"الملف 35/85 III A 10 مسألة الأعلام الفرنسية" [ظ‎‎٥‎٦] (٦١٠/١٢٣)

Inclosure 1 in No. 11.
r
Vice-Consul Sinclair to Mr, Cave.
S ir, ChaJci-ChaHi JPemha, October 25, 1899.
I have the honour to submit the following report with reference to the case
of Salim-bin-Seif, which, in accordance with your verbal instructions, I have
made the subject of special inquiry :—
Your information that he is now in Government employ is without found
ation, and Captain Taubmann, whom I consulted, and who gave me very great
assistance in collecting evidence as to his parentage, was of opinion that it
would be unwise to interview Salim (or Msellim, as his correct name seems to
be), as he is known to be still antagonistic to the Government, and it might
lead him to attach importance to his case.
Inquiries, however, which I made at "Weti leave little room for doubt that
he was not, as he stated, born at Comoro, but here in Pemba. An M'Pemba,
named Hamis-bin-Taid, whose evidence I first obtained, stated that he had
known Msellim-bin-Seif all his life, having been brought up in the same village
with him; his mother, who died about three years ago, was, he said, a Pemba
woman, named Binti Ali, the daughter of Ali-bin-Suliman, of Kinyazini—a
place just south of Weti. She married a Maskat Arab named Saif who settled
at Pemba, and this witness is willing to swear that Binti Ali never left Pemba,
and that Msellim was born there. An old Arab named Abdulla-bin-Salim-bin-
Abdulla of Kwimone confirmed the above evidence, and added that he remem
bered the marriage taking place here. I inclose his written statement that
Msellim was born in Pemba. This witness, on being asked if he had ever heard
that Msellim possessed property elsewhere, said that he had heard that Saif
Msellim's father, Gazija (Comoro) who possessed property there.
The most direct and convincing proof as to Msellim's birthplace is, how
ever, that furnished by Selimah-binti-Juma-bin-Suliman, who was examined by
one of the native officers. Captain Simba ; this woman is a cousin of Msellim's
mother, whose name she says was Bisharah-binti-Ali-bin-Suliman, who was born
at Pemba, her mother being a native Pemba girl; Selimah states that she was
actually present at the birth of Msellim-bin-Saif, which took place at Chavani,
and that he had one brother, who died in infancy, and a sister whose mother
was a Suria named Faida. Another witness, Khamis-bin-Saif, declared that
there was a third son named Mahomed-bin-Saif by a wife from Gazija
(Comoro).
In view of this evidence, which is amply confirmed by others, there can be
little doubt that Msellim-bin-Saif only assumed false nationality, and sa
obtained Erench protection in order to more safely carry on his well known
malpractices in slave*trading, to which their flag has unfortunately acquired
the undesirable reputation of affording an effective screen in these waters—a
reputation which his punishment has, so I am informed, done much among the
natives of this island to eradicate. *
I have, etc.,
(Signed) JOHN H. SINCLAIR.
Inclosure 2 in No. 11.
Statement of Abdulla*hin-Salem-bin-Abdulla.
Abdulla-bin-Salem-bin-Abdulla-el-Esmail Kwimone states he knows
Msellim-bin-Saif was born here, and his mother was here; his father and
mother were married here.
(Signed) ABDULLA-BIN-SALEM-BIN-
ABDULLA-EL-ESMAIL.
Witness:
(Signed) AHMED-BIN-SAIF-BIN-SAID.
Ootober 35, 1899.
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