[ ¡ii ] 
REPORT. 
THE SELECT COMMITTEE appointed to inquire into the whole question 
of the Slave Trade on the East Coast of Africa, into the increased and 
increasing amount of that Traffic, the Particulars of existing Treaties and 
Agreements with the Sultan of Ztanzibar upon the subject, and the possibility 
of putting an end entirely to the Traffic in Slaves by Sea;- Have con 
sidered the matters to them referred, and have agreed to the following 
REPORT; 
That the slave trade in negroes on the East Coast of Africa is now almost 
entirely confined to a trade between the dominions of Zanzibar on the one hand, 
and the coast of Arabia and Persia and the Island of Madagascar on the other 
hand, the principal and by far the largest portion of the traffic being in the former 
direction. The dominions of Zanzibar extend along the Eastern Coast of Africa 
for about 350 miles, and lie between the Equator and 10 degrees south latitude, and 
include the islands of Zanzibar, Pemba, and Momfia, the head quarter of govern 
ment being the island of Zanzibar, which lies opposite the centre of the coast 
line, and about 25 miles from the mainland. The town of Zanzibar is rapidly 
growing in importance, as is evidenced by the progressive increase of imports 
at the custom house there, from 245,981 /. in 1861-62, to 433,693 /. in 1867-68, 
of which trade about one-half is in the hands of British Indian subjects. It was 
reported in 1867 by General Rigby to be the chief market of the world for the 
supply of ivory, gum, and copal, and to have a rapidly increasing trade in hides, 
oils, seeds, and dyes, while sugar and cotton promise to figure largely amongst 
its future exports. The country in the interior of that part of Africa, and of which 
Zanzibar is the outlet, is said, according to the recent accounts of Livingstone 
and others, to be equal in resources to any part of India, and to be, as a rule, 
more healthy. Iron abounds in all directions, coal is to be found, and cotton can 
be grown to any extent. 
The negro slave in general passes through three stages ere he reaches his 
final destination. 
These are, (1) the land journey from his home to the coast, (2) a short sea 
voyage to the island of Zanzibar, where is the open slave market, and (3) the 
final sea passage from Zanzibar to Arabia, Persia, or Madagascar. 
From the evidence laid before the Committee it appears that the large majority 
of the slaves are now brought from the western side of the Lake Nyassa (a 
distance of nearly 500 miles from the coast) to Kilwa, which is the principal 
port of shipment for Zanzibar, and is near the southern limit of the Zanzibar 
dominions. 
a 2 
420. 
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