[  ¡ii  ]

REPORT.

THE  SELECT  COMMITTEE  appointed  to  inquire  into  the  whole  question
of  the  Slave  Trade  on  the  East  Coast  of  Africa,  into  the  increased  and
increasing  amount  of  that  Traffic,  the  Particulars  of  existing  Treaties  and
Agreements  with  the  Sultan  of  Ztanzibar  upon  the  subject,  and  the  possibility
of  putting  an  end  entirely  to  the  Traffic  in  Slaves  by  Sea;-  Have  considered ­
  the  matters  to  them  referred,  and  have  agreed  to  the  following
REPORT;

That  the  slave  trade  in  negroes  on  the  East  Coast  of  Africa  is  now  almost
entirely  confined  to  a  trade  between  the  dominions  of  Zanzibar  on  the  one  hand,
and  the  coast  of  Arabia  and  Persia  and  the  Island  of  Madagascar  on  the  other
hand,  the  principal  and  by  far  the  largest  portion  of  the  traffic  being  in  the  former
direction.  The  dominions  of  Zanzibar  extend  along  the  Eastern  Coast  of  Africa
for  about  350  miles,  and  lie  between  the  Equator  and  10  degrees  south  latitude,  and
include  the  islands  of  Zanzibar,  Pemba,  and  Momfia,  the  head  quarter  of  government ­
  being  the  island  of  Zanzibar,  which  lies  opposite  the  centre  of  the  coast
line,  and  about  25  miles  from  the  mainland.  The  town  of  Zanzibar  is  rapidly
growing  in  importance,  as  is  evidenced  by  the  progressive  increase  of  imports
at  the  custom  house  there,  from  245,981  /.  in  1861-62,  to  433,693  /.  in  1867-68,
of  which  trade  about  one-half  is  in  the  hands  of  British  Indian  subjects.  It  was
reported  in  1867  by  General  Rigby  to  be  the  chief  market  of  the  world  for  the
supply  of  ivory,  gum,  and  copal,  and  to  have  a  rapidly  increasing  trade  in  hides,
oils,  seeds,  and  dyes,  while  sugar  and  cotton  promise  to  figure  largely  amongst
its  future  exports.  The  country  in  the  interior  of  that  part  of  Africa,  and  of  which
Zanzibar  is  the  outlet,  is  said,  according  to  the  recent  accounts  of  Livingstone
and  others,  to  be  equal  in  resources  to  any  part  of  India,  and  to  be,  as  a  rule,
more  healthy.  Iron  abounds  in  all  directions,  coal  is  to  be  found,  and  cotton  can
be  grown  to  any  extent.
The  negro  slave  in  general  passes  through  three  stages  ere  he  reaches  his
final  destination.
These  are,  (1)  the  land  journey  from  his  home  to  the  coast,  (2)  a  short  sea
voyage  to  the  island  of  Zanzibar,  where  is  the  open  slave  market,  and  (3)  the
final  sea  passage  from  Zanzibar  to  Arabia,  Persia,  or  Madagascar.
From  the  evidence  laid  before  the  Committee  it  appears  that  the  large  majority
of  the  slaves  are  now  brought  from  the  western  side  of  the  Lake  Nyassa  (a
distance  of  nearly  500  miles  from  the  coast)  to  Kilwa,  which  is  the  principal
port  of  shipment  for  Zanzibar,  and  is  near  the  southern  limit  of  the  Zanzibar
dominions.
a  2

420.

Your