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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ON SLAVE TRADE (EAST COAST OF AFRICA). 53 to leave the cruising ground, and might not ^ any (thows pass then?—No ; the number cap- gjj^^^was only 11, and the slaves were not in o .^ient number to require the ships to leave ground, except in three of those cases, to L ‘ ] According to that it seems ye utterly hopeless by any efforts of the ^^isers to put a stop to the trade ?—By any ^rts of cruisers in numbers such as we have I think it is hopeless. ^^0. But the number would appear to be suffi- h in this case, because you say that you think ^^I’dly any guilty dhows escaped?—I think the J^isers should be near the rivers and places of ^P<jrt, at the same time as they are near the Wh^* of import. I had not ships enough to do 0.^91. Xhen with an increased squadron you ^ something more might be done ?—I can ^iy Say I hope something more might be done. ^92. One may collect that you do not anticipate ^?y complete stoppage of the trade by any efforts ihe cruisers ?—I think we have gone on for ^ years and have done no good whatever. 693. Can you suggest any way in which we A'lld clo good by means of the fleet ?—I think, .^ibre giving up the attempt as hopeless, we must every possible method that suggests itself ^ Carrying out England’s wishes, one of those ^thods clearly is the increase of the squadron, the result which I have detailed of my own ■^perience rather shows that the number of ^ ^Ves to foreign countries cannot be as great fhe custom-house statistics would show. 694. You think there are not really so many ç^Ported?—I think there are not really so many ^Ported ; at the same time, I cannot understand 1 bat becomes of them ; the number reported to v®,exported is taken from data which seem re- bable. p Sir J, Ho,y.~\ Supposing you were ap- b^ted again to the East Indian command, and you ''vere told that you might have for three years, liiiF ^ years, or till the trade was suppressed, an bruited number of ships, both for the blockade me Arabian Coast and the Persian Gulf, and ^ 0 portions of Africa from which the slaves were ^^.jborted ; will you state for the Committee, ^ at number of ships you would conceive to be ^J.ccssary to enable you to carry out with cer- j ^^ty the total annihilation of the slave trade ? — Ç bo not think any number would suffice with .ç^b^jaiiity, but I should ask for 10 ships to begin yb96. Chairman.~\ Ten instead of seven? — • ^97, J)q think that would very materially j^^^case the number of captures ? — I think the ßjber would be increased, sid J. Hay.~\ I think you have had con- ^-^able experience on the West Coast oí Africa? yes. 699. tb Are you aware of the number of ships Con employed on that length of coast, as Iç^^Pared with the number employed along this pL^^b of coast ; was not the number of ships em- j^^yed on the West Coast of Africa very much considerable than that for which you now U^^’^-Very much more considerable, and the of the sea is far more favourable for block- operations. Or f Aot looking to the economical question, the probability of the number of ships that Q ^bght ask for being given you, assuming that the country was determined to put down the slave trade on the East Coast of Africa in the same way as on the West Coast ; would you say that 10 ships, or anything like 10 ships, would be sufficient to cover the 4,000 miles to be blockaded on the East Coast ?—No matter how many ships you have, there will of course always be some vessels which escape being boarded ; it is quite possible, that, though we boarded 400 dhows during the season I have spoken of, there may have been 400 others that passed outside us ; but when I said that I thought we must have boarded nearly all dhows that came up, I referred to those that passed along the coast ; the Arabs have very good information ; I do not think that they knew what I intended to do, but it is quite possible that they did. » 701. Chairman.'] Do you think that by having more Consular Agents along the coast, you would have the means of deriving better information upon the subject of the slave trade?—I think the appointment of Vice Consuls along the coast, would be a most valuable thing, not only as regards giving us information, but as regards pushing our political influence. 702. Did you hear the evidence of the last witness with respect to the desirability of ap pointing a naval officer to be permanently stationed on the coast?—Yes. 703. Do you approve of that suggestion?— It is practically what is now going on ; there is the Admiral commanding the whole of the Indian station ; he has as his senior officer a captain of some standing generally stationed for a consider able time down at Zanzibar. I do not attach as much importance as General Rigby seemed to do, to prolonged experience ; I think the experience of one year is no guide to what will happen the next ; if I were there myself, I should take care to vary my tactics annually, because I believe whatever is done in one year would be frustrated by the Arabs the next; if they knew I had adopted one line in one year, they would them selves adopt some other line the next, and I should try and meet them. 704. Was there anything in your instructions that in any way impeded your success ; any limitation of your power ?—There was nothing whatever in my instructions to limit my action till the issue, by the Admiralty, of a circular dated 6th November 1869, which appears at page 94 of Class B, East Coast of Africa Correspond ence from 1st January to 31st December 1869. That circular made an unpleasant iinpression upon all the officers commanding the ships under my orders. Its manner was accusatory as to the past and threatening as to the future ; its matter was, principally the forbidding the capture of dhows for having domestic slaves aboard. 705. Do you think there were many slaves carried in that way in those dhows which were not classed as guilty dhows?—There is no doubt that a very large number of slaves must have been carried in that way. At page 75 of the same Blue Book are extracts from letters found in some of the dhows, being inclosurcs in my letter to Sir Seymour Fitzgerald replying to a complaint of Sir Edward Russell, the Judge of the Vice Admiralty Court at Aden, as to dhows being captured for having domestic slaves on board. These show that domestic slaves are frequently carried to sea for sale. 706. What I was wanting to arrive at was whether, allowing the dhows to pass with domes- G 3 tic Sir ,. G. Heath, 20 July 1871,’

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