THE WHITE SLAVE MARKET.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIV, Issue 58, 8 March 1913, Page 14

THE WHITE SLAVE MARKET.

By Mrs. ARCHIBALD MacKIRDY and W. N. WILLIS. Stanley Paul and Co. 5/. The names of the authors of this book stand out prominently among those who have assisted in arousing men and women to the necessity for dealing in a practical way with a phase of human life which disgraces our civilisation and is a hideous blot upon our Christianity. In her introductory chapter Mrs. MacKirdy states: "We are going to tell you part of the story of thw Christian slave traffic. It is carried on by the inhabitants of Christian nations, by people who would be extremely angry if you were to call them heathens. There is not one single moment of pleasure that we can anticipate in telling this story. . . . The only reason that I have consented to join Mr. Willia in writing this book is that we, as a people, are able to deal with this matter, and we could, if we had the courage to do what is decent and right, stop absolutely this slave trade, which for iniquity and unnamable cruelty, indeeeney, and danger, has no parallel in the history of that other and dead trade which a spirit like Wilberforee, in spite of popular opinion and vested interests, went forth in the strength of God, and killed. To an onlooker, before slavery in America was abolished, no more hopeless task could have been imagined than for any man or woman to set out to wake up public opinion to a sense of abhorrence and duty so strong that it would demand to have slavery abolished. There were thousands upon thousands of decent, charming, cultured, and very good people living upon the produce of slavery. Thousands of Christians held Blaves, and thought it no harm—indeed, in many cases the slaves were exceedingly well treated. The effect of sluvery upon the slave holders was in many cases as bad as the effect of slavery upon the slaves. Both sexes Buffered immeasurably. So it is with this fearful traffic. It is not only that a few women and girls and a few men are sacrificed, but because we have persistently closed our eyes to a thing which we have chosen to consider as improper, and which, without question, is exceedingly indecent, the whole of society is paying the debt of these slaves, whose tears from unknown corners of the earth have been counted by God."

A large part of the book is devoted to a description of the white slave traffic in the East, to the investigation of which Mr. Willis devoted a large amount of time. He gives a shockirlg account of the deliberate seduction and abduction of European girls to gratify the lust of Eastern potentates, and shews the utter helplessness of the poor creatures who become entangled in the net which is cunningly cast around them by pimps and procurers, who make large sums of money out of this infamous trade, and who will resort to any crime, not even stopping short of murder, in order to accomplish their ends. Commencing with.the white slave traffic in Eg\-pt, the authors deal with the evil in Singapore, China, the Philippine Islands, ami Argentine. They quote many eases of girls lured to destruction, and the methods by which the innocent are led astray. It is a revolting story, and one that should arouse to vigorous action the Governments who have power to protect the weak, suppress this traffic, and punish the ruffians who are engaged in it.