The evening times., 1898-08-13
AFRICAN SLAVES.
The Efforts OF Great Britain to Abol
tsh All slavery,

The ERorts OF Great Britain to Abel
ISL All Slavery.
Slavery in Zanzibar and Pemba havina
been legally abolished. Lord Salisbury
has published correspondence TO show
how the decree has worked. The Lon
don Times says Of It:
| From a report from Pemba, dated
| August, 1897. four months after the pub
lication OF the decree. 1t appears that a
great change was already wrought in the
condition of the slaves for although very
few during the first few months took ad-
vantage Of the decree to apply for their
| freedom, the accusations Of cruelty for
meriy made by the slaves against their
| masters grew much less numerous, and
the slaves chiefly demanded new ar
rangements as to hours Of labor and the
amount of work they were to do. They
| were reported to be getting very inde-
pendent and to be beginning to know
| their rights, and refusing to work at all
IL they thought the amount of work was
not fair Sometimes they brought Sc
r,ous accusations, such as the charge Of
"bA0Si, d6~ihsl tHciI IHdslcIS WtHt IL
shadow Of truth. Many who applied
for freedom proved hopelessly idle. and
though they were given work on the
government shamba for wages, they pre-
ferred to steal or starve.
"A more complete analysis OF the work
ing of the decree is given in a dispatch
from Sir A. Harding. dated April q. 1898
that is to say, about twelve months af-
ter the abolition of the legal status of
slavery. Sir A. Harding states that g.
600 slaves had by that time obtained their
freedom, and 2,213 more had, without
claiming papers Of freedom, made con-
tracts with their masters as free labor
ers. These. although they had not been
formally registered as free men. had not
formed the subject of any claim to COM
pensation. had ceased for all intents and
purposes to be slaves No concubines had
applied for freedom In Zanzibar, three
applied in Pemba and were redeemed. in
accordance with the terms of the decree.
with the sanction Of the court. and a
few others in Pemba applied for free
dom. but afterward came to an arrange
ment, by the mediation of the court,
with their masters. Their complaints
were usually OF trivial character. The
sums awarded In compensation amounted
to a total of fl.Os3 In Zanzibar and Penn
ba, and the total additional expense en-
tailed upon the Zanzibar government
was f9.0Oo the principal items other
than the sums paid in compensation be-
ing amounts for the English commits
sioner and his staff. rations for officers
and askaris. and the pay Of walls. kath-
Is, and askaris.
''The general purport of the decree Sir
Arthur Hardinge believed to be thorough
ly unders. .Ood almost throughout the ISL
ands The majority of the masters were
realizing the Importance OF retaining the
slaves on the land by generous treatment.
and either freeing them themselves. or
without formally freeing them. making
arrangements with them as II they were
already free laborers. While the masters
were, as was foreseen to be inevitable,
placed by the decree in a somewhat dis
advantageous position. the slaves as a
whole greatly gained by it. and were re-
ported to be- in relation to their wants.
In situation which the proletariat OF
most European states would regard with
envy. The effect of the grant of COM
pensation was TO render the operation Of
the decree more gradual than would 9TH
erwfse have been the case, but doubt
Is expressed whe.her the delay which the
compensations clause entailed was not
often as beneficial to the slave as to the
Masters