trade are still being carried on in Portuguese Africa. I have seen a shipload of slaves in Table Bay, being transported from the East Coast to the Cocoa Islands. In the west, while I was in Ovamboland, I obtained first-hand evidence of a village having been raided-the old folk and children were massacred, the young men sent to the coast in gorees' or slave-yokes, and the young women distributed among the troops as "nurses." On my recent journey in Barotseland I came across newlymade gorees, and they would not have been made without there being slaves on whom to use them.

"All the Ovambos know about these proceedings, and ugly talk is going on with respect to the white man's hypocrisy in all the villages. Some day, the Ovambos, say, they will lose patience, go over the border in a body and attack the Portuguese for their depredations against their kith and kin. What will be the consequence? The Portuguese will complain to the Union Government, a punitive expedition will be sent up, and these perfectly loyal natives will be shot down in droves-in order to allow the Portuguese to carry on their slave-trade unmolested.

"The thing has happened in the past. In 1915 the Portuguese sent a raiding expedition against the Ukuanyamas, who drove it off. An army was organised to bring the recalcitrant natives to reason, and this was ambushed by the astute natives, who captured the Portuguese 75 quickfiring gun. They actually fired this gun against our troops later. The Portuguese complained to the Union Government, an expedition was sent up under Col. de Jager, and Mandumi, the chief, and all his councillors were shot. The tribe was subdued, and has never had a chief since.

"Martin, the chief of the Ondongas, is recognised as the paramount chief of the whole Ovambo nation, the heads of the other tribes not showing any outstanding abilities. Martin is a genuine native king, a statesman and a man of high intelligence and vision, realising the limitations of the black man without resentment. He accepts the White Man's rule wholeheartedly, as a matter of policy, and is eminently sane on the whole question of the position of his nation. He gave a spontaneous exhibition of loyalty while I was in Ovamboland, by having a royal set of ivory discs carved, which he forwarded to His Majesty the King.

"The chief realises his position. His people are seething with indignation at what is happening to their cousins across the border, and Mandumi's fate is staring him in the face. One cannot help being sorry for such a man, black though he may be, but apart from sentiment a war with the Ovambos would be disastrous economically. These people supply the labour for the mines and railways of South-West Africa, so that a punitive expedition against them would be felt very severely throughout the Mandated Territory.

"The obvious remedy for this state of affairs is to rectify the boundary, as was done recently in the case of Ruanda, under similar circumstances.

Southern Rhodesia.

NATIVE JUVENILES' EMPLOYMENT ACT.

THE following letter has been addressed on behalf of the Society to the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs.

4th February, 1927.

SIR,-The attention of the Committee has been drawn to an Act recently passed by the Legislature of Southern Rhodesia, entitled the Native Juveniles Employment Act, 1926, which "shall not come into operation until the Governor has declared by Proclamation that it is His Majesty's pleasure not to disallow the same."

Under the provisions of this Act native juveniles, boys and girls, including those under the apparent age of fourteen, may enter into contracts of service; and should any juvenile be "without proper employment," the Native Commissioner may in the absence of a parent or guardian able and willing to take charge of such juvenile, " contract him" for a period of service not exceeding six months to any fit and proper person willing to engage him. When" contracted," the juveniles become liable to fines, and in the case of males, to summary whippings.

It appears therefore that quite young native children are enabled, if not constrained, to enter into contracts of service with Europeans, and that the child may contract unaided; no advice, explanation or consent of any parent, guardian, or person in loco parentis is necessary. It is true that the Native Commissioners may cancel a contract in certain cases, but no safeguards are prescribed by the Act in the child's interest at the time when the contract is made.

This is the more remarkable, as the legislature of Southern Rhodesia has appointed an officer in townships to advise and protect adult natives in their transactions with Europeans, and has prescribed that no contract of service with any native in these townships shall be valid unless registered, and that the registrar must satisfy himself that its terms have been fully understood by the native who contracts. It is strange that conditions that must be complied with in the case of adults should be dispensed with where children are concerned.

The powers given to a Native Commissioner by Section 6 are very drastic. It would seem that he may dispose of the juvenile practically as he thinks fit and without the juvenile's consent for a period of six months; and he might apparently contract him for a further period when the first has expired. Our Committee is aware that the Native Commissioners of Southern Rhodesia have established for themselves a reputation for their watchful interest in the welfare of natives, and it seems the more regrettable that they should become in any way agents for recruiting labour. In the important report upon native questions in Southern Rhodesia issued in 1910 and 1911, the most emphatic objection is registered

It

in paragraph 250 against Government officials taking any part in recruiting natives for labour purposes. The Committee of enquiry clearly states that any such practice would bring the Government into disrepute. We submit that the Native Commissioners will be placed under this Act in an invidious and undesirable position and that they will be obliged to discharge duties and assume responsibilities incompatible with their proper functions. is evident that it will be difficult, if not impossible, for the Commissioners in many cases to exercise proper supervision over the juveniles who contract or are contracted, and a system which would render the Commissioners directly or indirectly responsible for any abuses which may occur is open to the gravest objection.

The Committee finds it difficult to believe that in Southern Rhodesia, where, as elsewhere in Africa, a system of tribal responsibility is recognised, there can be any great number of friendless or destitute children. Our Committee thinks that the system instituted by this Act is in any case not the remedy best adapted to meet such an evil, where such evil exists. Our Committee would urge that such children if and when found should be placed in some institution, missionary or otherwise, but that in any case resort should not be had to a system which is in fact compulsory indentured labour.

It would appear that Section 12 has been inserted in the law in order to comply with the requirements of Section 28 of the Letters Patent of 1923, which provides that a law whereby natives are subjected to conditions to which persons of European descent are not also subjected, must either contain a clause suspending its operation, or be reserved for the approval of the King in Council. Our Committee earnestly hopes that it may not be too late to urge that in the present exceptional case the power of disallowance may be exercised.

We are, etc.,

TRAVERS BUXTON, Hon. Secretary.

JOHN H. HARRIS, Parliamentary Secretary.

P.S. Our attention has been drawn to the following statement made by the President of the Makoni Farmers' Association on December 4th last, as reported in the Rhodesia Herald of December 17th:

"An Act for the indenture of native juveniles had been drafted by the Government at the instance of the Association."

A reply has been received from the Dominions Office to the effect that the above letter was being referred to the Government of Southern Rhodesia, and a further communication would be sent to the Society on the receipt of their reply. But attention is invited to the answer of the Secretary of State to questions put in the House of Commons on the 14th and 15th February, in which it is made clear that his Majesty would not be advised to exercise his power of disallowance in respect of the Act.

Southern Rhodesia Natives.

THE recent address of Sir John Chancellor to the African Society on Problems of Southern Rhodesia, especially that of the Natives, is worthy of attentive consideration. The Governor began by emphasising the importance of the economic development of the Natives. Our Trusteeship for the backward and primitive races in the African colonies is, he said, now admitted "as an unassailable proposition by men of all political parties and of all shades of political opinion," and it was our solemn duty to do all we could to promote their moral and material welfare.

Beyond the admitted duty of protecting the native races, stopping tribal warfare and inculcating Christian principles, some further means must be taken of securing their welfare and development, which does not necessarily involve the abandonment of their tribal customs. We did not desire to make them "a poor imitation of white men with our weaknesses and faults grotesquely exaggerated, as happens when they do try to imitate us."

SEGREGATION.

Sir John Chancellor laid it down as a generally accepted conclusion by persons with knowledge of South African conditions that some measure of segregation is necessary, but absolute segregation of native races from contact with whites would be at once economically impracticable for both races, and disastrous. The native population should, however, have land assigned to them sufficient in area to enable them to live their own lives and develop self-government on lines congenial to their traditions and customs. On the other hand, with the waning of the authority of the chiefs, and the relaxation of tribal discipline, ambitious and advanced natives cannot be prevented from forsaking Kraal life for a freer atmosphere, and he was of opinion that it was to their own advantage and that of the country that natives should leave their reserves and work for Europeans on farms and mines. But the native must decide for himself, whatever our views on the matter were, whether he would cultivate on his own account, There was no royal road to solve the relations between white and primitive African races; justice, sympathy and common-sense must be applied firmly and consistently.

or work for a wage.

EDUCATION.

On the subject of Education in Southern Rhodesia, Sir John said that when the Chartered Company established industrial schools some years ago for training native instructors, they had to depart from the original intention, that no literary education should be given in them, for the natives declined to attend until the literary side was included, and not satisfied with instruction in simple building handicrafts, they insisted on being taught bricklaying and building instruction by methods used by Europeans. "They are now so taught," the Governor added, "and these schools are doing splendid work."

Slavery in Sierra Leone.

THE following extracts are taken from the speech of the Governor, Sir Ransford Slater, at the recent opening of the 1926-27 Session of the Legislative Council of Sierra Leone.

"Incomparably the most important measure enacted by this Council during the past year was the Ordinance passed on the 29th March last, prosaically entitled the Protectorate (No. 2) (Amendment) Ordinance, 1926, but which had for its object the acceleration of the disappearance of the system of domestic slavery which still exists in the Protectorate. I detailed the provisions of this measure in my last Address, and though there was some criticism of the Bill on the ground of its failure to provide for compensation in respect of slaves who were declared free, I am glad to be able to record that the Bill passed its second and third readings unopposed. The answer of Government to the criticism mentioned was that in no previous instance in the history of slavery reform was there any record of compensation being paid where the abolition of slavery was effected not by a single blow, but as in this case in the course of nature, by the liberation of ante nati on their master's death and of post nati from their birth. This Ordinance-the date of commencement of which was the 14th April, 1926-marks another instance of the traditional determination of His Majesty's Government to abolish all forms of servitude throughout the British Dominions.

"We have taken a big step towards increasing the productivity of labour by passing the recent measure for accelerating the disappearance of domestic slavery, but our resources are not yet sufficient to enable us to dispense with communal labour which, though perfectly legitimate, has many economic disadvantages."

Abolition in Kalat State.

It is announced by The Times correspondent that the action taken against slavery in Nepal and in the outlying parts of Burma are being followed by abolition in the State of Kalat in Baluchistan.

The Khan of Kalat for some time past has been anxious to perform a good deed, and, inspired by the British political officer at his Court, decided to realise his desire by liberating all the slaves in his dominions. Some of the tribal chiefs immediately supported him, but others in the more remote parts of the State at first made objections. They soon abandoned their opposition, however, and the Khan issued a proclamation on November 4th abolishing private property in male and female slaves throughout his State. Slaves who wish to remain with their masters may do so, but on wages. Slavery under which families could be sold apart has existed from very ancient times in Kalat, and its abolition is the culmination of the long-continued efforts of the Administration of Baluchistan to soften its rigours.