No. 786.
Mr. Beardsley to Mr. Fish.
Agency and Consulate General of the United States in
Egypt,
Cairo, October 6,
1873. (Received October 31.)
No. 137.]
Sir: Referring to my dispatch No. 128, of
the 16th ultimo, relating to the liberation of slaves at Mansourah,
and to a proposed treaty between England and Egypt for the abolition
of slavery in Egypt, which I represented as about being concluded, I
have now the honor to inform you that, although the negotiations on
the subject are still pending, the prospects of a treaty, as
originally proposed by England, are not encouraging.
The Khedive is willing to bind himself by treaty to abolish the
slave-trade, to make the creation of eunuchs a criminal offense, and
to abolish every kind of involuntary servitude except domestic
slavery. He thinks that the abolition of domestic slavery would be
not only impolitic and practically impossible, but unjust toward his
subjects.
I have the honor to inclose herewith a translation of a dispatch from
His Excellency Nubar Pasha to Mr. Vivian, explaining the views of
His Highness on this subject.
It will be observed that his excellency states that the orders
hitherto given by His Highness, in regard to the liberation of
slaves, have been that only those were to be liberated who could
prove that they had received cruel treatment from the hands of their
masters. Now, it is generally understood by the foreign
representatives in Egypt, as well as by Europeans residing here,
that slavery has heretofore been looked upon as illegal by the
Egyptian government. It appears to be certain that His Highness has,
on more than one occasion, publicly announced that slavery did not
legally exist in Egypt; that it only existed in fact in the mildest
form of domestic slavery; and that every slave demanding his freedom
would be liberated at once by the Egyptian authorities.
[Page 1173]
That all slaves demanding their freedom through the intermediary of
any consular authority have hitherto been liberated, regardless of
their former treatment, seems to be equally certain. While,
therefore, slavery has been tolerated and rather encouraged than
otherwise in Egypt during the past eight or ten years, it has been
declared to be illegal by the words of His Highness and by the acts
of his officials, and the dispatch of Nubar Pasha must be considered
in connection with these facts.
It was after the date of this dispatch that the draught of a treaty
was drawn up substantially the same as indicated in my dispatch No.
128. This draught was taken into consideration by His Highness, who
finally struck out the clause abolishing slavery after the
expiration of five years. I have every reason to believe that the
balance of the draught is now being considered at Constantinople and
London, and it is possible that a satisfactory treaty may be
concluded.
Domestic slavery would soon disappear as a feature of the country if
the slave-trade could be effectually suppressed, but there is no
question but that the traffic in slaves is actively carried on in
every town of any considerable size in Egypt. There are no public
slave-markets, and the trade is conducted quietly for fear of
attracting the notice of strangers and the government officials, but
slaves may be bought without difficulty throughout the country.
It must be borne in mind that it is a mild and harmless traffic as
compared with slave-trading in other parts of Africa, and that
domestic slavery in Egypt presents but few of the horrible features
which have been witnessed in other parts of the world.
Sanctioned by religion as well as by the practice of centuries, it
will be difficult to eradicate slavery from Egyptian soil. The
complete suppression of the slave-trade is the first great step to
be taken in that direction.
In view of the present state of the negotiations on this subject,
would it not be well for our Government to represent to the Khedive
the great interest which it takes in this matter, and to assure His
Highness that an energetic and honest crusade against the slave
trade, on his part, will meet the warm approval of the United
States.
I am, &c,
[Inclosure.—Translation.]
Nubar Pasha
to Mr. Vivian.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Cairo, September 1, 1873.
Sir: I have had the honor of receiving
the dispatch which you have addressed to me, under date of the
16th ultimo, with reference to the three hundred slaves which
the moodir of Mansourah hesitates to set free.* You ask me what are the
orders of His Highness on this subject, so that you may he able
to bring them, at the same time, to the knowledge of your consul
at Mansourah, desirous as you are to act in perfect harmony with
the local authorities in carrying out the measures leading to
the abolition of slavery. As for the special case of these three
hundred slaves now at Mansourah, I have already made known to
you the dispositions taken by His Highness. All of the slaves
who are foreigners to the moodirieh of Mansourah will be sent to
their native moodirieh. The owners will be searched for, and His
Highness will pay to each of them the price of the slave, who
will be thus naturally and legally set free.
[Page 1174]
The Khedive has further directed me, in compliance with the
desire which you have expressed to me, and which is his own
desire as well, to recapitulate his ideas and to acquaint you
with the orders really issued respecting slaves in Egypt. It was
not possible for His Highness to issue orders, and it seems to
have been understood that it was only necessary for a slave to
present himself before the local authorities in order that those
authorities should be under the obligation to give him his free
papers. Such a proceeding would be considered arbitrary on his
part, and would have necessarily led to a result diametrically
opposed to that which His Highness proposes in stimulating the
public sentiment against measures tending to injure arbitrarily
private rights legally acquired.
This public sentiment has all the more reason to exist, since in
the Orient, and especially in Egypt, the religion and customs
correct, as much as is possible, whatever there is hard and
cruel in the condition of the slave. The governments of Europe
which have abolished slavery in their colonies, have taken
account, in the interest of justice, of the rights acquired by
the owners, and it was only by fair means and the payment of
large indemnities that they put an end to an institution which
even their religion condemned.
His Highness, therefore, could not, in the orders he issued,
abandon the care and protection which he is supposed to have for
institutions consecrated by religion and custom. For this reason
the orders he has always given were intended to authorize the
government’s employés not to free all the slaves who might claim
their liberty, but only those who may have suffered cruel
treatment on the part of their masters, whether they presented
themselves or whether they asked for their freedom through some
other person.
The local authorities are obliged, in such cases, to inquire as
to the truth, and once the maltreatment is proved the freedom is
given.
I must not conceal from you that this measure conflicts somewhat
with the religious law, which prescribes that the slave, when
ill-treated, has only the right to ask that he shall be sold to
another master. But, on the other hand, from the religious
precepts prescribing kindness on the part of masters toward
their slaves, and in the midst of a people possessing good and
gentle manners, it may be inferred, without exciting any hostile
feeling, that the slave is legally free the moment the
benevolent precepts of the religious law are not applied to
him.
I therefore repeat that the spirit of the Khedive’s orders is
that the local authority shall interfere and set free all slaves
who may claim their freedom on the ground of ill-treatment, the
moment the ill-treatment is proved, regardless of the owner’s
claim to be indemnified for his loss.
These orders certainly will not nor cannot bring to an end the
institution of slavery in Egypt. This institution can only be
made to disappear by the complete abolition of the slave-trade,
and the complementary measures, of which His Highness has spoken
to you as well as to his excellency the embassador of Her
Britannic Majesty at Constantinople.
I believe, Monsieur 1’Agent, that I have fully answered your
dispatch, and also the desire you have verbally expressed to me,
and in the hope that these explanations will be of a nature to
dissipate all misunderstanding, I have the honor to beg you to
accept the expression of my highest consideration.
Hon. Mr. Vivian,
Her Britannic Majesty’s Agent and
Consul-General in Egypt.
