Slave Traffic by British Steamers.

Bruce Herald, Volume IX, Issue 802, 12 May 1876, Page 3

Slave Traffic by British Steamers.

The special correspondent of the ' Western Daily Mercury,' writing from Zanzibar Bays : — A curious point has cropped up lately as to the legality or otherwise of vessels engaged in passenger traffic carrying from one port to auother women destined for harems in Mahommedan countries. Take the following as a case: — A. female slave is purchased at Cairo by an agent of M. 8., who resides at one of the towns on the Arabian coast. The best means of communication between these two places is a line of steamers running under the British flag. In order therefore to reach the place where lives her future master the slave must undertake the journey either by steamer or by a native vessel. The former, however, cannot receive a slave on board for transport, and in consequence bsfore she i& embarked she must be furnished with a certificate of freedom. This document makes her theoretically a free woman, but to estimate its value observe what follows. She is accompanied on board the Bteamer by a eunuch, himself the result and badge of Eastern slavery, and is placed in the cabin allotted to her, from which she is not permitted by her miserable guardian to Btir until she leaves it at the end of the voyage to be transferred to the harem of her purchaser. I need not say that after she enters the harem there is no longer any doubt as to her status. Papers of freedom are of no account there, and the liberated slave relapses into the same position she occupied before the farce of setting her free had been gone through. The question which arises is— Does the certificate of freedom which these women get granted under such circumstances justify the captain of a British ship in receiving on board his vessel persons who ho must be well aware have been in a state of slavery, and who will without doubt relapse into the same condition on their arrival at their destination ? That women purchased as slaves, and intended for the harems .of the faithful, are frequently conveyed about in Brjtish ships there can be no doubt Cases are known even in which the formality of giving papers of freedom was never gone through nor demanded, and the slaves have been shipped off almost straight from the market,