The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-08-09
The East African Slave Trade.


Already it appears, the HERALD Living
stone Search Expedition is bringing forth fruit,
and just that kind of fruit on which DIR. Liv-
ingstone most of all has set his heart In one
of his letters, published a few days ago in the
HERALD, DR.. Livingstone writes: Ell my dis
closures regarding the terrible Ujijan shaving
should lead to the suppression of the East
Coast slave trade shall regard THAI as
greater matter by far than the discovery of all
the Nile sources together" II is, as the London
Telegraph well puts it, singular coincidence
that on the day previous to the publication of
these words the London papers chronicled tho
proceedings of large meeting held at the
Mansion House for the express purpose Of de-
nouncing this accursed traffic. At tho right
time the words of DIR. Livingstone rang over
Europe and the world, and it would seem "a
if Providence had rpened the thoughts of
men and furnished fresh reasons for renewing
the attack on trade which is as infamous as
it seems difficult to put down. To put down
the traffic in human flesh the British govern
ment has from time to time paid many millions
of money. With tho memory of our civil
war fresh upon us we require not to
be reminded Of the evils of slavery or Of tho
cost of putting it down. At the meeting in
London above referred to some most extraor-
binary statements were made. Sir Bartle
Frere, particular friend of Dr. Livingstone.
who was the first speaker, said that he had
recently seen letter from an old abolitionist,
now ninety years Of age, who had known Will
berforce and Clarkson and been an intimate
friend of Macintosh and Horner. In that let
ter the old man said he had gone to sleep
thirty-fve years ago in the belief that the slave
trade was dead and buried but now he found
that the trade which had been suppressed in
the West was carried on with vigor on the East
Coast of Africa and partly under the protec-
ton of tho British flag Bad treaties, it was
explained during the meeting, were tho cause.
The great speech of the evening was made by
Mr.. Russell Quincy, the Recorder Of London.
Mr.. Quincy showed that for the five years end
ing 1867 the total Elmber of registered
ninety seven thousand, making an average OF
nearly twenty thousand q year for that period.
On each Of the slaves shipped the Sultan levied
a tax of two and o half dollars, and an addi-
tional tax of two dollars was paid on every
slave landed at Zanzibar. The Sultan thus
derived on income Of twenty thousand pounds
year from that source. It was also stated that
one hundred thousand persons were annually
captured for the purpose of being carried into
slavery; and, according to DR.. Livingstone.
four-fifths of those captured perish before
they reach the coast. 1t is not wonderful that
travellers should find in the interior whole
districts, which few years ago were smiling
villages converted into Wilderness. Such
state of things is disgrace to this cnlight-
ened AEGEAN age pre-eminently of Christian
benevolence and Christian enterprise We
agree with Mr.. Quincy that Germans, Ameri-
cans and French, equally with the British,
have ON interest in this question; and we
hope that the nations of Christendom will
arouse themselves and by one vigorous effort
wipe out this blot which mars the beauty of our
modern civilization. It has been demon
strated that the work can be easily done. II
requires but the effort. Let the effort be
made at once.