ON SLAVE TRADE (EAST COAST OF AFRICA).
183
Appendix (L.)
Translation of the ritten Statement of his Claimsand Grievances presented by his
Highness Syud Blajeed to Biigadii r Coghlan, at Zanzibar, on the 14th October 1860.
T PURPOSE sid mitting to his Lord>lîip the Governor General of India a detailed stulenient
of my case, and of the complaints which I have to make against my brother Thovveynee
for his conduct towards me.
2. I beg then to inform your exalted Excellency that, after the death of my brother
Khaled, my father appointed me governor in his stead over Zanzibar, the main land of
Africa and its islands, and he wrote to that effect to all the chiefs of Africa and the islands,
as also to the commandants of tioop', directing ihem to submit to me and to obey my orders.
He also notified the same to all the Consuls resident at Zanzibar, and the letter of your
[late] respected agent, Colonel Hamerton, on the subject is still in my possession; for when
my father had made all this known to him. Colonel Hamerton replied that he had reported it
to the exalted [British] Government, and that the Government had approved thereof,
namely, that I should be ruler over the mainland of Africa and its islands, in the same
manner as my father had previouslv ordained with regard to my brother Khaled. From
that time the Consuls visited me in uniform, and the principal persons of these dominions
were aware tliat I was their ruler ; moreover, by the aid of God, the country and people were
obedient to me. 1 continued to occupy that position for two years, when my fatlier ihe lat9
Sultan Saeed, having left Oman on his return to Zanzibar, died at sea.
3. When 1 beard the report of his death, I called together my brothers and family, and
all the people in these parts from link [Delgado] to Marbat, in order that they might
recognise me. To this they all agreed, and they accordingly elected me to be ruler over
them, and entrusted me with the direction oí their affairs. When I was thus installed, I
informed all the resident Consuls thereof, and they called on me in uniform, and congratulated
me on my accession to the kingdom. I -dso wrote to the sovereigns of Europe, namely,
to Her IVIaJesty Queen Victoria, and to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, also to the Emperor
of the French and to the President of the United Sta'es, and they accredited their Consuls
to me at Z mzf ar. Surely, had there been, in their estimation, another ruler over Africa
bci-ides myself, they would first have sent them to him. Then, alter this my recognition,
I dis ¡latched my frigate, the “Taj,” to Muscat, and wrote a letter to my brother llioweynee
bin Sated, apprising him of the death of our father, and how the rule had devolved on me.
In the same letter I set him on his guard against our enemies in Oman, bade him to keep
a good heart, and always to think well of me, f n" I would continue to assist him to pay the
10]000 crowns to the Wahabees as our father Saeed bin Sultan had clone. I moreover told
him that, in the event of anything serious befalling him, I should be ready to aid him with
my power, my money, and my people. I directed the captain af the frigate to land the said
letter at one of the ports of Oman called El-Iladd, and wrote to the Sheikh oftbat place to
carry the letter to my^ brother Thoweynee. The frigate I ordered to proceed from El-Hadd to
Bombay, ai d I wrote a letter to the Governor of Bombay, informing him of all that had
happened. I made the above arrangement on Th tweynee's behalf, and lest the sudden
announcement of our father’s death might give rise to disturbances while he was off his
guard, when his enemies mi_ht take advantage of the occasion to act against him and the
kingdom of Oman. Hence I thought it most prudent that the letter should first reach him
privately, that he might be put on his guard against his eneniif s, and that the knowledge of
our father’s death should not be generally known until proper precautions had been taken.
This letter reached him, and in his reply he stated how much he was grieved at our father’s
death. He also congratulated me on my succession, and told me that he would shortly
send to me Mahomed bin Salem and Mahomed bin Saeed. These accordingly took their
departure, and reached Zanzibar in ti e “ Caroline.” Mahomed bin Salem was joint-executor
with me; for by his first will, our father appointed as executors after his death his son
Khaled bin Saeed, Mahomed bin Salem, and his wife Biot Stif. When Kaled died, he
altered ihat will, and appointed me an executor after his death, togetlier with Mahomed bin
Salem, Bint Seif, and Suleiman bin Homed. This will is still iu the hands of Mahomed bin
Salem, and I will write to him to deliver it over to the British Consul at Jeddah, that it may
be forwarded through Aden to Bombay,
4. To return: Mahomed bin Salem arrived here bringing ä letter from my brother
Thoweynee, wherein he wrote that he had sent Mahomed bin Salem and Mahomed bin
Saeed, who would declare everything to me by word of mouth. Moreover, that I was to
consider as from him everything that Mahomed bin Salem might say, that he had fully empowered
him to act on his behalf, and would abide by whatever he might decide. On reading
this letter, I said to Mahomed bin Salem,“ What is your idea?” He replied, “ I think it
will be best to divide everything left by our father amongst his children, except the countries
and the kingdom, it being known and acknowledged that Oman and its dependencies
belong to Thoweynee bin Saeed, and Zanzibar and its African dependencies to \ou.” This
division was accordingly agi er d on, with the omission of the countries and kingdom. Everything
was divided, both small and great; all the ships, houses, gardens, furniture, and
money ; each one receiving his share, and T also my share like one of the rest.
Ü.116. z4
Appendix, No. 8.
Appendix (L.)
5. But
