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between the United Kingdom and Muscat ; and it is in his consular capacity, in which he
is solely an agent of, and derives his authority from the English Government, that all the
proceedings of the Political Agent connected with slave dieting and liberation arc con­
ducted. It is true that we pay him and make no demand on England for the servict-s
rendered by him as Consul, but we cannot admit the justice of the reasoning which
deduces from this arrangement the liability of India for the extraordinary charges which
he incurs in his capacity as a representative of the Imperial Government. ^
3. If it be decided thatthe revenues of this country must bear, these charges, we
hope it will be left to our discretion to determine whether and to what extent they shall
be incurred in future.
192. Imperial Exchequer admitted its liability for the expenses connected
with the dieting and liberation of slaves at
External A.,]April 1S90, No*. 53-58.
the Maskat Consulate (Secretary of State’s
despatch No. 13-Political, dated the 13th February 1900).
193. Information was received in April 1896 that, in the previous February,
16 men had been kidnapped off the
External A., May 1897, No*. 148-153.
southern coast of Arabia by a vessel belong­
ing to the Yal Saad tribe on the Batineh Coast. The Shaikh concerned was
at once arrested and imprisoned by the Sultan of Maskat, but the captives
had been sold on the Pirate Coast.
Towards the close of the year, one slave was traced to a to wn in the inte­
rior; but the owner demanded a ransom of $ 180. The Shaikh of the Yal Saad
had meanwhile died in prison and the Sultan of Maskat was unable to levy this
sum from his tribe. Tne Political Resident in the Persian Gulf was of opinion
that the only hope of ascertaining the whereabouts of the other captive boy
in the immediate release of this slave. The Government of India therefore
authorised the payment of the sum demanded as ransom, and proposed to debit it
in the account current with Her Majesty's Government, in which all fines recovered
from Chiefs on the Arab Coast for breaches of the slave trade treaties were
credited.
194. The orders of the Government of India were approved by Her Majesty's
Government (Secretary of State’s despatch
External A-, November 1897, Noe. I35*M4-
No. 792-Political; dated 7th October 1897).
(ii) Disposal of emancipated slaves, 1897-1902.

195. It had long been the practice to send to Bombay Africans manumitted
at Maskat, and the liability for charges
Secret E., June 1889, Nos. 76-85.
connected with their dieting and liberation
had been admitted by the Imperial Exchequer. In 1889 the Government of
Bombay called attention to the question of the disposal of emancipated slaves
representing that the number of Africans in the City of Bombay was con­
siderable, that they formed an excitable and turbulent element in the popula­
tion, and that constant additions to their number might prove a source of risk.
Enquiries were then made as to the feasibility of finding employment for freed
slaves elsewhere than in India. It was not considered possible, however, to in
any way utilize liberated slaves on the Somali Coast, and the Governments of
the Straits Settlements, Sarawak, and the Fiji Islands, who were consulted at
the Government of India’s suggestion by the Bombay Government, were not pre­
pared to receive emancipated Africans. The Government of British North
Borneo intimated that they might find employment for freed slaves, provided they
were strong, capable of work, and able to bear the climate. At this stage the
Bombay Government allowed the matter to drop.
196. In 1897 the Government of India raised objections to the importation
of liberated Africans into India, and as it
External A., jxnuxry ,897, No*. i73**77- appeared probable that the freed slaves
would themselves prefer to be sent to Africa, e.g., to Mombasa, where they could
perhaps be advantageously employed, they asked the Secretary of State whether
Her Majesty’s Government were prepared to take such steps as might be neces­
sary to give effect to this suggestion (despatch No. 5-External, dated 131
January 1897).