The Sun.
London, England, 1863-06-17 00:00:00

THE ENGLISH AT ZANZIBAR.

Mr. STIRLING asked the Under Secretary of State for
Foreign Affairs whether he had any information respecting
an outrage said to have been perpetrated by Arabs on an
English subject at Zanzibar, in February last, and respect-
ing reports lately published in the French newspapers of
hostile feeling against the European residents, excited in
the minds of the native population of Zanzibar by certain
alleged operations of British cruisers engaged in the repres-
sion of the slave trade?

Mr. LAYARD said that, in consequence of the question
of his hon. friend. he had referred to the French papers,
and he found in the Journal des Debats an account of a
state of things as represented by his hon. friend. It ap-
peared that a meeting had been held at Zanzibar of some
European residents, relative to the feeling of the Arab popu-
lation towards the English. But it appeared also that the
meeting was presided over by a French gentleman, and,
considering the sources of our information on the subject,
that circumstance was somewhat suspicious. If hon. mem-
bers would refer to the slave-trade papers laid upon the
table during the present session, they would see that while
the slave trade was repressed on the west coast of Africa,
it was obtaining an unhappy development on the east
coast, where it was carried on not only by French
agents, but under the French flag. The British cruisers,
however, under treaty with the Sultan of Zanzibar, were
endeavouring to put an end to the traffic, which had depo-
pulated whole districts, and was working an amount of
misery almost impossible to describe.
Mr. STIRLING asked whether any official information
had been received at the Foreign-office c3rroborating the
statements in the French papers.
Mr. LAYARD said that none such had been received ;
and he desired also to state that he ought to have de-
scribed the trade which the French were carrying on on
the east of Africa as being nominally carried on for the
obtaining of free labourers.

CAPTAIN FISHBOURNE AND THE PATRIOTIC
FUND.

Mr. CONINGHAM asked the hon. member for Tyrone
what was the salary and the emoluments of Captain Fish-
bourne, one of the honorary secretaries of the Patriotic
Fund.

Mr. CORRY said that Capt. Fishbourne received a salary
of £6OO a year, not as hon. secretary of the fund, but as a
member of the executive committee. He received no emo-
luments, but his travelling expenses were paid, and these
amounted, during the eight and a half years of his tenure
of office, to a total of £2Ol, or about £25 a year.
THE EXHIBITION BUILDING AND CAPTAIN
F 0 WKE.

Mr. B. COCHRANE asked whether any arrangement
had been entered into by the Government with Captain
Fowke whereby he was to be paid for the designs exhibited
by him of the suggested improvements in the Exhibition
building.

Mr. COWPER said that, as far as his department was
concerned, he certainly was not aware of any such arrange-
ment. He had been all through under the impression that,
in respect of the designs referred to by the hon. member,
Captain Fowke had acted as a volunteer.
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES STANDARDS.

Mr. DOULTON asked the Secretary to the Treasury
whether any steps had been taken to test the accuracy of
the standard weights and measures deposited in the Exche-
quer in the year 1825.
Mr. F. PEEL said the existing standards had been in
use, the one since 1834, the other since 1835 ; but there
was no reason to suppose they were not perfectly accurate.
At the same time, there was no means of re-verifying
them, and no doubt their occasional re-verification was ne-
cessary. The matter was under consideration.