5
1025
Slavery.
[ LORDS ]
the coloured and subject races among whom these abuses have too often been prevalent. These races are growing more articulate and vocal and they are justified in asking how these responsi- bilities are being discharged. The Slavery Convention of 1919 referred to the forms of servitude to which I allude as conditions analogous to slavery and pledged its signatories to the abolition of slavery in all its forms. Foremost amongst these was the question of forced labour, the new Convention re- garding which will come into operation next May. It prohibits the use of forced or compulsory labour for private profit and also forbids the employment of mili- tary conscripts for any work or service which is not purely military. It decrees the progressive abolition of unpaid forced labour disguised as a tax or exacted by native chiefs, many of whom are fre- quently merely nominees of the State, and it imposes very stringent conditions pending abolition.
All other forms of compulsory labour must in the future be fully paid, and they may be only resorted to if the work or service is a necessary one and is for the immediate benefit of the community concerned, and no voluntary labour is available, and if the burden is not too heavy. In the form of a recommenda- tion, the Convention adds that it urges Governments not to push forward too rapidly the economic development of primitive regions or the settlement of non-indigenous people without careful consideration of the strain which will be imposed on the communities, both on the supply of labour and on the social fabric of the people. This Convention is a long step towards the amelioration of the
one of the conditions most analogous to slavery, but it must be recognised that it will not be easy to give full and thorough effect to some of the clauses to which exception was taken by several of the other colonial Powers, and it is therefore all the more a matter for congratulation that His Majesty's Government have been able to announce that they will not only sign the Conven- tion without reservation, but also pro- ceed to ratification forthwith.
But there are other forms of forced labour to which the Slavery Committee of the League of Nations and later the so-called "Committee of Experts on
Lord Lugard.
Slavery.
J
1026
of
Native Labour' called attention, but upon which the Convention is silent. We condemned the abominable system of debt slavery, to which the most rev. Primate called attention just now-a form of debt slavery which goes by the name peonage in South America, by which ignorant workers are involved in servi- tude for life, and also the system of pawning for debt which was described in the recent Report regarding Liberia. It is wholly prohibited in all British Dependencies. We condemned also the system of child adoption which, so far as the Far East is concerned, has been very much referred to recently, and about which we have just heard so full an account.
C
J
as
I will not detain your Lordships longer in going into details in regard to these forms of servitude, most of which have already been dealt with, but there is also a very essential duty which falls. upon the controlling Powers, to spare no effort to eradicate the servile habit of mind an extreme manifestation of the inferiority complex "-such also produced the "untouchables" in India, which permeates the minds of those who have been born as slaves, or have been long in slavery, and makes them regard themselves as the rightful property of their owners, even after emancipation. Mere physical emancipation is of little value without the ability to appreciate and to use it. This can only be effected by the right kind of education, and by methods of government which teach in- dividual responsibility, and incidentally there is no more effective antidote to racial antagonisms.
I have spoken of slavery and of forms of servitude analogous to slavery in countries which are subject to the con- trol of civilised nations upon whom direct responsibility rests. We have also to consider the case of those States in which the institution of slavery is still the basis of the whole social system. An enlightened ruler in such a case finds himself confronted with a problem so difficult and complex that we only have to recall our own mistakes and failures in dealing with it to realise the magni- tude of his task. We have heard how courageously the problem was faced and solved by the Maharajah of Nepal. That surely is a case unique in history which merits our unstinted admiration. Then
1028
Slavery. hope that we really might be able to do something effective.
1027
Slavery.
[ 22 JULY 1931 ] there is the case of Abyssinia, whose pro- gressive ruler Ras Tafari, now known as Haili Sillassye, whom I have the privilege of knowing, has lately applied to the Anti-Slavery Society for advice on the problem of suppressing slavery. I, too, in the last week or two, have had a series of letters from a friend there who enjoys the confidence of the Em- peror, and who was able with his con- currence to inform me fully of his views and wishes.
By a curious coincidence it was only last night that I received a letter in- forming me that the Emperor had heard that the debate was taking place in this House, and had asked my correspondent to send a telegram to the London Press,, which he did in the following terms:
"In view of the forthcoming debate in the House of Lords I sought an audience of the Emperor in order to ascertain the present policy of the Ethiopian Govern- ment on the slavery question. The Em- peror stated that it was his firm intention to enforce the existing slavery law and to ensure continuous progress towards the com- plete emancipation of slaves in Abyssinia. He told me that, moved by these desires, he had entered into correspondence with the Anti-Slavery Society in London, and that the response of that Society was most satisfactory.'
I do not know whether this telegram ever did appear in the Press, or whether the Emperor's reception of the Anti-Slavery Society's letter is news to the noble Lord. I shall probably hear fuller details in the next day or two.
Abyssinia was admitted to membership of the League of Nations on certain definite conditions which she is accused of having failed to implement. I would rather ask, is it possible for her to comply with them under the circum- stances? The rulers of the great pro- vinces
are kings, over whom Negus Negast King of Kings "-- exercises but a precarious control, and the power- ful ecclesiastical dignities uphold the in- stitution of slavery as a system decreed by Jehovah under the Mosaic law. The country is impoverished by the world depression and especially by the fall in the value of silver currency and the lavish expenditure on coronation cere- monies. The problem is large financial, and the Negus, who, I am convinced, is quite sincere in his desire for reform, is powerless without financial assistance. If that be forthcoming I am not without
There is another country, Liberia, which is often spoken of as the only other which has retained its independence. In point of fact, it has 2,500,000 inhabitants, who are described by Sir Alfred Sharpe, than whom perhaps no one knows Africa better, as among the finest and most capable of the African races he has ever met, and who are ruled by a handful of American negroes wholly alien to them in sentiment. The Commission sent out by the League of Nations has submitted & Report, which I trust many of your Lordships have found time to look into. It is an exposure of ruthless cruelty rivalling the worst accounts of the slave raids of the past. The chief agent of these atrocities so vividly depicted by Dr. Christy and his colleagues, two of whom were negroes, after a full investiga- tion on the spot, is the Frontier Force, of which the United States, I believe, claims to appoint the officers. American opinion was profoundly shocked by these revelations, and the Secretary of State addressed a letter to the President of the Liberian Republic, a letter of repro- bation, in terms which could hardly have been more forcibly expressed. The League soon after appointed two Com- missioners with a British doctor, to make recommendations for reform, and their report is awaited now with great interest. But even more important than their eport, in my opinion, is the attitude which the United States intend to adopt towards that country and towards the Firestone Concession. Hitherto it has been understood that the United States Government had applied a kind of Monroe doctrine to Liberia, but dis- claimed any direct responsibility for its administration on the theory of its independence. That independence has been shown to be nothing other than the unfettered tyranny of some 10,000 to 12,000 so-called Liberians over the indigenous population. The reply of the Liberian Government to the British and American Consuls, who in January last sought an interview with the President, was, I understand, to the effect that the Liberians desired advice and not control -ignoring the fact that they had so terribly abused the control which they had been permitted by the nations of Europe to exercise over the indigenous population during the past eighty years.
52
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.