Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 2.djvu/116

 94 NOETH-WEST AFEICA. developed than amongst the Arabs, the general interests are in the hands of the jemaa, or assembly, at whose deliberations all take part freely. By it taxes are imposed, criminal charges heard, fines regulated, and in serious cases sentence of banishment pronounced. But in important places, such as Ghadames and Eh&t, the local constitutions have been modified to the profit of the Government, which appoints a mudir, whose almost exclusive mission is to look after the revenue. In this he is assisted by a mejeles, or council, consisting of a mufti, the sheikh-el- beled, and four notables chosen by their peers and confirmed by the pasha, on the recommendation of the mudir. The assembly occupies itself chiefly with com- mercial matters, while the special communal interests are managed by a jemaa elected by the inhabitants of the different quarters. A cadi, or rather a naib, or lieutenant of the cadi of Tripoli, decides all cases of inheritance, marriage, and divorce. The zaptiehs, or police, armed with staffs, are responsible for the maintenance of order in the towns, although they are them- selves usually convicts condemned to exile by the tribunals of Constantinople. At the same time most of the higher officials in Tripoli and the provinces are banished to this African region mainly at the pleasure of the Sultan. In east Tripolitana nearly all the populations are governed by chiefs belonging to the religious order of the Senusiya. They are the real rulers, administering all affairs either directly, as in the Kufra oases still independent of Turkish authority, or through the medium of officials, whose functions are mainly limited to receiving their share of the local revenues. In Fezzan the chief functionaries, as well as the garrison officers, are all of Turkish nationality, the shcikh-el-beled alone excepted, who is always chosen in the same clan. The ancient royal family, which comprised about two hundred members, has been completely exterminated.