'Memorandum on Expenses of Zanzibar Consulate, &c.' [‎78r] (11/14)

11
Letter from India,
87 of 1873.
Letter to Foreign
Office, 29th July
1873.
Letters from India,
149 of 1873, and
189 of 1874.
* Enclosures of
Letter from India,
87 of 1873.
f Page 231,
Printed Papers,
“ Sir B. Frere’s
Mission.”
porting their proceedings to the Duke of Argyll the
language used was as follows,—
“ Para. 2. Your Grace will perceive that we
have guaranteed to His Highness the payment of
of the Zanzibar subsidy of 40,000 crowns, from the
date of his accession to the throne of Muscat, and
have promised that it shall be regularly paid during
his rule, so long as he continues faithfully to fulfil
his obligations to the British Government.
« 3. We must leave it to Her Majesty’s Govern
ment to determine the steps to be taken for the
recovery of the subsidy from Zanzibar, as these
measures are intimately connected with the ar
rangements to be adopted for the suppression of
the slave trade, consequent on the refusal of the
Sultan of Zanzibar to conclude a new Treaty.
Meanwhile, from the enclosures of the Despatch
from the Assistant Secretary in the Political and
Secret Department, No. 138, of 20 th December
1872, we understand that if any portion of the
sums now or hereafter advanced to Syud Turki
on account of the subsidy be not eventually reco
vered from Zanzibar, the half of such unrecovered
advances will be repaid to us by Her Majesty’s
Imperial Government.”
Copy of this Despatch was forwarded to the
Foreign Office, 29th January 1873.
Note .—There is nothing on the records to show
that any intimation was conveyed to the Sultan
of Zanzibar that he would be relieved of the
payment of the subsidy, which still can be re
covered from that State should the Imperial
Government decide upon such a course.
In fulfilment of the arrangement mentioned
above, further sums were from time to time paid
to Syud Turki of Muscat, who appears to have
received the subsidy up to August 1874, with
arrears from February 1871 (^140,000, about
29,750/.
Note .—It must not be overlooked that at the time
Sir B. Frere, under instructions from the Impe-
Government, recommended the payment of the
subsidy to Syud Toorkee, to whom he had .him
self previously paid one whole year’s allowance
(8,500/.), the Government of India w ? ere not
disbursing* anything to Muscat; on the con
trary, they had allowed the Sultan to appeal in
vain for advances of money, and had written
off as a bad debt f the amount owing by His
Highness. The matter was therefore at an
end, and had not Sir B. Frere been sent out
on his Slave Trade Mission, the Government
of India would not have spent any of the large
sum defrayed, under his suggestions, to further
the interests of Her Majesty’s Imperial Govern
ment in the suppression of the slave trade.]
16384. D