HUMAN SLAVERY

Northern Advocate, 31 October 1932, Page 2

HUMAN SLAVERY

MANY MORE TO BE FREED,

EMANCIPATION ORIGIN

CENTENARY NEXT YEAR

(.1. 11. Harris, secretary of the

\nt i-Slavery Society.)

The year .1931 will be the centenary of the legal abolition of slavery within the British Empire. During the last week of duly and the first week of August, 18.1.1, the Bill for “the total

abolition of slavery in all its forms within the British Empire,” was passing through its final stages in the House of Commons. Down at Wimbledon during the same weeks the veteran abolitionist, William Wilberforce, was passing away, and died only a few days prior to the vote which decreed the freeing of 700,000 slaves. Horrors of the Slave Raid. One hundred years later the “Parliament of the World," the League of Nations, has embarked upon its undertaking to secure “the total abolition of slavery in all Its forms throughout the world. ” This attempt at , worldwide abolition has been carried through under the leadership of Great Britain. Millions of persons are secured and marketed to the accompaniment of every kind of cruelty and suffering. Take first the cruelty of the slave raids, the. records of which are now so A’oluminous. Sir Arnold Hodson has recently undertaken the responsible position of Governor of the British Sierra Leone territory, prior to which he lived and travelled in his capacity of British Consul in Abyssinia during the years 1914 to 1927. This record of service is in itself a guarantee of his authority. Marketing of the Bomlspeoplc. Writing upon the raiding of slaves for the market, Sir Arnold says: “It will be understood how my blood bolls whim I road articles or letters in the Press claiming that reports on the slave-trade are grossly exaggerated,” j and he tells us: “The method of raiding is to surround a village in the ( dark, the raiders blowing trumpets ami uttering bloodthirsty yells to stainpede the inhabitants. The huts are then fired, and the* old men and women ruthlessly speared or shot down as they rush out panic-stricken, only the younger one's being of sufficient value

to capture.-’’ The actual marketing of slaves today is carried through by selling them in very small numbers. Frequently

the sales take place in the houses or i: secluded spots off the beaten trad The enormous sales of slaves in Chin: which, according to a missionary o forty years’ experience, have in on case amounted to the sale of 4000 ii one town, are carried through b; slave-traders in private transactions. Open and Unashamed. Slave markets in Arabia —and it i; reported in one other territory—firi quite open for anyone to see. Perhapi the most illuminating instance of ai open slave market is that described b] the well-known Arabian traveller, Mr Eldon Rutter. In a letter to tin writer, dated April 23, 1931, he says:— "The slave market in Mekka is street leading to one of the gates ol the Great Mosque. At certain hour.' of the day male and female slaves arc made to sit on stone benches in fronl of the houses, so that the passers-by may inspect them. They are dressed in the gown worn by the poorer natives of the city, and the faces of the women are veiled. They lift their veils if requested to do so. Any closer inspection of a slave by a prospective purchaser takes place inside the slave-dealer’s'house. ” The Conference at Versailles created an entirely new interest in the work of abolition. The British Government showed considerable activity in territories under the influence of Groat Britain. The German Government had estimated that there were .185,000 slaves in Tanganyika; after the conferring of the Mandate a proclamation was issued setting all the slaves free. Liberations Recently Effected. In 1928, Mr. Amery brought about the freeing of 215,000 domestic slaves in the Protectorate of Sierra Leone. Sir Hareourt Butler set free some 7500 slaves in Burma. The Maharaja of Nepal, during the same period, liberated 57,889, making a total emancipation of 465,389 slaves. The forthcoming Centenary of British Abolition in 1933 presents a unique occasion for an expression of public opinion in Parliament and in iho pulpit, in support of the moral load svhich Groat Britain is giving at the present time in pursuance of her tralitional policy. It was public opinion .vhich has brought about the emancipation of 465,389 slaves within the ast ton years. If this pressure of public opinion can be maintained and ‘xtondod, wo shall assuredly see the ibolition of slavery throughout the vorld.