§ SIR C. HILL (Shrewsbury)I beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies how the amount of £40,000, which it is estimated will be required as compensation to owners of slaves in the Zanzibar Coast strip for loss occasioned by their emancipation during 1907–8 is arrived at; and what precautions will be taken to safeguard the Exchequer against fraudulent claims.
§ MR. CHURCHILLFrom a rough census made in 1901 it would appear that there were 15,039 slaves in the province of Seyidie and Tanaland at that time. The sum of £40,000 has been arrived at by assuming that the number of slaves has been reduced by enfranchisement or death to 10,000, and that the average cost of a slave is £4. The amount paid by Zanzibar for compensation—namely, £30,000—has also been taken as some guide by the local authorities. With regard to the second part of the hon. Member's Question, it is proposed to follow as closely as possible the procedure adopted in 1897 in Zanzibar and to enact an Ordinance 953 embodying mutatis mutandis the principles contained in Sultan Hamud's decree. The draft of the Ordinance is now under consideration.
§ MR. PIKE PEASE (Darlington)Is not the amount proposed to be paid for each individual slave larger than has ever been paid before?