ON SLAVE TEADE (EAST COAST OE AFRICA).
51
the Indian navy. No doubt there is now a
^Gry considerable traffic in slaves from Zanzibar
ÿ the Ked Sea to Turkish ports, and also to
^‘ez. In 1867 I brought home three African
®lfives that I had emancipated at Zanzibar, and
stopped at Suez, and in walking through the
own we found it was full of negroes who, no
Jioubt, were quite recent importations, because
hev pniilrl anything but
, ^ey could not
^S^US’narrp X
railway
speak anything but their own
iguage I visited the Consul and spoke to him
^bout it, and he said he was perfectly aware of it;
he said that the way they were sent to Cairo
''"as in the empty ivater tanks on the
^I'Ucks.
646. Do you think that still goes on ?—I do
bot know; I have not much faith in anything the
■Egyptian Government would do to stop it.
647. Mr. Shaw Lefevre.'] You spoke of the
gfeat increase in trade between Zanzibar and
I’ance and the United States ; do those countries
^^ep any cruisers off the coast?—Till recently
be French Government kept a squadron under
admiral, and they made much more naval disi^^y
than we did.
648. Was that ostensibly for the purpose of
^bppi'essing the slave trade?—Quite the con-^^I'y
; the French naval officers supported it in
^Very -^yay.
649. Were they instructed by their Govern-^Gnt
to take measures to put a stop to the slave
lade?—I do not think the French Government
„^led anything about putting a stop to it, except
a short time when Prince ¡Napoleon was at the
lead of the Foreign Office ; they certainly were
^ len in earnest in stopping it ; the last year I
there I got the chief Arab agent who sup-1
led the French ships to give me information
'hen the French slavers were coming, and in
^eusequence of that, five of the vessels belonging
e the principal French house carrying on the
l'ado were taken, and the last ship they had was
ashore by the captain.
1 h50. Latterly the French Government have
no cruisers there, have they ?—I do not
j^How ^ whether they have withdrawn them ; I
stated that they intended withdraw-%
their squadron altogether.
Q Do the United States keep any cruisers
çj, the coast?—No, our cruisers are the only
iiisers engaged in suppressing the slave trade
h that coast.
^. 652. Is the cultivation of the Island of Zanj
bar mainly carried on by slaves ?—It was when
^ yent there ; but, as ï have stated, so far as
Indian subjects were concerned, they
aîn^^ not allowed after that to have slaves;
go ^g®t those 6,000 slaves that I emancipated, a
Qf ^n^inany were agricultural labourers, and many
^^0 said we do not know what to do when
■yy* .^I’o emancipated ; and I made an agreement
W1 Indian planter to give up a part of the
lor 1 .sufficient for the slave to grow provisions
''"orL and his family on condition that he
tor the master four days in the week,
g had the remaining three days to himself.
proportion does free labour bear to
the f. labour in the Island of Zanzibar?—Up to
g.^o I left I emancipated, 6,000 slaves,
are ' many slaves do you suppose there
g^the Island ?—It is almost impossible to tell,
from+1 spoke of there being an exportation
anr, 1, mainland to the island of about 4,000
• That would indicate that there must be
0.116.
a very large number of slaves in the Island of
Zanzibar ?- -But a very small proportion of slaves
brought to Zanzibar remain there ; they are exported
away.
657. Are slaves largely employed in cultivation
on the mainland ?—They are employed
there to a very large extent, and as cultivation
increases there is increased demand for slave
labour.
658. You said that the Arabs are now beginning
to discover that it is more profitable to
employ their slaves in cultivation in the Island
of Zanzibar and on the mainland than by exporting
them to Muscat ?—Yes ; the present minister
of the Sultan spoke to me very strongly upon
that point; he said the Arabs were now beginning
to see the wisdom of abolishing the slave
trade.
659. That is to say, the export trade in slaves ?
—Yes.
660. Not the employment of slaves on the
island or the mainland ?—No.
661. Supposing we were able to prevent the
export of slaves altogether, there would still be
a supply of slaves from the interior for the purpose
of cultivation in the Island of Zanzibar and
on the mainland ?—You cannot stop that ; and
there is not so much cruelty in that trade as there
is in the other.
662. We should not stop the man-stealing in
the interior?—A great deal of it would be
stopped ; it would not be carried on on the organised
scale that it is now.
663. There would still be a considerable demand
for slaves in the island and on the mainland,
and that supply would have to be provided
out of the interior ?—Yes.
664. Sir Hay.~\ I understand you to say
that many persons in the Island of Zanzibar, who
were formerly British Indian subjects, have
changed their allegiance for the purpose of holding
slaves ; why do those persons prefer slave
labour to free labour for the cultivation of their
estates ?—I account for it in this way. Our
British Indian subjects were very savage at
having their slaves emancipated, and it has
always been a thorn in their side that their
former slaves should have a certain amount of
liberty ; that they should be able to leave their
employment when they were not well treated,
and that they should only be required to work
four days in the week instead of five, .as they
were obliged to do before they were freed.
665. Mr. Shaw Lefevre.~\ From the communications
which you have had with the consuls
of other Powers at Zanzibar, do you think they
would be prepared to co-operate with us with a
view to stopping the export of slaves ?—I think
the Consul of the Germanic Emjiire would cordially
co-operate with us. The gentleman who
was the French Consul when I was there, supported
the slave trade.
666. Is not it the case that, in the Mauritius,
coolie labour has successfully competed with
negro labour, and, in fact, almost driven it out ?
~I have no doubt of it.
667. Do you think that that is likely to occur
in Zanzibar icself ?—I think coolie labour, or
labour of any description from India would successfully
compete with negro labour in Zanzibar,
coolies would not work in company with slaves,
because they would consider that they would be
degrading themselves by doing so.
668. Lord hnjield.'^ In what length of time do
Maj. Gen.
7. P. Pighy.
20 July
1871.
