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worth that this female slave was not amenable to Hocal laws while in the Consulate, but that when she be lawfully seized and restored to her out she might that, Mr. Longworth called the
Mr. Upon
and, in his own words, " told her plainly that she return to her master." The cause of freedom would vanced if that House would join in reproving Mr. th for this flagrant disregard of the rights of woman and the British flag. (Hear, hear.) The
"The excitement and terror caused
au!
Raid,
words on this poor woman was beyond description
contrasted Mr. Longworth's dealings in this matter that of the Vice-Consul at Angora in a case chocoured lately of a slave girl named Hofhedr Fowner was about to sell her to some nomad Kurde Ishe took refuge at the British Vice-Consulate. Lord anville telegraphed, :- If the girl takes refuge at the e-Consulate she should not be given up."
It would be
was
ically universal in European and Asiatic Turkey and to quote much evidence to show that slavery Krypt. There was a public slave market at Mecca, and bre was a slave trade carried on by private brokers in ry city of the Turkish and Persian Empires, including operations, he held, ought to be directed
Our
inst the demand for slaves. We were attempting the sible when we aimed at the abolition of slavery by ing off the supply of Ves, while in every Mossulman , except those of ladis and of Algeria, the demand for yes was maintained. What a most painful contrast there shetween effort and resalt when we compared the brave of Captain Brownrigg with the fearini report that loss than 8,000 mutilated males were annually im-
He
ted into Turkey and Egypt. Oonsul Barton truly said closing the Red Sea and hanging slave manufacturers ould not arrest slave importation into Egypt and Turkey that the absolute abolition of the legal status of very was the only effectual messure to adopt. sted the House would be of that opinion, and that the efforts of the Government would be directed to that He believed that he had seen slavea imported ander British flag from Egypt to Turkey and from Turkey Morocco, the slaves being entered as servants of the are with whom they were travelling. The representa re of Portugal reported that from the single province of essmbique there was an average export of from 2,000 to 1000 slaves per annum. There could be no doubt that wo great centres of the slave trade were the cities known Mecca the venerated and Medina the resplendent," where by
An exception to the capitulations, no power could ce Consuls, Slavery was practised all over the coast the Persian Gulf. It was not uncommon for slaves to ke refuge on British vessels in those waters, but they We sometimes restored to their owners on the recom mendation of the British political Residents. In fact, il observation led him to believe that a fugitive slaze
aking refuge in a British ship had a better chance of escape if the British Crown had no representative on the shore from which he had fled. In conclusion, he expressed an earnest hope that the European Powers would make strenu efforts to procure the abolition of the status of slavery. Hs hoped all the Powers of Europe would unite with England in adopting a more robust attitude in opposition to slavery, so that we might hope at no very distant date secure the abolition of that most grievous traffic.(Hear.) SIK O. DILKE said his hon. friend the Under-Secre tary for the Colonies would answer that which formed the main portion of the speech of the hon member for North- apton. He should like to say a few words in answer to what had fallen from the hon. member for Salford on one point that had not been touched by the hon. member for Northampton. The first complaint of the ton, member for Salford was that there had not been a general distribu- Hon of slave trade papers. Previous to the year 1851 2,000 copies of those papers were printed. The expense did not sem to be justified by the amount of interest taken in those papars by the public. The number of the copies was reduced in 1862. Alterations were made in the number of printed copies in subsequent years. From 1862 to the present year 900 copies had been ordered. If another change was to be made on the subject he thought it ought to be this that such papers only as were asked for should be printed. The hou, member for Salford made an attack, not upon evidence, upon Consul Longworth. The fact was that a very large number of slaves had been emanci- pated through the exertions of that gentleman. (Hear.) That was shown by the papers themselves. As regarded domestic slaves employed or seeking refuge on "board British merchant vessels in territorial waters of States in which the status of slavery was recognized by law, the language of the motion was so vague that, if adopted, it would prevent the restoration by a naval or consular officer of any fugitive slave to his master, whatever might be the circumstances of the case. If such a rule were adopted it would be in violation of the principles of inter mational law; domestic slaves would dock to our ships; enormous claims of compensation would arise; and riots and hostilities would necessarily ensue. (Lear.) In the discussion which took place in 1876 on the slave trade circular, the present Judge-Advocate said "The Attorney-General bad argued that merchant ships were liable to the law of the territory in whose waters they were proposition which no one denied." And the present Home Secretary id:"The first circular was founded on a supposed obli gation on the part of a ship to submit to the fecal law of the port. If that was so, all he could say was that they reduced the Queen's ships to the condition of a merchant vessel, because that was the situation of a merchant Tessel," "Merchant vessels were not extra-territorial within the waters of foreign States." As regarded British merchant vessels, it was well known that a slave did not obtain his freedom by having been on board a private ship, And that a slave who had come to this country or who had been on board a British ship
the high seas, when he re- turned to the place where he had been a slave, resumed,on so doing, his condition as a slave. It could scarcely be sup posed, therefore, that the motion was intended to apply to cases in which fugitive slaves were returned by Her Ma- jesty's naval and consular officers to the local authorities, although thereby retained in or consigned to domestic slavery." It might be that what was meant was that no British official in whom might be vested the exercise of inrisdiction over natives in a country where the status of domestic slavery existed should recognize such status and ve any decision whereby such natives should be re- tained in or consigned to slavery. But when could that happen? If the hon. member referred to the proba- bility of some of the officers of the Borneo Company being ande British Consula, while the status of domestic slavery was recognized by the law of that country, and would
MI
point out that officers might be called upon to enforce that law while holding Her Majesty's consular commis sion, he (Sir C. Dilke) would explain that the status of domestic slavery would only exist (pending its gradual ex- tinction) among the natives. There were courts of justice for the natives, in whick that status would, no doubt, be recognized by the judicial officers who might preside over them. There would necessarily be also courts of justice for foreigners, and in these the status of course, not be recognized. It was not contemplated that slavery would, of consular appointments should be conferred on any officer of the
company who would justice established for the natives; consequently the state
preside over
the courts of of things which the hon. member deprecated would not arise, as no officer of the company holding Her Majesty's consular commission would be called upon to recognize the status of domestic slavery or have it in his power to retain in or consign anybody to slavery. In conclusion, he could only say that this subject was not only of general interest, but was one of the highest interest that could be brought before the House. No one could ever maintain that hon. members were not entitled to bring the subject before the House from time to time, and certainly nothing but good could result from the minds of hon, members being directed to it. It had always been the policy of this country, and he believed it would continue to be ita policy, to take steps for the auppression of slavery. (Hear.) Mr. A. M'ARTHUR could not regret that the subject had been brought before the House. He read several extracts from the Blue-book on the question to show that a system of slavery had been practised in the neighbour- hood hood of Hongkong, not only for domestic purposes, but case of women, for much viler uses. The highest praise was due to the Governor, Sir John Pope Hennessy, for the efforts which he had made to counteract these evils. It was true, as the Governor had pointed out, that a distinction should be drawn between the binding of and girls to domestic service which was practised in that buys part of the world sad actual slavery. But the Governor had done all he could to vindicate English
ideas and to prevent the importation into
colony of Chinese notions on the question
an mestic service, and had laid down the principle that the parent was entitled to the support and aid of his children. There could be no doubt that slavery did exist in Hong- kong, although it was prohibited by English law. He trusted that the inquiry which was going to be held by Lord Kimberley into that matter would be made by im partial persons. He attached considerable importance to that debate, because he thought there were indications that we were not so vigorous in our efforts against slavery as we formerly were. (Hear.)
of
Mr. COURTNEY thought it would be admitted that it had always been the desire of recent Governments to use their influence to prevent, not only slavery, but every- thing approaching thereto. The hon. member for North- ampton did not appear, however, to be of that opinion, and he had brought a charge against the Government, which seemed to have no foundation whatever. He must point out to the House that the hon. member had brought an extraordinary accusation against the Government. Ka said that he was credibly informed that slavery existed in Lagos. But he had not deamed it necessary to adduce a single fact or circumstance in support of that statement. How was it possible that the Government could meet such * charge as that? He should have thought that it would have been the duty of the hon. member, before bringing such a charge to make inquiry as to its correctness. (Hear, hear,) It was the belief of the Government that slavery had ceased to exist, not only in Lagos, but in all the other places to which the hon. member raferred. Every attempt to revive it had been checked and punished by all recent Governments. The hon. member complained that there were no papers on the subject. But several papers were published in reference to the West Coast of Africa in 1875, and many others dealing with other places had also been published from time to time. The hon. member surely could not require that papers on that sub ject should be issued year by year, when no fresh case of any description had arisen. As regarded the question of slavery in the Malay States, however, some corres poudence with the Governor of that district was in existence, and would be shortly laid before the House. The hon. member for Northampton said he was going to rest his observations upon a substantial foundation-upon the remarks of Chief Justice Smale, and not upon the statement of any newspaper correspondent. He thought the hon, member ought to know the value of newspaper correspondents (hear, hear), though he seemed to speak somewhat slightingly of them. The fact was the hon. member used the word "slavery" with some degree of looseness. His remarks ohiefly referred to Hongkong, and to the slavery in existence there. But, as a fact, the state of things in Hongkong, though, no doubt, deplorable, did not amount to slavery. Slavery he defined to be a condition of life in which one person was held under the authority and compelled to work for and full the will of another in such a way that the subjugated person could not escape, which condition, also, the law of the country enforced. He defined slavery so, and so, indeed, it was. Nothing of the kind existed in Hongkong, because in that city the English law prevailed. The hon. member for Northampton considered the whole strength of his position to lies in the fact that people were so bought and sold for the purpose of prostitution. Now, there were special laws in Hongkong affecting purchases and sales for that pur- It was enacted in 1875 that the sale or purchase of a woman or child for the purpose of prostitution, or the harbouring of any woman or child for that purpose, should be a misdemeanour. Every person, therefore, who affected to buy or sell or to hold out that any woman or
of child had been bought or sold for the purpose prostitu tion was guilty of a misdemeanour. There was a vest number of people who were bought and sold for other pur poses, and such sales constituted no offence. It was so in England. They all knew of the common sensation of husbands selling their wives in Smithfield, and how the practice was not unknown even at the present day. The transaction, however, was a pure nullity. That was the state of facts as at present existed in Hongkong, and perhaps it might be the concomitant of a very dangerous state of society; but when they remembered tha
the centre of situation of Hongkong, placed in
,༣ teering population that could with difficulty obtain a livelihood, they could not be surprised at it. In quoting the petition of the Chinese inhabitants of Hongkong with the view of showing how rotten public I opinion there was, the hon. member for Northampton
pose.
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