'The Transactions of the Bombay Geographical Society. From January 1863 to December 1864. (Edited by the Secretary.) Volume XVII.' [‎258] (435/524)

258 OBSERVATIONS AND ENQUIRIES MADE DURING A
Frenchman, representing the well-known firm oi Regis Aine of Marseil
les, a house once deeply engaged in the slave or “ free-engage” trade.
12. The town is clean, and the houses, though poor, are neatly built
and kept, but its aspect is most depressing, the Governor assured me
that it had an important trade in ivory, copal, &c., but assuredly one
could not divine this fact from the appearance of the town. There
were very few dhows in harbour, no signs of life or commercial activity
in the streets, the European and half-caste population appeared to a man
to be miserable, fever-stricken wretches, and the only signs of work I
observed were the processions of prisoners or refractory slaves engaged
in carrying building material for the public works in course of
construction.
13. There are three ports, the principal of which I inspected. It
is kept in good repair, and serves as barracks for the garrison. As a
defensive work against any European enemy it is contemptible, but it
appears well adapted for resisting the natives, between whom and the
Portuguese, all along the Mozambique coast, perpetual hostility appears
to exist. The armament consists of a few old and rusty guns of a
calibre, varying from 3 to 1 2 pounds, some with the broad arrow and
royal cipher of England, others with the fleur-de-lis of France, but
none with the arms of Portugal; these are mounted on the flat, terrace
roof of the fort, which being simply composed of chunam plaster over
slight wooden rafters, is quite unfitted to resist heavy firing.
14. From Ibo I proceeded to Mozambique, where I arrived on the
morning of the 21st, and remained tilfthe afternoon of the 26th. I met
with a very hospitable reception from the Governor General, Brigadier
Joao Tavarez de Almeida, who invited me to reside at the palace and
from one of the principal merchants of the city with whom I spent two
days at his villa on the mainland at Cabaciera.
15. Ihe city of Mozambique is situated on a sandy island, about a
mile long, and 300 paces broad. I was prepared by the report of
Captain Crawford, II,N., quoted in the last Blue Book on the slave
tiade' to find it a heap of ruin, 5 but I was agreeably surprised to find
it clean and solidly built. Ihe houses of the Europeans are large,
* Class B * correspondence with British Ministers and Agents in foreign countries,
&c., relative to Slave Trade, from January 1st to December hist 18(32, presented to
both Houses of Parliament, p. 186.