12 
MINUTES OF EVIDENCE TAKEN BEFORE SELECT COMMITTEE 
Hon. 
C. Vivian. 
13 July . 
1871. 
Americans have taken any active part in the 
suppression of the slave trade in East Africa. 
183-4. Do you know whether the consul is an 
American born subject ?—I cannot tell you that ; 
Mr. Churchill will probably be able to tell you. 
Then, 1 want to refer to a very Important point, 
about which, I think, you can get better evidence 
from Mr. Churchill. I said on Monday that I 
thought one of the chief levers to be made use 
of was the payment of a money compensation to 
the Sultan to induce him to give up his right to 
transport slaves by sea. Dr. Kirk, in a letter, 
dated December 24, 1870, (in the papers laid be 
fore Parliament in the early part of this year) 
advises us that there is another way of bring 
ing pressure to bear upon the Sultan. He 
says “ I think that we stand in a better position 
to bring his Highness to reason on the more 
weighty matter that will be pressed upon him, 
the suppression of the slave trade, on which I 
have as yet no reason to think that his Highness 
has altered his views. In re-opening the friendly 
relations between the Arab Government and 
British agency, I have allowed all advances to 
come from his side, and avoided compromising the 
advantage we hold in pressing important con 
cessions upon a prince who has once, in insulting 
terms, declined to discuss questions submitted to, 
and entered into, by his predecessor ; and who 
will be entirely in our hands the moment we 
choose to press the matter. My former intimate 
acquaintance with Seyed Burgash gives me little 
hope that he will give in without pressure, but 
this is easily applied through the commercial 
treaty, one half of the provisions of which have 
never been enforced. Should a favourable oc 
casion offer I shall sound his Highness on the 
slave question ; and the way has been prepared 
for further action by publishing in Arabic and 
Gujeratee an abstract of our treaty rights, which 
I had before submitted to Seyed Majid, at the 
time he hesitated to reduce the coast tax, then 
unequally levied on our subjects and the French. 
This abstract has been accepted by his Highness 
Seyed Burgash, as a fair embodiment of our 
treaty rights ; but so ignorant is he of the 
financial arrangements of his government, that 
he does not see that there are clauses which, 
when enforced, will deprive him of two-thirds 
of his revenue.” That means to say, if we 
insist upon the stipulations, which we have a 
right to insist upon, in this commercial treaty of 
1639, we can deprive him of a great part of his 
revenue. That appears to me an important point 
to consider. 
185. He considers himself bound by that 
Treaty of 1839 ?- Yes ; abstracts of it have been 
printed in Arabic and Gujeratee, which he has 
accepted as correct versions. Then I wish to 
read to the Committee two or three extracts from 
important despatches received since I last gave 
my evidence, which may be of use to the Com 
mittee. The first is dated from Zanzibar, the 
20th of March this year. Dr. Kirk says, “ The 
whole subject (this is about the dis])Osition of 
liberated slaves), of the disposal of slaves on 
shore here, is one requiring much consideration 
and careful organisation before being practised 
to any extent. In the absence of some official 
thoroughly conversant with both the Zanzibar 
people and the tribes of the mainland, I consider 
that it would be most dangerous to allow so 
helpless beings, as a cargo of freed slaves, to go 
into the hands of any proprietor here. Properly 
directed, I believe, that a greater influence can 
be obtained for the abolition of slavery through 
those freed slaves than in any other way ; and 
nothing can be more disgraceful than the present 
mode of dealing with them at Aden and Bombay. 
I am certain however that it will be found ex 
pedient, if not necessary, so long as Zanzibar 
remains a free Arab government, for us to have 
a free settlement somewhere on the coast, possibly 
not an English possession, but certainly under 
our administration. On such a station only could 
a mass of freed slaves be properly and advan 
tageously dealt with for the first five years of 
their freedom, and a settlement of this nature on 
the coast, would be a break in the land route 
that will at once be opened when the sea trans 
port is prohibited and blockaded.” Next, as to the 
position of the slave trade. Dr. Kirk writes on 
the 4th of April this year, “ It is notorious how 
active are the preparations for the slave trade this 
season, and how utterly powerless the Sultan is 
to prevent the system of kidnapping, and secret 
slave dealing, that is carried on by and for the 
northern Arabs. Ko one more readily acknow 
ledges this than his Highness, who has of late 
seized in town 50 kidnapped slaves from the 
houses occupied by these Muscat people, but he 
knows that his officers are all open to bribes, and 
that although he can in a measure throw diffi 
culties in the way of their leaving the harbour, 
he has no power to stop the transport of slaves 
in 'small lots, to other places on the coast at 
which the slave dhows call. Unfortunately no 
suspicion attaches to native vessels leaving the 
harbour in ballast, as so many cargoes of wooden 
rafters and corn are collected for Arabia from 
creeks and harbours along the coast, but the ab 
sence of the usual bounties so foolishly given to 
the Arabs of Oman, by the late Seyed Majid, 
will prove some discouragement to their return 
next year.” Then Dr. Kirk writes on the 14th 
of April, "" Seyed Burgash said, that from the 
English he had no fear, so long as he adhered to 
the word of the old treaties ; these he said had 
been granted and could not be revoked, but 
that he well knew the English could not, and 
would not, force him beyond the text of what 
they had already got. He added that he fully 
expected they would write, talk, and threaten, 
possibly even send ships ; but he was perfectly 
at his ease, knowing that they would not use 
force, unless he gave them the excuse by de 
parting from what had been signed. Anti 
cipating, through the English, trouble from 
Muscat, he said he had made a compact with 
Toorkee, and that both of them understood each 
other and the English also, that the one would 
not be made the means of ruining the other. 
Seemingly in connection with the last subject, 
his Highness sent me the original of a letter he 
had received from Seyed Toorkee, and I am 
aware that he had sent to Muscat 20,000 dollars 
a few days ago. I have also been informed that 
the subject of the renewal of the Muscat subsidy 
was discussed in Durbar, on receipt of letters 
from the agent of Jairam in Bombay, informing 
Ludda Damji that Toorkee has, or will receive 
permission from Bombay to claim the subsidy 
with two years arrears, and if not paid, enforce it 
in his own way. But I think for the payment ol 
the subsidy Seyed Burgash is prepared. In all 
my former reports I have given Seyed Burgash 
the credit that is his due, for having cleared out 
a mass of iniquity and corruption in the course of 
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