they are frequently summoned to Omdurman to give an account of their
administration, and to take the Khalifa's instructions.

Abdullah watches most carefully all events in frontier provinces, such
as Dongola, Berber, &c., and spies, disguised as merchants, are
continually sent to Egypt to get the Arabic newspapers, which are always
read to the Khalifa by his secretaries. An emir should never pay a visit
to Omdurman empty-handed, or he is likely to fall into serious disgrace.

In addition to the emirs are the omala (tax-gatherers), who visit the
provinces annually and collect the ushr (one-tenth) and the zeka (alms
for the poor, two and a-half per cent.). These appointments are let to
the holders at an enormous rate--several thousand dollars a year. The
omala have to cover all their own expenses, which they do, and get a
very considerable profit besides.

It is therefore apparent that the inhabitants are grievously oppressed.
The emirs and omala act in the most arbitrary manner in their own
provinces; their will is absolute, and horrible systems of cruelty
prevail everywhere. One of the omala, Wad Hamdu Allah, by way of
extorting money from a man, bound his hands so tightly behind his back
that when released they remained quite powerless. The poor man went to
Omdurman to seek redress, and the Khalifa, on the principle of "an eye
for an eye and a tooth for a tooth," ordered that the amil's hands
should be cut off, or that he should pay the injured man a sum of money.
The man, of course, chose the latter, as the cutting off of his
oppressor's hands could not have done him any practical good; so he
received 200 dollars compensation and four slaves. But this is an
exceptional case; as a rule these cruelties seldom reach the Khalifa's
ears, and if the instigator of the crime is a Baggara it is never
noticed.

The Khalifa's brother Yakub is his principal supporter. He and Abdullah
are not of the same mother, and Yakub is a few years the senior; he has
a somewhat lighter complexion, but if possible he is even more cruel
than his brother, and is in charge of the harem. The two brothers wor