Page 192 - Gulf Precis (III)_Neat

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ANNEXURE No. a.
:
Hindu or Banian residtnls unit,in the Zan.iiar dominiona in tS7o.

Where resident.
No. of . No. of
! houses. individuals.
!
Zanzibar Island
80
300
Monfia Island
3 S
Pemba Island
i 3 6
Lamo
35 43
Mombassa
»7 30
Tanga ... 3! 3<S
Bagamoyo
40 54
Dar-Salam
38 53
Qule ...
*5 16
Quailoa and Mungao
25 33
Total 367 474

These are almost all natives of Kutch of theBhattia and Waina sects, who are pre-
vented by their customs from bringing their wives and families to so distant a port.

Extractfrom Administration Report of the Zanzibar Agency.
4 Mozambique.—At present there are ten Indian houses doing trade in the city of
Mozambique to the extent of about £60,000 yearly. But they complain that of late years
the most lucrative part of their trade has passed to the French, who now import direct
from Europe goods which they formerly supplied through Bombay and Zanzibar.

The Banians of Zanzibar and the slave-trade.
The people generally known as “the Banians” of Zanzibar are Hindus and
Mahomedans of Kutch, Kattywar and a few from other parts of the Bombay Presidency.
It is said of them—
jst —That they hold slaves, and
2nd—That they support and encourage the slave-trade, which, but for them,
would dwindle into small proportions.
a. It is not necessary to allude to the sources from which these impressions are derived,
suffice it to say that they do prevail, and with some, amount to conviction. It is, however,
certain, so far as I am aware, that they are not based on the result of any formal enquiry.
The evidence taken by the Committee of the House of Commons in 1871 does not supply
the want of such an enquiry, as it merely touches incidentally on the subject. On the contrary,
the information it gives is of so general a character as likely to mislead in absence of
specific details, for instance, the answer to questions Nos. 296 and 630 may lead one to
believe that all the Banians in Zanzibar, who are subjects of Native States, are free to
acquire, and that they do acquire, and hold slaves. Smch is not, however, the case as
will be seen from the following remarks.
3. The first intimation the Banians received against holding slaves was given them
about the year 1859 by Colonel (now Major-General) Rigby, who followed it up with
rigorous measures, and succeeded in emancipating the slaves held by the Banians. Many
of these Banians had lived in Zanzibar for 25 years and upwards, and had been allowed to
possess slaves. The legality of Colonel Rigby’s proceedings, with regard to subjects
of Native States, was disputed by his successor, and on the question being submitted to
the Government of Bombay, it was decided that those subjects of Native States who might
declare themselves to be under the authority ol the Sultan should not be interfered with.
Some of the Banians took advantage of this decision, and began to buy slaves. But
His Highuess the Rao, whose subjects the bulk of them were, issued a proclamation ol