APPENDIX No. 11. Sir, Government of India to British Consul-General, Bushire. Simla August 11, 1891. I AM directed to acknowledge the receipt of your two letters which refer to the grant of French flags and papers to native vessels belonging to Oman. 2. In the first letter you report that the French papers granted to native vessels of Sür in Muscat territory were obtained from the French Consul at Aden, and not from Obokh. This report is confirmed by information received from Aden. 3. In the second letter you report that His Highness the Sultan of Muscat lately sent to Colonel Mockler that draft of a letter which His Highness proposed to dispatch to the President of the French Republic; and that he asked Colonel Mockler to translate the letter into English. Acting on the advice tendered to him by Colonel Mockler, the Sultan has, before communicating with the French Government, solicited the advice of the Government of India as to what action. he can safely take to uphold his jurisdiction in his own waters over such of his subjects as have got French flags. 4. I am directed to say that the use of the French flag by subjects of the Sultan of Muscat can have no effect as against His Highness. He has full authority to punish any of his subjects who may infringe the laws of his country, whatever flag or papers they may have accepted, and he may safely take any steps he pleases to uphold his jurisdiction in his own waters over such of his subjects as have French flags. 5. The matter will be reported to Her Majesty's Secretary of State for the information of Her Majesty's Government, who have already been addressed. In the meantime it seems undesirable that the Sultan should send a protest direct to the French Government; but Colonel Mockler should not prohibit him from doing so. Our action in the matter should be confined to advice. APPENDIX No. 12. Colonel Stace to Brigadier-General Jopp. Aden, March 17, 1892. I HAVE the honour to report as follows regarding five large buggalows which recently obtained French papers and flags at Obokh: I obtained the papers of these for inspection; of course, they were returned at once. 2. The buggalows were all heavily armed with cannon, muskets, swords, spears, and all sorts of weapons. The papers were given by the Governor of Obokh for the current calendar year. The Acte de Francisation" sets forth in each case that the owner, or Nakhoda, having for representative one Haj Dida, a protected French subject domiciled at Obokh (who is a Gadabursi Somali, and who can have no connection with Süris), is such and such a person, and then proceeds to grant the French flag. 3. As a matter of fact, in each and every case the Nakhoda and crew were Süris, and the buggalows had nothing whatever to do with Obokh or any other French possession; they simply went to Obokh to get the flag. The character of the Süris is too well known for me to say more on that subject. In all these cases, I noticed that the crew was so large as to be quite out of proportion to the requirements of ordinary traders-from twenty-five to over thirty men. 4. I received private information that the vessels were intended for the Slave Trade; but I am unable to produce evidence of this, as the informant (one of the crew of one of the vessels) was afraid to come near me. APPENDIX No. 13. M. l'Ambassadeur, M. Develle to the Marquess of Dufferin. Paris, le 5 Avril, 1893. PAR une lettre en date du 11 Juin dernier, votre Excellence avait bien voulu signaler à mon prédécesseur certaines informations parvenues au Foreign Office, d'après lesquelles M. le Gouverneur d'Obokh aurait délivré des papiers de bord et des pavillons Français à cing boutres étrangers, de passage dans ce port, et qui serait soupçonnés de se livrer à la Traite des Esclaves. K 2 [1413] Ainsi qu'il l'a fait connaître à Mr. Phipps, le 21 du même mois, M. Ribot s'était empressé de faire part de cette communication à M. le Sous-Secrétaire d'État des Colonies, en le priant de prescrire une enquête à ce sujet. Il résulte des renseignements transmis récemment à mon Département que les cinq boutres en question sont venus l'an dernier à Obokh et que leurs patrons ou propriétaires ont déclaré qu'ils désireraient s'établir à Djibouti. Des concessions de terrain leur ayant été accordées dans cette ville, ils y construisirent des maisons où ils installèrent leurs familles et ils s'engagèrent, sous caution et sous serment, à ne se livrer qu'à un commerce licite. Leurs cargaisons se composent principalement, ainsi qu'on a pu le constater, de dattes et de riz, provenant du Golfe Persique, et destinés à l'approvisionnement des ports de la zone Française. Quant à l'équipage et aux passagers, la visite en fut opérée par un Agent du Gouvernement. D'autre part, les armes nécessaires à la défense des embarcations ont été reconnues et enregistrées régulièrement sur les papiers de bord. Enfin ce n'est qu'après l'accomplissement de ces formalités et lorsqu'aucun fait anormal n'eût été relevé, ni dans le nombre habituel des gens embarqués, ni dans la nature des armes considérées comme indispensables à leur défense, que les patrons des. boutres précités reçurent, en leur qualité de propriétaires dans la Colonie, et après avoir déposé caution, l'autorisation d'arborer les couleurs Françaises. Les autorités locales ont d'ailleurs été invités à procéder, avec le plus grand soin, à la vérification des papiers de bord des embarcations indigènes et à réprimer sévèrement les délits qui viendraient à être constatés. Je saisis cette occasion pour accuser réception à votre Excellence de la lettre qu'elle m'a fait l'honneur de m'adresser le 23 Février dernier, sur le même objet, et par laquelle elle signale l'installation à Obokh du nommé Salim-el-Badi, qui serait soupçonné de se livrer à la Traite. Je n'ai pas manqué de communiquer cette information à M. le Sous-Secrétaire des Colonies, en le priant de faire exercer une surveillance attentive sur l'individu dont il s'agit, et j'aurai soin de transmettre à votre Excellence les indications qui me seront fournies à ce sujet. Agréez, &c. My Lord. No. 1. Earl of Kimberley to the Marquess of Dufferin. Foreign Office, February 9, 1895. WITH reference to your despatch of the 7th April, 1893, I transmit to your Excellency herewith a Memorandum containing a substance of information, which has reached this Department through the India Office, showing the extent to which the Slave Trade is actively carried on in Oman and the Persian Gulf by Süri dhows flying the French flag. In communicating this Memorandum to the French Government, I have to request you to point out, with reference to M. Develle's note of the 5th April, 1893, that there would appear to be no less than twenty-three dhows, said to be registered at Obokh, Madagascar, and elsewhere, engaged in the traffic in slaves under cover of the French flag. Your Excellency should at the same time request that an investigation may be made, and that the registries may be examined in comparison with the list furnished in order that it may be ascertained which of these dhows are really registered. Your Excellency should also ask that instructions may be sent which will insure that the proceedings of the owners and masters of the dhows which proved to be registered, but which are indicated as engaged in the traffic in slaves, should be carefully watched. I am, &c. (Signed) KIMBERLEY. Inclosure 1 in No. 1. Memorandum. DURING a visit which Major Sadler, the Agent of the Indian Government at Muscat, recently paid to Sur, he was informed by the Indian traders there, who consist of seven firms, that all the slaves landed at Sur are brought in Süri dhows flying the French flag; the traffic taking place twice a-year, viz., during April and May, and again from the middle of August to the end of October. It is believed that the mischief is by no means confined to the abuse of the French flag by those to whom that flag has been granted by a duly constituted authority, but that it is freely used by Arabs who have no right to it. The slaves are said to be usually landed in parties of from five to ten; they are never kept long at Sür, but are sent up for sale to the Batineh coast and up the Persian Gulf in smaller boats in parties of two to five, the Nakhodas passing them off, if questions are asked, as belonging to their crew. Before turning the point at Ras-al-Hadd, the Nakhodas of dhows, with slaves on board, hail the fishing-boats, and if the coast is clear they make for the Sür creek, otherwise they land the slaves at convenient places on the coast south of Ras-al-Hadd, such as Ras Gomelah and Ashkari, whence they are marched overland to Sür. As regards numbers, the Indian traders thought that from 200 to 300 slaves are now landed. annually at Sür, though Major Sadler was himself inclined to estimate the number at a higher figure. Major Sadler saw no signs of the French flag during his visit, as all the larger shipping was away, but the Indians told him that the Jenebeh tribe openly avowed that their object in obtaining a French flag and papers was to run slaves with impunity and escape search by British men-of-war. The Indian traders gave the number of dhows flying the French flag at twenty-five, which nearly corresponds with a list furnished to Major Sadler by the Sultan of Muscat, and which is given below. In this list eleven dhows are shown as belonging to Jenebeh, and twelve to the Beni-bu-Ali. Major Sadler believes that all the slaves sold on the coasts of Oman, and the large majority of those taken into the Persian Gulf, are brought to Sür from the East Coast of Africa in Süri dhows. Foreign Office, February 9, 1895. Sir, Inclosure 2 in No. 1. Major J. Hayes Sadler to Colonel F. A. Wilson. Muscat, September 26, 1894. ONE of my objects in lately visiting Sür was to try and ascertain to what extent the traffic in slaves is still being carried on in that port. 2. The Indian traders, who number seven firms, do not, as in the towns on the Batineh coast, inhabit a separate quarter: their houses are scattered about the town; they have therefore more than usual opportunities of mixing with the people and of knowing what is going on. They inform me that all slaves landed at Sür are brought in Süri dhows flying the French flag; the traffic takes place twice a year-during April and May and again from the middle of August to the end of October-in fact, before and after the height of the south-east monsoon. The slaves are usually landed in parties of five to ten. They are never kept long at Sür, but are run up for sale to the Batineh coast and up the Persian Gulf in smaller crafts in parties of two to five, the Nakhodas passing them off, if questions are asked, as portion of their crew. Occasionally they are landed in larger batches. A fortnight before Her Majesty's ship "Sphinx" reached Sür, a party of fifty had been landed and dispatched northwards as above indicated. But few seem to be sent inland to the Sharkiyyeh and Jaalan, as, owing to the system of irrigation in those parts, there is not the same demand for labour on the date plantations as there is in the Batineh, where the date trees have to be watered from wells. Before turning the point at Ras-al-Hadd the Nakhodas of dhows with slaves on board hail the fishing-boats, and if the coast is clear they make for the Sür creck, otherwise they land the slaves at convenient places on the coast south of Ras-al-Hadd, such as Ras Gomelah and Ashkari, whence they are marched overland to Sür. 3. Regarding the number of slaves annually brought to Sür, the Indian traders inform me that the traffic is not carried on to the same extent as it was some four or five years ago; they estimated that between 200 and 300 are now landed yearly. A native's ideas on generalizing cannot always be depended on, and I should be inclined myself to put the number at a higher figure, in view of the fact that twenty-three dhows appear to be engaged in this trade, and of the seizures made last year by Her Majesty's ships off Zanzibar. The fact, too, that no cruising has been done off this coast for the last three years removes all check in this direction. If the Slave Trade carried on by Süri dhows has declined within the last four or five years, which I think is questionable, it is owing to the operations of our men-of-war on the Zanzibar station, and to the arrangements made to check the traffic by the British and German Administrations on the East Coast of Africa. As these arrangements become more perfected, it will doubtless be made year by year more difficult for slave-runners to reach the coast from the interior of Africa; in the meanwhile the traffic to Sür continues under the protection of the French flag. Information regarding the dispatch of slaves from Sür towards the Batinch and the Gulf rarely reaches the Agency in Muscat: it is to every one's interest to prevent its doing so, and in cases where news has been received it has been too late to act on. It might be possible to obtain information from the Indian traders, but this would not reach in time, and their position might be a dangerous one were it to leak out that they were in the habit of supplying it. 4. I saw no signs of the French flag during my visit, for all the larger shipping was away; the Indian traders told me they often heard the Jenebel talking amongst themselves, and that they openly say their object in taking the French flag and papers is to run slaves with impunity and escape search by English men-of-war. The Indian traders gave the number of dhows flying the French flag at twenty-five, which corresponds pretty accurately with the totals shown in the last list I have lately received from the Sultan, a copy of which I inclose. In this list, eleven dhows are shown as belonging to the Jenebeh and twelve to the Beni-buAli. Compared with the list furnished to you with this Office letter, there is a decrease of eight in the number of Jenebeh and an increase of three in the number of Beni-bu-Ali dhows flying French colours. The present list is not authoritative, for it has been compiled merely on such information as the Sultan's Wali was able to obtain in a roundabout way, direct inquiry not being possible. I think, though, it may be taken as fairly accurate. 5. Much of the information given above was already known to us, but it is interesting to find it confirmed by eye-witnesses on the spot; and in telling me what they did, the Indian traders seemed anxious to afford me all the information they could. 6. I believe that all the slaves who are sold on the coasts of Oman and the large majority of those taken into the Persian Gulf are brought to Sür from the East Coast of Africa in Süri dhows, and Mr. Rennell Rodd wrote me demi-officially last year that, from inquiries made in Zanzibar, he had come to the same conclusion. If, then, this central depôt at Sür could be broken up, a practical stop would be put to the importation of slaves into Oman, the littoral of the Persian Gulf. The one difficulty which at present seems to stand in the way of our taking effective action in this direction is the protection afforded to the Süri dhows by the French flag. I have already, in paragraph 4 of my letter dated the 14th June last, pointed out that the Sultan is taking no steps to enforce his jurisdiction in his own waters over such of his subjects that fly the French flag; in point of fact, he seems to look upon it as a grievance that the British Government does not prevent the French from giving his subjects their papers and flag. 7. Were it not for the French flag it would seem easy to intercept the communication between Sür and the East Coast of Africa by dispatching two of Her Majesty's ships to cruise during April, May, August, September, and October-one between Ras-al-Hadd in the direction of Gwadur, and the other to patrol the coast from Ras-al-Hadd southwards. The experiment would be a costly one, but it would render the Traffic so risky that it would eventually have to be abandoned. Inclosure 3 in No. 1. List of Süri Dhows flying French Colours belonging to the Jenebeh. 1. Dhow belonging to Muhammad-bin-Abdullah-bin-Sultan, registered at Obokh three years ago. 2. Abdullah-bin-Saleh-bin-Juwaid, registered at Obokh three years ago. Muhammad-bin-Sulleyim-bin-Abood, registered at Bookeen, in Madagascar, eight List of Süri Dhows flying French Colours belonging to the Beni-bu-Ali. 1. Dhow belonging to Salim-bin-Rashid-bin-Seyyid, registered in East Africa last year. APPENDIX No. 15. Sir, India Office to Foreign Office.-(Received June 19.) India Office, June 19, 1895. IN continuation of my letter of the 30th January, 1895, I am desired by Mr. Fowler to forward herewith, for the information of the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, copy of a letter from the Government of India, dated the 28th May, 1895, and its inclosures, from which it will be seen that, according to a statement made by the Commander of the French war vessel "Troude," the practice of granting the French flag and papers to these dhows has been discontinued. Sir, Inclosure No. 1. Government of India to the Right Honourable H. H. Fowler. Simla, May 28, 1895. WITII reference to Major J. Hayes Sadler's despatch of the 26th September, 1894,* regarding the Slave Trade carried on by Süri dhows flying the French flag. We now forward copy of a letter from the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, from which it will be seen that, according to a statement made by the Commander of the French war vessel "Troude," the practice of granting the French flag and papers to these dhows has been discontinued. The information contained in paragraph 4 of Major Sadler's Report was subsequently authenticated by the French Vice-Consul, who told Major Sadler of the request preferred by the Beni-bu-Ali Chief, and of his own refusal to entertain it. We have, &c. (Confidential.) Inclosure No. 2. Colonel F. A. Wilson to the Government of India. Bushire, April 20, 1895. IN continuation of correspondence ending with your Confidential letter of the 5th November, 1894, I have the honour to forward, for the information of the Government of India, copy of a report from the Political Agent, Muscat, dated the 26th March. 2. It is satisfactory to note the statement by the Commander of the French war vessel "Troude" that the practice of granting the French flag and papers to Süri dhows has ceased. This should prove an important check to the Slave Trade to these coasts. It will also have a salutary effect on the Oman coast if, as Major Sadler has grounds for believing to be the case, the aspirations of the Beni-bu-Ali tribe for foreign interference, support or protection, have been definitely discouraged. Inclosure No. 3. Major J. Hayes Sadler to Colonel F. A. Wilson. Muscat, March 26, 1895. WITH reference to my letter dated the 26th September last, on the subject of the Süri dhows and the French flag, I have the honour to report as follows: 2. Yesterday evening the Commander of the R. F. "Troude" informed me that he had that morning received his orders by telegram, and that he would leave the following morning for Obokh, visiting Sür on his way. His object in calling in at Sür was, he told me, to inspect such dhows as he might find there flying French colours and verify their papers. The Commander further informed me that the practice of granting Süri dhows the French flag and papers at Obokh had now been stopped. * Appendix No. 14. |