Report from the Select Committee on Slave Trade (East Coast of Africa); together with the proceedings of the Committee, minutes of evidence, appendix and index

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Monograph

Identifikator:: 832922498

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-79587

Document type:: Monograph

Title:: Report from the Select Committee on Slave Trade (East Coast of Africa); together with the proceedings of the Committee, minutes of evidence, appendix and index

Place of publication:: [London]

Publisher:: [The House of Commons]

Year of publication:: 1871

Scope:: 1 Online-Ressource (XXIV, 242 S.)

Collection:: Economics Books

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77 ON SLAVE TRADE (EAST COAST OF AFRICA). 1 ^12. With regard to the freed slaves, you DO difficulty in finding labour for them ?—I ^^Dld think not in moderation. I should think I hundreds could be very well accommodated die town of Zanzibar itself. ^^^113. There would be no danger of what is .^^^^times alleged as one of the difficulties in j ding down the slave trade, that if you free a I ß many slaves you merely liberate them from I to something worse in reality, namely, I Jj'^^^iition ?—No ; when a man had time to turn ! ^‘Diself round at Zanzibar he would find abun- ^^nt employment ; as the slaves set free by their dve masters do now. ^ Ul4. You would recommend that those that ere freed should be, first of all, put under the Í etection of the British flag, so that they might time to turn themselves round and find em- 1 eyineut for themselves?—So that they might ^ an opportunity of seeing what they could ^Dd so that they might come under the eyes ^ ^De people belonging to the British consulate, who might recognise them. • ^15. You think they would have no difficulty ^ finding occupation for themselves after so re- lining for a short time under the protection of ^^ British fiag?—I think not; when I was in ^^^Dzibar there were almost always more labourers ^nted than could be got. ^^^Il6. With regard to the upper classes in the j.) ^n of Zanzibar, they are very well to do, are not?—Yes, there are verv rich people fi^ed in Zanzibar. ^17. And their needs are easily satisfied, are they ?—Yes. ^,118. A very small income goes a long way? fiwo dollars a month used to be said to be the §nlar pay for a slave to his master, and the fv^ter out of that is supposed to furnish him with and lodging, and to get a profit. Il9. And even the master himself lives at a ®^all cost ?—Yes, except as to luxuries. j^tl2o. Provisions are cheap?—Generally, a ^ has a piece of land in the country on which g] S^ows his own provisions, and which his own 2l - His living costs him very little ?—Very ^dr. Kennaxoayi\ Would not you say Dr. Livingstone was likely to be correctly informed on this slave traffic?—Yes, Dr. Living stone ought to be an authority. 1123. Would not you say that the certainty of obtaining a market for the prisoners made in war tends generally to encourage wars between various tribes ?—That would be the case if wars produced slaves, but I do not think that ordinary wars do produce slaves; 1 think they produce desolation. 1124. How do you think that the slaves that are brought to the coast are obtained ?—I think most of them are born slaves ; they are sold by their masters, and in some cases by their relations. 1125. Sir R. Anstruther.'] How would you account for the depopulation that is admitted to have taken place between Lake Nyassa and the coast. Is it entirely owing to war ?—War and plundering; the Maviti have come down and carried oif everything eatable from the country, and the inhabitants have either fled or starved. 1126. Chairman.~\ You spoke of the ease with which some few hundreds of liberated slaves might be provided for in Zanzibar, but suppose the slave trade were to be entirely put down, the liberated slaves for the first year or two would amount to a great many thousands ?—Yes ; in that case it would be necessary to give them the means of cultivating land and getting a living from the land directly in that way. 1127. In Zanzibar could that be done?— Be yond all doubt. Dar Seelam would probably be the best spot. 1128. Could they be put under the pro tection of the British Consul there ?—As much there as in Zanzibar, the intercourse is easy between the two places; it is about 40 miles from Zanzibar. 1129. It would be necessary to have some resident officer there for their protection, would it not ?—There should be a superintendent : it would not be necessary to make a regular British settlement ; it would be sufficient to have a super intendent with authority from the Arab Sultan. 1130. Mr. Kennmvajjr\ If you look at page 53 of the Correspondence for 1870, Class B,, you will see several statements made by slaves cap tured by a particular ship, from which it appears that the greater number of those slaves state that they were captured in war?—I should like to know more about those cases, perhaps an unusual proportion happened to have been taken in war Rev. E. Steere, XiL.D« 25 July 1871. Rear Admiral Charles F. Hillyar, c.b., called in ; and Examined. L ^^1. Sir J. Hay7\ You were for some time ^lUander-in-Chief of the Squadron on the J I* Indian Station ?—I was. w ^2. Between what dates ?—From the early . nf 1866 to July 1867 ; about 18 months. (ijj, ^^3. During that time your attention was to the su¡)pression of the slave trade on far Coast of Africa ?—Almost entirely, so the duties of the station were concerned. ^'^4- You had had previous experience in the sort of duty on the West Coast of Africa? large experience having been in two Oij ,^®sive flagships for a period of four years jj^_West Coast. ^9.1’i were at the capture of Lagos, were strong measures were taken for the sup- of the slave trade ?—Yes. thß _ Looking at the experience you had in Q^^rvice on the West Coast of Africa, which was eventually successful in suppressing the Rear Adm. slave trade there, can you make any suggestions C.F.Hillyar^ to the Committee as to the best mode of sup- c.b. " ^ pressing the trade on the East Coast, supposing the country were determined to put it down, and the duty were imposed upon you of suppressing it ?—Firstly, I should largely increase the naval force on the coast, which was, during the period I commanded the station, quite inadequate for the duties it had to perform. 1137. What number of vessels had you for that special service?—Nominally five or six, besides the flagship ; but two of them were under repair part of the time in 1867, so that really there were only from three to four on the coast. 1138. That was for blockading a coast of nearly 4,000 miles?—Yes. 1139. Did you conduct your operations in the neighbourhood of Zanzibar principally, or at the K 3 ports

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