Progress in Pemba.

THE following account of the condition of the natives of Pemba island, sent by Mr. Theodore Burtt, of the Friends' Industrial Mission, one of our corresponding members, will be read with interest :

“It is necessary, for a right understanding of the situation in Pemba, to say a few words in reference to the past of those who have been freed from slavery. Comparatively few of them were the children of slaves, born in the island; most of them having been imported from the mainland. Those sold on to the Pemba plantations were by no means the pick of the East and Central African natives. Some were the thieves and criminals of various sorts who were sold by their chiefs to the Arab and Swahili slave dealers, others were prisoners of war, and many the result of slave raiding.

"With slavery, tribal authority disappeared, distinctive customs and folk-lore were forgotten. Marriage, family life and home ties were all destroyed. This mixed multitude of men, women and children from twenty or thirty different tribes and of many languages, were brought in native vessels to Pemba and distributed amongst the plantations. They were compelled to work for their owners, and from time to time were transferred from one place to another, in an unhealthy climate and a foreign country. Death reaped a big harvest, and the birth rate was very low.

"Nominal Mohammedanism, and customs more degrading than their own, were forced upon them; the latter were seized upon with avidity. The manliness of the men gave place to servility, deceit and craft. Womanhood was debased to the lowest depths, marriage was nil; her children, of whom but few survived, were the property of the master. Disease and vice were rife.

"Then, to this wretched multitude, came emancipation; (in my opinion) wrongly planned, tardily granted and badly carried out. But nevertheless it has come. Every kind of evil result was prophesied by those who opposed the change.

Naturally the slaves understood freedom to mean, deliverance from those things which bound them to their present lot: work, locality, law. authority and every kind of restraint. There was some slight effervescence of disorder, much moving from place to place, and not a little desire to get out of the island. But most of this was due to the lack of efficiency in the method of carrying out emancipation.

"The Arabs continue strongly in favour of slavery and would restore it at once if they had the power. Among the freed slaves there is still a deep-rooted fear, which is constantly encouraged by the Arab community that the English are here only temporarily and that the Waswahili may

yet again be brought under the power of their old masters, and then woe be to those who have followed the White-man.

"Certain characteristics of the Negro race are, of course, apt to manifest themselves; such as a disinclination to work unless it is absolutely necessary, a desire to wander about without any definite means of support, to adopt European dress and the consumption of cigarettes and foreign liquors, to exhibit a freedom of manner approaching impertinence as a set off to his former servility. Happily these things have not reached so objectionable a stage as might have been feared. Much watchfulness in this respect is needed both officially and from European civilians.

"On the whole the people have settled down to the new condition of things far more quietly than was anticipated. The fear that the clove crop, which, owing to a 25 per cent. export duty, is the mainstay of the Government's revenue, would not be picked by free labour, has proved groundless. Now that Pemba is no longer the land of slavery, Zanzibar pickers come freely to the island. To help with the 1913 harvest over 12,000 people were taken from Zanzibar to Pemba and back again free in the Government steamers; and the crop is now more thoroughly gathered by paid than it was by slave labour.

"In importing free labour every effort was made to keep the police out of sight and to trust the people. I have seen hundreds of men landed together on shambas adjoining the shore, from whence they made their way inland, without any disturbance or the need of official supervision. Also, recently quite a number of mainland natives, more especially Wakikuyu, have been coming over for work, and are much appreciated. This coming and going of free outside labour is doing much to break down the old prejudice against Pemba as the land of slaves. Freed slaves are still finding long-lost relatives in distant parts of the islands.

"Not only are the people showing a willingness to work for wages, but many of them are manifesting a natural desire to own and work small shambas for themselves. An incentive is thus created to save money in harvest time and (often with private assistance) to purchase plots of land, either containing clove and cocoanut trees, or uncultivated, according to the money at their command. This is resulting in a migration of labour from the Arabs' shambas on the West of the island to the less occupied districts on the East, and to other available parts. In harvest the small owners return freely to work in the clove plantations. Fresh land is being brought under cultivation, and clove trees and cocoanut palms are being planted for future generations. In almost every instance the small shambas owned by freed slaves are well cultivated, and the houses built thereon are far better than the old ones. The people appear to be orderly, happy and contented. The cultivation of the island by small ownerships should receive every encouragement.

Since the abolition of slavery the people have been able to obtain more food and clothing, and having erected for themselves better houses they live under improved hygienic conditions. All this has added considerably to their health and wellbeing.

"The administration of the islands has now passed from the Foreign to the Colonial Office and changes are in progress. A definite step forward has been taken by the recent prohibition of all native intoxicating liquors. This should add greatly to industry and good order. For the immediate future, much depends on the new Administration. It should ensure, or

at any rate encourage, education (in Kiswahili), sanitation, sobriety and social morality, and the security of movable and landed property. Laws establishing legal marriage and discouraging divorce, and so forming a healthy home life amongst all classes, are urgently needed. Until this receives attention the death rate will continue to exceed the birth rate, and true progress must inevitably be retarded."

The Society's Sierra Leone Auxiliary.

OUR local Auxiliary in Sierra Leone held a successful anniversary celebration at Freetown last year, when a number of influential public men were present and spoke. The report shows that the Auxiliary does good and necessary work for the native people. We add an extract from a report in the Sierra Leone Weekly News:

Dr. W. AWUNOR RENNER made the speech of the afternoon. As the saying is, the Doctor let himself go, explaining to the audience why it was necessary not only to do our duty to the Parent Body of the Local Auxiliary of the Anti-Slavery Society, but also to observe those rules which are promotive of the well-being of the Social Organism. Dr. RENNER believes that by adopting orderly and constitutional methods and by looking well to our own ways we could get those hindrances removed against which the Anti-Slavery Society are fighting so nobly on our behalf.

After Dr. RENNER, Canon WILSON Spoke some brave words of cheer, and delighted the meeting by the statement that he had that day decided to become a member of the Local Auxiliary.

There is every appearance that the work of the Anti-Slavery Society is getting to be understood and appreciated by our people, and that before long some ripe fruits of a harvest will appear. It is plain that what is greatly needed in Sierra Leone at present is the education of the masses. Indeed, many others who are not of the mass need much education themselves. This is the day of the Pulpit, the Platform, and the Lecture Room.

Thanks are due to the Local Auxiliary for arranging the anniversary just celebrated; yet we feel that public meetings should be oftener arranged by the Auxiliary whereby the people may be informed of what is being done in England for our welfare and what we should ourselves do that we may not be speedily engulphed. We must be up and doing; and we must not by any means be discouraged.

New Member of Committee.

WE are glad to announce that the Rev. C. E. C. LEFROY, formerly of Australia, has been appointed a member of the Committee of the Society. When in Australia, Mr. Lefroy was Archdeacon of Perth and General Secretary of the Board of Missions. He did valuable work in connection with the Australian Association for the Protection of Native Races, which was formed in Sydney about three years ago, and acted as its Honorary General Secretary. Mr. Lefroy became a corresponding member of our Society in 1912, and, being now resident in London, has consented, instead to join the Committee.

Reviews.

NATIVE TRIBES OF THE NORTHERN TERRITORY OF AUSTRALIA.

BY BALDWIN SPENCER.1

PROFESSOR BALDWIN SPENCER, of the University of Melbourne, was sent out by the Commonwealth Government on a scientific commission to the Northern Territory in 1911, and in 1912 he returned there for a year as Special Commissioner for Aboriginals. This book embodies the results of Professor Spencer's scientific observations and studies, which were carried out with great learning and thoroughness. In a preliminary report (which was noticed in these columns last year) giving an account of the aboriginals, their characteristics and condition, Professor Spencer made certain important recommendations as to general policy. The present volume is a record of his researches into the customs, beliefs, ceremonies, systems of totem, implements, art and traditions of these primitive peoples, and is a mine of information of the most valuable sort for students of anthropology and sociology.

The Northern Territory of Australia covers the enormous area of 520,000 square miles. It is, of course, as the map in this volume shows, very sparsely populated, but the number of aboriginal inhabitants is most variously estimated, as there are large areas where practically no white man has been. Professor Spencer thinks 50,000 is likely to be nearer the mark than the usual estimate of 20,000, which is a mere guess." The natives are not prolific, and their numbers are kept down by their constant feuds. Really old men or women are rarely seen, and the consequence of contact with outsiders, especially Asiatics, is that they are dying out fast. The aboriginals are divided into a large number of tribes, each speaking a distinct dialect and occupying a distinctly marked district; ownership is tribal, but within its range a local ownership of groups is recognized. Everything is communistic, even individual rewards for individual services being usually soon divided among the friends of the man who has won them, without regard for deserts. The ceremonies of initiation and

1 Macmillan & Co.

those of burial and mourning have been observed by Professor Spencer with great care and are described in detail in separate chapters, illustrated by photographs and diagrams of the proceedings and also by plates of articles used in connection with the ceremonies, which, as the preface states, give a better idea of the stage of culture and manner of life of the people than much description. The bodies of the dead are frequently eaten by the coast tribes on the Gulf of Carpentaria and other Northern tribes, the

(The figure represents a very special spirit," in form like a large bat.)

feast being regulated by strict custom, but information on the subject is difficult to obtain. Magic has an immense influence over the life and thought of the native; it is assigned as the cause of all pain and disease and of everything which is not understood, and elaborate ceremonies are practised for causing injury to enemies by magic and for magically imparting strength to weakly boys. These beliefs are the cause of mutual suspicion and distrust between members of different tribes.

One very striking belief which prevails over the whole of Central and Northern Australia, as well as among many Queensland tribes and in West Australia, is that new-born children. are minute spirits which are reincarnated in the mother from individuals who have lived before.

A chapter, illustrated by a number of plates, is devoted to native weapons and implements, including stone hatchets and knives, spears and clubs, and bark and grass baskets, while the final chapter, similarly illustrated, gives an interesting account of the decorative art of the aboriginals. The drawings on rock and bark, as shown in the illustrations, of animals. fish, etc., as well as of certain spirits, are striking; those of animals are always" anatomical," i.e., they represent the main features of the internal as well as the external structure.

The aboriginal is described by Professor Spencer as " a very curious mixture"; mentally a child, he is without self-control and strangely with