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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26 MINUTES OF EVIDENCE TAKEN BEFORE SELECT COMMITTEE Monday, \ ^th July 1871. MEMBERS PRESENT : Sir Robert Anstrutlier. Lord Frederick Cavendish. Mr. Crum-Ewing. Viscount Enfield. Mr. Robert Fowler. Mr. Gilpin. CHARLES GILPIN, Esq., in the Chair. Sir John Hay. Mr. Kennaway. Mr. Kinnaird. Mr. O’Conor. Mr. John Talbot. Sir Frederick Williams. Mr. Henry Adrian Churchill, c.b., re-called; and further Examined. Mr. H. A. Churchill, C.B. 17 July 1871. 333. Chairman.'] I WILL ask you, in continu ation of your evidence on the last occasion, what was the condition of the slave trade on the East Coast of Africa, in the districts we have been considering in former times, that is to say, pre viously to your being there ?—In former days, the condition of the slave trade was very flourish ing, so much so that the East India Company considered it necessary to try to put it down, and their agents in the Persian Gulf and at Muscat entered into treaties with the various chiefs of the Persian Gulf and Muscat, for that purpose. But the difficulties attending the suppression of the slave trade, with regard to the Indian Navy, were so great that the officers belonging to that service never made any captures. In the courts of justice at Bombay, a captain, after having made a capture, was deprived of his command, in order that the evidence of the officers might not be influenced by him ; so that very few captains took the trouble to capture slaves ; in fact, I have heard them say, that they put the helm the other way, and went away clear of the dhow whenever they came across one ; but matters changed afterwards, when the Royal Navy came to replace the Indian Navy. 334. About what date was that? — I do not exactly recollect, but I think it was when the East India Company was abolished. 335. What was the result of the appointment of the Royal Navy?—The Royal Navy was, on the other hand, too eager, and too great facilities were given to the Royal Navy in not being obliged to go to Bombay to condemn their dhows. They had the option of going there or to the Cape of Good Hope or Mauritius ; the last two places being very far from their cruising ground, the Arabs could thus have no possible means of defending themselves. The facilities offered for taking dhows, and condemning them, were so great, that the effect was quite the opposite to what was desired, and they took a great many dhows which were not engaged in the slave trade. 336. Then the Foreign Office, as well as Colonel Playfair, who was then at Zanzibar, suggested certain measures to prevent this?— Yes ; at the Foreign Office rules were made, and measures were taken to prevent this. One of those measures was the establishment of the Vice Admiralty Court at Zanzibar itself, which has had a great effect in preventing irregularb ties. At the present moment cruisers are oíaliged to go to Zanzibar to get the dhows captured io that neighbourhood condemned, and there the Arabs themselves have greater facilities in de fending themselves. 337. When you first went to Zanzibar, what arrangement did you propose for the stoppage of the slave trade?—There was a question of the subsidy that was paid to Muscat by the Treasury of Zanzibar under discussion ; it had beeU awarded by the Governor General of India. Itse happened that the Sultan of Zanzibar refused to pay this subsidy on account of a murder that had taken place ; the murder of his brother by Salim, who had succeeded him at Muscat. I waS told before I went to Zanzibar, that it would be a great thing if I could get this award put aside, and that by this means the Sultan would do anything for us with respect to the slave trade- When I went there, I sounded him on the sub ject, and I said, “ Now, supposing the Govern ment were to let you off the payment of this money, what would you do with respect to the slave trade?” —After a great deal of discussion, he said he would limit the carrying trade coast wise (I do not mean the trade with Arabia, be cause that was prohibited by treaty) ; he would limit it to a strip of land on the coast, between Dar Selam and Mombasa ; that would diminish the distance by about six degrees ; at present d is about nine degrees from one end of the limit to the other, so that about three degrees would remain. 338. That would lessen the distance by two- thirds?—Yes ; and beyond those limits no carrying trade would be allowed ; but it so happened that that was a plan that was very much opposed by the Indian Government, and although it ha^ since been proposed by the Committee that sat last year, it has never been carried out. 339. Would that arrangement be now praC ticable, do you think? — Circumstances havß changed since then. This murderer was suc ceeded by a man who, it is true, belonged to thß reigning family, but who had no right to the throne of Muscat; he, in his turn, has been suc ceeded within the last six months by Seyed Turkee, who is one of Seyed Saeed’s sonS) and a brother to Seyed Burgash, Sultan 0* Zanzibar

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