FLIGHT OF THE PRETENDER.
SURRENDER TO THE GERMAN CONSUL.
THE NEW SULTAN.
When the news of the bombardment of the Sultan’s Palace, in which the Pretender to the Sultanate and his followers had taken up a defiant position, reached London, there were naturally many enquiries at the Foreign Office as to the correctness of the report. Up to comparatively late in the afternoon no official information had come to hand at the Foreign Office, and when his Excellency the German Ambassador called at the Foreign Office to see Lord Salisbury and assumed the correctness of the report that Said Khalid was a prisoner, the officials were unable to either confirm or deny the rumour.
During the afternoon Mr Hardinge, British Consul-General at Zanzibar, called upon Lord Salisbury and discussed at some length with his Lordship the position of affairs. At about five o’clock Mr Balfour, who had called some time previously on Lord Salisbury, left the Foreign Office to catch a train at Liverpool, without being able to get definite news.
Almost immediately after his departure however a telegraph messenger arrived with a despatch from Zanzibar via Capetown, and the officials at once set to work to decipher the message which was transmitted in code, as is usual with important despatches. It was found that it confirmed Reuter’s telegrams already to hand. The satisfactory news was dictated by Lord Salisbury’s principal Private Secretary in the following terms:—
“Khalid paid no attention to the ultimatum presented to him by the Acting-Agent and Consul-General. He refused to leave the palace, and declared that he would fight. Accordingly firing commenced at the appointed time, and continued for an hour. The guns on shore were speedily silenced, and the palace destroyed. Fire was opened on our ships by the Sultan’s corvette, which was sunk. Khalid took refuge at the German Embassy, and Hamoud was publicly proclaimed Sultan. The only casualty on our side was one seaman badly wounded.
The following telegram was received at the Admiralty from Rear Admiral Rawson, dated at Zanzibar, 27th August, 2.45 p.m.:—
“On the requisition of the Consul and with his concurrence, I issued an ultimatum at seven o’clock in the morning to-day to the usurper Sultan of Zanzibar calling upon him to haul down the flag, surrender himself to me, and directing his armed followers to pile arms and leave the palace before nine o’clock in the morning to-day, failing which I would open fire on him with the ship’s guns.
“Instead of complying he commenced increasing the fortifications, and his corvette loaded and trained her guns on my squadron.
“At nine I opened fire on the Palace and the corvette, which was promptly returned. At 9.40 I ceased firing. The Corvette was sunk. All the guns were silenced. The Usurper Sultan surrendered to the German Consul.
“Hamoud is appointed Sultan. The enemy’s loss is heavy, ours not yet ascertained. George James, official number 95,526, second Class Petty Officer of the ‘Thrush,’ seriously wounded. No other casualty or material damage to ships.”
It was stated at the Foreigu Office that Hamoud the new Sultan has long been marked out by the British Government for the succession. Like Khalin, he is a cousin of the dead Sultan. During this crisis he has remained quietly in his house. He is a man between fifty and sixty years old, of peaceful character, and well disposed towards the British.
It was further stated that having regard to the settlement of the threatened difficulty in the Island, it was not at all likely that Mr. Hardinge, the Consul-general, would shorten his stay in England.
Western Times, Exeter, England, August 28, 1896
