ON  SLAVE  TRADE  (EAST  COAST  OF  AFRICA).

201

(Secret  Department.—No.  6  of  1861.)

Appendix,  No.

From  Reverend  George  Percy  13adger,  in  charge  Muscat-Zanzlbar  Commission,  to
A.  K-  Forbes,  Esq.,  Acting-  Secretary  to  Government,  Bombay.
Miiscat-Zanzibar  Commission,  Aden,
1  June  1861.
I  HAVE  the  honour  to  report,  for  the  information  of  the  Honourable  the  Governor  in
Council,  that  I  reached  Muscat  from  Bombay  on  the  11th  ultimo.
2.  His  Highness  Syud  Thoweynee  being  absent  at  one  of  his  country  seats  at  the  time,
his  Vizier  immediately  proceeded  thither  to  inform  him  of  my  arrival.  On  the  return  of
his  Hio'hness  to  Muscat  early  the  following  morning,  I  paid  him  a  complimentary  visit,
accompanied  by  Commander  Cruttenden  and  several  officers  of  Her  Majesty’s  steamer
“  Zenobia,”  when  I  formally  introduced  Lieutenant  Pengelley  to  his  Highness  as  the
newly-appointed  British  Agent  at  Muscat.
3.  Mr.  Rassam  had  previously  delivered  to  Syud  Thoweynee  the  official  letters  of  which
I  was  the  bearer,  and  I  was  gratified  to  perceive  from  his  general  demeanour  on  the
occasion  that  he  appeared  highly  pleased  with  their  contents.  At  the  termination  of  our
visit,  his  Highness  intimated  to  me  that  he  had  ordered  all  his  vessels  in  the  harbour  to
diiss  ships  in  honour  of  the  occasion  :  and  a  salute  of  101  guns  was  fired  to  celebrate
the  auspicious  termination  of  the  long-pending  dispute  between  himself  and  his  brother
Syud  Majeed.
4.  At  several  subsequent  interviews,  his  Highness  frequently  reiterated  how  deeply  he
felt  indebted  to  the  generositv  of  the  British  Government  for  all  the  trouble  and  expense ­
  which  the  settlement  of'this  question  had  involved,  and  how  highly  he  appreciated
the  impartiality  of  the  final  arbitrement.  In  reply  to  his  inquiry  how  and  when  the
awarded  arrears  of  80,000  crowns,  and  the  yearly  subsidy  of  40,000  crowns,  wouM  be
paid,  I  advised  his  Highness  to  come  to  a  friendly  understanding  with  his  Highness  Syud
Majeed  on  the  subject,  and  to  appoint  an  Agent  at  Zanzibar  to  receive  the  money  ;  uiging
him  at  the  same  time,  in  consideration  of  the  embarrassed  state  of  his  brother’s  finances,
to  exercise  the  greatest  forbearance  toward  him  In  exacting  payment.  His  Highness
then  asked  whether  the  British  Agent  at  Zanzibar  was  empowered  to  insist  upon  the
terms  of  the  arbitration  being  fulfilled  by  Syud  Majeed.  To  this,  I  replied  that  the
Supreme  Government  of  India  had  directed  the  officers  who  should  be  charged  with  communicatino-
  the  decision  of  the  Right  Honourable  the  Governor  General  to  his  Highness
and  to  hi?  Highness’s  brother,  to  impress  upon  them  both  that  they  were  expected  to
abide  faithfully  by  his  Excellency’s  award  ;  and  that,  although  the  Government  was  not
bound  to  enforce  the  conditions  of  the  arbitration  by  either  party,  I  nevertheless  entertained ­
  no  doubt  that  the  influence  of  the  British  Agent  at  Zanzibar  would  be  used,
in  a  friendly  manner,  to  see  that  the  award  was  duly  carried  out.  Subject  to  this
qualification,  1  saw  no  objection  to  his  Highness’  proposition,  that  the  person  whom  he
mio-ht  authorise  to  receive  the  money  from  Syud  Majeed  should  be  recommended  to
Colonel  Rigby’s  good  offices,  through  the  British  Agent  at  Muscat,  and  I  accordingly
requested  Lieutenant  Pengelley  to  communicate  with  Colonel  Rigby  in  that  sense  as
soon  as  his  Highness  should  inform  him  that  he  had  appointed  a  deputy  to  treat  with
Syud  Majeed  on  the  subject  at  Zanzibar.
5.  Syud  Thoweynee  further  inquired  of  me  whether  any  arrangement  had  been  made
by  the  Government  of  India  for  the  future  succession  to  the  Zanzibar  sovereignty.
Beino-  aware  of  the  general  impression  prevailing  in  these  parts  that  Syud  Majeed  will  not
live  tono-,  and  that  it  is  by  no  means  improbable  that  the  chiefs  and  people  of  Zanzibar
(many  cj'  whom  are  becoming  notoriously  disaffected  towards  him)  might,  in  case  of  his
death,  elect  Syud  Thoweynee  as  his  successor  ;  and  suspecting,  moreover,  that  Syud
Thoweynee  himself  was  not  without  some  hope  of  the  kind,  I  deemed  it  desirable  to  caution
his  Highness  against  fostering  anticipations  which  might  never  be  realised,  and  the  entertainment ­
  of  winch  might  eventually  expose  him  to  the  suspicion  of  attempting  to  infringe
on  the  authority  of  the  Zanzibar  sovereignty.  At  the  same  lime,  however,  I  did  not
hesitate  to  inform  his  Highness  that  the  Right  Honourable  the  Governor  General  in
Council  had  purposely  abstained  from  offering  any  opinion  on  the  rule  of  the  succession
in  Zanzibar,  his  Excellency  having  judged  that  to  do  so  he  must  have  travelled  beyond
the  bounds  of  the  question  submitted  to  his  arbitration.  His  Highness  then  put  the  case
directly,  whether,  in  the  event  of  Syud  Majeed’s  death,  and  the  people  of  Zanzibar  electing- ­
  him  in  his  stead,  the  British  Government  would  oppose  his  succession  ?  Not  feeling
authorised  to  give  a  decisive  answer  to  this  query,  I  replied  in  general  terms  (premising
that  I  expressed  my  personal  opinion  merely)  that  I  did  not  believe  the  British  Government ­
  would  interfere  in  such  a  case  against  the  unanimous  wishes  of  the  people;  at  the
same  time  I  did  not  fail  to  impress  upon  his  Highness  that  he  would  best  secure  the
favourable  sympathy  of  the  British  Government,  now  and  hereafter,  by  restricting  his
0  110  *^  *  Cc  aspirations