ON  SLAVE  TRADE  (EAST  COAST  OF  AFRICA).

71

Tuesday^  2bth  July  1871.

MEMBERS  PRESENT:

Sir  Robert  Anstruther.
Lord  Frederick  Cavendish.
Mr.  Crum-Ewing.
Mr.  Robert  Fowler.
Mr.  Gilpin.
Mr.  Russell  Gurney.

Sir  John  Hay.
Mr.  Kennaway.
Mr.  Kinnaird.
Mr.  Shaw  Lefevre.
Mr.  O’Conor.
Mr.  John  Talbot.

Right  Honourable  RUSSELL  GURNEY,  in  the  Chair.

Rev.  Edward  Steere,  ll.d.,  called  in  ;  and  Examined.

^85.  Mr.  J.  Talbot.']  I  THINK  you  were  resident
Zanzibar  for  some  time  ?—For  four  years.
.  986.  You  went  out  with  the  Universities  Misdid
  you  not?—Yes;  immediately  after
^shop  Mackenzie’s  death.
987.  In  what  position  were  you  in  whilst  you
resident  in  Zanzibar  ?—I  was  a  missionary
r^plain  to  Bishop  Tozer;  I  was  one  of  the  mis-^^^îiaries,
  in  fact.
.  988.  Bishop  Tozer  succeeded  Bishop  Mackenp
  989.  And  he  changed  the  field  of  the  mission
the  Zambezi  River  to  the  town  of  Zanzi-•
  990.  Before  you  went  to  Zanzibar,  you  had  been
to  L  Portuguese  territory  ?—Yes  ;  we  first  went
Zambezi,  and  then  finding  that  the  original
th  ^  mission  was  desolate,  we  looked  out  for
t^^^^atural  centre  of  the  country,  and  we  moved
^anzibar  with  the  remnant  of  the  mission,
i  991.  How  are  the  slaves  obtained  which  are
to  Zanzibar?—I  know  very  little  of
}vay  in  which  slaves  are  obtained  in  the
but  my  impression  is,  that  they  are
¡11  always  bought,  and  that  the  desolation
^oe  interior  does  not  arise  directly  from  the
trade,  nor  is  it  occasioned  with  the  view
Ci:j^®^Pply  slaves  ;  but  it  is  not  an  uncommon  oc-^
  ®ï^ce  in  Africa  to  have  a  marauding  tribe
dç^^P^ûg  over  a  large  district,  and  practically
slg^^^ying  the  district  for  the  time  being.  The
^  have  talked  to  in  Zanzibar  have  almost
sold  by  their  relations,  or  by  their  mashy ­
  the  interior.  The  great  hardships  caused
trade  seem  to  lie  first  of  all  in  the  march
^ud  then  in  the  passage  at  sea.  I  have
Oj.  ^  told  several  times  of  whole  caravans  of  200
^  having  died  between  the  place  where
^^6re  bought  in  the  interior  and  the  coast  ;
^ilw  ^  regards  the  passage  by  sea,  even  between
loet  ^  Zanzibar,  there  was  a  dhow  very  lately
80  ^hird  of  the  slaves  on  board  ;  there  were
/o^vn  overboard,  either  dead  or  dying,  be-Kilwa
  and  Zanzibar.
'  Sir  i?.  Anstruther.']  How  many  days
0.1^®j®  it  from  Kilwa  to  Zanzibar?—Between

one  and  three.  If  a  dhow  is  kept  out  three  days
a  very  large  proportion  of  the  slaves  invariably
die  ;  it  is  not  customary  to  give  any  food  on  the
voyage  except  a  little  uncooked  rice.
993.  Mr.  J.  Talbot.^  lYe  have  heard  some  very
dreadful  descriptions  of  the  sufferings  which  the
slaves  undergo  in  their  land  journey  from  the
place  where  they  are  captured  to  the  port  where
they  are  exported  ;  do  you  confirm  those  statements ­
  ?—Yes,  entirely.  The  great  difficulty  is
to  get  them  to  the  coast  at  all.
994.  I  understand  that  you  do  not  agree  entirely ­
  with  what  has  been  stated  by  former  witnesses, ­
  that  the  country  has  been  depopulated  in
order  to  obtain  those  slaves  ?—No.
995.  But  you  think  that  the  country  has  been
depopulated  by  wars,  and  that  the  result  of  those
wars  has  been  the  capture  of  slaves?—Sometimes,
but  not  always.  Very  often  the  effect  of  wars
has  been,  that  no  slaves  have  come  from  the
country.  Till  lately  more  than  half  the  slaves
in  Zanzibar  came  from  the  neighbourhood  of
Lake  Nyassa;  and  since  the  country  has  been
desolated,  no  slaves  have  come  from  it.  When
the  country  was  at  peace  there  was  a  large
exportation  of  slaves,  but  when  the  war  and  desolation ­
  began  the  exportation  of  slaves  ceased.
996.  Do  you  confirm  the  statement  that  was
made  yesterday,  that  the  country  between  Lake
Nyassa  and  the  sea  is  almost  entirely  depopulated ­
  ?—Yes,  I  have  heard  that  stated  over  and
over  again.  Marauders,  whom  Dr.  Livingstone
calls  Mazitu,  and  the  people  of  Zanzibar  call
Maviti,  have  spread  over  the  whole  country,  one
chief  only  having  stood  against  them.  Those
marauders  came  even  to  Kilwa,  upon  which  the
Sultan  of  Zanzibar  sent  an  armed  force  to  defend
Kilwa  ;  a  part  of  the  Sultan  of  Zanzibar’s  force
went  out  against  them,  and  many  were  killed,  a
few  only  escaping  back  to  Kilwa.  Some  of  the
town’s  people  were  then  sent  out  to  treat  with
them,  and  they  were  sent  back  without  an  answer,
and  with  their  hands  cut  off.
997.  Are  you  able  to  confirm  the  statements
which  have  been  made  to  us  as  to  the  great  fer-1
  4  tility

Rev.
E.  8  teere  y

i'5  July
1871.