No. 219.-Consul Plowden to the Earl of Clarendon.-(Rec. Sep. 5.) In the former I found the brother of the Naib with his gunners; the inhabitants had all fled. On my representing to him the impropriety of his proceedings, he left the village, and the people returned to their homes. Since my return to Massowah, I have ascertained what I before suspected, that the late Pasha had ordered this invasion in an official letter to the Naib. In Bogos I pacified several blood-feuds with adjoining tribes, and exhorted the people to abstain from plundering excursions into what must now be considered Egyptian territory. All the tribes and districts on the northern frontier of Hamazayn sent deputies to request my protection from the Arabs tributary to Egypt. I answered that they must first give me a solemn promise to discontinue their own predatory habits, and to forget their ancient feuds. I gave them a month to consult, that the reply might be more unanimous. All the frontier tribes, like their Arab neighbours, having occasion to send their cattle in search of grass, the exact limits of the two kingdoms will be very difficult to define. In the meantime, and in the temporary absence of all authority in Tigré, I have done what was in my power to establish a pacific intercourse. When some Chief shall have been established in Hamazayn by the new King Kasai, I shall be able to explain these affairs to him. I have, &c. The Earl of Clarendon. SIR, WALTER PLOWDEN. No. 223.-Mr. Hammond to Consul Plowden. Foreign Office, September 12, 1855. WITH reference to your despatch of the 1st of March, I am directed by the Earl of Clarendon to convey to you his Lordship's approval of the steps which you have taken, as therein reported to procure the return to their homes of the remaining inhabitants of the Province of Senhait, who had been taken captives by the Bey of Taka. I am, &c. W. Plowden, Esq. SIR, E. HAMMOND. No. 225.-Mr. Hammond to Consul Plowden. Foreign Office, September 12, 1855. I AM directed by the Earl of Clarendon to convey to you his Lordship's approval of your exertions to settle the feuds among the tribes which you visited in your journey through the provinces of Mensa and Bogos, as reported in your despatch of the 4th of March. W. Plowden, Esq. I am, &c. E. HAMMOND. No. 227.-Consul Plowden to the Earl of Clarendon.—(Received November 3.)-Gondar, June 25, 1855. [See Vol. XLIX. Page 868.] No. 228.-The Earl of Clarendon to Consul Plowden.-Foreign Office, November 27, 1855. [See Vol. XLIX. Page 878.] No. 230.-Lord Stratford de Redcliffe to the Earl of Clarendon. (Received November 29.) MY LORD, Therapia, November 19, 1855. I HAVE received complaints from the British Agent at Massowah respecting the difficulties which he experiences in obtaining the liberation of slaves imported from Abyssinia. Inclosed herewith is a copy of the memorandum by which I have brought the cases in question under the immediate consideration of Fuad Pasha. The Earl of Clarendon. I have, &c. STRATFORD DE REDCLIFFE. (Inclosure.)-Memorandum. Therapia, le 10 Novembre, 1855. L'AUTORITE directe et péremptoire de la Sublime Porte est requise pour mettre fin à toute entrave mise à l'exécution du Firman Impérial envoyé il y a quelque temps a Massowah dans le but d'empêcher la vente des esclaves tirés de l'Abyssinie. Le Gouverneur et les Magistrats de l'île, s'ils ne s'opposent pas de front aux réclamations des Agents Anglais et Français, ne cherchent que trop souvent d'en détourner l'effet. Les esclaves, par conséquent, ne jouissent pas de la protection que le Firman leur accorde, les Agents des Puissances alliées sont décrédités, et quelquefois on leur impose l'obligation de mettre une somme d'argent en dépôt afin de pouvoir rendre la liberté à quelque malheureuse victime d'un trafic réprouvé par l'opinion de l'Europe. Des extraits de la correspondance officielle se trouvent ci-joints. Leur contenu est fortement recommandé à l'attention sérieuse et éclairée du Ministère Ottoman. Le Soussigné, fort du droit que lui donnent les faits qui s'y trouvent récités, est convaincu que la Porte se hâtera d'émaner les ordres nécessaires pour faire cesser au plutôt et complètement un état de choses qui ne saurait continuer sans l'exposer à de justes reproches. STRATFORD DE REDCLIFFE. No. 236. Mr. Bruce to the Earl of Clarendon.—(Rec. March 3.) MY LORD, Alexandria, February 17, 1856. I HAVE the honour to transmit to your Lordship copy of a despatch I have addressed to Her Majesty's Ambassador at Constantinople, on the position of Massowah, and the advantages that would result were the Turkish Government to consent to transfer that port to Abyssinia. The Earl of Clarendon. I have, &c. FREDERICK W. A. BRUCE. (Inclosure.)-Mr. Bruce to Lord Stratford de Redcliffe. (Extract.) Alexandria, February 16, 1856. YOUR Lordship is no doubt aware of the rise of a remarkable man in Abyssinia, who, under the name of Theodore I, now rules the Abyssinian tribes. He has, after uniting the different parts of Northern Abyssinia, reduced the King of Shoa to be his tributary, and has compelled the Gallas and the other southern tribes to acknowledge his authority. He has latterly returned from this expedition, and now, I am informed, professes his intention of seizing Massowah, in order to open a communication for Northern Abyssinia with the Red Sea, and at the same time of wresting from Egypt the Soudan and such other provinces as in ancient times formed part of the Ethiopian monarchy. On the frontiers of Egypt there is not much to fear. The Viceroy's troops are sufficiently numerous and disciplined to check any approaches of the Abyssinians in that quarter. But in Massowah the case is different. The Turkish garrison is small, and has no footing beyond the island on which the town is situated. The lowlands between it and the hills of Abyssinia are occupied by predatory tribes, who render the roads unsafe, and by depriving the Governor of the revenue he might derive from commerce, oblige him to connive at the Slave Trade, as the only means of satisfying the demands of his soldiery. Owing to this necessity, the firmans obtained by your Excellency against the Slave Trade carried on from that port have remained a dead letter, and always will remain so while the position of the Turkish officials at that place is unaltered. Without speculating on the development of trade to be expected in the Red Sea, should the projected maritime canal be made across the Isthmus of Suez, the railway to Suez, which may be completed, I think, within a twelvemonth, will lead to attempts at a direct trade with Abyssinia, and as the existing authority at Massowah cannot secure safety to merchants and their goods, the injury caused to commercial interests will call for a change. The Emperor of Abyssinia is determined to seize Massowah, both on account of its being necessary to the progress of his country, and also because, in the hands of its present rulers, it serves as a deposit for kidnapped Christian children. Being close to his resources, he would be able to subdue the half-civilized tribes who at present intercept all communication between it and the interior, and would render it the highway for the exports of the rich products of the upper country. A further advantage would ensue were it possible to induce the Sublime Porte to consent to transfer this port to Abyssinia. By giving them access to the Red Sea, the Abyssinians would be brought into contact with civilization. The British Government would be in a position to make its counsels respected, and it would have a right, in consideration of the great service thus rendered through its influence, to insist on the Emperor's acquiescing in the existing limits between his country and Egypt. I take the liberty of bringing this subject under your Excellency's notice, in case you should think it worthy of consideration. Lord Stratford de Redcliffe. FREDERICK W. A. BRUCE, No. 237.-Mr. Bruce to the Earl of Clarendon.-(Rec. March 19.) I HAVE to report to your Lordship the final issue of the investigation, which, in obedience to your Lordship's instructions, I demanded as to the conduct of Khosrew Bey in throwing difficulties in the way of the transmission of Mr. Plowden's correspondence from the frontiers of Abyssinia and Egypt. The Viceroy ordered the Great Council to examine the affair, and I instructed Mr. Messara, my interpreter, to bring the case before them, and to support it by the depositions of several respectable persons, by whom the acts charged against Khosrew Bey were sufficiently proved. The Council, however, soon showed that their object was not to do justice, but to shield the offender. They refused to call the witnesses Mr. Messara offered to produce, and drew up a garbled statement of what had taken place during the inquiry. This they forwarded to the Viceroy, giving, as their opinion, that the charges brought against Khosrew Bey were not sufficiently supported, though they shrank from pronouncing his acquittal. On my complaining to the Viceroy of the conduct of the Council, he ordered his secretary, Koenig Bey, to go over the papers, and being satisfied by his report of the truth of Mr. Plowden's complaint, his Highness ordered Khosrew Bey to be imprisoned, and directed that the accompanying letter should be written as a satisfaction to Her Majesty's Government for the improper conduct of the Bey towards Mr. Plowden. As the Bey has been turned out of the Egyptian service, and the measures indicated in the inclosure will prevent the recurrence of such proceedings, I wrote a reply, in which I ventured to express my conviction that the decision of the Viceroy would be satisfactory to Her Majesty's Government, and in which I left to his Highness to decide for how long a term the arrest should endure. The Earl of Clarendon. I have, &c. FREDERICK W. A. BRUCE. (Inclosure 1.)-Stephan Bey to Mr. Bruce. M. L'AGENT ET CONSUL-GENERAL, Le Caire, le 7 Février, 1856. LE Vice-Roi s'étant de nouveau fait rendre compte de la conduite de Khosroof Bey, précédemment Gouverneur de Takka, a reconnu que les faits restés à la charge de ce fonctionnaire, et notamment les actes qui ont motivé la plainte de M. le Consul d'Angleterre en Abyssinie, méritaient une punition plus sévère que la destitution déjà prononcée contre lui. Son Altesse a, par conséquent, jugé convenable d'infliger en outre à Khosroof Bey la peine de l'emprisonnement. Je suis chargé, M. l'Agent et ConsulGénéral, de vous faire connaître cette décision, qui sera certainement à vos yeux un nouveau témoignage des sentiments de justice dont son Altesse est constamment animée. Le Vice-Roi ayant du reste à cœur d'assurer la sureté de la correspondance des Agents Consulaires et des étrangers établis dans le Soudan, a adressé tant au Gouverneur-Général de cette contrée qu'au Gouverneur du Caire l'ordre de prendre toutes les mesures nécessaires pour que les communications avec la capitale et les autres localités aient lieu avec toute la promptitude et toute la sécurité possibles. Son Altesse, M. l'Agent et Consul-Général, se plait à penser que les dispositions adoptées à cet égard préviendront le retour des abus et irrégularités qui ont donné lieu aux réclamations dont vous avez été l'organe. Le Vekil du Ministère des Affaires Etrangères, Hon. F. W. A. Bruce. STEPHAN BEY. (Inclosure 2.)-Mr. Bruce to Stephan Bey. M. LE BEY, |