'Muscat Dhows Arbitration. In the Permanent Court of Arbitration at the Hague. Grant of the French Flag to Muscat Dhows. The case on behalf of the Government of His Britannic Majesty.' [‎25v] (59/208)

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more flags would be granted in French Somali-
land (p. 107).
The statement at p. 60 of the " Contre-
Memoire" that the International Bureau at
Zanzibar has often had to register slave trading by
vessels belonging to. Arab proteges of Great
Britain must be based on some mistake.
Examination of the Reports of the Bureau dis
closes only one case of slave-running under the
British flag. The vessel in question was cap-
tared by a British craiser, and the number and
activity of the British public vessels employed to
prevent slave-running make it very dangerous
to attempt to carry on the trade under the British
flag.
It is to be noted that the Report of the Inter
national Bureau for 1899 states that there had
been during the year a real recrudescence of
attempts to carry on the Slave Trade with the
object of meeting the demand for slaves in the
Red Sea and Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , and that in 1900 the
Slave Trade was still going on (State Papers,
vol. xciv, p. 754). In each of these years a French
vessel had been seized with slaves on board.
It is attempted to discredit the evidence
adduced in support of the British allegations
that slave trading still continues from Africa and
Arabia to the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , and that the French
flag is used at times to cover it. The two Govern
ments naturally rely in the main on the reports
which they receive from their officials. The
French contention seems to be that no African or
Indian in British service is to be believed in
any statement which he makes, and that British
sailors are induced, by desire for the bounties
(described in the <£ Gontrc-Memoire" as prize-
money) to make imaginative reports. These "Contre-
/ . . , tip M^moii e,' p.
bounties, be it said, are only awardea aiter
iudicial condemnation for slave trading, and "CoDtre-
. . . -i • -i • • M^moire, p.
inconsiderate or irregular seizure brings repri
mand, and not reward. (See " The Slave Trade
Act, 1873," 36 and 37 Vict., cap. 88, sections
11-16.) It is inevitable that in African and
Asiatic waters and territories some resort
must be made to the evidence of natives;
but even allowing a reasonable discount for
Oriental inaccuracy. His Majesty's Government
submit that the statements on the subject of
slave dealing made by Orientals contained in the
British Case must carry considerable weight
more especially when all that France has to