THE SLAVE TRADE.

Grey River Argus, 9 January 1928, Page 7

THE SLAVE TRADE.

RAPIDLY VANISHING. AN INTERNATIONAL EFFORT. WORK OF THE LEAGUE. Tt is well known that away back in the nineteenth century slavery was nominally abolished; and it may come as a surprise to some people to learn firstly, that the League of Nations includes the question of slavery in its work; and secondly, that as a result of investigation carried out by the League, it was found that slave systems and their barbarous customs of slave trading and slave raiding demanded a new international effort towards their abolition (writes M. E. Roberts for the League of Nations). But on what grounds did the Council of the League in 1924 appoint a Temporary Slavery Commission? It was not appointed merely on the definite knowledge that a certain degree of slavery still existed, but on two of the: fundamental principle of the Covenant of the League: (1) That the slave trade should be prohibited in mandated areas; (2) that Member-States will “undertake to secure just treatment of the native inhabitants of territories under their control.” With these guiding principles, the Seventh Assembly of the League adopted in 1926 a Convention providing for the gradual stamping out of every form of slavery—slave raiding, slave trading, domestic slavery, certain forms of marriage laws, and child adoption, which are equivalent to a form of slavery; also certain kinds of payment by service instead of money; and particular types of compulsory or forced labour.

In 1922—five years ago —the League became convinced that its humanitarian activities must undoubtedly include ' slavery. What is the position to-day? Thirty-six countries have signed the Slavery Convention at Geneva; eight have had enough public opinion on the matter to have ratified it by their own national governments. The Convention was before fifty-six Status-Members of the League and fourteen other States. 'Somewhere there is a missing link of knowledge, or of keen enough human feeling, otherwise it is unthinkable that more countries would not have thrown their full weight into this problem. Probably many people think that action on the part of the individual States in which slavery exists will suffice to extinguish the evil. Tt is not so, only a world opinion can finally uproot customs of such long standing; and, moreover, customs which as first sight do not seem to fall within the category of slavery. It has often been argued that a freed slave is an economic parasite. In the first place that does not necessarily follow in the majority of cases; and secondly, .iet a former slave continue to work for his old master if he wishes, but give him the power to become a free man at will.

Taking a fairly broad view of slavery to-day, to what extent can it be said that it still exists? From ancient times in the State of Kalat, in Baluchistan, there was a type of domestic servitude by which the men and women servants became the complete property of their masters, whose power was absolute. In certain districts in this State these conditions of slavery abated; but not until 1926 was the decree given by which this private property in human beings throughout Kalat should cease to exist. The Baluchistan Administration thus succeeded in promoting the ideals of the Slavery Convention, and the 'Government of India sent its report accordingly to Geneva.

In Burma, on the eastern side of India, slavery is now nearly extinct. Turning to the continent of Africa, and to slavery in the vast Sudan, in the great northern provinces it is now almost entirely a thing of the past, and the same applies to the extreme south. In one or two of the central provinces 'd can still be found, but in the whole Sudan slave-raiding is becoming bygone history, and “domestic slavery” does not always deserve that term. Looking back once more to 1922, it is found that there were good grounds for the serious rumours that slavery was increasing in Africa, and it is therefore encouraging to visualise the freedom that has now been granted to thousands of persons iu the Sudan, in the mandated territory of Tanganyika, and other parts of Africa.

But there are still some extensive areas whore slavery has not been abolished. Abyssinia, a member of the League, is as yet unable to stamp out this custom and trade. Freedom has been granted to some of its slaves, but when the Government may be willing, individual chiefs fail to fulfil their duty as citizens of a signatory State of the League. Again, even although according to local ordinances slavery may be pronounced illegal, the recent case of the recaptured slaves in Sierra Leone brought to light the value of adherence to the Slavery Convention, and the possibilities of loopholes, or misty interpretations in national laws. As was announced in the Assembly of tin League of Nations and greeted with applause, this loophole will be stopped in Sierra Leone on Ist January, 1928. Geneva has declared itself in favour of “the complete, definite, and universal suppression of the status of slavery.” This can only be achieved by international action in legal terms founded on common principles. But the story of slavery does not end with Africa; in some Asiatic countries such as Thibet, it is still recognised, and in the States of Afghanistan and TTedjaz. Moreover, from the great Far East young girls are smuggled for sale in the Mecca pilgrimage. In spite of these facts, east and west, north and south, there is an instinctive factor in human psychology—dimmed though it may have become by centuries of serfdom —that would put an invaluable price on liberty, which is really the power to be free, and which is the rightful possession of every human being. National governments and international headquarters at Geneva need public support and candid information, and within a realisable future slavery should cease to exist.