Even The Agitation Of The Question
In The Empire Of Morocco, Amongst Its Various Tribes, Was A Thing Not To
Be neglected; for the agitation of public opinion in a despotic country
like Morocco, as well as in a constitutional
State like England,
admirably prepares the way for great measures of reform and
philanthropy; and, besides the business of an abolitionnist is
agitation; agitation unceasing; agitation in season and out of season.
On my arrival at Tangier, I called upon Mr. Drummond Hay, the British
Consul-General, stating to him my object, and asking his assistance. The
English Government had instructed the Consul to address the Emperor on
this interesting subject, not long before I arrived, but it was with the
greatest difficulty that any sort of answer could be obtained to the
communication.
Mr. Hay, therefore, gave me but small encouragement, and was not a
little surprised when I told him I expected a letter of introduction
from Her Majesty's Government. He could not understand this reiterated
assault on the Shereefs for the abolition of slavery, not comprehending
the absolute necessity of continued agitation on such a difficult
matter, as exciting from a despotic and semi-barbarous prince, fortified
by the prejudices of ages and generally sanctioned in his conduct by his
religion, the emancipation of a degraded and enslaved portion of the
human race. [7] However, Mr. Hay was polite, and set about arranging
matters for proceeding with a confessedly disagreeable subject for any
consul to handle under like circumstances. He made a copy of the address
of the Anti-Slavery Society, and sent it to the English Government,
requesting instructions. I expected an address from the Institut
d'Afrique of Paris; but, after waiting some time, the Secretary, Mr.
Hippolyte de St. Anthoine, wrote me a letter, in which he stated that,
on account of the ill-will manifested by the Emperor to the
establishment of the French in Algeria, the Institut had come to the
painful conclusion of not addressing him for the abolition of the
slave-trade in his imperial states.
Soon after my arrival at Tangier, the English letter-boat, Carreo
Ingles, master, Matteo Attalya, brought twelve eunuch slaves, African
youths, from Gibraltar. They are a present from the Viceroy of Egypt to
the Emperor of Morocco. The Correo is the weekly bearer of letters and
despatches to and from Morocco. The slaves were not entered upon the
bill of health, thus infringing upon the maritime laws of Gibraltar and
Tangier. The other captains of the little boats could not help
remarking, "You English make so much fuss about putting down the
slave-trade, and allow it to be carried on under your own flag." Even
the foreign consuls here reprobated the inconsistency of the British
Government, in aiding the slave-trade of the Mediterranean by their own
flag. However, Government ordered a strict inquiry into this case, and
took means for preventing the occurrence of a like abuse. Nevertheless,
since then the Emperor has actually applied to the British Consul to
allow eunuchs to be brought down the Mediterranean in English steamers,
in the same way as these were brought from Malta to Gibraltar in the
Prometheus - as, forsooth, servants and passengers.
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