ON SLAVE TRADE (EAST COAST OF AFRICA).
75
^kemgelves, and that, therefore, it is inexpedient
that account to export them ?—I think the
dumber of slaves that have come into Zanzibar
to within the last few years has been so large,
|Kat any considerable want of labour has not
oeen felt; but during the time I was in Zanzibar,
the price of labour was constantly rising,
^ûd I have been told since I came away that it
bas increased very much. There has been an
^%mense quantity of building going on in Zanzibar.
The town was computed, some 10 years
%o, to have 100,000 inhabitants in it, and everything
that goes into and out of that ])art of Africa
goes through it, so that the trade is enormous,
^nd the number of men wanted for every kind
occupation is very great.
1068. Mr. Crum-Ewing.^ T olio wing up the
Suggestion with regard to the establishment of
^ice-consuls along the coast, do you think that
^Uother good plan would be to purchase the
Sovereignty of Zanzibar ; do you suppose that the
Sultan would be disposed to sell the sovereignty ?
—No, I think not. I think it is possible that the
the late Seyyid Majid might have been so disposed,
but Í am certain that Syed Burghash would
Uever entertain the idea for a moment.
1069. You do not think the cruisers do much
good on the coast at present ?—They certainly
oheck the slave trade to a certain extent.
1070. You do not think they do as much good
they might do?—PSo; it does not appear to
Uie that the navy has ever seriously given its
Uiind to the suppression of the trade as a great
object. I mean to include the authorities at
home as well as the officers on the station.
1071. You mentioned that the young officers
follow their own devices when they are sent out
With the boats ; do you mean that they amuse
themselves ?—I hey go on shore, and they certainly
leave behind them the impression of having
insulted the natives. They were accused in one
Case of carrying off slaves from the plantations, and
bringing them down as having been taken out of
^ dhow ; such things as these one does not believe
at all ; but I have very little doubt that when they
iand they sometimes get intoxicated, and that they
then behave in a very rough and irregular way.
1072. Sir R. Anstruther.'] Do you state that
cu hearsay or do you state it from your own
knowledge ?—I state it as what I was told by the
Natives ; I do not state it as being within my own
knowledge.
1073. Is it a statement in which you place
»ny confidence yourself ?—Yes, I thoroughly
believe it.
1074. Sir J. Hay.'] That does not apply to
the officers ?—Not to the officers generally.
1075. Mr. Crum-Ewing.] But to some of the
young men ?—Midshipmen or young lieutenants ;
the whole thing is sometimes treated as a lark,
h believe that wrong and irregular things are
^oue, partly because I know that leave to go
cn shore in Zanzibar at one time was forbidden
cn account of what men had done when on
®hore on leave.
1076. You lived in the town of Zanzibar?—
4es.
1077. Are there many factories in the island?
■^No.
1078. Is not there a sugar factory ?—There
^us a large sugar establishment projected by
Captain Fraser, who had a very fine plantation
^nd very fine machinery, but up to the time
f left they had produced a very small quantity
0.116.
of sugar, if any at all ; then in the town itself
there was a cocoa-nut oil factory with a steam
mill, also started by Captain Fraser.
1079. That was a more profitable concern
than the other, was it not?—Yes, much more
profitable, I think ; I think it had every element
of success about it, and the natives were found
quite equal to working the machinery.
1080. A great many people were employed in
those factories, I believe ?■—Yes, he employed a
very large number.
1081. hat was the status of those persons ?
— They were hired, I think ; you cannot always
tell in Zanzibar whether the labourers that you
see in any particular employment are slaves or
free men, because it is common for a man to pay
his master two dollars a month, and to shift for
himself, hiring himself out for whatever employment
he can get ; there are men every day sitting
in the market to let themselves as labourers, a large
number being free, and a large number being
slaves ; but the workmen on the sugar plantation
were almost all slaves newly arrived, and
there was a considerable question as to the ])ropriety
of their being so employed.
1082. Did not some orders go out from this
country to manumit them ?—I know that a great
deal was done and said about them ; what exact
orders went out, I do not know ; I know it was
said, that Captain Fraser being in want of labour
met some natives in the town, with whom he
made a contract for labour, and paid them in
advance, whereupon they went to the slave
market, and bought slaves, which slaves were ‘
sent out to the plantation ; I do not myself
vouch for the accuracy of that statement.
1083. It is some time since you left Zanzibar ?
—Two and a half, or three years ; I have had
letters lately from Bishop Tozer, and also from
Dr. Christie, a physician, practising in Zanzibar,
in which they say, that they are very anxious
that some provision should be made for sick
slaves and children after they are liberated, and
landed in the town ; they think that something
more than a certificate of freedom should be
given to them. The certificate is a good security
if the person is well known, but it is no security
for a stranger.
1084. Have not liberated slaves been taken
to the Mauritius ?—Yes, a large number have
been taken to the Mauritius ; I know nothing of
that myself, but it was commonly reported that
they would not have any more there, that they
could not employ them ; they get much better
labourers from India ; an untaught savage is useless
for years.
1085. Lord F. Cavendish.] What security
could you give to a freed slave besides his certificate
?—His certificate is a very good security
if he is a known person.
1086. These freed slaves not being known
persons, what security would you suggest in
their case ?—They might be protected if a kind
of barracks or home were established where they
could be lodged for a time, so that they might
come under the eyes of the people belonging to
the consulate, and be recognised.
1087. M ould you recommend their being
placed under the protection of the British Government?—Yes;
they should certainly be under
the protection of the British Government.
1088. You think precautions might be taken
to' provide for the safety of freed slaves in Zanzibar
?—Yes ; certainly.
K 2
Rev.
E. Steere,
LL.D.
2.5 July
1871.
1089. Do
