HORRORS OF THE SLAVE TRADE.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1341, 16 May 1885, Page 3

HORRORS OF THE SLAVE TRADE.

Mr Cecil Ashby sends to the Times some extracts from a letter from Zanzibar with reference to the slave trade, which has just reached him from a friend who is travelling on the East Coast ot Africa. It appears that rumors were afloat that several cargoes of slaves had been run from the mainland to Pemba and Zanzibar. Consequently the Osprey on the 12th November sent out boats to cruise, and a few captures were made of small dhows and canoes with from two to six slave children on board, thus suspicions that the trade was in full swing :—“ On the 28th of November, off Pemba, a dhow was sighted by one of the ship’s boats attempting to make the land. This dhow was boarded and captured. She was of about fifty tons and was found to contain 159 horn fide slaves, besides thirty passengers or slave owners. The dhow was eight days out from Mombassa,' and the slaves had hadnothing to eat for five days, and nothing to drink for three days. They were in a most pitiable slate, and when the Osprey’s cutter came alongside they nearly capsized the dhow in stretching over fighting for water and food. Most of the slaves were merely living skeletons, with bones almost through their skins. They were trying,poor wretches, to quench their thirst under the burning sun by drinking the salt water. Four children died immediately after the capture. . . The stench from the dhow was so awful that, after the slaves were landed, the blue jackets who went to clean her Were all turned up. . . . The dhow contained people of all ages, from children at the breast to old men and women. They were all nearly naked ; some had a few dirty rags, Many could not stand. Altogether it was a frightful sight, it Mombassa the whole party of slaves were received 240 in all (rescued by the Osprey and the Philoraen)— by the Rev. Mr Handford, of the Church Missionary Society, whose energy, enterprise, and kindness it would be impossible to exaggerate, and whose mission station at Freretown—called after Sir Battle Frere—ia a model of order and cleanliness. The morning after leaving Mombassa for Zanzibar, two canoes were sighted from the Osprey making for Pemba. As we gave chase, and steamed up, a cry was heard in the sea, and a call of “Man overboard !” A boat was quickly lowered and a small slave boy of about twelve years of age picked up. He had been thrown over at first sight of the Osprey. These boats had eight slaves on board. They threw seven overboard—six were drowned, one boy we picked up—and one we found hidden under some mats in the dhow. This was all done by the captain and owner of the dhow. For cold-blooded murder this has, I think, rarely been surpassed. Had it .not been for our fishing up the boy, we should have found no slaves on board, and the canoes would have been able to pass a* ordinary fishing boats. We had by this time from thirty to forty prisoners, who were immediately taken to Zanzibar, and handed over to Sir John Kirk. Found guilty, and their property confiscated, they were handed over to the Sultan for punishment, our Courts having no power to punish them. What punishment these atrocious villains will get at the Sultan’s hands no one knows. In a fortnight we had now takeu 180 slaves and over ten boats. Wo just missed, as we afterwards found out, another large cargo of about 100 slaves. The present outbreak of slavery is caused to a great extent by the withdrawal of H.M.S. London, which vessel was for some years stationed in the roadstead at Zanzibar.”