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Slavery. there, and sell their children in order to have money with which to return. This is confirmed by other witnesses who have also seen the same thing in regard to the Mecca pilgrims. There is no doubt that Arabia is one of the most difficult parts to deal with. It is very scattered and there is a difficult population to deal with and control.
As regards Liberia to which I referred, my noble friend Lord Lugard 1 believe proposes to deal specially with that. Therefore, I will not say anything in regard to that position, but I think that we who are interested in the question of slavery are very much indebted to Dr. Christy for his examination and report, and that of his colleagues, into the ques- It certainly tion of slavery in Liberia.
came as a shock to many of us, on read- ing his very courageous and outspoken report, to find how rife slavery was there and how little it was objected to by those in power. I think the result of his report was that the President and some of his Government immediately resigned and another Government took their place. It is probably unique that the report of a private individual should upset a Govern- ment in such a manner as that.
The position is a difficult and a delicate one, and is complicated with international considerations. It must be cautiously handled, especially as to how far the present economic position and financial obligations are compatible with expendi- ture which is necessary in order to free slaves. I do not propose to embark upon that matter. It is at present in the hands of the League of Nations, who are send- ing a Commission to inquire further, and see how far Dr. Christy's proposals can be used in order to meet the position in Liberia.
From these somewhat sombre views of the present position I turn to what is really a great step which has been taken in recent years, and which, if carried further, as it will be, will enormously improve the whole position and bring slavery much more rapidly and effectively to an end than anything that has hitherto been done. In the old days the question of slavery was one for each State itself to consider. It has now been put on an international basis. We have, instead of the individual country, the nations as a whole prepared to deal with it. Instead of having an individual conscience we shall have what I may call an inter-
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national conscience on the matter. need not give in detail the history of how this question has arisen in the League of Nations, and how we have worked up to the present position. Noble Lords who will conversant with the matter remember that the first step was taken in 1922 when it was proposed by an English delegate, Sir Arthur Steel Maitland, that the question of slavery should be taken in hand by the League of Nations. The Temporary Commission to which I hav already referred was created and it went exhaustively into the question. Finally this step resulted in the presentation by the noble Viscount, Lord Cecil, of the Draft Convention for the acceptance of the Assembly. That Convention was dis- cussed and amended, and came into force about two years ago. It is not alto- gether perfect, but it contains a declara- tion in favour of the abolition of slavery, and makes suggestions for bringing it about, and it may be regarded as an invaluable step forward.
That is the present position, and we are now proposing to proceed a little further. The first international steps were the Berlin Act of 1885, the Brussels Act of 1890, and the Treaty of St. Ger- main in 1919. Those were negotiations between a few States and only for speci- fic objects. What I venture to say is a far more important step and one to which the League of Nations has agreed, is contained in the first Article of this Convention, which pledges all the con- tracting countries to prevent and sup- press the slave trade, and to bring about as soon as possible the complete aboli- That tion of slavery in all its forms. has already been signed by forty nations including and this is an interesting point-the United States of America. It is the first Convention they have signed proceeding from the League of Nations, and they were one of the first to sign that Convention. That is the position, It is proposed now that a further step should be taken in regard to the matter, so as to place it on firmer ground. Prac- tical proposals which I have ventured to make have, in fact, already been placed before the League of Nations in substance by previous Governments. So far the League of Nations has not seen fit to accept them and put them into force, but I think the Leader of the House, who is conversant with what goes on in the League of Nations, is aware that
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Í 22 JULY 1931 ] there has been a considerable trend of matic reasons, it is not thought fit to further transmit it to the League of Nations, feeling in favour of taking
because there is no steps, and I believe if your Lordships,
body specially as I am sure you will, unanimously agree appointed to receive such correspondence, to some proposals of the sort, this de- and no body strong enough to deal with bate may be of use in assisting the it. But it is quite certain that if this League of Nations to undertake further bureau to which I have referred were Conventions.
created, the nations would be only too glad to send to that bureau such informa- tion as they have dealing with the ques- tion of slavery. This the bureau would be able to sift and study as well as to collect additional information itself.
The whole question is so complex that it can only be satisfactorily controlled and guided in the right direction by special machinery created ad hoc and working under the auspices of the League of Nations. The present machinery of the League applied to the purpose does not appear to be adequate, and is on much too narrow a foundation to be effective for the purposes which the League of Nations themselves have in view and to which I think we strongly adhere. What I want to impress on noble Lords is that while we are very grateful for what the League of Nations has already done, we think that a very effective, practical and concrete step might be taken at the present moment in order to render their action more effec- tive in the future than it has been in the past. Under present conditions the question of slavery appears automatic- ally in the agenda of the Assembly of the League each year, and is examined by the Assembly Commission. There is no department specially in charge of the subject. The Temporary Slavery Com- mission of experts, to which I have already referred and of which the noble Lord, Lord Lugard, is a member, having concluded its labours in 1925, was dis- banded, and no department or technical commission has been appointed to take its place. Thus, the annual discussion takes place without the provision of ade- quate materials, and without that ex- haustive research and technical advice which characterises most other sections of the League work.
The natural and most effective course to pursue would be the appointment of a special bureau or commission, possibly allied to one or more of the existing de- partments, equipped with a suitable staff, and assisted by experienced adminis- trators and experts in a voluntary capa- city. There is at the disposal of various a great Governments, especially ours, mass of undigested information in regard to slavery, much of which under present conditions is confidential, and, for diplo-
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I think another point which would be of use would be that the bureau would naturally once a year, or from time to time, report progress to the Assembly. Each report might be held to be a step in advance, because it would be founded on real information and on real proposals for reform, and would show the whole position of the question as it then stood. I think the bureau would also be in a position to advise the Assembly not only certain to whether in regard to countries they might make representa- tions, but as to the best time and method of such representations if they were to be made. am not, of course, suggesting that there should be any infringement of the rights and responsibilities of the sovereign Governments, but I feel sure that in dealing with the authorities who are anxious for reform in their country- and we are glad to think that that applies to nearly all present cases where slavery exists-it will be able to assist them greatly in their difficulties by giving them advice and moral and material help in carrying out their proposals.
Another advantage would be that the bureau would have at their disposal ex- pert opinion and expert advice, men accustomed to administration and to deal- ing with these matters with full know- ledge. As in the case of Liberia, they would be able to place their services at the disposal of any country which really wished to have inquiry, information and assistance in the matter. In a word, they would be able to help those who help themselves and give them what assistance they could. On the other hand, I think that if we had such a bureau created in the way I suggest, with the weight of the League of Nations behind them, they would be able in cases where the autho- rities were not well disposed to mobilise
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