SLAVE A White Book was published in April containing correspondence extend- PORTUing over two years. From this we were glad to find that the process of GUESE reforms brought about in the labour conditions in the Islands, largely as the LABOUR. result of the scheme initiated by Lord Grey of Fallodon, has continued, and great improvements have unquestionably taken place. But the Committee felt that certain points emerged from the published despatches which showed that continued vigilance must still be exercised and anxiety felt, and that the words in Mr. Balfour's closing despatch to the British Minister in Lisbon that the conditions were " entirely satisfactory" could not be accepted to the full. The Society addressed a memorial to Mr. Balfour in May, calling attention to the admittedly high mortality among the labourers, the way in which re-contracting takes place, and the slow rate of repatriation which left not less than fifteen to twenty-five thousand of the originally recruited "old type of labourers," or "slaves," as Consul Hall Hall frankly called them, still on the islands. Attention was drawn to the absence of any census, which had been announced by the British Minister at the end of 1913 as being about to be taken. As regards recontracting, the official figures show great disparity between the number of Mozambiques and Angolans "recontracted." Mr. ViceConsul Cassells' despatches show that the recontracting of Angola labourers on the plantations cannot be confidently regarded as free. The Society pressed for a number of reforms before they could consider cocoa production as free from the taint of slavery." The announcement made shortly after the publication of the White Book that the British Cocoa firms, Messrs. Cadbury and others, had resumed the purchase of Portuguese cocoa, was contradicted as regards the firm named. Questions have been put in Parliament, and we have recently learned that a copy of the Society's memorial was sent to Mr. Hall Hall, who submitted a further report to the Government on the points raised by the Society. The British Minister at Lisbon has since been instructed to impress upon the Portuguese Government the advisability of introducing a census upon the Islands and of improving the present conditions of recontracting labour. These measures are strongly advocated by Mr. Hall Hall himself. LABOUR. A deputation from the Society waited upon Mr. Austen Chamberlain, INDIAN INthen Secretary of State, in May, urging certain considerations which the DENTURED Society considered important in view of the new scheme for Indian emigration promised by the India Office. The Committee emphasized the importance of the principle of colonization as opposed to a mere supply of labour, quoting Lord Salisbury's words that such emigrants should have the right of "potential citizenship." Other points were that agreements should be civil instruments in the fullest sense, without penal clauses attached for breaches of agreement, that the terms of contract should be shorter and that emigration should be by families, with special attention to the question of the number of women, which in the past has led to deplorable consequences. When the Inter-departmental Conference, which sat during the year under the chairmanship of Lord Islington, issued its report, it was satisfactory to find that the scheme embodied many of the reforms urged by the Society as well as of the recommendations of Messrs. Andrews and Pearson in their remarkable report on indentured labour in Fiji in 1916. The inden NATIVE EAST EMPIRE RE- MITTEE. AFRICANS THE tured system will be abolished and the new system is one of “ aided colonization" to encourage the settlement of Indians in the Colonies after a probationary period of employment and training; Criminal penalties for breaches of engagements between employer and employee are abolished; Protectors are appointed in India and in each Colony, grants of land are to be made available at once for labourers desiring to settle after the end of their term ; an Emigration Commissioner and licensed agents are appointed; the colonies to be visited every three years by an official sent out by the Governor of India; excellent provisions are made for housing, wages, medical treatment, education, etc. The Society's recommendations have been largely accepted. The Society has been in communication with the Colonial and War Offices in regard to the heavy mortality and other abuses amongst the native carriers compulsorily recruited in East Africa. In September a memorial was addressed to Mr. Long, commenting on the alarming statistics of mortality which were said to have reached between ten and fifteen thousand per month, and a sick rate of from sixty-five to eighty per 1,000 per month. It was pointed out that so abnormal a rate amongst labourers in the prime of life indicated some radical defect in the conditions or treatment of the labourers, or both, and a contrast was drawn between these abuses and the conditions obtaining among the voluntary African Labour forces brought to France, where, in spite of the change of climate, the rates of sickness and death had been strikingly low. It seems clear that natives were drawn from the Seychelles Islands and elsewhere entirely unsuitable for the work, and attention was drawn to allegations of ill-treatment amounting to little short of a scandal. The Secretary of State has had his attention personally drawn to the charges, and has expressed himself in favour of the establishment of Civil Government as soon as possible in the conquered country. Earlier in the year Mr. Long's attention was drawn to the many slaves in German East Africa, whose number was said to amount to 185,000. Mr. Long contended that it was not practicable, at present, to issue a proclamation for freeing these slaves, the territory being merely in British military occupation. The Committee continues to be seriously concerned with the proposals of Mr. H. Wilson Fox, the member for Tamworth. Mr. Fox, who is of course intimately associated with the Chartered Company of South Africa, advocates the policy of extending throughout the Dependencies a system of Chartered Companies with a view to developing their internal resources in the interest of Britain's war debt. It is quite clear that such a system cannot fail to prejudice native rights over land and virgin produce. The Committee had endeavoured to obtain assurances from Mr. Wilson Fox's Committee, but not only have these not been forthcoming, but every publication issued by Mr. Fox shows what a danger his proposals would constitute to every territory under the British Crown. The Committee has watched sympathetically the work of Lord SelIN EUROPE: borne's Committee, and has co-operated whenever possible in this good work. The appreciations of the Chaplains are very emphatic upon the help rendered COMMITTEE. to them in maintaining the welfare of the men under their charge. Captain Lennox, in acknowledging the arrival of large bales of woollen mufflers, added this personal note: "I wish to add a line to you, personally, to say how much I was touched by those fourteen large bales of mufflers which arrived yesterday, and by the thought and the kind efforts of so many workers whom we shall never have the opportunity to know and thank personally. I wish you to know how their work and kindness are appreciated." Amongst the "Comforts" sent to the Labour Corps are nearly 20,000 woollen mufflers, 1,000 musical instruments, 10,000 copy and exercise books, nearly 1,000 hymns books and Bibles, and large quantities of pens, pencils and writing materials. Marquees have been supplied in which to hold religious services and night schools, and bicycles have been sent out to the Chaplains to facilitate their visits to surrounding camps. The Welfare Committee posts to each camp every week a complete set of illustrated papers, and these we understand are highly valued by the Africans. The Annual Meeting was held on April 24, when special stress was laid ANNUAL upon the dangers involved in the proposals of the Empire Resources Develop- MEETING. ment Committee, and the action which the Society had taken in regard to African labourers brought to France. Sir Herbert Sloley, formerly Governor of Basutoland, gave an account of his visit to the Battalions near Dieppe and elsewhere. The President and Secretaries towards the close of the year visited comEdinburgh and Glasgow and met the Committees in each of these cities, MITTEES IN addressing them on the work which the Society is doing. SCOTLAND. During the year Mr. and Mrs. Harris have continued their public lectures LECTURES. in Newcastle, Plymouth, Leeds, Nottingham, Bristol, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Manchester and Glasgow. The audiences have been invariably large and influential, whilst a reference to the Cash Account of the Society will shew that these efforts of our Organizing Secretaries have also been of material financial advantage to the Society's funds. The names of Mr. W. CAREY MORGAN, Mr. W. B. GIBBINS and the new VICE-PRESIBISHOP OF HEREFORD have been added to the list of Vice-Presidents. Mr. DENTS COMMITTEE, Morgan has long been a member of our Committee, and, as the Society's ETC. Solicitor, has rendered most valuable service. Dr. Hensley Henson has been a member of the Society for some years, andɲwe welcome his name in addition to that of the former Bishop, the venerable Dr. Percival, who has long been associated with us. We are fortunate in having succeeded in securing Mr. CHARLES H. ROBERTS, M.P., as Vice-Chairman of the General Committee. Mr. Roberts was Under-Secretary for India in the late Government and will be remembered as the very able Chairman of the House of Commons Putumayo Select Committee in 1913. Three new members have been elected to the Committee :-Mr. J. H. OLDHAM, Secretary of the Edinburgh Continuation Committee; the Rev. W. GOUDIE, of the Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society (appointed in place of Dr. Henry Haigh, whose death occurred during the year); and Miss S. MARGERY FRY. The Society has lost a number of valued members during the year. Of OBITUARY. its Committee, etc., three members have been removed by death-the Rev. Dr. Haigh, who had only recently joined us; Sir William Byles, M.P.; and Mr. J. G. Alexander, a Vice-President. Mr. Alexander had been closely associated with the Society for over forty years, and his failure of health and death in February, 1918, has caused a serious gap in the ranks of our veterans. Among other deaths are those of Bishop Johnson, of the Niger Delta, who was President of our Auxiliary in Lagos and had long been a Corresponding Member of our Society; the Rev. Dr. George Brown, the well-known pioneer missionary in the South Seas, and Vice-Chairman of the Australian Native Races Association; Col. J. W. Scott and Mr. Arnold Wynne, Secretary of the Native Affairs Society of South Africa, who were killed in action in France; Miss Martineau, Mr. T. H. Barker, of Liverpool, Mrs. Carr, Mrs. Walker, Sir William Wedderburn, Miss S. A. Alexander, whose brother was Treasurer of the Society in early days, and Canon Scott Holland. |