سياسي رقم ٢٢١ لسنة ١٨٧٤، تحيل نسخة من إحدى رسائل القائم بأعمال الوكيل السياسي والقنصل العام في زنجبار بخصوص وضع "المواطنين الهنود"، بالإضافة إلى نسخة من الرد [و‎‎٥‎٧‎٩] (٢٤/٩)

20. As a consequence of these orders, Mr. Churchill, in the beginning of
1869, prepared a list of Indians under the Sultan’s protection, who were permitted
to possess domestic slaves. A similar list was drawn up in Arabic, and kept
in possession of the Sultan. This arrangement was made on the understanding
that if these Kutchees trafficked in slaves, the Sultan himself would punish
them, and that no fresh arrivals from India would be added to the list; but
it does not appear to have been acquiesced in very willingly by Sayyid Majid (vide
the letter of his Envoys to the Governor of Bombay, dated 23rd June 1869).
21. The next document bearing on this subject is the 4th Article of the
Treaty of the 5th of June 1873, in which Her Majesty engages that natives
of Indian States under British protection shall be henceforward prohibited from
possessing slaves, and from acquiring any fresh slaves.
22. On perusing the Hon’ble Mr. Hobhouse’s Minute, paragraphs 6 and
7, I felt some doubt as to whether the “ recognized usage” under which the
delegation of jurisdiction over natives of India to the British Crown was
assumed, was very cle »rly established. After a careful examination of the
evidence upon the subject, I think it may be held as proved that from 1845
to 1862, that is up to 22 years from the commencement of our official connec
tion with Zanzibar, our jurisdiction was never disputed, but that subsequently
owing to the action of the Political Agents here that iurisdiction, in a great
measure, lapsed, and advantage was thereby taken by the Sultan to recognize
the usage no longer. e
23. But the tacit acquiescence of His Highness Sayyid Burgash in Article
IV. of the Treaty of 1873 has, I submit, re-established our position ; and the
only difficulty remaining is with respect to the Kutchees whose names are
entered in the book of “ Sultan’s Hindees” as under his protection. Mr. Hob-
house asserts in his Minute, paragraph 14, that there is not one Kutchee
whom the Consul may not receive if he thinks fit. On this I would remark,
with much*, deference, that if we rest our claims of jurisdiction over natives
of India upon customary usages, the very doubtful nature and extent of
which since 1862 I have indicated above, the Sultan may with equal justice
assert his jurisdiction over these men in virtue of at least five years’ undis
puted usage I should here observe that the action of the Sultan, adverted
to in paragraph 12 of Hr. Kirk’s letter of the 13th September 1873, does not
militate against this, as Kanjee Lalljee’s name was not amongst those written
in the book.
• .. .'vv- •
24. The question arose a few weeks ago on the occasion of an Indian
disputing the jurisdiction of the Consular Court on the ground of his having
been born in Zanzibar. This, of course, could not be admitted, but on reference
to the Sultan, he took occasion to assert bis jurisdiction over all the Indians
whose names were written in his “ book,” at the same time volunteering the
concession that he would never allow any of them to hold a greater number
of slaves than were written against their names. As I felt some suspicions
with regard to this “ book,” I requested permission to compare it with my
own register, and was gratified to find that it has not been tampered with.
Prom this list it appeared that, in Pebruary 1869, there were 350 Indians
(includino 1 several Suryanas or half-castes) who claimed the Sultan’s protection.
Of these ^Indians, 76" held 171 slaves, 274 held no slaves at all, and it seems,
therefore, that their sole object was not to gratify their slave-holding inclina
tions as has been sometimes asserted.
25 Mr. Hobhouse (Minute paragraph 10) supposes that it is quite com-
netent for a native Indian to become, to all intents and purposes, a naturalized
citizen or subject of Zanzibar. I presume Government would generally concur
in this opinion as primd facie it would be hardly fair to deprive a jiative of a
feudatory State of a privilege which a British born subject can, under the
Naturalization Acts, avail himself of at his option.
R