Part 35

“No mention was made about my returning to England by the next steamer, probably because the Court-Martial pending upon Colonel A. Shirley will before that time have come to a close. I need scarcely say, that should I, on arrival at Bombay, find an order to that effect, it shall be instantly and implicitly obeyed.

“Considering, however, that I have already stated all that I know upon the subject of the Court-Martial in question--that I was not subpœnaed in England--that I am under directions of the Royal Geographical Society, and employed with an Expedition under the patronage of the Foreign Office--that without my proceeding to Bombay, valuable Government property would most probably have been lost, and the preparations for the Expedition have suffered from serious delay--and lastly, that by the loss of a few weeks a whole year’s exploration must be allowed to pass by--I venture respectfully to hope that I have taken the proper course, and that should I, on my arrival in India, find no express and positive order for an immediate return to Europe, I may be permitted to proceed forthwith to Africa.

“As a servant of the East India Company, in whose interests I have conscientiously and energetically exerted myself for the space of 14 years, I cannot but request the Court of Directors to use their powerful influence in my behalf. Private interests cannot be weighed against public duty. At the same time, I have already embarked a considerable sum in the materiel of the Expedition, paid passage money, and devoted time, which might otherwise have been profitably employed, to the subject of Equatorial Africa. I remained long enough in London to enable the War Office to call for my presence as a witness, and I ascertained personally from Major-General Beatson that he had not placed me upon his list. And finally, I venture to observe, that by returning to Europe now, I should be compromising the interests of the Royal Geographical Society, under which I am in fact virtually serving.”

4.

“_To the Secretary of the Royal Geographical Society, London._

“Sir,--I have the honour to forward, for the information of the President and members of the Expeditionary Committee, a copy of a communication to my address from the Military Secretary to the Court of Directors, together with my reply thereto. On perusal of these documents, you will perceive that my presence is urgently demanded in England to give evidence on a Court-Martial, and that the letter desiring me to proceed forthwith to England arrived too late in Egypt to admit of my obeying that order. Were I now to proceed directly from Bombay to England, it is evident that the Expedition which I am undertaking under your direction, must be deferred to a future and uncertain date. With a view to obviate this uncalled-for delay, I have the honour to request that you will use your interest to the effect that, as an officer virtually in your service, I may be permitted to carry out the views of your Society; and that my evidence, which can be of no importance to either prosecutor or defendant in the Court-Martial in question, may be dispensed with. I start this evening for Bombay, and will report departure from that place.

“I have, &c., “R. F. BURTON.

“Camp, Aden, 14th November, 1856.”

5.

“_To the Secretary of the Royal Geographical Society, London._

“Sir,--I have the honour to inform you that on the 1st Dec. 1856, I addressed to you a letter which I hope has been duly received. On the 2nd instant, in company with Lt. Speke, I left Bombay Harbour, on board the H.E.I.C’s. ship of war ‘_Elphinstone_’ (Capt. Frushard, I.N., commanding), _en route_ to East Africa. I have little to report that may be interesting to geographers; but perhaps some account of political affairs in the Red Sea may be deemed worthy to be transmitted by you to the Court of Directors or to the Foreign Office.

“As regards the Expedition, copies of directions and a memorandum on instruments and observations for our guidance have come to hand. For observations, Lt. Speke and I must depend upon our own exertions, neither serjeants nor native students being procurable at the Bombay Observatory. The case of instruments and the mountain barometer have not been forwarded, but may still find us at Zanzibar. Meanwhile I have obtained from the Commanding Engineer, Bombay, one six-inch sextant, one five and a-half ditto, two prismatic compasses, five thermometers (of which two are B.P.), a patent log, taper, protractors, stands, &c.; also two pocket chronometers from the Observatory, duly rated; and Dr. Buist, Secretary, Bombay Geographical Society, has obliged me with a mountain barometer and various instructions about points of interest. Lt. Speke has been recommended by the local government to the Government of India for duty in East Africa, and the services of Dr. Steinhaeuser, who is most desirous to join us, have been applied for from the Medical Board, Bombay. I have strong hopes that both these officers will be allowed to accompany me, and that the Royal Geographical Society will use their efforts to that effect.

“By the subjoined detailed account of preliminary expenses at Bombay, it will be seen that I have expended £70 out of £250, for which I was permitted to draw.

“Although, as I before mentioned, the survey of Eastern Intertropical Africa has for the moment been deferred, the necessity still exists. Even in the latest editions of _Horsburgh_, the mass of matter relative to Zanzibar is borrowed from the observations of Capt. Bissel, who navigated the coast in H.M’s. ships ‘_Leopard_’ and ‘_Orestes_’ about A.D. 1799. Little is known of the great current which, setting periodically from and to the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, sweeps round the Eastern Horn of Africa. The reefs are still formidable to navigators; and before these seas can be safely traversed by steamers from the Cape, as is now proposed, considerable additions must be made to Capt. Owen’s survey in A.D. 1823-24. Finally, operations on the coast will form the best introduction to the geographical treasures of the interior.

“The H.E.I. Company’s surveying brig ‘_Tigris_’ will shortly be out of dock, where she has been undergoing a thorough repair, and if fitted up with a round house on the quarter-deck would answer the purpose well. She might be equipped in a couple of months, and dispatched to her ground before the South-west Monsoon sets in, or be usefully employed in observing at Zanzibar instead of lying idle in Bombay Harbour. On former surveys of the Arabian and African Coasts, a small tender of from thirty to forty tons has always been granted, as otherwise operations are much crippled in boisterous weather and exposed on inhospitable shores. Should no other vessel be available, one of the smallest of the new Pilot Schooners now unemployed at Bombay might be directed to wait upon the ‘_Tigris_.’ Lt. H. G. Fraser, I.N., has volunteered for duty upon the African Coast, and I have the honour to transmit his letter. Nothing more would be required were some junior officer of the Indian Navy stationed at Zanzibar for the purpose of registering tidal, barometric, and thermometric observations, in order that something of the meteorology of this unknown region may be accurately investigated.

“When passing through Aden I was informed that the blockade of the Somali Coast had been raised without compensation for the losses sustained on my last journey. This step appears, politically speaking, a mistake. In the case of the ‘_Mary Ann_’ brig, plundered near Berberah in A.D. 1825, due compensation was demanded and obtained. Even in India, an officer travelling through the states not under British rule, can, if he be plundered, require an equivalent for his property. This is indeed our chief protection,--semi-barbarians and savages part with money less willingly than with life. If it be determined for social reasons at Aden that the blockade should cease and mutton become cheap, a certain per-centage could be laid upon the exports of Berberah till such time as our losses, which, including those of government, amount to 1380_l._, are made good.

“From Harar news has reached Aden that the Amir Abubakr, dying during the last year of chronic consumption, has been succeeded by a cousin, one Abd el Rahman, a bigoted Moslem, and a violent hater of the Gallas. His success in feud and foray, however, have not prevented the wild tribes from hemming him in, and unless fortune interfere, the city must fall into their hands. The rumour prevalent at Cairo, namely, that Harar had been besieged and taken by Mr. Bell, now serving under ‘Theodorus, Emperor of Ethiopia’ (the chief Cássái), appears premature. At Aden I met in exile Sharmarkay bin Ali Salih, formerly governor of Zayla. He has been ejected in favour of a Dankali chief by the Ottoman authorities of Yemen, a circumstance the more to be regretted as he has ever been a firm friend to our interests.

“The present defenceless state of Berberah still invites our presence. The eastern coast of the Red Sea is almost entirely under the Porte. On the western shore, Cosseir is Egyptian, Masawwah, Sawakin, and Zayla, Turkish, and Berberah, the best port of all, unoccupied. I have frequently advocated the establishment of a British agency at this place, and venture to do so once more. This step would tend to increase trade, to obviate accidents in case of shipwreck, and materially assist in civilizing the Somal of the interior. The Government of Bombay has doubtless preserved copies of my reports, plans, and estimates concerning the proposed agency, and I would request the Royal Geographical Society to inquire into a project peculiarly fitted to promote their views of exploration in the Eastern Horn of Africa. Finally, this move would checkmate any ambitious projects in the Red Sea. The Suez Canal may be said to have commenced. It appears impossible that the work should pay in a commercial sense. Politically it may, if, at least, its object be, as announced by the Count d’Escayrac de Lauture, at the Société de Geographie, to ‘throw open the road of India to the Mediterranean coasting trade, to democratise commerce and navigation.’ The first effect of the highway would be, as that learned traveller justly remarks, to open a passage through Egypt to the speronari and feluccas of the Levant, the light infantry of a more regular force.

“The next step should be to provide ourselves with a more efficient naval force at Aden, the Head-Quarters of the Red Sea Squadron. I may briefly quote as a proof of the necessity for protection, the number of British protégés in the neighbouring ports, and the present value of the Jeddah trade.

“Mocha now contains about twenty-five English subjects, the principal merchants in the place. At Masawwah, besides a few French and Americans, there are from sixteen to twenty British protégés, who trade with the interior, especially for mules required at the Mauritius and our other colonies. Hodaydah has from fifty to sixty, and Jeddah, besides its dozen resident merchants, annually witnesses the transit of some hundreds of British subjects, who flock to the Haj for commerce and devotion.

“The chief emporium of the Red Sea trade has for centuries past been Jeddah, the port of Meccah. The custom-house reports of 1856 were kindly furnished to me by Capt. Frushard, I.N. (now commanding the H.E.I.C’s. sloop of war, ‘_Elphinstone_,’) an old and experienced officer, lately employed in blockading Berberah, and who made himself instrumental in quelling certain recent attempts upon Turkish supremacy in Western Arabia. According to these documents, thirty-five ships of English build (square-rigged) arrived at and left Jeddah between the end of September and April, from and for various places in the East, China, Batavia, Singapore, Calcutta, Bombay, the Malabar Coast, the Persian Gulf, and Eastern Africa. Nearly all carried our colours, and were protected, or supposed to be protected, by a British register: only five had on board a European captain or sailing master, the rest being commanded and officered by Arabs and Indians. Their cargoes from India and the Eastern regions are rice, sugar, piece goods, planking, pepper, and pilgrims; from Persia, dates, tobacco, and raw silk; and from the Mozambique, ivory, gold dust, and similar costly articles. These imports in 1856 are valued at 160,000_l._ The exports for the year, consisting of a little coffee and spice for purchase of imports, amounts, per returns, to 120,000_l._ In addition to these square-rigged ships, the number of country vessels, open boats, buggalows, and others, from the Persian Gulf and the Indian Coasts, amount to 900, importing 550,000_l._, and exporting about 400,000_l._ I may remark, that to all these sums at least one-third should be added, as speculation abounds, and books are kept by triple entry in the Holy Land.

“The next port in importance to Jeddah is Hodaydah, where vessels touch on their way northward, land piece and other goods, and call on the return passage to fill with coffee. As the head-quarters of the Yemen Pashalik, it has reduced Mocha, formerly the great coffee mart, to insignificance, and the vicinity of Aden, a free port, has drawn off much of the stream of trade from both these ancient emporia. On the African Coast of the Red Sea, Sawakin, opposite Jeddah, is a mere slave mart, and Masawwah, opposite Hodaydah, still trades in pearls, gold dust, ivory, and mules.

“But if the value of the Red Sea traffic calls, in the present posture of events, for increased means of protection, the Slave-trade has equal claims to our attention. At Aden energetic efforts have been made to suppress it. It is, however, still carried on by country boats from Sawakin, Tajurrah, Zayla, and the Somali Coast;--a single cargo sometimes consisting of 200 head gathered from the interior, and exported to Jeddah and the small ports lying north and south of it. The trade is, I believe, principally in the hands of Arab merchants at Jeddah and Hodaydah, and resident foreigners, principally Indian Moslems, who claim our protection in case of disturbances, and consequently carry on a thriving business. Our present Squadron in the Red Sea consisting of only two sailing vessels, the country boats in the African ports have only to wait till they see the ship pass up or down, and then knowing the passage--a matter of a day--to be clear, to lodge the slaves at their destination. During the past year, this trade was much injured by the revolt of the Arabs against the Turks, and the constant presence of the ‘_Elphinstone_,’ whose reported object was to seize all vessels carrying slaves. The effect was principally moral. Although the instructions for the guidance of the Commander enjoined him to carry out the wishes of the Home and Indian Governments for the suppression of Slavery, yet there being no published treaty between the Imperial Government and the Porte sanctioning to us the right of search in Turkish bottoms, his interference would not have been supported by the Ottoman local authorities. It may be well to state, that after a Firman had been published in the Hejaz and Gemen abolishing the trade, the Turkish Governments of Jeddah and Hodaydah declared that the English Commander might do as he pleased, but that they declined making any written request for his assistance. For its present increased duties, for the suppression of the Slave-trade, for the protection of British subjects, and for the watching over Turkish and English interests in the Red Sea, the Aden Squadron is no longer sufficient. During the last two years it has numbered two sailing vessels, the ‘_Elphinstone_,’ a sloop of war, carrying twelve 32-pounders, and two 12-pounders; and the ‘_Mahi_’ a schooner armed with one pivot gun, 32-pounder, and two 12-pounders. Nor would it be benefited by even a considerable increase of sailing vessels. It is well known that, as the prevailing winds inside the sea are favourable for proceeding upwards from September to April, so on the return, during those months, they are strongly adverse. A fast ship, like the ‘_Elphinstone_,’ requires 30 days on the downward voyage to do the work of four. Outside the sea, during those months, the current sets inward from the Indian Ocean, and a ship, in event of very light winds falling, has been detained a whole week in sight of Aden. From April to September, on the contrary, the winds set down the Red Sea frequently with violence; the current inside the sea also turns towards the Indian Ocean, and outside the S.W. Monsoon is blowing. Finally, sailing ships draw too much water. In the last year the ‘_Elphinstone_’ kept the Arabs away from Jeddah till the meanness of the Sherif Abd el Muttalib had caused his downfall. But her great depth (about from 14-6 to 15 ft.) prevented her approaching the shore at Hodaydah near enough to have injured the insurgents, who, unaware of the fact, delayed their attack upon the town till famine and a consequent pestilence dispersed them. With little increase of present expenditure, the Red Sea might be effectually commanded. Two screw-steamers, small enough to enter every harbour, and to work steadily amongst the banks on either shore, and yet large enough to be made useful in conveying English political officers of rank and Native Princes, when necessary, would amply suffice, a vessel of the class of H.M.’s gun-boat, ‘_Flying Fish_,’ drawing at most 9 feet water, and carrying four 32-pounders of 25 cwt. each, as broadside, and two 32-pounders of 25 cwt. each, as pivot guns, would probably be that selected. The crews would consist of fewer men than those at present required, and means would easily be devised for increasing the accommodation of officers and men, and for securing their health and comfort during cruises that might last two months in a hot and dangerous climate.

“By means of two such steamers we shall, I believe, be prepared for any contingencies which might arise in the Red Sea; and if to this squadron be added an allowance for interpreters and a slave approver in each harbour, in fact a few of the precautions practised by the West African Squadron, the slave-trade in the Red Sea will soon have received its death-blow, and Eastern Africa its regeneration at our hands.

“I have, &c., &c., “R. F. BURTON, “Commanding East African Expedition.

“H.E.I.C. Sloop of War ‘_Elphinstone_,’ “15th December, 1856.”

6.

No. 961 of 1857.

_From_ H. L. ANDERSON, _Esquire, Secretary to Government, Bombay, to_ Captain R. F. BURTON, _18th Regiment Bombay N. I._

Dated the 23rd July, 1857.

“Sir,--With reference to your letter, dated the 15th December, 1856, to the address of the Secretary of the Royal Geographical Society of London, communicating your views on affairs in the Red Sea, and commenting on the political measures of the Government of India, I am directed by the Right Honourable the Governor in Council to state, your want of discretion, and due respect for the authorities to whom you are subordinate, has been regarded with displeasure by Government.

“I have the honour to be, Sir, “Your most obedient Servant, “(Signed) H. L. ANDERSON, “Secretary to Government.

“Bombay Castle, 23rd July, 1857.”

7.

THE MASSACRE AT JUDDAH.

(_Extract from the “Telegraph Courier,” Overland Summary, Bombay, August 4, 1858._)

“On the 30th June, a massacre of nearly all the Christians took place at Juddah on the Red Sea. Amongst the victims were Mr. Page, the British Consul, and the French Consul and his lady. Altogether the Arabs succeeded in slaughtering about twenty-five.

“H.M. steamship Cyclops was there at the time, and the captain landed with a boat’s crew, and attempted to bring off some of the survivors, but he was compelled to retreat, not without having killed a number of the Arabs. The next day, however, he succeeded in rescuing the few remaining Christians, and conveyed them to Suez.

“Amongst those who were fortunate enough to escape was the daughter of the French Consul; and this she succeeded in doing through the fidelity of a native after she had killed two men with her own hands, and been severely wounded in the encounter. Telegraphic dispatches were transmitted to England and France, and the Cyclops is waiting orders at Suez. As it was apprehended that the news from Juddah might excite the Arab population of Suez to the commission of similar outrages, H.R.M’s Vice-Consul at that place applied to the Pasha of Egypt for assistance, which was immediately afforded by the landing of 500 Turkish soldiers, under the orders of the Pasha of Suez.”

8.

“Unyanyembe, Central Africa, 24th June, 1858.

“Sir,--I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your official letter, No. 961 of 1857, conveying to me the displeasure of the Government in consequence of my having communicated certain views on political affairs in the Red Sea to the R. G. S. of Great Britain.

“The paper in question was as is directly stated, and it was sent for transmission to the Board of Directors, or the Foreign Office, not for publication. I beg to express my regret that it should have contained any passages offensive to the authorities to whom I am subordinate; and to assure the Right Honourable the Governor in Council that nothing was farther from my intentions than to displease a government to whose kind consideration I have been, and am still, so much indebted.

“In conclusion, I have the honour to remind you that I have received no reply to my official letter, sent from Zanzibar, urging our claims upon the Somal for the plunder of our property.

“I have the honour to be, Sir, “Your most obedient Servant, “RICHARD. F. BURTON, “Commanding East African Expedition.

To the Secretary to Government, Bombay.”

9.

No. 2845, of 1857.

“Political Department.

_From_ H. L. ANDERSON, Esq., _Secretary to Government of Bombay, to_ Capt. R. F. BURTON, _Commanding E. A. Expedition, Zanzibar_.

“Dated 13th June, 1857.

“Sir,--I am directed by the Right Honourable the Governor in Council to acknowledge the receipt of your letter dated the 26th April last, soliciting compensation on behalf of yourself and the other members of the late Somalee Expedition, for losses sustained by you and them.

Having regard to the conduct of the Expedition, His Lordship cannot think that the officers who composed it have any just claims on the Government for their personal losses.

“2. In reply, I am desired to inform you, that under the opinion copied in the margin, expressed by the late Governor-General of India, the Right Honourable the Governor in Council cannot accede to the application now preferred.

“I have, &c., “(Signed) H. L. ANDERSON, “Secretary to Government.”

END OF FIRST CORRESPONDENCE.

SECOND CORRESPONDENCE.

1.

“India Office, E. C., 8th November, 1859.

“Sir,--I am directed by the Secretary of State for India in Council to forward for your information, copy of a letter addressed by Captain Rigby, her Majesty’s Consul and agent at Zanzibar, to the Government of Bombay, respecting the non-payment of certain persons hired by you to accompany the Expedition under your command into Equatorial Africa, and to request that you will furnish me with any observations which you may have to make upon the statements contained in that letter.

“Sir Charles Wood especially desires to be informed why you took no steps to bring the services of the men who accompanied you, and your obligations to them, to the notice of the Bombay Government.

“I am, Sir, “Your obedient servant, “(Signed) T. COSMO MELVILLE.

“Captain R. Burton.”

2.

“No. 70 of 1859. “Political Department.

_From_ Captain C. P. RIGBY, _her Majesty’s Consul and British agent, Zanzibar, to_ H. L. ANDERSON, _Esquire, Secretary to Government, Bombay_.

“Zanzibar, July 15th, 1859.

“Sir,--I have the honour to report, for the information of the Right Honourable the Governor in Council, the following circumstances connected with the late East African Expedition under the command of Captain Burton.