5

ON  SLATE  TRADE  (EAST  COAST  OF  AFRICA).

Rnd  in  a  flagrant  case  take  her  to  the  nearest  French
authority,  but  we  cannot  seize  her,  or  take  her
off;  we  had  representations  made  to  us,  that  a
<^nsiderable  slave  trade  was  carried  on  under  the
French  flag,  and  we  wrote  to  the  French  Government ­
  and  protested.  I  hardly  think  that  such  is
^he  case.  There  was  a  differential  duty  of  about
per  cent,  between  goods  carried  under  our  flag
and  goods  carried  under  the  French  flag,  in  favour
of  the  French,  and  I  think  that  had  a  great  deal
to  do  with  so  many  dhows  adopting  the  French
;  that  is  all  at  an  end  now.
.  ^5.  It  ig  the  fact,  is  it  not,  that  under  the  Empire ­
  ^  the  strongest  regulations  were  in  force  for
putting  down  slavery  ?—No  doubt.
56.  Sir  John  Hay.']  Have  the  French  any
''^essels  on  that  coast?—Yes,  and  they  have  an
“Admiral  on  the  station,  who  I  believe  is  on  the
hest  terms  with  the  English  Admiral.
57.  Have  they  captured  any  slaves  ?—I  never
heard  of  their  capturing  any.
58.  Chairman.]  What  naval  force  is  employed
on  the  East  coast  of  Africa  in  suppressing  the
slave  trade  ?—It  is  difficult  to  tell  exactly  ;  I
sent  to  the  Admiralty  for  a  return  of  the  number
of  ships  on  the  coast,  and  I  could  not  get  it  in
time  ;  you  would  be  able  to  get  that  information
from  the  Admiralty.
59.  What  is  the  system  pursued  by  the  squadron, ­
  and  do  they  act  under  special  instructions  ?
1  They  act  under  special  instructions  ;  their  duty
IS,  no  doubt,  a  very  difficult  one.  It  fell  to  us  to  comment, ­
  as  the  Commodore  thought  rather  harshly,
upon  the  conduct  of  some  of  the  officers  of  the
fleet.  There  is  no  doubt  that  very  great  injustice
hp  been  done  in  a  great  many  cases  ;  that  many
dhows  have  been  taken  which  ought  not  to  have
been  taken,  and  I  daresay  a  great  deal  of  illmeling
  and  ill-will  has  been  caused  thereby.
■Recently'  the  Admiralty  have  issued  instructions
Yarning  officers  to  be  very'  careful  how  they
destroy  dhows,  and  directing  them  never  to  do
so  if  by  any'  chance  they'  could  bring  them  into  a
port  of  adjudication.  In  former  times  there  were
uuly  two  ports  of  adjudication  at  long  distances
^ai'Y  one  at  Aden,  and  the  other  at  the  Cape  of
jjood  Hope  (there  was  another  at  Madagascar,
ut  that  was  on  the  wrong  side,  and  the  dhows
seldom  taken  there).  Now  there  is  an
Admiralty^  Court  at  Zanzibar,  and  that  has
Worked  extremely'  well,  and  our  Commanders  have
uot  the  same  reason  that  they  formerly  had  for
destroying  vessels.
60.  Are  the  officers  interested  in  obtaining  the
condemnation  of  slavers  ?—Yes  ;  they  receive
on  their  condemnation.
.6  '  •  In  the  event  of  their  destroying  the  dhows
Without  bringing  them  before  the  Prize  Court,  do
ey  get  the  bounty'  in  the  same  way  ?—They
establish  that  the  dhow  was  a  slaver,  in
le  Prize  Court  ;  they  have  to  bring  in  such
papéis  as  they-  flnd  on  board,  and  such  witnesses
as  aie  necessary  to  prove  the  character  of  the
in  which  the  dhow  was  engaged,  and
e  10T  IS  coiidenuied,  but  on  an  ex  narte  statement, ­
  in  some  cases.
62,  So  that  the  officers  of  our  cruisers  are  peniarily
  inteiested  in  obtaining  the  condemnation
N  (^hows  as  possible  ?—No  doubt  that  is
linue^*^  long  as  the  system  of  bounties  con--
  Wiiat  means  have  the  officers  of  ascertaining ­
  whether  the  dhow  is  a  slaver  or  not  ?  They
nd  out  that  she  is  engaged  in  the  slave  "  '
d"IIG.

e  trade  by

the  slave  fittings  on  board  the  vessel,  and  also
from  the  absence  of  the  proper  papers;  then
there  are  alway^s  indications  of  the  dhow  having
had  slaves  on  board  from  the  filthy  state  in  wliicii
she  is  ;  but  upon  that  point  Sir  Leopold  Heath
could  give  better  information  than  I  can,
64.  How  do  the  officers  deal  with  their  prizes
after  capturing  them  ?—If  they  can,  they  take
them  into  a  court  of  adjudication  \  and  if  they
cannot,  they  take  their  dimensions  for  the  purpose
of  claiming  bounty,  and  then  destroy  them.
65.  Why  do  they  ever  burn  their  prizes,  instead ­
  of  taking  them  into  a  port  ?—Very  often
there  is  a  very'  strong  monsoon,  and  those  vessels
would  be  unseaworthy  in  other  hands  than  those
of  their  owners.  It  is  very  often  the  case  that
they  could  not  take  them  to  a  port  of  adjudication. ­

66.  V  hat  becomes  of  the  captured  slaves  and
the  master  and  crew  of  the  slave  dhow  ?—Such
witnesses  as  are  necessary  to  secure  the  condemnation ­
  of  the  slaver  are  taken  to  the  court  of  adjudication, ­
  and  the  rest  of  the  crew  are  either
landed  on  the  coast  or  transferred  to  another  dhow
that  may'  be  passing,  as  they  may  wish.  The
slaves  are  generally  taken  to  the  port  of  adjudication. ­

67.  How  are  the  liberated  slaves  finally  disposed ­
  of  ?—They  go  in  most  cases  to  Aden,
where  there  is  very  bad  accommodation  for  them  ;
they  are  imprisoned  on  a  small  island  there  till
they  can  be  sent  on  to  Bombay  ;  some  of  them
are  taken  to  the  Mauritius  ;  some  of  them  are
taken  to  Seychelles,  another  of  our  colonies.  In
those  places  the  same  regulations  which  apply  to
free  labourers  apply  to  them,  and  they  are  apprenticed ­
  for  a  certain  number  of  years,  and  after
that  time  if  they  can  get  employment,  or  show
that  they  are  capable  of  taking  care  of  themselves, ­
  they  are  let  go.
68.  Is  it  considered  to  be  out  of  the  question
their  being  sent  to  their  own  homes?—Yes,
quite.  You  could  not  send  them  back  hundreds
of  miles  into  the  interior  ;  even  if  you  could,  they
would  be  certain  to  be  recaptured  by  some  of  the
Arabs.
69.  Sir  11.  Anstruther.]  The  hardships  they
would  encounter  in  going  back  that  great  distance ­
  into  the  interior  would  be  as  great  as  the
hardships  they  had  encountered  in  going  down  ?
—Tes;  it  would  be  out  of  the  question  their
going  to  the  country  from  which  they  had  been
taken.  I  think,  however,  it  is  very  doubtful
whether  we  are  justified  in  taking  those  slaves
into  our  colonies  ourselves.  I  think  it  justly  lays
us  open  to  the  charge  of  making  use  of  our
crusade  against  the  slave  trade  for  our  own  purpose. ­

70c  Mr.  Hinncàrd.]  They  are  perfectly  free  in
our  colonies  ?—At  the  end  of  their  period  of  apprenticeship ­
  they  are  free  to  do  what  they  like  ;
on  their  apprenticeship,  I  think  a  premium  is  paid
by  the  planters  who  take  them.
71.  Sir  A.  Anstruther.]  You  must  do  something
with  them  ;  you  cannot  send  them  home,  and  you
cannot  leave  them  where  they  are  ?—No.
72.  Chairman.]  What  provision  is  made  for
their  maintenance  before  they  are  transferred  to
our  colonies,  and  at  what  cost?  —In  the  case  of
those  who  are  sent  to  Bombay  they  remain  at
Aden  till  a  notification  comes  from  Bombay  that
they  can  be  employed  there,  and  they  are  then
sent  to  Bombay  as  they  are  wanted.  The  children ­
  go  to  the  Nassick  school  there.  We  got
A  3  from

Hon,
C.  Vivian.

10  July
1871.