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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6 MINUTES OF EVIDENCE TAKEN BEFORE SELECT COMMITTEE Hon. C. Vivian. 10 July 1871. from ihc. Bombay Government the other clay a bill for nearly 16,000 which exteiidecl over five years, for the maintenance of slaves at Aden, so that, taking’ the average, it costs us about 3,000 /. a year. In the case of those who are sent to the Mauritius, I believe, they cost us nothing ; the planters give a premium which covers the whole expense of maintaining them. 73. Mr. Kinnair(V\ You have heard no com plaint of their treatment in the Mauritius ?—No ; on the contrary, I believe the negroes arc happy there. 74. The Mauritius is a very excellent outlet for these liberated slaves ?—I have no doubt they are happy there, but I still think that our taking them to our own colonies lays us open to the charge that we are putting down the slave trade for our own purposes. 75. What did the Committee of which you were a member recommend should be done with the liberated slaves ?—That they should be landed at Zanzibar itself, under due precautions, where a depot of liberated slaves should be established, so as to substitute gradually free labour for slave labour : that we should form a colony there of free labour to compete with slave labour. 76. 3ir. AcrtTíôíívn/.] Would not they be liable to be carried olf if they were taken to Zanzibar ? ■—Of course they wmuld, unless under very strong precautions. 77. Mr. J\\nnairdP\ The great objection to it would be, that unless the Sultan of Zanzibar be haved better than we could expect him to behave, in all probability they would be re-captured?— Yes, the Sultan could not do it himself; we should be obliged to help him. 78. Mr. Cruni-Ewbnj.''\ The northern Arabs would be too strong for him ?—Yes : it was only the other day that the northern Arabs w-ere found engaged in a plot to kidnap his own slaves, and take them away to the north. 79. John Hay.\ Do you think if the export was practically stopped, those men would still find their way down to Zanzibar?—My opinion is that you ought to seal up both ends ; you ought to seal up the coast, and you ought to prevent those men coming down ; they have no right to come down; they are clearly breaking the treaty. We^ have treaties with every Power up in the north, and we ought to insist that those Arab slave traders should not be allowed to come down. 80. Mr. Kennuii:ay.'\ If the risk of capture were very much increased, so that the trade became no longer profitable, they would not come down, would they ?—As long as there is the demand for slaves that there is in the north, you will always find that they will run the risk. 81. Mr. Crum-Ewing.'] How would you pre vent the Arabs coming down ?—The only way to do it would be to appeal to the chiefs, and say, “You have broken your treaty ; these northern Arabs arc coming do’wn in great quantities every year, and we must insist upon no person coming in future who is not furnished with a pass from you, the chief, to show’ that he is an honest and legal trader.” Some arrangement of that kind might be made. 82. Mr. Kinnaird.] What is done with the children who are liberated ?—There are schools at Seychelles, and there is the Nassick school at Bombay ; the children, I fancy, are very well cared for. Bishop Tozer has a school at Zanzibar. 83. Is that doing w ell ?—Yes^ and there is a French mission school. 84. Have the Church Missionary Society made an offer to take care of the children ?— Yes ; I think they wanted to establish a school for their reception at Seychelles ; they seem to me to be unwilling to go to Zanzibar. @5. You say there is considerable insecurity at Zanzibar?—Yes; there would not be with proper precaution ; it is all a question of expense. 86. Mr. Crum-Ewing.] A very small British force at Zanzibar would be sufficient to prevent the liberated slaves being carried away, would it not ?—Yes, I think one vessel and a steam launch kept there would be sufficient. 87. Mr. Kinnaird.] Have you had an offer to receive children at schools in ‘ the Mauritius ?—I am not awTire of it. I fancy w e must have landed a good many children there, 88. By whom is the cost of the transmission of the liberated negroes to our colonies paid ? A premium is paid by the planters w ho take them, and I believe that covers all the expenses. 89. If the I rench offered to take them into their colonies, do you not think we ought to faci litate their taking them ?—I think that might be done ; in fact, we proposed it in our report as a tentative measure. 90. If w e offered them to other countries who undertook to take of them, it could not with the same justice be said that we w ere onlv servinof our own purposes in putting down the slave trade ? No ; we consider that a negro once taken by our cruisers is a free man, and that he has the right to dispose of himself as he chooses. I do not sup pose, however, that their tastes are always con sidered. 91. Chairman.] IVhat is the administrative staff at Zanzibar, and what is its cost?—There is a political agent and consul at Zanzibar, and a vice consul and a clerk. The political agent is an officer of the Government of India, who re ceives ex officio a commission as consul, the salary of both offices being paid by the Govern ment of India ; he is also Judge of the Admiraltv Court there, and has an enormous amount of duty to perform. 92. _ MTiat office does Dr. Kirk hold?—He is the vice consul, and he is now acting as consul in Ml. Churchill s absence. The total expenses are about 2,/ 66 /. ; our share, if we paid half of it, which we do not, would be about 1,400 1. ; we do not pay a shilling. 93. Are the duties of the agent purely Indian or Imperial ?—I should think by far the greater part of his duties were in connection with the slave trade, which is a matter of Imperial interest. 94. The Indian interests which he is there to protect are the interests of British Indian sub jects, residents there ?—There are a great many difficult political questions in reference to Muscat and the Persian Gulf ; the connection which existed in former days between Muscat, the Per sian Gulf, and Zanzibar is still kept up, and our policy in relation to all that region in connection with India is a very difficult one. 95. Is the Indian Government interested in suppressing the slave trade ?—If they did not think that it was a matter of Imperial interest to suppress it, I do not think they would set them selves to work to suppress it. 96. Mr. Kinnaird.] They are carrying out faithfully and energetically the policy of England? They propose to ’work with us as energetically as possible. 97. And they have done so?—Yes; but natu rally

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