BOOKS OF THE DAY

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 18817, 21 September 1935, Page 9

BOOKS OF THE DAY

Explorer’s Account Of Abyssinia As It Is To-Day

ABYSSINIA is a world topic, and it is fortunate that at this juncture the second edition of “The Last of Free Africa,” bv Gordon MacCrcagh, is published. 'The author is. an American, and the fact that at times bo is critical of Groat Britain, 1 ranee and Italy does not lessen the value of liis book. Mr. MncCreagh is an experienced traveller and explorer, and his journevings in Abvssinia were not only prolonged, but'lie met the Emperor and other celebrities, and gives a fascinating account of Abyssinia as it is to-dav. One of tho most interesting sections nf Mr. MacCrcagh \s book is that which deals with slavery. The Emperor, as is well known, is dotcimined 10 enforce its abolition, and while the process may be slow, the author is convinced that the Emperor’s policy is wise. lie writes: —

“Civil war there would bo in Abyssinia with 24 hours ot the signing of an edict of abolition. . . ■ Abyssinia lias grown up with a tradition and exists upon institutions based upon live thousand years of slavery. A. mode ot life built upon institutions as old ns till that cannot be rooted out of its sleepy comfort by the more signing of an edict. '“There tire powerful chiefs in the grain and cotton-bearing south and south-west of Abyssinia whose very existence depends upou slave labor for their plantations. Every family in the country, even tiio.se of quite moderate circumstances, must rely upon domestic slaves to carry on the manifold hand labor of the household —spinning, weaving, grinding corn, drawing water from deep and distant wells —even as did our own south before, ilie days of swift transportation mill electric kitchens. “All these people would tight, be lore, relinquishing the necessities id their lives —even as did our own .south. ••Will Die Out with the Present Generation.” “Therefore it is that the ITinco Regent has issued tut edict which commands. that those who have slaves may keep them. But that no man may buy or sell or in any manner trade in slaves and that children born of slaves shall be automatically free from the moment of birth. This larsighted ruling means that slavery will die out with the present generation; quietly, without disturbance, letting the country readjust its mode of living gradually' as the new conditions will demand. . . .

‘.‘Some of tho regulations for the protection of slaves are interesting. “A slave, if he thinks that he is being cruelly treated, may bring a charge to that effect against his master before judges appointed tor that purpose. It the charge is upheld by the court, tho slave —the wording is significant —‘has the right to be freed,’ if he wishes. “If a slave runs away front his master, he may not be arrested anywhere within the confines of the country. But if he arrives at a frontier post without papers of liberation he is to be bold and a message is to be sent to his master, who is then allowed eight days to come and fetch hint; failing which, tho slave ‘has the right to be freed.’ In a country where the frontier may be a journey of a month’s hard travel tho slave, it would seem, has a pretty fair chance of becoming his own master. “What would not Uncle Tom and Eliza or Huek Finn's nigger have given for a chance one-tenth as good? ... “If a slave should be sold, or in any way conveyed to another person, that, fact, alone is sufficient to free him. Except that a man may leave his existing slaves to his son by will. Should a man die intestate, all his slaves become free. There are dozens of different ways by which a slave, under the prince regent’s new edict, may acquire that right to be freed. “Lot us accord just a little justice io Ethiopia and look unce more into facts. The Prince’s Edict. “This is what the prince’s edict

has to say about slave raiding. Any person buying or selling or in any way trading in slaves shall be lined, for t lie first offence, £IOO and shall bo sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment. For the second offence, life.

“Further, the governor of the ■province in which such offence might be committed shall be lined £OO the first timetnis a penalty for not regulating his province better; £IOO the second time; and should it happen a third time, lie shall be deprived of iiis governorship. The chief of the district and the chief of the tribe implicated shall be punished in proportion.

“If a similar ruling were to be applied to some of our own officials responsible for the maintenance of our country’s laws, J. cannot help feeling that we might have lower bootleggers and gunmen.” As to the result of any war between Abyssinia and Italy, Mr. MaeCrcagh has no doubts. On this issue he sttvs:

“There need be no manner of conjecture as to the ultimate victor. Of course, Italy will win. Why so sure.’ Because Italy and England and France, through their arms embargo, have been making quite certain for the last 20 years that whichever one of them might have this war would very surely win. “A review of some of the less familiar facts about Ethiopia will hear out my quite blatant certitude. “Ethiopia lias, roughly, ten million people. Italy has, roughly, five times that number. An armed ami organised nation of ten million people might well constitute quite a lighting force. . . .

“After estimating that there are 250,000 good guns with 100 rounds for each, the author reviews the guns.

“A good SO per cent, of them are what the Ethiopians call ‘ foogigras,’ their crude corruption of the French fusil Gras. These guns-—rifles— were discarded not so long .after the I Tancn-Prussia a War and were ship pod wholesale In Africa, the only country simple enough to value I hear. ••Ethiopia absorbed her share ot i hem. That was before the embargo. Before old King Menelek’s defeat of the Italians at A down —which stain must be wiped from the escutcheon ot the Caesars. Before Europe sat up sudden I v and took notice ot this hitherto obscure African menace.

Cartridges as Money Tokens. “The cartridges for those SO per

emit, of ‘foojigras’ are, to-day, right now, SO per cent, of them, the. same identical ones that, came in with the guns! So let some military expert figure out how good, they are, “Those cartridges have been .hand od down from father to son. Not as ammunition. As money. They tire actually a medium of exchange. Jn outlving portions of tin' country, people will not accept good silver coin

of tho realm—it might be counterfeit. How may an illiterate back-junglc-dwcller toll? But a ‘foojigras’ cartridge is a solid, weighty shell of unmistakable brass with a buying power —dependent upon distance from the capital—of as much as 50 eggs, or a sheep, or a day’s sustenance for five men of one’s safari.

“So there’s 80 per cent, of Ethiopia's ‘armament.’ And not in flipjnint exaggeration. In all lamentable

“The remaining 20 per cent.? Nobody knows just what or exactly how many. For the very good reason thtit it consists of such weapons as have been smuggled into the country past the embargo. “Quite a deal of hooey has been written about the ‘natural defences’ of Ethiopia. True, there is only one •road’ into the country—the railroad, French, and neutral, as yet. . . . But in those days of caterpillar tractors and army tanks alt of Africa is a broad road—in season. Moaning the drv season. Anv talk of tortured

•foot sloggiu’ over Africa’ from water-hole to far water-hole is rubbish. A river, the ITawash, passes within half a day’s horseback ride from Addis Ababa and. ends up in a lake only three days’ journey from Italian Eritrea. ’ ’