WHITE SLAVE TRAFFIC.

White Ribbon, Volume 19, Issue 222, 18 December 1913, Page 1

WHITE SLAVE TRAFFIC.

(Continued.) It is imp* ssiblc in the shoit spae e of a paper like this to give the history of even what ha> been tried in India. “To the abolitionists in England belongs the credit of continuously and persistently pointing out the folly of attempting to stamp out disease while vice is ignored, or even ein ouragcd. And it is inteiesting to note the change* m the adviee now given by the C i mmander-in C hief. All the enlier advice was t » avoid vice because *<»f “the deplorable consequences likely to result from contagion ” The later advic e says: “I am told that son e of you are under the i 1111 ression that you max visit the bazaar with the approval o* the responsible authorities, because it has been found necessarx to take certain pre nations to invent the spread ol contagious and infectious diseases in the imty of cantonments. 1 can assure \ou that tins view is alto g ether wroi g. M> wish, and that of all who are truly interested in your welfare, both moral and physical, is that you should do ycui best, with the* help and encouragement of your oth cers and religious advisers, to live up to the* higher ideal of purity and honour, and abstain from self-indul-gence in any form. I Itis Rives a little hint of the < hanRC that is taking place* in India, and the statistics of admissions to hospital for venereal disease are eloquent. In 1884 the admissions amongst the British troops in India were 4L5.4 per 1000; from then they continued to rise, with one or two fluctuations, until in iS<)5

they reached 544.3 per thousand, over 50 per cent.; since then they have steadily dropped, until in igoej theV were (>7.q per luoo, under 8 per cent. At the* same time much still remains to be done in India, as elsewhere. In tin* la-t number of “The Shield/’ the official organ of the Hritish Committee of the International Federation for the* Abolition of Nice, it is stated: “In Bombay, as in all great seaports, prostitution is very rife. In various streets the* women —native. Japanese, and Kuropcan live close together in hundreds. Their houses are brilliantly lit np, the* windows are open, and have only thin gauze or bead curtains. In the evening, when the street 11attic is slackening, the women stand before the* doors and actively solicit. A number of Kuropcan women are to lx* found in these quarters, and wluw . ' the tropical « liinate and widespread diseases, they speedily become wrecks. A brisk trade in women is conducted through a certain Portuguese port, and there ;ire always fresh supplies to meet the demand. An attempt to succour some ol these unfortunates has been made by two energetic Knglish women, who have founded a little res< in* home, where 10 or 14 can al ways be sheltered. “Practically nothing has been done to alleviate the misery of the native women. In every town hundreds are dedicated to service in the temples, a mysterious office which has never been satisfactorily explained.” A beginning has already been made with schools and settlements conducted by, in some cases Kuropcan, and in others by native women, to help these

women and girls, amongst which is mentioned Pandita Ramabai, who has a home at Poona tor _’ooo widows Of Calcutta, it is said that “the Indian prostitutes nunibei 14,471, viz., 14,84! in Calcutta, and 144; in the suburbs.'' Large as 1- this number, it is 4040 less than the return of igoi. 1 he prostitutes ol Calcutta represent 4} per cent, of the total female population, and 41 pi r cent, of the* women, who return themselves as engaged in any occupation. 1 he actual number i> probably even greater, as it is not every prostitute who is hardened enough to proclaim herself as such. Many describe themselves euphemistically as maid se rvants. In Calcutta “the trade in Kuropcan prostitutes is said to be a highly complex organisation, with wealth and brains behind it, with operating centres in various parts of the world.” The Vigilance Committee (New \oik) claims to have reduced the* number ot Kuropcan 1 institutes b\ about 50 per tent. I hetV are no Knglish prostitutes, as they arc sent back to Kngland as soon as they are known to the police. ’’ In Ceylon much ha' been, done during this >c*ar, largclx through the work of tin British Committee of I.F.A.S.K.V. “In less than two months. . . . the whole face of thing' was altered.” “On January 31st.” writes Mr Cowen, the Vigilance Society held a meeting of thanksgiving to Almighty (iod for the* c losing of brothels. At that date* not one of the houses against which the* deputation protested had been closed, and a semi-official denial of any su< h impending action by the

police had appeared in a Colombo paper. But almost immediately removals began, and by February 7th every foreign house of ill-fame in Reclamation Road was closed and in darkness. One brothel remained open a few days longer, kept by a notorious Sinhalese and his female consort, who have been established in this road as procurers for over 20 years. But this house also, after its long and terrible career of villainy, was emptied, < loscd, and padlcx ked by February qth.” All this ha> been done without any prosecutions. The keepers and inmates were simply advised to leave by the police, and did so; no ebullition of feeling such as was feared, no disturbance from anyone. These were all Government-licensed brothels. Some of the foreign women have left the island; others have moved to other houses, but the contrast is striking. “Instead of a street full of well-built Kuropean houses, brightly lit, with piano-playing, dancing, drinking, and much vivacity of a sort . . . a few fugitive places . . . one-storey huts . . . dark, dismal . . . an occasional lamp . . • vice i*' made loathsome instead of alluring.” This has not been done in a year. In ISS9 the Ceylon Government enacted an ordinance for the suppression of brothels. It is not clear if it was ever enforced, but of late year" it has been entirely ignored. For over four years the Colombo Vigilance Society has been drawing the attention of the Governor and (iovernment to the existence of these houses. Letters and memorials were sent to all concerned. “In iqio the Governor replied to a memorial, saying that he was satisfied, from the report of the Inspector of Police, that the system adopted in Ceylon was the best possible.” Attempts had been made to secure the abolition of thc"C places by quiet .silent methods, but these failing, it was found necessary to turn the light of publicity upon the cesspools. A weekly periodical, the “Christian Watchman,” was started, in which the names of the keepers of the houses, as well as the owners, were openly referred to, and their character clearly indicated, so that there was no room for uncertainty in the matter. “One of the most effective methods was the picketting of the street by

volunteer workers, who endeavoured to dissuade customers, and sometimes held open-air Gospel services in the street. As a result it was reported that 75 per cent, of the visitors went away without entering the houses. As evidence of the result of this picketting, the “Watchman” published from time to time extracts from the diary of one of the pickets, detailing exactly what happened, with the precise time, including such points as who came into the street, what the police were doing, what transpired at the house", or at the doors. Mrs Human, an Englidi lady resident in Ceylon, who is one of the honorary secretaries of the Vigilance Society, conceived the courageous and humane idea of taking up her residence in Reclamation Road, the street. After much difficulty she secured a house, w hi< h had at one time been u>ed as a brothel ... in order to exclude competition.” To many these may seem strong measures, and likely to rouse a good deal of feeling, but they were undertaken by earnest Christians, who took as their motto, “Behold, 1 have given you authority to tread upon serpent" and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” Latest advices say that there is evidently a complete reversal of the old toleration of brothels. The Colonial Sec rotary ha> written to the Secretary of the Ceylon V igilance Society that any place that is known to be an organised brothel will or has been closed. Later a similar c learance has taken place in Kandy, largely through the* influence of Mr Cowen, one of those responsible for the work in Ceylon. In China, in 1X56, brothel slavery was the- subjec t ot official action by the British Government. The report said of Hong Kong: “Young girls of 13 or 14 are brought from Canton or elsewhere as a regular matter of business for large sums of money. . . . The unfortunate creatures obviously form subject* of speculation to regular traders. ... In most of the houses the inmates are more or less in debt to the keepers. . . The brothel keepers arc' supported by capitalists. . . . The fact of licensing gives the keepers a sort of official authority. . . . . They boast of the protection of the inspectors.”

In 1 .S7B a memorial was presented by Chinese merc hants in Hong Kong, praying to be allowed to form an as sociation for suppressing kidnapping and traffic in human beings. A “Chinese Society for the Protection of Women and Children” was shortly afterwards founded, and was formally sanctioned by Lord Kimberley in 18X0. This Six iety deserves commemoration as one of the earliest organisations for suppressing the traffic. Its objects were in some important matters an antic ipation of the International Agreement for the same puprose, which was prepared at the official conference held in Paris in iqou. Those objects were: — 1. The restoration to their homes of all women or children decoyed or kidnapped into the colony for the* purposes of prostitution; 2. The maintenance of women and children pending investigation; 3. The establishment of a Refuge; 4. The propagation among the Chinese of a knowledge of English law on kidnapping and slavery ; and 5. The boarding of vessels for the discovery of traffickers and their victims. We have dealt first with what has been done in India, because the information concerning that country is of an earlier date than any the* writer has been able to secure about Eng land and Europe. (To be Continued.)