NATIVE RACES OF AFRICA AND THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC PUBLICATIONS OF THE UNITED I COMMITTEE. Digitized by tine Internet Archive in 2008 with funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/demoralizationofOOmillrich IB^moralt^ation of Jlatib^ Ka«s ■M-'FPE IiIQU0K T^^FFIC?- A Paper Read at the International Temperance Congress, held at Zurich, September 8th, 9th and 10th. 1387 Rev. J. GRANT MILLS, M.A., Hospitaller of St. Thomas Hospital, London ; Delegate from the Church of England Temperance Society, and the United Committee for the Prevention of the Demorali'~.ation of Native Races by the Liquor Traffic. ' ^ W' ^ ^ W W^' ^ ' ^ ' VW ^ NATIVE RACES AND LIQUOK TRAFFIC UNITED COM.AUTTEE, H '■??', -i^l^ Palace Chamdeks, AVe.stmix->tei;. ONE PENNY. DF.MORAUZATIO.N OF NATIVE RACES BY THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC. Ladies and Gentlemen. — It was with feelings of heartfelt pleasure and satisfaction that the English United Committee for the Prevention of the Demoralization of Native Races by the Liquor Traffic heard of the second meeting of the International Temperance Congress in this year 1887 (the year of the Committee's birth), for whilst the subject on which I address you to-day deeply affects England and those races which are subject to her rule, yet it is distinctly an international question, affecting more or less all those countries which are represented at this important Congress. It is therefore our earnest hope that some practical result, which I shall venture to suggest at the end of this paper, may follow our deliberations to-day. The Committee which I represent is the outcome, and the gathering together into one, of several inde- pendent efforts towards the attainment of the same object. From the unity of effort which now characterises the movement in England we anticipate great things, and should this Congress also give its adhesion to the work, may we not venture to hope that the increased strength which this additional union will give, will create a force of public opinion in Europe which will be irresistible, and which will enable us to wipe away this foul blot from our national escutcheon } Mr. Joseph Thomson, Fellow of the Royal Geo- graphical Society, the well-known African traveller, strongly urges this international union. In a lecture delivered by him in Manchester, on May i8th of this year, he says : — "There is something more required than to bring a British public to a proper sense of its duty in this matter. To be of any use, the entire conscience of Europe must be roused. Britain does not hold one-tenth of the African coast- line, and her settlements are broken into by those of France, Germany and Portugal. Hence merely to stop the trade, or heavily handicap it in our colonies, will only be to invite it to enter by the back-door from French, German, or Portuguese sources. It is one thing to arouse a trade or an appetite, and another thing to stop either. If you do not supply the natives with gin, they will find a thousand ways of getting it from other people. Therefore to be effectual, you must get all the countries of Europe to work in concert with you. How difficult this task will be is shown by the Berlin Conference, which would not prohibit the introduction of gin into the Congo, nor permit the suppression of the existing trade in the Niger, though it was curiously enough the company itself which worked the Niger trade that wanted the suppression." Mr. Hornaday, too, in a letter to the Neiv York Tribune relating to the appalling exhibit of the devil's work being done on the Congo through the conscienceless greed of the traders shows that, unless the moral forces of England, America, Germany and Holland are organised and applied to put an end to the outrageous and abominable state of things on the Congo, a few years will suffice to rot the heart out of the Africans. In the narrow limits of this paper we cannot discuss the question in its relation to all the races affected. India and Ceylon, Africa (North, South, East, West, and Central), Madagascar, Australia, Tasmania, Dominion of Canada, Mauritius, and the West India Islands all come within the scope of our enquiry, but the task is an impossible one to-day, I propose, therefore, to limit our enquiry to that country which most concerns us internationally, viz., Africa. We have abundant evidence of the evils of the liquor traffic in Africa. (i) In 1886, the National Temperance League convened a British and Colonial Temperance Congress in London, at which papers were read, amongst others, respecting Cape Colony, Natal, and East Africa, which have since been published in the Report of the Congress. (2) The information, which has been collected by delegates appointed by the various missionary societies working in Africa to consider the question of the traffic in liquor in that continent, has been embodied in a most valuable pamphlet, entitled *' Trafficking in Liquor with the Natives of Africa," by the Reverend Horace Waller, Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and sometime companion of Livingstone. (3) Lectures have been delivered by Mr. Joseph Thomson, the distinguished African traveller, to whom I have already alluded. (4) A report of two meetings held in London this year, at both of which important speeches were made by the Honorable and Reverend James Johnson, native pastor of Lagos, on the West Coast of Africa, has been recently published. (5) A pamphlet, entitled " Twenty-five Years of Church of England Temperance Work : A Retrospect and a New Departure,'^ has also been published, consisting of a solemn and impressive appeal to the Archbishop of Canterbury, by Canon Ellison, chair- man of the Church of England Temperance Society, and an appendix of valuable evidence. (6) An article has just appeared in the Contemporary Review (July, 1887), from the pen of Archdeacon Farrar. In the limited time allowed to me, I shall be able to quote only a few extracts from this mass of overwhelming testimony to the demoralization of the native races of Africa ; but copies of some of these papers I have brought with me, and shall be only too pleased to offer them to members of this Congress, if they will do our Committee the honour of accepting them. WEST AFRICA. In West Africa, with which I propose to deal first, the record is a very sad one indeed. Mr. Thomson says in 1886 : — " In the notorious gin trade, however, lies a still greater evil. It is indeed a scandal and a shame, well worthy to be classed with the detested slave trade, in which we had ourselves ever so prominent a part. We talk of civilising the negro, and introducing the blessings of European trade, while at one and the same time we pour into this unhappy countiy incredible quantities of gin, rum, gunpowder and guns. We are so accustomed to hearing a delightful list of useful articles which the negro wants in return for the products of his country that we are apt to tliink that tlje trade in spirits must be quite a minor affair. Banish all such pleasing illusions from your minds. The trade in this baleful article is enormous. The appetite for it increases out of all proportion to the desire for better things, and, to our shame be it said, we are ever ready to supply the victims to tlie utmost, driving them deeper and deeper into the slough of depravity, ruining them body and soul, while at home we talk sanctimoniously as if the introduction of our trade and the elevation of the negro went hand in hand. The time has surely come when, in the interests of our national honour, more energetic efforts should be made to suppress the diabolical traffic. There can be no excuse for its continuance, and it is a blot on Christian civilisation." — Manchester Geog. Mag., Jan. 27, 1886. Again, on May 18th of this year, he says: — "^ " In 1885, an opportunity Vv-as afforded me of visiting West Africa Words cannot describe the shame I felt at the facts which forced themselves on my attention along that part of the West Coast which I visited. Instead of great strides towards better things I found only, with isolated exceptions, further degradation, morally, physically, and materially, new vices acquired, and beastly appetites intensified. . .' . . " What aspects of European intercourse have produced such deplorable results ? There are many, but above all, stand out two, which overshadow all others. I speak of the slave trade and the gin traffic But if the slave trade is a thing of the past, the gin traflic is a terrible reality, and I, for one, hardly know whether to consider the one trade worse than the other. In the former there has been more killing of bodies, but in the latter more ruin of souls." "> Mr. Thomson then proceeds to draw a graphic picture of the gin trade. His words are : — " From the moment the traveller leaves Liverpool he finds himself in an atmosphere of poisonous spirits. It pervades every corner of the steamer in which he takes passage. He sees the gin and the rum disgorged from its capacious holds in thousands of cases at port after port, and he will almost look in vain for a bale of Manchester cotton. On shore he finds the warehouses of the merchants almost exclusively occupied with the same pernicious stuff. . , . , '".... In marching through some of the native villages on the Kru coast, one feels as if in a kind of Hades peopled by brutalised lu^man beings whose punishment it is to be possessed by a never-ending]thirst for drink. On all sides you are followed by eager cries for gin, gin, always gin. "That line of African coast, dotted over with European settlem.ents, stations, and factories should be a fringe bright with promise for the future, a fringe which should radiate some of the W'armth, the sweetness, and light of civilization, which, slowly extending onward, should tinge the whole heart of the Dark Continent, That is how I would like to describe the influence of the white man on the black ; but if I am to speak the truth, I must use far different terms, to me that fringe of coast is simply a hot-bed of cancerous jQOts, which are swiftly grov.'ing inward, threatening to turn the entire continent into one huge festering sore, rivalling in magnitude that other great African disease from which that region has suffered for centuries." ^"'^ - Sir Richard Burton, the great African traveller, in his work on Abbeokuta, after speaking of the ravages caused along the Western Coast of Africa by the rum and frequent wars, says : — •• It is my sincere belief that if the slave trade were revived wuth all its horrors, and Africa could get rid of the white man with the gunpowder and rum which he has introduced, Africa wotild be a gainer in happiness by the exchange." I will now ask your attention whilst I refer to Lagos. Lagos is a small island on the West Coast of Ah'ica, and is the key to the Yoruba country. It has a population of 75,000 inhabitants, of whom the town of Lagos contains 35,000. For the last six years it has been a British Crown Colony. The object of its cession to the British Crown was the suppression of the slave trade and the amelioration of the country. But has this amelioration been effected 1 Mr. Johnson, a native clergyman from Lagos, addressed several meetings lately in England. One of these meetings was a remarkable one, consisting of Members of Parliament, who met Mr. Johnson in the Conference Room of the House of Commons in order to hear from him an account of the gross enormities of the liquor traffic on the West Coast of Africa. In the course of his speech Mr. Johnson pointed out that though these colonies were intended to be seed plots of good for removing some of the evils of the slave trade, yet they had, through the liquor traffic, become seed plots of vice and misery, and of eventual ruin not only to the inhabitants themselves, but to the inhabitants of the independent native states with which they carried on their commerce. In the town of Lagos, with its 35,000 inhabitants, there were twenty-five retail and twenty- five wholesale shops for the sale of this drink, fifty licensed places where spirits were sold to the people of the town and district, and through them to the interior of the country. The farmers brought their produce to Lagos, and they returned to their vehicles loaded with rum and gin. The " trade " gin and rum was vile stuff that Europeans would not drink, so common that painters mix their paints with it instead of turpentine. These spirits, one of the Members of Parliament (Dr. Clark) observed, were made in Hamburg particularly, and nearly the whole expense was in the corks and bottles. Some statistics which Mr. Waller has given in his admirable pamphlet are instructive. They show the quantities and value of spirits of all kinds exported to Africa from Great Britain, Germany (Hamburg and Bremen), Portugal, and the United States of recent years : — Great Britain sent in 1884 602,328 value ;^i 1 7, 143 Germany „ ,, ... 7-136,263 „ 713.634 Portugal ., 1882 91,524 6,166 America „ 1884-85 ... 921,412 56,889 Total 8,751,527 ^893,832 With regard to Lagos, Mr. Johnson stated that since its cession to the British Crown the liquor imported had risen from a few hundred thousand gallons to 1,231,000 gallons yearly, of which something like 1,205,760 was what was known as " trade" gin and rum — vile, destructive stuff. Their total imports were ;^36jiS5> more than one-third of which was in spirits, and more than one- third in '' trade " gin and rum. With regard to the delta of the Niger, Mr. James Irvine, of Liverpool, says : — "It is not possible to get at actual shipments, but I am sure I do not over- estimate the quantity, when I put clown 60,000 hogsheads of fifty gallons each as the annual consumption in the rivers of Nii^er, Benin, Brass, New Calabar, Bonny, Opobo, Old Calabar, Cameroons, &c. " In other words, this compressed space lymg between 4^ b' east longitude, or say 250 miles of coast, consumes 20,000 tons, or say twenty ships' full of i ,000 tons each every year." One word with regard to the New Congo State. I have gone carefully through the Parliamentary Blue Book containing the Protocols and General Act of the West African Conference held at Berlin, 1884-85, and can only regret that, after the lofty sentiments expressed about the welfare of the inhabitants of this New State, the Conference did not come to the conclusion that the total prohibition of the liquor traffic would in no way have prevented the claims of humanity being reconciled with the interests of commerce. Mr. Waller may well say: — " The rum-seller of the coast has only to take a glance over the shoulder of the philanthropist as he sits poring over the brightly-coloured map of the new Congo State, and he takes heart of grace. He smiles m his sleeve at the comfort which lies in the contemplation of local self-government and local option in all_ its beautiful simplicity, police regulations, and what not ! There is plenty of time for him before these obstacles are likely to trouble him ; he says little, but that does not prevent him thinking the more. SOUTH AFRICA. The Dutch and English Governments in South Africa, says Mr. Waller, have witnessed the extirpation of some tribes entirely, as, for instance, the Hottentots, and we do not hesitate to name ''brandy" as the agent here. The Report of the Government Commission on the liquor traffic at the Cape presents us with the evidence of ex-governors, ex-kings like Cetewayo, chiefs, English bishops, magistrates, inspectors, doctors, and others, giving common testimony against the liquor traffic. Sir Charles Warren, now Chief Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police in London, said, from his own experiences at the Cape : — " The blood of thousands of natives was at the present crying up to Heaven against the British race ; and yet, from motives of expediency, we refused to take any action." The Rev. N. J. Hofmeyr, of the Dutch Reformed Church, tells us of the unspeakable amount of misery inflicted upon the natives, and emphatically asserts that the drink traffic in South Africa means ruin and death to the natives, who are being destroyed for lucre's sake. The Basutos, thanks to the exertions and example of then- chiefs, have begun to make their country " sober Basutoland." EAST AFRICA. The paper read at the British and Colonial Temperance Congress by the Rev. W. Little, once a Missionary in Madagascar, tells us, as Archdeacon Farrar well describes it " a tragic story." — "In 1800 the Malagasy were a nation of idolators ; now, thanks in a great measure to the London Missionary Society, they are a nation of Christians. They loved, they almost adored the English, who had done so much for them. Un- happily, however, Mauritius became a sugar-producing colony and rum was made from the refuse of the sugar-mills. What was to be done with it? It was not good enough for European markets, and Madagascar ' was made the receptacle for the damaged spirit of the colony ! ' They received the curse in their simplicity, and it produced frightful havoc. ' The crime of the island rose in one short year by leaps and boiinds to a height too fearful to record.' The native Government was seized with consternation, and the able and courageous king, Radama I., paid the duty, and ordered every cask of rum to be staved in on the shore, except those that went to the Government stores. The merchants of Mauritius complained : the English officials interfered ; and from that day the ^ cursed stuff has had free course, and deluged the lajtd with misery and crijne. Radama's son, Radama II., a youth of great promise, became a helpless drunkard and a criminal maniac, and was assassinated, after a reign of nine months, by order of his own Privy Council. Drunkenness is considered a European fashion, and in spite of the grief of the native authorities, ' this crying injury to a perishing people reinains ujiredressed and unheeded ' by the most humane and Christian nation in the world. The same story may be told, with very slight variation of detail, of all the native tribes on the East African seaboard Tempted by greed and avarice, white traders introduced the cheap rum of Mauritius. Souls of men loere bartered for money, and Africa is still being slozcly but surely desolated by the foremost missionary nation in the world." EGYPT. A few words only will suffice for Egypt. They are the personal experience of Mr. W. S. Caine, an English Member of Parliament, and an earnest temperance advocate. At the meeting in London, which gave birth to our United Committee, he said : — " The native races of Egypt are being demoralised. We did not originally take the drink here. I have no doubt it was there before our occupation, and before we undertook the joint government with Erance ; but it has terribly increased since thoi. 20,000 troops were sent there, who gave a great stimulus to the drink business. Nearly all the conspicuous public-houses in Egypt bear English signboards : ' The Duke of Edinburgh,' 'Queen Victoria,' ' Peace and Plenty,' 'The Union Jack,' &c. All the great public-houses are branded with English names. . .* . . these public-houses are a centre of vice and iniquity of the deepest dye. I find that wherever our army had gone up the Nile the liquor trade had followed it ; that when they had left the stations where the public -houses -were established, the public-houses reniaijied. Where there had been five or six of these flaunting public-houses which never existed before, there they still remained after the soldiers had gone. Who buys the liipior noxv ? Why, the natives, luhom I am sorry to say, the British soldier has lai'gely taught to drink Wherever the Englishman comes in contact7vith the natives he drags them down through intoxicating liquors. I went to a temperance meeting — the only temperance meeting held in Cairo — except those in the barracks for the soldiers. That meeting was a large one, 300 or 400 people being present. Every one of the speakers were natives of Egypt, and speeches were made in Arabic Nearly every speech was in denunciation of Englishmen, Levantines, and Europeans, and Christians in J>articular, for bringing this accursed drink to them. They were urging Mahommedans whose religion forbids them to drink, to sign the pledge, as we do here I went to the Khedive about it He said that he had viewed ■with grief and shame the increase of public-houses in Cairo and Egypt since the British army of occupation came. He said he should like to prohibit the sale altogether. He was a prohibitionist. His religion told him to be so ; it was an article of his creed. He said, * I am powerless.' I said ' Why ? ' He replied, • There are capitulations or agreements which have been entered into between the Turkish Government and other Powers for the protection of European traders, and under these capitulations this liquor is forced upon them to sell without control, and so cheap that you would hardly credit me if I gave you the price.' They import cheap spirits from Hamburg with a duty of 9 per cent. ; and you can get drunk for 2^d. , and some of the natives for less. 8 Such, ladies and gentlemen, are some of the facts with regard to the liquor traffic in Africa. It is not difficult for us to guess what the effect of such traffic must be on the moral and physical condition of the natives, on the progress of Christianity, and on legitimate commerce. The evidence which I have read to you tells a ghastly tale of the moral and spiritual evil and the physical ruin, even to extinction in some cases, of these native races. Can anything be more humiliating to the Christian Church than the appeal of King Malike, the Mahommedan Emir of Nupe, when he invoked the aid of Bishop Crowther : — " It is not a long matter; it is about barasa (rum or gin). Barasd, barasd, barasd ; by God ! it has rtiined our coiiiiiry ; it has ruined our people very much ; if has made our people become mad. I have given a law, that no one dares buy or sell it ; and any one who is found selling it, his house is to be eaten up (plundered) ; any one found drunk will be killed. I have told all the Christian traders that I agree to everything but barasa. Tell Crowther, the great Christian minister, that he is our father. I beg you, Malam Kipo (Mr. Paul), don't forget this writing, because we all h>hat he [Crozother) should beg the great priests {Committee CJmrch Missionaiy Society) that they should bc^ the E7tglish Queen to prevent bringing barasd iiito this land. " For God and the Prophet's sake I For God, and the Prophet His Messenger's sake, he must help 2ts in this matter — that of barasd! We all have confidence in him. He must not leave our country to become spoiled by barasd I Tell him, may God bless him in His work. This is the mouth-word from Malike, the Emir of Nupe." Let us hear Mr. Thomson also, who says : — " Under their eager appeals (for gin) one seems to hear the bitter reproach, ' You see what you Christians have made us. You talk of peace and goodwill and yet you put devils into us. Give us more drink that we may allay these cravings, and for a moment be allowed to forget our miseries.' " He speaks of the utterances on public platforms about the message of peace and goodwill to the heathen, and of the closing of our eyes to the fact that in the name of commerce and civilization we are at the same time driving thousands into deeper depravity and deeper barbarism. '* If," he says, '' our position as Christians is thus strange in the extreme, how much more remarkable is the fact that absolutely the only effective obstruction to this terrible flood of gin is provided by a religion of which we can seldom speak but to revile — Mahommedanism." It is for us, it is for the whole of Christendom, to wipe away the reproaches that we go to the heathen with the message of peace and goodwill in one hand and the rum bottle in the other ; that the state of things existing does not commend European Christianity or European humanity ; and that though the slave trade had been to Africa a great evil, the evils of the rum trade are far worse. But what of the effects on legitimate commerce ? Shall I weary you if I summarise Mr. Thomson's views ? — Gin is almost the sole medium of barter with the natives, who carry it wholesale into the interior, to spread it over an enormous extent of country. Wages are paid to Kru boys and factory labourers in gin. The revenues of the various settlements are largely derived from the same source. The gauge of the wealth of many a village is the amount of liquor they can afford to drink, and its proudest monument the pyramid of empty gin bottles which adorns its square. What would have been the result if a legitimate trade had been commenced and preserved on the West Coast of Africa } The returns would have been slower and the trade would have spread with less rapidity. But both would have improved surely. Industry would have been aroused with the desire to satisfy new wants — wants which would become more varied each year. Instead of there being a trade in little more than gin there would have been a demand for a thousand articles which Europe supplies. With widening wants and advancing civilized ideas there would of necessity have been more work and thrift required, and with these would have followed more development. Such advance is possible in the far interior : much more should it have been so on the coast in continual communication with Europe and the influence of Christianity, but the reverse is the case. Mr. Thomson regards the cry for the opening up of Africa to civilization as meaning the opening it up to European vices, old clotlies, gin, rum, gunpowder, and guns. Mr. Thomson's opinions and anticipations are those of almost everyone who has had personal experience of Africa. But why should these things be ? Because to raise a paying trade rapidly, there is absolutely nothing like spirits. It takes hold ot the negro like wildfire, and like wildfire it spreads at a surprising rate, and there seems to be no means of suppressing it — it will have its way. The trade in which gin is the medium of barter will grow a hundred times faster than one in which cotton takes its place. Btut it will not pay in the long run. A trade which commences with gin will continue with gin and end with gin. Industry and thrift cannot be found in the company of vice and drunkenness. Without industry and thrift there can be no development of the mineral and vegetable riches of the country, and hence the small progress made on our West Coast settlements. But have no efforts been made to arrest all this evil "^ Yes ; the Niger Company as already stated, individual traders, mission- aries, members of the Berlin Conference, Temperance reformers and others, have all raised their voices in protest, but still the evil exists. What is our hope for the future 1 The rousing of the conscience of Europe ! Each country alone can do something, but not every- thing; and this consideration leads me to venture, with all diffi- dence, to lay before you some practical suggestions as an outcome of our meeting to-day, prefacing them, however, with the history of the movement in England. Immediately upon learning the details brought to light last year by the British and Colonial Congress of the National Temperance League, Canon Ellison, Chairman of the Church of England Temperance Society, announced his intention of addressing a letter on the subject of the drink trafific amongst native races abroad to His Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury. The publication of the letter has done much to produce an lO irresistible feeling amongst the leaders of both Church and State that something niiist be done. The Bishops of the English Church at once determined to address the whole Colonial and Indian Episcopate. Letters in the papers, giving additional evidence, fanned the flame, and attention was drawn to a remarkable pamphlet, prepared by the Rev. Horace Waller (for many years a Missionary in Africa), giving the results of an investigation, as far as that country is concerned, by a joint Committee of Etelegates of British Missionary Societies, under the auspices of the Church Missionary Society. At Canon Ellison's request, the Bishop of London promised to preside at a meeting to be specially devoted to the subject, and on Wednesday, March 30th, 1887, one of the most representative and influential meetings ever held on any subject crowded Prince's Hall, Piccadilly, to hear the evidence of eye-witnesses and to set on foot a holy crusade against these shameful iniquities. The utmost enthusiasm prevailed, and the following resolutions were unanimously carried : — (i) " That the traffic in stronf^ drink as now carried on by Merchants belonging to Christian nations in India, Africa, and in most of the Colonies and Dependencies of the British Empire, has become the source of wholesale demoralization and ruin to the native races, and is proving a fatal stumbling-block to the progress of the Gospel among them." (2) "That in the interests of Christianity and humanity the facts bearing on the traffic and its results should be made more generally known to the people of England and other countries, with a view to the formation of a sound public opinion, and eventually to the passing of legislative enactments for the repression of such traffic." (3) " That for this purpose a Committee be formed, to include, besides mem- bers of the Executive of the Church of England Temperance Society, representatives of the leading Missionary and Temperance Societies, and the following noblemen and gentlemen, with power to add to their number." (A list of names was then read). (4). " That for the purpose of carrying out the above work a list of subscriptions and donations be herewith opened." This Committee, though formed at a meeting convened by the Church of England Temperance Society, is altogether unsectarian, undenominational, non-political, and in no way restricted to advocates of total abstinence. Men realise that it is work in which all Christendom can and should unite, and that it is a work far above the shibboleth of party politics, and therefore, we have in our ranks representatives of Missionary and Temperance societies, Members of Parliament, philanthropists, social reformers, and others, men of widely differing religious and political views, who sit together on this Committee animated by one object, viz., the removal of the principal cause of the demoralization of native races. This question must, as has been well said, be dissociated from the drink question at home, and from such subjects as total abstinence. To mix up these topics will only have the effect of keeping away great numbers who would otherwise gladly co- II operate with us, and the result would be to retard immensely the work we have at heart. The following suggestions form the basis of the future work of our United Committee : — Countries to be brought within scope of the Inquiry. 1. Countries for whose government England is more or less directly responsible, such as India and Ceylon, Africa (South), Africa (West). 2. Countries connected by commercial relations, such as Central Africa, East Africa, Madagascar. 3. Countries similarly connected, but under Colonial Govern- ments, such as New Zealand, Australia, Tasmania, Dominion of Canada, Mauritius, W. India Islands. I. — Extent of Evil. Committee to collect Evidence. 1. As to habits of Native Races in regard to use of intoxicating drink, antecedently to connection with British and British Traders. 2. As to present extent of traffic among them, distinguishing fermented and distilled liquors : {a) by imports, (b) by local manufactures. 3. As to results (so far as can be ascertained) : {a) on the morals of the people, (b) on the progress of Christianity, (c) in the extinction of Native Races. 4. As to remonstrances and petitions for help from the Native Races. II. — Legislature. 1. How far the traffic has been effected by Acts of Legislation : (a) of British, (5) of Colonial Legislation, {c) of other European countries. 2. In what direction legislative remedies should be sought for. III. — Commerce. 1. The extent to which commerce is implicated in the traffic : (a) British, (b) Foreign. 2. The efforts made (in some instances) by British traders to minimise or put a stop to the evil. 3. The injurious effects of the traffic on legitimate commerce. IV. — Preparation of Public Opinion (at Home and Abroad). 1. By meetings, sermons, formation of committees, etc. 2. By pamphlets, leaflets, articles in press, and periodicals. It is hoped that the collection of evidence on the above heads, and the further preparation of public opinion in the Colonies, will be materially assisted by the action of the Colonial Episcopate, an appeal to which from the Home Episcopate is now published. When evidence of a reliable character has been obtained it is 12 contemplated to bring it before a Select Committee of the House of Lords, with a view, if necessary, to more stringent legislation. And now I would venture to make the following sugges- tions : — I. — That the delegates of each country represented at this Congress should take steps, on their return home, to form a National Committee, similar to the English United Committee, to collect information, to raise a public opinion, to make representa- tions to Chambers of Commerce as to the effect of the liquor traffic on legitimate trade, and to their Government as to the actual condition of the liquor traffic amongst these native races. 2. — That there should be a federation of these National Committees, to be called " The International Committee for the Prevention of the Demoralization of Native Races by the Liquor Traffic." 3. — That in order to bring these Committees into touch and communication with one another, each Committee shall appoint a Secretary to correspond with the United Committee in London, I should be only too glad if a provisional committee were formed here, and if we could meet together, before this Congress concludes its sittings, and settle upon some course of action. It is with the utmost diffidence that I have brought the sugges- tions before you, but the need of doing something is urgent, and it must be done by all the nations concerned. A celebrated revival preacher in England once said, and it is inscribed on his memorial tablet in Westminster, Abbey, '^ I look upon all the world as my parish." Ladies and gentlemen, the world is the field of our opera- tions. In this unity of effort, distinctions of nation and race and clime vanish ; we realise that we are all brethren, members of one great family, children of one common Father. IVOXE TO ?iiicl EOITIOIV. -0- At the conclusion of the reading of this paper, Prof. Aug. Forel, M.D., Zurich^ rose and proposed that the subject, being of such vast international importance^ should be referred to the International Permanent Committee for their special consideration, and that they should be put into communication with the United Committee in London. On October 6tli, I received from Dr. Forel the names of the International Committee upon which are representatives of Austria. France, . Russia, Belgium. Germany, j Sweden, Canada, Holl.\nd, j Switzi:rland. Denmark, Italy, U. S. America. England, Norway, ( The United Committee will at once enter into communication with the representatives of these countries. T- G. M. QUAETEELY PAPEE OF THK United Committee for the PreYention of the Demoralization OF flalik §aces b llje ITiqitor Craffit. President — His Grace the Duke of Westminster, K.G. Chairman— The Right Hon. and Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of London. Vice -Chair man— Sir John Kennaway, Bart., M.P. Chairman of the Executive Committee— The Hon. T. H. W. Pelham. Treasurer— Frank A. Bevan, Esq., 54, Lombard Street, E.G. Hon. Secretary— Rev. J. Grant Mills, M.A. Assistant Secretary— Mr. A. W. Bodger. Bankers— Messrs. Barclay, Bevan, Tritton, & Co., 54, Lombard Street, E.G. Subsci-iptious and Donations should be made payable to the Treasurer, F. A. Bevan, Esq., 54, Lombard Street, B.C., or to the ^^ Hon. Secretary,'' 139, Palace Chambers, Westminster. Cheques should be crossed Barclay, Bevan, Tritton,^ Co. CHURCH CONGRESS, MANCHESTER, 1888. *«^- ki ^..^s/ /^(A/^^^-^ "^T i y -^^m^ /c; /6. ^^Hi^c^ y^//^ ^2 -j^U^ /a r^ 2 good Moor, the nrst missionary employed Dy tlie b-i^.G. among the North American Indians. He says : — 12 contemplated to bring it before a Select Committee of the House of Lords, with a view, if necessary, to more stringent legislation. And now I would venture to make the following sugges- tions : — I. — That the delegates of each country represented at this Congress should take steps, on their return home, to form a Nati'onal Committee, similar to the English United Committee, to collect information, to raise a public opinion, to make representa- tions to Chambers of Commerce as to the effect of the liquor traffic on legitimate trade, and to their Government as to the actual condition of the liquor traffic amongst these native races. 2. — That there should be a federation of these National Committees, to be called " The International Committee for the Prevention of the Demoralization of Native Races by the Liquor Traffic." 3. — That in order to bring these Committees into touch and communication with one another, each Committee shall appoint a Secretary to correspond with the United Committee in London. I should be only too glad if a provisional committee were formed here, and if we could meet together, before this Congress concludes its sittings, and settle upon some course of action. It is with the utmost diffidence that I have brought the sugges- tions before you, but the need of doing something is urgent, and it must be done by all the nations concerned. A celebrated revival — 1 — ;^ T7.,^io,i^ '-irt^o c^iH ■:\x\(\ it- ic in<^crihed on his memorial England, | Norway, t The United Committee will at once enter into communication with the representatives of these countries. ]• ^- ^T- QUAKTEELY PAPEE OF TllK United Cofflmittee for the Prevention of the Demoralization OF IJattk ^aces b ilje ITiquor Craffit. OC'FO:S£:]El, 1888. President— IIis Grace the Duke of Westminster, K.G. Chairman— The Right Hon. and Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of Londox. Vice-Chairman— Sir John Kennaway, Bart., M.V. Chairman of the Executive Committee— The Hon. T. H. W. Pelham. Treasurer — Frank A. Bevan, Esq., 54, Lombard Street, E.G. Hon. Secretary— Rev. J. c;rant Mills, I\I.A. Assistant Secretary— Mr. A. W. Bodger. Bankers— Messrs, Barclay, Bevan, Tritton, & Co., 54, Lombard Street, E.G. criptious and Donations should he made payable to the Treasurer, F. A. Bevan, Esq., 54, Lombard Street, E.G., or to the ^^ Hon. Secretary,'^ 139, Pa/ace Chambers, Westtninster. Cheques should be crossed Barchiy, Bevaji, Tritton,^ Co. CHURCH CONGRESS, MANCHESTER, 1888 On Wednesday Afternoon, October 3rd, the following papers were read in the Town Hall, at 2.30 p.m., the subject being TEMPERANCE : DEMORALIZATION OF UN- CIVILIZED AND HEATHEN RACES BY THE DRINK TRAFFIC. By the Rev. J. Grant Mills, M.A., Hospitaller of St. Thomas' Hospital, and Hon. Sec. of the United Committee for the Prevention of the Demoralization of Native Races by the Liquor Traffic. It has been arranged that, whilst the reader, who immediately follows me, shall deal with the subject of the Liquor Traffic as carried on amongst uncivilized and heathen races as a hindrance to legitimate commerce, I should deal with it as a hindrance to missionary effort. The subject is unfortunately no new one. In a very interesting and I believe rare pamphlet, entitled '*An account of the Society for Pro- pagating the Gospel in Foreign Parts, established by the Royal Charter of King William III., with their proceedings and success, &c.," and jjublished in 1706, I have recently read the opinions of Mr. Thorough- good Moor, the first missionary employed by the S.P.G. among the North American Indians. He says : — " It is from the behaviour of the Christians here that they have had, and will still have, their notions of Christianity, which God knows hath been generally such that it hath made the Indians to hate our religion. The Indians are daily wasting away, and in forty years it seems probable that there will scarce be an Indian to be seen in all the English parts of America. In the meantime the Christians selling the Indians so much ram is a sufficient bar, if there were no other, against their embracing Christianity." vSince those words were written our great empire has extended far and wide, but our treatment of the uncivilized and heathen races has been very much the same. But to-day we do thank God that the national conscience is at last beginning to awaken, and that during the last three years public atten- tion has been forcibly directed to this terrible blot on our boasted civilization and Christianity by missionary and temperance conferences at home and abroad ; by the collection of overwhelming evidence by a committee of Missionary Society delegates, which has been edited and arranged by the Rev. Horace Waller ; by the letters of the Archbishops and Bishop of London to the Indian and Colonial bishops, and their subsequent action at the Lambeth Conference ; by public meetings ; by the pulpit and some leading organs of the press; and last, but not least, by the increased interest in missionary work, arising out of the increased and daily increasing spiritual life of the Church, which is necessarily accompanied by a deeper sense of responsibility. At the outset let me say that this question, in my opinion, must be dissociated from the drink question at home, and from such subjects as total abstinence. To mix up these topics will only have the effect of keeping away great numbers who would otherwise gladly co-operate in the efforts now being made, in which all Christendom can and should unite. I. — First I would turn your attention to (A) the liquor traffic as carried on in certain parts of Africa, and bring before you such figures relating to the enormous quantity of spirits imported into these parts, as I have been able to obtain either from official sources or from sources which are above suspicion, and can be thoroughly relied upon. A. — Summary Statement Showing the Quantity and Values, as far AS THE SAME CAN BE GiVEN, OF SPIRITS EXPORTED FROM THE UNDERMEN- TIONED Countries to Africa. V^^r Spirits Exported. Year. Spirits Exported. 1 Quantity. Value. Quantity. Value. United Kingdom 1884 1884 I 882 1884-5 Gallons. 602,328 7,136,263 91.524 921,412 117,143 713,634 6,166 56,889 1887 1887 Gallons. 398,980 i;.a8i.40o £ 93,527 not stated. Portvi<^al f 1 886 646 1887 747,030 130 United States 41,023 8,751^527 893,832 6,628,056 * Hamburg and Bremen. Quantities returned in lOO Kilogs. and Litres respec- tively. Kilogs. have been converted into gallons by taking the gallon as weighing lolbs. t The decolitre — 2-2 gallons. PARTICULARS OF EACH COUN PRY'S EXPORTS - UNITED KIN(;D0M. B.— Statement Showing the Quantmy and Value of the DiFF.-RENr KiND.s OF Spirits exported direct, and exported after transhipment to the Undermentioned parts of Africa during the year 1887. Quantities. Exports. Spirits, British and Irish To Western Africa (foreign) ,, Ditto (Ikitish) ,, British Possessions in South Africa Gallons. 243,452 27.541 127,987 Value. 25,405 7,064 60,788 Total 598,980 93,257 Exported after Transhipment. Rum. Brandy. Geneva, OtherSortsI Total. To Morocco and West Coast of Africa „ British Possessions in South Africa ,, East Coast of Africa (Jallons. 86,031 Gallons. 37,314 57,442 5,226 99,982 Gallons. 80,524 86,945 13,470 Gallons. Gallons. 11,224 215,093 4,968 149,355 4,131 ' 22,827 86,031 180,939 20,323 387,275 GERMANY. C.— Statement Showing the Quantity and Value of Spirits exported from Hamburg and Bremen to Africa in the year 1887. Country to which Exported. Hamburg. Bremen. Quantity. Value. 1 Quantity. Value. ^^orocco 100 Kilogs. 1,735 5,890 238,561 426 415 1,654 248,681 Marks. Litres. 176 1,965 Marks. Madeira ( "ape Colony Madagascar Mauritius Eiivpt 404 875 East Coast of Africa West Coast of Africa . . . Total Africa j 2,141 1,279 PORTUGAL D. — Statement Showing the Quantity and Value of Spirits (Brandy, Cognac, and Liqueur) Domestic Produce exported from Portugal to Africa in the year 1886. Country to which Exported. 1 Qi lantity. jcalitre. 102 26 166 Value. Mozambicjue ! I3( Milreis. Cape Verde. 58 298 Angola i ■ Total Africa.... , j .. ., 1 294 577 UNITED STATES. B. — Statrment Showing the Quantity and Value of Spirits (Alcohol, Rum, and Whiskey) Domestic Produce exported from the United States. to Africa in the year ended June 30TH, 1887. Alcohol. Rum. Whiskey. Total. Quantity. Value. Quantity Value. Dollars. 178,916 1,567 3,120 Quantity Value. Dollars. 9 Quantity Value. British Possessions in Africa and Adja- cent Islands French ditto. . . . Spanish ditto . . Turkey in Africa. Gallons. 87,44 82,623 6,928 Dollars. Gallons. 632,986 1,233 4,476 11,311 — 756 11,270 Gallons. 3 Gallons. 632,989 13,230 82,623 18,189 Dollars. 178,925 2,800 11,^11 3,876 98,295 13,300 648,732 183,603 3 9 747,030 196,912 p. — Statement Showing the Quantity of Spirits exported from under- mentioned Countries to Congo Free State and Basin of tpie Niger in the year 1885. Gallons. United Kingdom 311,384 Germany 7,823,042 Netherlands I ,oco,ooo about. United States 1 Smaller quantities bring up France !■ total from all countries to Portugal .... J 10,000,000 gallons. G.— Statement showing Quantity of Spirits exported from Nether- lands to East and West Coast of Africa, Algiers, and Egypt in 1883-4-5. 1883 1884 1885 906,556 1,230,921 1,099,146 From Boston, U.S.A.. alone, during the year ended June 30th, 1S86, 737,650 gallons of rum were sent to Africa. These figures are not exhaustive, but, as far as I have been able to obtain information, I find that since 1883 about 30 million gallons of spirits have been poured into Africa, the greater part coming from Hamburg and Bremen. In April of this year the Rev. W. Allan, vicar of S. James', Ber- mondsey, returned from a visit which he had paid to the Church Mis- sionary Society's stations at Sierra Leone, Lagos, and other places on the West Coast of Africa. He obtained from the Custom House autho- rities at Sierra Leone a return of the amount of spirits imported into the settlement. The average for the last three years was as follows : — Gallons. Freetown, Sulymah District, and other out-stations 138,648 Sherboro' District 41,788 Total .^ 180,430 This represents the quantity upon which duty is paid, but there is a further quantity of 80,000 gallons entering the river countries for which no duty is paid in Sierra Leone. Very large quantities also pass through various ports duty free. Mr. Allan said that daring his voyage along the coast he saw landed in one place 500 cases of gin, and 50 casks of rum (50 gallons each), and an indefinite number of demijohns of rum; in another place 522 gallons of rum; in another 500 cases of gin, which the purser's assistant told him was a mere flea- bite. He was also informed by an agent on the Manah River that he sold 1,000 gallons of spirits to the natives weekly; by another agent at Brass, that 60,000 cases of gin, and half that quantity of rum, pass through Brass continually into the Niger Territory, and a still larger quantity through Akassa ; by another agent on the Benin, that the various firms on that river sell from 1,500 to 2,000 cases of gin every month, but that rum is chiefly give7i away ; and by Capt. Prater, H.M.S. Rifleman, that one firm, trading in the Niger Delta recently had 15,000 ■cases of gin, each containing a dozen bottles, brought out in one •steamer. In one place which he visited, Afarjupa, the C.M.S. secretary, on a previous visit, had found the native church seated entirely with gin boxes. This, of course, is not so now. In the town of Lagos — population 35,000 — the whole Crown Colony of Lagos contains 75,000 inhabitants — there were 25 retail and 25 whole- sale shops — 50 licensed places where spirits were sold. Speaking at Freetown, Sierra Leone, the Rev. Jas. Johnson said that one half of the revenue of that colony, which, minus the Imperial grants, may be put down at ;;/^54,ooo, was raised, from the Liquor Traffic. In reading over all these figures to a friend, he said, "Well, I am glad to see that England is not the greatest offender." I would answer that so long as England is a consenting party to the traffic as carried on, she is as great an offender as any other nation. And I am in- formed, by one who has a good opportunity of knowing, that if the ledgers of the Hamburg and Bremen merchants were examined, they would not be found to be innocent of the names of English firms, who are amongst their best customers, and who have= the spirits shipped for them direct to Africa from Hamburg and Bremen, so that the proportion of gallons to be credited to England is probably far greater than appears from the figures I have given. A word now as to the quality of these spirits. Last August I re- ceived from the Rev. James Johnson, of Lagos, a case containing samples of the various spirits sold to the natives of VVest Africa. These bottles may be seen in the Ecclesiastical Art Exhibition, on the stall of the Church of England Temperance Society. Through the kindness of my friend. Professor Bernays, Professor of Chemistry at St. Thomas' Hospital, I am able to present the Congress with an analysis which he has made of them. *■ St. Thomas' Hospital, Sept. 22, 1888. " Dear Mr. Mills, " Vou knew that I was willing always to aid the cause of Temperance, although belonging to the general section of the C.E.T.S., and you were not wrong in supposing that I would gladly aid in investigating the various spirits which are sold to ihe natives of West Africa. '' I wish it were in my power to give the names of all the various samples which you have handed to me, but I do not think it would be fair to the vendors, as some of the bottles had been opened, and the samples have not been taken with that care ■which is essential in such matters. " Beginning with \\vq gins^ I should say that these are by far the best of the seiies, aiul certainly the least injurious. Tliey vary between 63 and 72 per cent, of proof .spirit, no such variation as to produce injurious effects by the non-recognition of their alcoholic character. Only one of theui can be said to contain anything of any injurious character. The alcohol is free from metallic contamination, and is as free from amylic alcohol as most of those sold in England. Only one contains distinctly amylic alcohol. " One German drink which is marked as very intoxicating, does not deserve the appellation, except in so far that from its sweetness {7'68 per cent, of sugar) and its pleasant flavour of carraway seeds it possesses more of the character of a liqueur, and i;; liable to be taken in larger draughts. The proof spirit in it amounts to 68 79 per cent. " The riiDts vary very much in alcoholic cliaracter, and the alcohol in several is very inferior from the presence, more especially of amylic, in the other alcohol. One of them only contains 71.86 per cent, of proof spirit, and that of good quality. " Another of them contains 8o'53 per cent., and twootheis respectively 8773 and 8779 per cent. The Tn.maica sample of rum is very fiery, containing no less than 113 per cent, of proof spirit, and that of a very coarse character. When this is contrasted with another sample of rum, flavoured with Angelica, and containing only 57*65 per cent, of alcohol, the former, neat, is absolutely poisonous. " Nothing would more assist the cause of temperance than limiting the percentage of alcohol in tlie spirits sold. Not only should this percentage not exceed our English standard, but any amount beyond 80 per cent, of proof spirit, whether in brandy or rum, and 65 per cent, in gin, should not be allowed for sale except by the druggist and the wholesale merchant. " I trust this information is sufficient for your purpose, and you are at liberty to use this publicly if you think fit. " Believe me, " Yours faithfully, " Albert J. Bernays." Froiii these figures it appears that not all the spirits exported to Africa nre of that poisonous character in themselves, which some perhaps have been led to expect, or, as some here would perhaps Hke me to put it, are not equally poisonous. However this may be, the lack of power of resistance on the part of the natives to the effects of the alcohol, whether present in greater or less degree, the climate, the cheapness of the liquor enabling large quantities to be obtained, render these spirits deadly in their operation. The prices, including shi[)ping freight and cost of bottles and packing, of the spirits sent to me are as follows : — s. d. £ s. d. Spirits sold at Sierra Leone o 4^ o 4 6 per do/.. Pint Bottles Superior gin (best equality) Lagos o 2.V 026 ,, ,, Hamburg gin o 4^ o 4 6 ,, ,, Sierra Leone (rum, coloured) 10 0120 ,, ,, vSierra Leone (rum, not coloured) 10 0120 ,, ,, Double rectified Rye Geneva 04'; 046 ,, ., Ciilka, German drink sold at Lagos 26 1 10 o ,, ,, Jaip.aica rum sold at Lagos i 6 018 o ,, Quart Bottles Another spirit I 6 o 18 o ,, ,, Bahia rum I o o 12 O ,, ,, Tafia or French rum o 9 per gallon. Demijohn of two gallons I 6 o 3 o Mr. Johnson, when in England, told us that some of this trade gin and rum was so bad that no Europeans would drink it, and that native painters have used it instead of turpentine ; whilst Mr. Allan relates an incident which occurred on board one of the South Coast steamers : — A gorilla, which had been procured at the Gaboon River, died on its way home, and in order to preserve its body properly, it was placed in a cask of trade rum, but when it was opened in Liverpool it was found tiiat the hair and skin had been burned as if by vitriol, and that the body was in a terrible state of putrefaction. It is only fair to say that the analysis does not show all the spirits to be of this character. {l>) I would now draw your attention for a few minutes to the liquor trafific as carried on in India. The report of the Bengal Excise Com- mission, the debate on India and the Excise Revenue in the House of Commons on March 13th, 1888, Government Official Returns, pam- phlets by Denshaw Edulji Wacha,* the Rev. J. Gelson Gregson,t and Surgeon-Major Pringle, M.D.,:}: and others, have established it beyond doubt that the consumption of spiritous liquors has greatly increased of late years among the natives of India, and especially among the more educated classes, and among those who, Brahmins and others, had previously generally abstained from drinking spirits. It is also admitted that such excesses may be traced in some instances to increase in wealth ; in others to the increasing influence of European customs, and among the lower classes to the greater facilities for obtaining liquor which have been afforded in some parts of India since 1876 by the system of out-still, that is, the farming out of the liquor trade over a large district to contractors with the power virtually of opening as many drinking shops as they choose in their districts. In the following (lovernment returns the great increase which has taken place in the consumption will be clearly seen : — SCHEDULE A. Tahle from page 7 ok Paper No. 166, issued i;y the Government of India TO the Secretary of State for India. Years. Tracts supplied with Liquor from Population of Tracts supplied. Number of Gallons of Spirits Rate of Duty per the Distillery at Ahmedabad. issued from Distillery. Gallon. /■ Admedahad city and ^ i cantonment, and r Rs. As. 1S72-3 118,756 30,281 I '^ three miles round. - 1873-4 do. do. 30,787 I 1874-5 do. do. 32,209 I I 1875-6 do. do. 38,662 I I 1876-7 do. do. 37,050 I I 1877-8 do. do. 33,926 I I 1878-9 do. do. 21,480 2 1S79-80 do. do. 23,286 2 1 880- 1 do. do. 27,427 2 1881-2 1882-3 The whole of the district. 656,324 46,514 2 do. do. 48,000 2 1883-4 do. do. 48,000 2 1884-5 do. do. 57,000 2 1885-6 do. do. 63,000 2 * " Indian Abkari Administration," by Denshaw Edulji Wacha, Bombay Gazette^ Steam Press, liombay, 188S. t " The Drink Traffic in India," National Temperance Publication Dep6t, t,11 ^ Strand, W.C. X Paper read by Surgeon-Major Pringle, M.D. , at British and Colonial Temperance Congress, 1886, together with statement of receipts in India from Excise Duty on Spirits, Native Races and Liquor Traffic Office, 139, Palace Chambers, Bridge Street, Westminster, S.W. § Here the Government Table stops — the remaining figures are added from the Government returns for each year. SCHEDULE B. Table Showing Quantitiks ok Spirit consumed in the Island of BoMnAV, FROM 1872 TO 1886. Number of Gallons. Duty per Gallon on Rate of Tax per annum on Rs. As. Teddy Trees. Rs. 1872-3 907,445 I 6 1873-4 884,096 1 6 1874-5 892,187 I 6S:7 1875-b 979,295 I 7 1876-7 566,482 1 12 9 1877-8 ^53,557 1 2 4 i 9 (12 1878-9 585,166 2 4 15 \ 18 i879-?o 534,980 2 4 1 880- 1 583,026 2 4 18 1881-2 630,521 2 4 18 1882-3 661^,000 • 2 4 18 1883-4 698,000 2 4 18 1884-5* 548^,000 2 12 22 1885-6 592,000 2 12 22 * In 1884-5 tlie great Toddy Strike occurred, only 500 trees being tapped instead of [8,000, the number tapped the previous year. SCHEDULE C. Statement showing quantities of Spirits consumed in the Surat DISTRICT, FROM 1872 TO 1886. Year. Tracts supplied. Population. Number of Gallons. Duty. 1872-3 1873-4 1874-5 1875-6 1S767 1877-8 1878.9 1879-80 1880-1 \ vSurat city .ind 6 miles ( round do. do. do. do. do. CO. Surat, Clurasi & 01 pad do. 107,149 do. do. do. do. do. do. 221,840 do. 85,523 89,000 99,000 94,oco 96,000 87,000 45,000 75,000 78,000 Rs. As. I 4 I 4 I 4 I 4 I 4 1 4 2 2 2 1881-2 1882-3 1884-5 1885-6 Whole Surat district do. do. do. do. 614,000 do. do. do. do. 182,000 237,000 249,000 305,000 324,000 2 2 2 2 2 The last five years showing an increase of 75 per cent, in five years. SCHEDULE D. Consumption of Spirits for the years 1881-6 in the whole Presidency OF Bombay. 1881-2 ,982,000 i«S3-4 1884-5 2,671,000 j *2,30I,000 1885-6 2,607,000 * During this year the great Toddy Strike was raging, reducing the number of trees tapped for Toddy Spirit from 18,000 in the previous year to about 500. SCHEDULE E. Table showing Revenue from Excise in the Province of Bengal for 15 years, in Pounds sterling = lo Rupees. 1871-2 619,000 1872-3 664,000 1873-4 684,000 1874-5 532,000 1875-6 578,000 1876-7 595,000 1877-8 657,000 1878-9 675,000 1879-80 694,000 I 880- I 829,000 1881-2 910,000 1882-3 951,000 1883-4 1,016,000 1884-5 975,000 1885-6 ... 927,000 N.B.— This Table shows an increase of 50 per cent, in the average revenue of the last seven years compared with the first seven years. SCHEDULE F. Total Excise Revenue from Spirits for all British India for the last five years available for returns, in Pounds sterling = 10 Rupees. 3,609,000 1883-4 ,836,000 1884-5 4,012,000 1885-6 4,152,000 1886-7 4,266,000 Showing a steady and unabating increase in five years of 20 per cent. In ten years, the Indian Government admitted, the excise revenue liad doubled. II. — I have now to speak of the Hquor traffic as carried on, as a liindrance to missionary work. In the animated controversy, both at the Congress itself and sub- sequently in the press, which followed the reading of Canon Isaac Taylor's paper last year, there was at least one point upon which all were agreed, viz. : — the terrible evil which has been and is being done by the liquor traffic physically, morally, and spiritually, to the native races abroad. During this present year, there has been held in London several re- markable gatherings — the Lambeth Conference of Bishops, the two Conferences of Bishops at Grosvenor House and Westminster Hall, and the Native Race Meeting at Princes' Hall, Piccadilly — at each of which gatherings the subject before us was under serious consideration. At the Lambeth Conference the Committee — of which the Bishop of London was Chairman — appointed to consider the subject of the duty of the Church of England with regard to intemperance, after speaking of the stain that rests on those countries that are counted foremost in the world, the stain of degrading and destroying the weaker races, goes on to say : — " It has pleased God to make the Christian nations stronger than any other — stronger than all others combined, but this strength brings with it a very solemn responsibihty, and this solemn responsibility the Church ought necessarily to press on those who bear authority. It is grievous that it should be possible to say, with any most distant resemblance of truth, that it w^ould be better for native races, that Christian nations should never come into contact with them at all." At the Meeting at Grosvenor House presided over by the Earl De La Warr, who has made the subject his own in the House of Lords, the Bishop of Minnesota said that whilst ardent spirits make drunkards of the white men, it changes a North American Indian into a devil. This deadly evil has dragged the noblest race of wild men of the earth down to a depth of degradation that their heathen forefathers never knew. The Bishop of Central Africa with the terror of Hamburg gin before his eyes, is fearful that there may be an invasion of that sort, which must hinder his efforts to Christianise the people. The Bishop of Sydney said truly, that what destroys these native races is not the white man's presence, but the white man's sin. In the falling away of these races there are no doubt various causes at work, but be- yond all these causes put together, so great as to render them absolutely insignificant, is the fact that we destroy these native races by our drink traffic. From the East and from the West, from the North and from the South, the testimony that comes is perfectly unanimous on the subject. The Bishop of Waiapu had the sad story of the Maoris to tell, as the late Bishop Selwyn had also, alas ! told it years ago at Lambeth Palace, and as Mr. Froude has told it in " Oceana." With regard to India, the Bishop of Calcutta, whilst wisely warning his hearers against speaking about persons in authority as if they were deliberately conniving at the demoralisation of the people whom they govern, admitted that there could be no question that the w^hite man, and the action of the Government in the matter of drink, had brought in a new condition of things in some respects beneficial, but in others detrimental to the w^ell-being of the people. It was a tremendously difficult problem. He hoped that people would understand that, while the government needs to be tvell looked after, there is on the whole, a desire on the part of the Government to do what is right. From the Bishop of Waiapu, who was for many years in India, we learn, that when the legislation in the directicn of pushing the pernicious Abkari system was contemplated, the missionary body in Calcutta pro- tested against it. Sir William Hunter after speaking of the benefits of Christianity in helping converts to take a place in society continues : — "On the other hand, the native Christian is exposed to a terrible temptation. Islam is a great teetotal society. Among Hindoos to drink liquors is a sign of low caste. I for one believe that if Christianity is to be an unmixed blessing in India, it must be Christianity on the basis of total abstinence. The self-imposed restriction would, in India, soon grow into a binding custom, and would raise the Christian communities out of the ranks of liquor drinking castes."* The pamphlets by Mr. Gelson Gregson and others to which I have referred, and the report I have lately received of a great meeting at Darjeeling, are all unanimous in declaring the traffic a hindrance to missionary effort. At the great Missionary Conference at Exeter Hall, with one voice all the speakers denounced the traffic as carried on as the greatest hindrance there is to the spread of Christianity. Last December a remarkable meeting, principally of natives, was held at Freetown, Sierra Leone, to agitate for the suppression of the traffic. One speech was made by one of the principal native Hquor traders in Sierra Leone. He said : — " I am myself alarge dealer in spiritous liquors ; I have on the road now thousands of gallons of rum, and several thou- sands of demijohns of gin, bound for the northern river countries where I carry on the greater part of my business. The liquor traffic destroys body and soul together ; such slaves have they become to the white man's rum and gin. Rum and gin are their incessant demand and cry. The traffic has so debased them that they everywhere neglect their own comfort." Small wonder that in view of the exploitation of the Dark Continent, the editor of a weekly journal should say last month : — " If I were an African the project would find me not merely unenthusiastic, but de- cidedly hostile. I should prefer to remain ' uncivilized ' and unexploited. ' After all,' I should say to myself, ' tall hats and new rum may have their attractions, but it is better to be black as nature made me, and bareheaded, and even sober, than to wear a tall hat and get drunk, and be done brown by the Bible-reading Paleface.' " At the same meeting Dr. Blyden pronounced an emphatic condemna- tion of the trade as unworthy of Christian civilization, and urged their bounden duty, as blood relations of the tribes, to protest against their destruction. Aborigines of other lands had been destroyed by contact with civilisation. They had no community of spokesmen. They passed — Red Indian, New Zealander, Australian, Sandwich Islander, South African — thousand after thousand, in melancholy and ghastly procession, to the grave. They went down in their voiceless woe. " In vain the chief's, the sage's pride, They had no poet and they died ; In vain they fought, in vain they bled, They had no poet and are dead." III. — What are the remedies to be sought ? 1. The creation of a public opinion, not only at home, but amongst the natives themselves. 2. The raising of the tone of commercial morality. 3. The careful watching of the action of the Indian and Colonial * " The Religions of India," a paper read before the Society of Arts, February 24th, 1888. Reprinted in the S. P. G. Mission Field, April 1888, p. 139. Governments. Whilst charges brought against the Government of India of wilful demoraUsation for the sake of revenue are to be deprecated, yet, at the same time, their action should be closely watched, as the results of some legislation, however well intended, may prove to be the means of demoralisation. Much good has already followed this careful watching. We may rejoice that the Government have stated through Lord Knutsford that : — '* Her Majesty's Government were fully alive to the terrible mischief created by the importation and sale to the natives of spiritous liquors," and " that circulars had been addressed to all the Crown colonies, asking for full information as to any laws or ordinances existing on this subject, and all other information on this important question," and we may rejoice too, that on Tuesday, April 24th, on the motion of Mr. Alexander McArthur, seconded by Sir John Kennaway, the following resolution was passed in the House of Commons : — " That this house having regard to the disastrous physical and moral effects of the liquor traffic among uncivilized races, as well as the injury it inflicts on legitimate commerce, doth cordially support the Imperial and Colonial Government in their endeavour to suppress the traffic in spiritous liquors in all native territories under their influence and con- trol," and that in accepting the resolution on behalf of the Government, Baron Henry de Worms should have given utterance to these lofty sentiments, " that the Government was fully alive to the special duty which devolved upon them of protecting those who could not protect themselves, and of averting the terrible evils which unfortunately civili- zation has too often brought in its train upon uncivilized races, and which did so much in this country to swell the long roll of pauperism and crime." 4. The urging upon Colonial Governments the duty of enforcing existing law^s, as in Australia, against the sale of strong drink to the aborigines, laws which are often openly and shamelessly violated. 5. The enactment of legislative restrictions as in the Congo,* Zululand,t Bechuanaland, power to exercise which is given to the new East African Company under Article 17 of their Charter. 6. Better still, total prohibition, as in Basutoland and among the North American Indians. It is frequently argued— on one occasion in the House of Commons, that intoxicants were known and used in India, and elsewhere, before British occupation. Granted. But this argument, so far from being an extenuating circumstance seems an additional argument for refraining from sending any more. We cannot answer this * By a decree of the Congo Free State of the 17th December last, every person trafficking in spiritous liquors with the Natives must be licensed and pay an annual license fee of 2,000 francs for each establishment, and 5,000 francs for each boat used in the traffic. The penalty for selling without a license in a building was 20,000 francs, in a boat 50,000. Short of actual prohibition, the heavy licenses fees were perhaps the most available means for bringing the traffic within narrower bounds. t " In Zululand a penalty, fine or imprisonment is imposed upon anyone selling wine or spirits to a native. In Bechuanaland the same provisions are enforced ; in Basutoland there is absolute prohibition. So that the last report for the year ending June, 1887, was— the drink traffic here has ceased to exist." 13 statement in more striking and forcible language than that used by Dr. Thornton, Vicar of St. John's, Notting Hill : — " To pander to their errors in this respect by supplying them with the means of producing in their unhappy brain the frantic delirium caused by the abominable spirit sold to them by unprincipled traders is, to my mind, to do the devil's work indeed. It is the one advantage that Mahomedanism, with all its false- hood and impurity, has over Christianity — that it compels its votaries to put away the poisons they already have, instead of inviting the seven more wicked servants of the evil one, as professing Christians, alas ! are now doing." 7. The arousing of the conscience of Europe so as to bring about international action in countries like Africa, where international interests are concerned with a view to the obtaining of an international Conven- tion — a combination between Governments" — similar to that which has been signed for the North Sea Fisheries, to that which our representa- tive at the Berlin Conference, together with others tried ineffectually to get for the Congo ; and to one which would have been signed for the islands of the Western Pacific but for the refusal of the United States Government to join the other Powers. Mr. Thomson has well ex- pressed it. " Britain does not hold one-tenth of the African coast line, and her settlements are broken into by those of France, Germany, and Portugal. Hence merely to stop the trade, or heavily handicap it in our colonies, will only be to invite it to enter by the back door from French, German, or Portugese sources. To be effectual you must get all the countries of Europe to be in concert with you. How difficult this task will be is shown by the Berlin Conference, which would not prohibit the introduction of gin into the Congo, nor permit the suppression of the existing trade in the Niger, though it was curiously enough the Company itself which worked the Niger trade that wanted the suppression." In India the action of the Government is comparatively easy, as they are not hampered, as in Africa, by international considerations. 8. Lastly, with all respect I would urge that our Missionary Societies should, in sending forth labourers, send forth men, I will not insist, as Sir William Fluntcr docs, who are pledged to total abstinence, but, men who will boldly take their part in a Holy crusade against this soul destroying traffic as now carried on, this terrible obstacle which stands in the way of the extension of the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. * Report of Committee on Intemperance at Lambeth Co.iference of Bishops, p. 36. 14 "»"^ "^"=" ^^^ -«- o o> o VO CXJ CO Ti. Ov (S Ov VO ^ ^ vcT ^ oo" fn oo^ oo' ^ '2 o_ « .2 oo i r^ s >o f^ 1 VO - " VO VO tT ro o> N VO 1^ 00 >«■ ^ 1 oo O oo m t^ f^• r^ no ^ «_ °° "" VO oo VO "} q^ VO VO 1 00 r<) r-. 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IT) o> CO ON •^ ^ VO ov o^ \o m VO^ cn 1 VO" vo oo" VO tc (Vp in o" vc" VO VO ■^ In IN M 1 N m w" o> oo VO N O in VO cn t^ o o oo in •^ ^4- q; s "^ ov oo r; vo_ n ■4^ •r OO r^ ■* M in o M m m "~ . . 5 (fl 4) M U C U s C 1 CL '> E 0) c X 3 CO X .2 ! 2 a to 0) • 5 1 QL 6 o O ^ 1 5 E (A X M T3 £ ■o V •^ 0) o 3 o _ c c O m < CQ z Q. s CQ (/) c/1 4> ,« 0) -^ o o _^-x; § cpq (U 5 0) £-^ • c ° ^ ^ o a> ^ s o o .2 JJ I/) 8.2 cn C5 C3 )-i 1^ I J|-^c^.2 ^ ^^-^^ ^-^ c !> C X O S 4> .2 > c s:^^.2 '^^"^ •r- o '^ >,^ rt -^2 , c/i i; - : •? (u "• 5 C t/i (/> 3 '-'H-2 '.5 ° = o c ■". «J ^ .V. ^ x: <^ -^ rt *- o *^ ,2-210 '^.2 1^ . 2 -§ ^ -^^ 'u^-:^.^ 15 By the Hon. T. H. W. Pelham. There is great cause for thankfulness in the fact that the supply of in- toxicating hquors to the native races of Africa and other countries is now receiving so much attention from those interested in the moral and spiritual welfare of the human race. It is to be hoped that the discus- sion of the subject at the Church Congress at Manchester will call the serious attention of the mercantile world to that, which not only is in- jurious to the physical and moral welfare of the natives, but must also prove so great an obstacle to the extension of legitimate commerce. It is from this point of view that I propose to consider the subject to- day, and to ask not merely whether the traffic is morally right, but whether it is commercially sound and calculated to prove in the end re- munerative to those engaged in trade with Africa. I say with Africa, because it is to that continent that this paper will principally refer. I cannot profess to speak with any authority. I have not visited the regions immediately affected, nor have I given any special attention to the study of those commercial and economic principles which bear on the subject. Both my facts and arguments are second hand, but I shall be satisfied if this paper leads to a discussion by those better qualified than I am to form a judgment on the subject. In the first place it may be well to recall the fact that the bitter cry against this traffic does not come exclusively from missionaries or phil- anthropists. It is true that the missionaries have been in many cases the first to call attention to the evil. It is only right and natural that they should do so ; and it is to be regretted that in a few cases the local churches have been silent, because some of their leading members have been themselves interested in the traffic. But the protest comes not only from what might be considered prejudiced sources, but from travellers, local officials, and the natives themselves. No one has spoken out more strongly than the distinguished traveller, Mr. Joseph Thomson, who de- livered a lecture on the subject in this city last year. Secondly, I may remark that the question is very different from the temperance movement at home. In England many of us wish to pro- hibit or control, as the case may be, the sale of that which, though in- jurious to many, is no doubt harmless to some. The Englishman drinks to please his appetite, and in most cases means to stop before he gets drunk. The native of Africa never deceives himself in this way. He drinks with the express object of getting drunk. Then the character of a great deal of the fiquor sold to the natives is such that there can be no legitimate demand for it. The stuff which is known in the trade as "Death," or " Chain lightning, guaranteed to kill at loo yards," would hardly be recommended by a medical man even for the more serious complaints. In such cases, at any rate, the most moderate will admit that the trade must be ended. It cannot be mended. Others will appeal to the consciences of those engaged in trade with Africa to do all in their power to stop such a traffic as this, but on the present occasion I wish to rest my appeal on stronger, though, perhaps, lower grounds. I would appeal to the self-interest of the mer- chant, and to the common sense of all those who are interested in the i6 extension of legitimate commerce. No one, indeed, is more interested in such extension than those who are engaged in missionary and educa- tional work in Africa. The beneficent mission of commerce has been recognized by every friend of Africa, and by no one more than Living- stone. The Christian missionary looks to commerce, as a handmaid to the gospel, both to elevate the taste and to quicken the energy of the natives. Turning to the political economist, we find Mr. John Stuart Mill saying : — " To civilize a savage he must be inspired with new w^ants and desires, even if not of a very elevated kind, provided that their gratification can be a motive to steady and regular bodily and mental exertion. The motive power which was most relied on for inducing the negroes of the West Indies, after their emancipation, to work was their love of clothes and personal ornaments." But my point to-day is not so much the welfare of the native, as the interest of the merchant. The latter is interested in the welfare of the native, as being both a consumer and a producer. As a consumer he must, to use Mr. Mill's words, " be inspired with new wants and de- sires." Legitimate trade (in places where drink is not admitted) does give this inspiration. Mr. Thomson thus describes the trade of East Central Africa : — "The Unyamwesi, after his journey to the coast, as a porter or to sell his ivory, returned home laden with cottons or other useful or orna- mental goods, and with some new story about the wonders he had seen among the white men or the Arabs. Each porter who thus returned helped in spreading the taste for more decent clothing, and in in- creasing more varied wants among his fellows ; in other words he in- troduced the first civiUzing germs which, slowly spreading, were bound to leaven all." It is thus that legitimate trade in any useful article will not only increase the demand for that article, but by elevating the taste of the purchaser will prepare the way for the introduction of other manu- factures. In these days every trader must depend on the discovery of fresh fields in which to distribute his goods. The general reduction in prices can only be compensated by the larger quantities sold. The interior of Africa would appear to offer unlimited fields for the sale of cotton and other articles of clothing, and, as the taste for these improves, so the desire for other European goods will gradually increase. But not only is the merchant interested in the increasing wants and improved tastes of the native as a consumer. The European goods are paid for not in money, but in ivory, oil, and other natural productions, which are brought by native traders and porters from the far interior. It is essential, therefore, that the native, as a producer, should be strong in body, thrifty in his mode of living, and of sufficient energy to enable him to take the necessary arduous journeys into the interior. The native African is not naturally thrifty or energetic. He needs every stimulus in these directions that civilization can give him. There can be no doubt that, were it not for the drink, intercourse and legitimate trade with Europeans would be calculated to give such stimulus. 17 But how does the gin and rum traffic affect the native as a consumer and as a producer? It may be admitted, as Mr. Thomson says, " that to raise a paying trade rapidly there is nothing Hke spirits. The de- velopment of a trade in useful articles is slower, and, at first, far less remunerative." But the gin and rum traffic is fatal to all the virtues which I have mentioned as necessary to render the native efficient either as a consumer or as a producer. As that distinguished traveller says, "A trade which commences with gin will continue with gin, and will end with gin. A taste for the better things of civilized life cannot grow side by side with an appetite for drink." The general testimony is that where the gin, rum, and brandy traffic flourish, commerce in other things declines, and in some cases is ex- tinguished. A representative of the African Lakes Company states : — " I am happy to say that the sphere of our company's operations is still, to a great extent, beyond the radius disturbed by the drink traffic. So long as there are no competing traders to supply the natives with drink, legitimate commerce is quite possible and easy without it. Where such competition does exist, we are placed at a great disadvantage." Speaking of the natives of South Africa, Professor Hofmeyer says :— " If they take to drinking brandy, the craving for it soon becomes un- controllable. In a short time all their cattle are sold for the purpose of buying brandy ; they then become thieves, sinking to even lower depths ; lose health and strength, and miserably die." Similar testimony as to the effect of drink on the trading capacities of the natives might be quoted from scores of missionaries, merchants, and travellers, and from all parts of Africa. One result of the demoralization of the natives will be deplored alike by the missionary, the explorer, and the merchant. The interior of Africa, with all its teeming population and rich products, which can only be reached by the help of the natives living near the coast, will become more inaccessible to Europeans. The missionary looks more and more to the native churches of the coast to Christianize their brethren in the interior. The merchant, who wishes to trade with the centre of Africa, is even more dependent on the strength, morality, and prosperity of the intervening tribes. In North America, Australia, and other non-tropical climates the Aborigines are gradually disappearing before the white men. However much this is to be deplored, from the Christian and humanitarian point of view, there is no doubt that the white man can in these countries get on without the native. In Africa there is not even this excuse. The European cannot take the native's place ; he cannot obtain the rich produce of the country without his help. To sum up. The drink traffic is fatal to commerce in useful articles, and in the long run will be destructive of itself, because 1. It is hoslile to the creation of a taste for better things. 2. It renders the native physically and morally unfit to work and to procure the articles which the merchant requires. 3. It renders the rich interior of Africa more difficult of access for trading purposes. And now, in conclusion, I must say one word as to the remedy. Those who are guihy of this crime against morality and commerce belong to different nationalities, and are probably far beyond the reach of any appeal which we may make to their humanity or self-interest. The remedy must be prohibition, and prohibition can only be enforced by the joint action of the civilized countries who have interests in Africa. Let me quote Mr. I^Iill as an authority in favour of legal interference under special circumstances. He says: — " There are matters in which the interference of law is required, not to overrule the judgment of in- dividuals respecting their own interests, but to give effect to that judg- ment ; they being unable to give effect to it, except by concert, which concert again cannot be effectual, unless it receive validity and sanction from the law." I venture to think that this drink traffic is one of the strongest con- ceivable cases which would justify legal interference, and that no other remedy is available. Even if one could persuade some of the present dealers in spirits to discontinue the trade others would take their places. But could prohibition be enforced ? It has been enforced successfully for the benefit of the Red Indian in the North-AVest Territory of Canada. When I was there a few years ago, spirits could not be obtained by an Indian or anyone else. But that territory is under one government. In Africa there are many. The European powers must interfere. There is little hope of their doing so until pressure is brought to bear upon them. That pressure must come not only from philanthropists, but from the representatives of every commercial centre of Europe. Is it too much to ask that the merchants of Manchester should take the lead ? What Lancashire thinks to-day, England will think to-morrow. What England will think to-morrow on commercial matters, Europe will think the day after. I will suggest a thought — that which is morally wrong cannot be commercially right. By Colonel Sir CHARLES Warren, G.C.M.G. The time is fast drawing nigh when the people of this country will no longer unaided be able to control the destinies of our Empire. Before we render an account of our stewardship, there is yet time to put our affairs in order, and this seems the most necessary as, no doubt, the policy adopted by us during the next few years is likely to exercise strong influence over the line of action of the Imperial Federation of the future. It is probable that from the distance of Australia or Canada, the de- fective condition of many of the laws and institutions of the mother country may appear very glaring, and it may seem an easy matter to rectify abuses and introduce a system by which wealth and work may be more evenly distributed ; but we here on the spot are aware of the extreme difficulties in rapidly making radical changes, however essen- tial and necessary they may be, without endangering the equilibrium to which the order and peace of the country is due. So, again, with regard to Colonies and native territories, wlien we view from our island the condition of nations and uncivilized races, we can all unanimously agree that efforts ought to be made to amelior- ate their condition, and give them an opportunity of becoming civilized ; and yet we may be quite unaware of the difficulties which prevent this being successfully carried out. So strongly is this conviction borne home to those who have lived in native territory, that it is necessary constantly to recur to the fact that however great the obstacles are to be surmounted it is our bounden duty, as a nation, to grapple with them, as with us lies the responsi- bility, in a very great measure, of having by our commerce demoralized these races. We have the great carrying trade of the world, we are the great maritime power, and through our instrumentality principally has alcohol been introduced amongst native tribes. It is for us, then, to counteract this evil by every means in our power. Unfortunately, however, for any unanimity of action, we are unable to agree among ourselves what to do, for we cannot concur in anything beyond the bare idea in the abstract that it is wrong to assist in the demoralization of native races, and that it is contrary to the true interests of commerce. The very greatest divergence of opinions exists as to how native races ought to be treated, and both philanthropists and practical men can bring forward strong reasons for recommending opposite systems. Some talk of Christianising, some of civilizing, some think it best to leave the natives alone and allow them to fight it out with the white pioneers, while others think it necessary to annex and govern all native territory adjoining colonies. Others again would establish white residents in native states to report to headquarters the first indication of difficulties arising. Some think that the colonies should govern the native tribes, while others think that they should be ruled direct by the Imperial Government. But no one as yet has proposed any common method by which the demoralization and extermination of native tribes through the introduc- tion of alcohol can be arrested. This is the more singular because the interests of the missionary, the temperance advocate, and the commer- cial man are all in one direction, for as the natives become demoralized and exterminated, trade diminishes. And all can agree that the simul- taneous entry of the missionary with the Bible, and the trader with the gin-bottle, is not calculated to impress the native mind with a favourable impression of Europeans. The first grand difficulty which presents itself in arriving at any com- mon action is the split which exists in the camp of temperance. The total abstainer speaks of a temperance advocate as though he were worse than a' drunkard, while the temperate man looks upon the total abstainer as though he made a religion of his professions. It is absolutely necessary to come to some understanding on the matter before the subject before us can be discussed. It appears to me that those who wish to mitigate the great evils which exist in this and other countries may be divided in two classes : — 1. The zealots who wish to coerce people out of evil into good. 2. Practical persons who desire to effect the same object by restric- tions and example. 20 We have in this country whole classes of persons who are pledged to go any length in banishing crime or evil, but they forget that the human race canno't be coerced into morality, and that if evil is repressed in one direction it will only break out in another. Some, for example, propose that certain plague spots in the centre of London should be rooted out, but they never stop to think that the inhabitants must go and live some- where, and will carry their habits and peculiarities with them. It is as though when a patient is ill with a malignant ulcer in his leg, the surgeon were to attempt to dissipate it by inoculating other portions of the body with the same sore. I hold the view that it is impossible to coerce the human race mto morality, that coercion does more harm than good, but that great good can be effected by restrictions and example. The real change must come from within the individual, and not from without. Although entirely in favour of total abstinence, I assert it is im- practicable to enforce it among any number of the human race ex- cept in a prison. Elsewhere, total abstinence can only be carried out by individual self-restraint. On the other hand, temperate habits can be enforced, and much good can be done by the action of laws and penalties. It seems to me that this principle is true throughout all phases of life : «' You may bring the horse to the water, but you cannot make him drink." . You may remove all drink from the land but the thirst remains, and will be satisfied as soon as it has an opportunity. If articles are made contraband it will pay to smuggle, but if a small duty is imposed smuggling ceases. If liquor is prohibited alto- gether it will enter a country in many forms and guises, and is bought at a heavy price ; but if moderate restrictions are placed on the sale of liquor, drunkenness can gradually be reduced and kept under. The human race cannot be made temperate per saltum, but it can be induced gradually to leave off drunkenness by proper restrictions. In our own country it is possible that if total abstainers would work frankly with temperance advocates, all alcohol, as apart from malt liquor and cider might be in a short time banished from the land, whereby an enormous saving would be effected in our prisons, police, and lunatic asylums. , . , • i i i. i u In the same manner in native territories we may banish alcohol, but we must not attempt to prohibit the native drinks in which the people have always indulged : we should be content with keeping the sale of native drinks within due bounds. The evil effect of forcing a body of men to be tota.1 abstainers for a length of time has been forced on our attention from time to time by the excesses committed by soldiers on return from a cam- paign, when they have not been served out with a small amount of grog occasionally. The proposition I submit, therefore, is that total abstinence can only be insured by the free will of the individual, and that self-restraint cannot, as a rule, be acquired suddenly, but must be a change from within. 21 That, on the other hand, temperance may be ensured among native tribes by permitting the sale of native liquors (not alcohol), under due restriction : the sale of European alcohol being prohibited. But yet it must be allowed that, even under such circumstances, a certain number of the natives, having once tasted alcohol, will not be content with their native drinks, and that a certain amount of smuggling will go on. Our rule of native races through the instrumentality of young colonies does not appear to have met with the success in the past which might have been expected. It has been in too many instances a rule of extermination. Merivale sums up our efforts in a few words : "Of what use are our laws and regulations, however Christian and reason- able the spirit in which they are framed, when the trader, the back- woodsman, the pirate, and the bushranger, have been beforehand with our legislators, poisoning the savage with spirits, inoculating him with loathsome diseases, brutalising his mind and exciting his passions for the sake of gain. Desolation goes before and civilization lags slowly and lamely behind. We hand over to the missionary and the magis- trate, not the savage with his natural tendencies and capacities, and his ancestral habits, but a degraded, craving, timid, and artful creature, familiarised with the power and the vices of the whites, rendered abject and sullen by ill-treatment, and with all his remaining faculties engrossed by the increasing difficulties of obtaining subsistence in his contracted hunting grounds." This account seems to apply to our own colonial history. It has been war to the knife and no (juarter between the whites and the natives— a struggle for existence between two parties, each of whom is bound to fight to the death. Whether we look to the ancient tribes of Newfoundland, or the brave native races of North America, or the more degraded natives of Australia and Tasmania, or the Maoris of New Zealand, or the Hottentots and Kafiirs of South Africa, there is the same tale of ill usage and extermination. And this as much at least by the emigrant part from the mother country as by the colonist born. I, myself, have found reason to think the British colonist born to be kinder and more sympathetic to the native than the British traveller. When we review our conduct as a nation towards native tribes, we can only acknowledge our excessive wickedness, we cannot even pro- fess to intend to change our ways, for every day we are transgressing more and more. Certainly we may comfort ourselves, as did the Pharisee of old, "we are not as other men." We allow that we have been brutal, but we have not been cruel; we have exterminated, but we have not tortured. We are not so bad as those nations which have gone before us. Let us recollect that those nations which have gone before failed in their hour of success, and we inherit their possessions ; let us in our turn so conduct ourselves towards native tribes m this time that we may not be judged as having failed in our duty and our inheritance given to others. The incentive to the enterprise of the Spaniards and Portuguese, and the cause of their subsequent downfall was gold. To the British and Dutch the incentive is latid. In our own island we can study the 22 history of our race by examining the various land laws : everything has hinged upon the land question. In our colonies it is the same. The whites covet the lands possessed by the native and sooner or later the tribes will take them either by agreement or by violence. "There are only three alternatives which imagination itself can suggest : — (a) The extermination of native races. (/^) Their civilization, complete or partial, by retaining them as isolated bodies of men, carefully removed, during the civilizing process, from the injury by European contact. (c) Their amalgamation with the colonist." These were the three propositions of Merivale, and rejecting the first two he proposed amalgamation with the whites. But experience shows that however practicable this may be with Spaniards, Portuguese, and French, it is not practicable with British, Dutch, or Germans. The examples we have of half-caste_tribes resulting from union between Spaniards or Portuguese with native races of Africa or South America, is not encouraging, and in the few cases in which Dutch and British have, in any numbers, amalgamated with natives, the results are most unsatis- factory. We have then the second proposition, one which has been attempted in a half-hearted manner in some portions of South Africa, and which, if carried out with care and justice, would not fail to succeed. All that is necessary is to adopt the Spanish system of placing the natives in a state of legal minority until each individually has shown himself capable of full citizenship, living with comfort under our laws. "Otherwise there is constant danger, either of the reduction of the natives to actual slavery, or of the uncertain and therefore mischievous interference of tlie authorities, to prevent hardship in particular cases." But in carrying out such a scheme care would have to be taken that the officials who look after the native tribes are not under the authority of those who are interested in possessing their lands. Many of the tribes we have to deal with are as highly civilized after their own manner as we are ourselves, but they are as unfitted to live under our laws, as we are to live under theirs. Our present system, if system it can be called, is to deliberately force upon native tribes the temptations which lead to all our vices without giving to them the power to resist these temptations, which we, as a nation, have derived from eighteen hundred years' contact with Christianity. Under the plea of civilization, we are deluging native territory with alcohol, with a view to degrading them until they sell or otherwise dispose of their lands to us. The word " civilizing '' ought to be abolished from our language with regard to natives. Here are the words of a Missionary in New Zealand, " Fifteen years we attempted to civilize without effect, and the very moment that Christianity established itself in only one instance, from that moment civilization commenced, and has been going on, hand in hand with Christianity, but never preceded it." I believe those words to be true throughout native territories ; the natives have their own code of morality, which, so long as they remain unmolested, keeps them within bounds, but which contact with the white man immediately breaks down. Unless we can give them another 23 code, that of Christianity, before they mix with us, they cease to have any power to resist temptation. A most striking instance of this is the present condition of the Chief Khamas' territory, Bamanguato, where the Rev. T. Mackenzie laboured for ten years before the white pioneer entered the territory. The Chief himself is as an enlightened Christian as anyone I have met with, and his kingdom is a model to natives and Europeans. But it is not ready for English laws ; and if they are forced upon his people to soon, their ruin will be accomplished. When we look around to the result of our direct rule of alien races, other than native tribes, we find that we have been uniformly succersful ; and the secret of our success has been toleration and non-interference. We have not altered the laws, religion, language, institutions and cus- toms of the people who have come under our rule, so that, on trans- ference, they have gained a just administration and have lost nothing. In all cases we find the same attention to the justice of the case. In Mauritius we still govern by the Code Napoleon ; in Gibraltar, by Spanish law ; at the Cape, by the Roman Dutch. " Let well alone," has been our motto, and right well has it served us. Indeed, in India we have so far given way to the local religious observances that we have been twitted with being the greatest Moslem government in the world. And yet we cannot apply these same principles of government to native tribes, but must prematurely thrust upon them the laws of the mother country, which would not even be suitable to the nations of Europe. But when all is said and done, the native cannot be protected against himself tor ever. There must be a time when he may be expected to think and act entirely for himself, and this result can best be obtained by missionary enterprise in countries which the trader has not yet reached. We know for a fact that in many parts natives have become actual Christians, for they have, of their own accord, sent native and white evangelists, at their own expense, to their neighbours further inland ; and the power that natives possess for good among themselves is evidenced by the startling effect of the recent crusade of a native of the Orange Eree States in Basutoland, preaching against the use of strong liquor, and inducing the Basutos to follow his example. These examples, here and there, show what can be done, and while every effort should be made to prevent the demoralization of native tribes by forcing liquor with our laws upon ihem, we must not forget that the surest method of tempting the native is to bring the Gospel to him and prepare him, while still in his native state, to resist the tempta- tion which the white man will eventually before long put in his way. 24 By Celestine Edwards, Esq. I CANNOT convey to you the feelings of my heart upon this subject. An evil more cowardly — a sin more barefacedly practised and impudently defended never existed ; England, Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, and the United States of America alike are guilty of dressing a lie in snow-white robe to give the world the im- pression that they are doing "heathen races" some good by the introduction of the ass/m. March, 1889.] quarterly paper. 5 the 22nd paragraph of the "Summary of Conclusions" in the Report of the Commission to Inquire into the Excise of Country Spirit in Bengal : — ''22nd. The excessive number of shops as compared with the number ''of actual consumers in some parts of the province, especially in Bengal "proper, has undoubtedly a tendency to encourage consumption, and the "Commission have felt bound to urge strongly the danger of looking merely " to total population and area in taxing excise shops. The consideration "which should be mainly regarded is the probable number of actual con- "sumers. It also appears to the Commission that the increase of drinking "has been in some measure due to the selection of improper sites for shops, "especially in the neighbourhood of villages of aborigines, and of factories " and other places where large bodies of the wage-earning classes are con- " gregated together." The Committee are of opinion that the decision as to the number and locality of shops should be more carefully guarded, and, irrespec- tive of the mere wishesof the licensees should be determined by Govern- ment officers on their own investigation and at their own discretion. 8. They are further of opinion that reforms would be much facilitated if all licensing arrangements could be under the control of officials who have no personal interest in maintaining or increasing the revenue. 9. The whole subject is beset with difficulty. How to tax spirits and to restrict consumption without inflicting hardship or en- couraging illicit manufacture are matters that have evidently received the earnest attention of the Government, though their efforts have been accompanied with varying success. The out-still system has been much restricted. It still demands very strict watchfulness. The Committee would urge its abolition wherever practicable. Reforms have been pressed apparently on all local administrations. Such should be continually kept in view, and cannot be too seriously urged on the Secretary of State, whose attention should also be called to the grievous injuries effected by the cultivation and sale of opium and bhang, the former of which has been to a great extent reduced and the latter entirely pro- hibited in Burmah,* and should both be abolished everywhere, except for medicinal purposes. 10. The Committee are further of opinion that Commissions in other parts of India similar to that lately appointed in Bengal would be of the greatest service in arriving at the facts as to the present working of the Abkari system. 11. The Committee would urge the formation of Vigilance Committees all over India (as well as in Ceylon and other Colonies) to watch over and report on every step taken to increase the consumption of spirits. There are many on the spot, both Euro- peans and natives, who would gladly do this if they knew that there was a standing committee to receive and support their representa- tions, and the knowledge that such an organization existed would be a valuable check upon the increase of the liquor traffic. 12. The Sub-Committee having discharged, so far as has been '^ Government of India Despatch. 269 ; North West Provinces, page 22, para- graph 37 ; Uurniah, jugc 22, paragrapli 36 j Assam, page 27, paragraph 4. QUARTERLY PAPER. [March, 1889. in their power, the duty committed to them in the first instance, will be prepared to carry out any further instructions which the Executive Committee may be disposed to assign to them in connec- tion with the recommendations of their Report. CLARENCE A. ROBERTS, Chairman of the India Sub- Committee. 13th December, 1888. "A NEW AFRICAN GOD." Reproduced from the Joyful Neivs Banner of Hope^ by kind permission of the Rev. Josiah Mee : — " In wandering through some of the native villages on the Kru Coast, ■ one feels as if in a kind of Hades, peopled by brutalised human beings whose punishment it is to be possessed of a never-ending thirst for drink. On all sides you are followed by eager cries for gin — gin, always gin. ' Under their eager appeals one seems to hear the bitter reproach, ' Yon see '' what yon Christians liave made ns. You talk of peace and goodwill, and 'yet you put devils into us. Give us more drink that we may allay these 'cravings, and for a moment be allowed to forget our misery.' The boast of many a village on that unhappy line of coast is the amount ofliquor they ■ can afford to drink — the gauge of their wealth, and its proudest monument the pyramid of empty gin bottles ivhich adorn its square. What matters it to the people if they live in dirt and go in nakedness, that their houses should be pictures of wretchedness, and their children cry out for food ? with the gin bottle they care not, for in the glorious carouse and midnight orgie they are for a moment on a level with their gods. — Joseph Thompson, F.R.G.S., May 18th, 1887." March, 1889.] quarterly paper. fifi IMPORTANT." We would remind friends and subscribers that our year of 1888-89 closes with the 31st of March, and that we should be glad to receive at as early a date as possible, remittances from intending subscribers. The Committee are anxious not to close this year with a deficit, but this is inevitable without further support from well-wishers of the movement. This being the last chance of appeal during this year, it is earnestly hoped that the necessary assistance may be forth- coming. Subscriptions and Donations should be made payable to the Treasurer, F. A. Bevan, Esq., 54, Lombard Street, E.G., or to the Hon. Secretary, 139, Palace Chambers, Bridge Street, S.W. Cheques should be crossed *' Barclay, Bevan, Tritton & Co." BOKHARA AND THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC. The following letter has been received by the Honorary Secretary, from Chevalier Max de Proskowetz, representative of Austria on the International Committee, and has already appeared in the Times and other papers : — " Vienna, " December 19th, 1888. " Dear Sir, " I suppose it will interest you to hear that the Amir of Bokhara, not- " withstanding his compliance with the introduction of Russian merchandise " of all kinds has made a stipulation according to which no liquors are to be "introduced into Bokhara, except for the strict use of the Russian " Diplomatic Agency personnel, and the members of the European Colony in " the town of Bokhara. " Those quantities are very insignificant, as the Diplomatic Agency "consists but of Councillor Tcharykoff, Secretary Klemm and Mrs. Klemm, " Councillor Dr. Heyfelder and the dragoman Merbadalew — an aboriginal " Bokharese — and more than twenty Ural Cossacks, the Agency's escort. " All these are in some way constrained to take other beverages than the " polluted morbific water out of the Bokharese ponds, and I can state that " thanks to Dr. Heyfelder — the renowned physician's — discussion, none of " the Europeans residing here surfeit themselves in alcoholic drinks, exceed- singly ruinous in this climate. The Agency's dinner is introduced by the " national bottle of brandy accompanying the Lakus Kor (spoon meat, " antepast), but very few of the guests touch it; the general beverage is "bottled beer — imported to Bokhara from Samarakand or Astrakhan at a " price of about 40 to 60 Kopeks (=1 sh.) for one Krushka (=0'2 imperial " gallons), distilled water and tea. The Russian stores — twelve in number — "are mostly kept by Tartars or Jews, the former restrained from taking " alcoholic drinks by their religion, the latter by their laudable soberness, a " national peculiarity shared by the many Jews, who have resided for a long " time in Bokhara. ^ " The said stipulation keeps the Bokharese people back from the tempta- " tions offered by the establishment of liquor stations;, for though Islam "interdicts alcohol to its adherents, the allurement of beer, wine, nay, 8 • QUARTERLY PAPER. [MaRCH, 1 889. " of Strong drinks, in the places where the Russians are boundless and where "their soldiers and bar keepers can freely follow their bibulous or mercenary " inclinations, seduces the Asiatic aborigines to drinking and inebriety. " The Mohammedan peoples in the Caucasus have been long since used " to wine, and I could see Mussulmans induced to be unfaithful to their *' religious prescriptions on the whole line of the Transcaspian Railway, " Irom Asunda to Samarkand, at Merv. and even found the Russian Consular "Agent at iSlashad (Persia), taking wines and liquors at a dinner he gave " me in his house in this fanatic town, elsewhere free from the sale of " alcohol, though the agent is himself a Mohammedan ; his own son did not " partake of the bottle's contents. It is evident the intercourse with " Russian people compelled the agent, who had lived before in Tiflis, to " this proceeding. • " All this proves how right you are to do all you can for the suppression " of the Native Races Liquor Traffic. I may say here, it is to be feared the " Russian supremacy in the larger part of Central Asia will in time propagate " the plague of alcoholism among the natives of Transcaspia, Turkestan, " China, Bokhara, and, perhaps, the north of Persia, along the Transcaspian "Railway, in the stations of which I saw the inevitable stocks of strong " liquor held up for sale for the garrison and the passengers. It is a well- " known fact the Russian troopers in Central Asia are duly renowned for " their inebriety, an effect of their loneliness, national habit, and the want " of nobler pastime. The inebriety in Russia itself is dreadful, as you know " only too well. A movement against this pestilence is to be registered at " Moscow, where the celebrated poet, Count Leo Tolstoi, formed a society " against inebriety. A large part of the Russian peoples may be considered " as Native Races — viz., on the Volga River and in some steppes — so that " the liquor traffic ought to be checked among them on your principle to " prevent a demoralization which is unfortunately forwarded by the Russian " Government, which derives a large profit from protecting the development " of distilleries and liquor shops, flourishing everywhere on a disgusting " scale, though heavy taxes are imposed upon them. " I hope you will be able to profit by my remarks for your next report. " Believe me, dear sir, with much respect, " Yours faithfully, "CHEVALIER MAX DE PROSKOWETZ, "President of the Inebriety Society, Austria, and Member "of the Native Races and Liquor Traffic Committee. "To the Rev. J. Grant Mills." STRAITS SETTLEMENTS. "The income from opium and spirit licenses is greatly on the increase. . . . The revenue from these farmed licenses has grown in twelve months •1885-6— from X'340,000 to £ i?>o, 000 y— Banner of Asia, January, 1889. EXCISE LAWS IN THE CAPE. " The Lantern has gone to a good deal of trouble in collecting data which, however, are of extreme interest to social scientists, if not to political March, 1889.] quarterly paper. 9 " leaders. . . . Out of the twenty-three charges in the Cape Town Calendar "all the graver crimes (thirteen) came from brandy farms. Murder, rape, " robbery, and tampering with railway signals, all arose out of cheap liquor. " In all crimes of violence committed in the wine-growing district excessive "and heinous brutality is the prevailing {e3itm'e."— Port Elizabeth Telegraph, August 2nd, 1888. Instances in support of this are given. BEOHUANALAND. The following Petition has been forwarded by our President, the Duke of Westminster, K.G., to Lord Knutsford, on behalf of the Committee : — "That, inasmuch (i) as the Cape Government places no impost on the " manufacture of intoxicating liquors, and (2) has already been the means of " extending their sale to various native communities where under native " rule they had previously been prohibited, and (3) in view alsoof the strong " opposition of the people of Bechuanaland to the introduction of intoxicating " liquors into their territory, as illustrated by the vigorous protest of Khama, "Chief of the Bamangwato, the Committee earnestly deprecate the proposal " for its annexation by the Cape Government, and trust that whatever may " be the future Government of Bechuanaland effective provisions will be " made by the Imperial Government for protecting tlie inhabitants frorn the " importation and sale of spirituous liquors against their earnest wishes." Lord Knutsford, in a letter to the Duke of Westminster, acknowledging the receipt of this petition, says, " I beg to assure '' you that due and careful consideration will be given to the resolu- " tion of the Committee." THE ORANGE FREE STATE. A writer in the Soti^k African Temperance News says : — " I suppose you are aware than an Act was passed by our Volksraad "(Parliament) in 1883 whereby all country hotels and canteens were done "away with and the sale of liquor to natives strictly prohibited. The Good "Templars and others got up memorials, and had them extensively signed " by farmers, and, of course, the Raad could not turn a deaf ear to the " petition, and now, having found how well it works, I do not think they are "likely ever to repeal it. As an instance of how the law has affected the "country, I need only refer to the Circuit Court of Boshof. Before the " Liquor Law was enforced, there were about ten criminal cases at a session, " but at the first session after it came into operation there were only three, " and out of the three cases two were for contravention of the above law." — Alliance Neics, Jan. 26, 1889. NEW PAMPHLET. The " Summary of Evidence " has been published and circulated very extensively. Excellent articles referring to this 10 QUARTERLY PAPER. [MaRCH, 1 889. pamphlet, have appeared in the Liverpool Courier, Nottingham Daily Express, The London Echo. Hull Daily News, The Philan- thropist 2iU(\ notices in the Manchester Guardian 3.rid other papers. Copies of this pamphlet may be had at the office for one penny each, or 7s. 6d. per 100. MEETINGS. Reigate. — An enthusiastic meeting was held at the Public hall, Reigate, on Monday, February nth. The chair was taken at 8 o'clock by the Rev. Canon Cazenove, who was supported on the platform by the Rev. W. Allan, Surgeon-Major Prmgle, the Rev. T. Aston Binns, Rev. A. Isham, Mr. H. E. Gurney, Mr. Henry Gurney, Mr. T. Radford Hope, J.P., Mr. R. Binns, Mr. J. Maude, Rev. E. P. Larken, Rev. Joseph Sandys, Mr. Herbert Crosfieid, and the Honorary Secretary. Resolutions condemning the liquor traffic, as carried on amongst uncivilised and heathen races, were unanimously carried, and ordered to be forwarded to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, the Colonies and India, and to the local members of Parliament. Replies have been received from the different Secretaries of State. The following reply has been received from Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart., M.P., for the Reigate Division of Surrey. " I have to acknowledge your letter of the i6th inst., and the enclosure it " contained. "I am in complete agreement with the opinions expressed, speaking "generally, and have long recognised the demoralising and degrading " effects produced in too many parts of the world by the liquor traffic, " carried on under the auspices and authority of the various colonising " nations. Nor can the serious obstacle thereby created to the advance of "civilisation and Christianity, be for a moment denied. " With regard to India I think a somewhat different state of things exists. "The liquor traffic is there placed under stringent regulation and " supervision. If a taste for alcoholic stimulants be ineradicable in the " human race, as the history of the world would seem to prove, it is wiser "and more conducive to sobriety and a proper use of such stimulants, that " in such a country as India the traffic should be contiolled and regulated by " the central authority. The result of repressive or coercive legislation on " the habits and usages of human beings —I do not, of course, refer to crime « — has not in my judgment been sufficiently satisfactory to lead to the " extension of such legislation. This does not, of course, affect the question " where there is no enlightened central authority to deal with unprincipled " traders. Brighton.— At the Annual Meeting of the Brighton Church of England Temperance Society Branches recently held in the Dome, Prebendary Hannah in the chair, a speech on the demoralisation of native races by the liquor traffic was delivered by our Honorary Secretary. March, 1889.] quarterly paper. ii Kensington. — On Monday, March 4th., the Honorary Secretary read a paper before the Kensington Clerical Club, which met at Canon Trench's, All Saint's Hostel, 27, Colville Square, W. Hatfield. — North Mymms. — The Honorary Secretary addressed the Church of England Temperance Society Branch in this parish, on March 7th. A resolution condemning the traffic was passed unanimously ; copies have been sent to the Prime Minister, the Secretaries of State for India and the Colonies, and the local Member of Parliament. COMING MEETINaS. Windsor. — A meeting is to be held on April the 3r(l, at 4 o'clock p.m., the Dean of Windsor in the Chair. The Mayor of Windsor has kindly consented to take part in the proceedings. HoLBORN. — The Assistant Secretary has promised to read a paper before a local branch of the Good Templars on Thursday, April the 4th. LIST OF PUBLICATIONS TO HE OBTAINED AT 139, PALACE CHAMBERS, BRIDGE STREET, S.W. No. I — History OF THE Movement and List of the Committee... Gratis. No. 3 — India Excise Revenue Statistics, by Surgeon-Major Pringle, M.D. ■ 1.7. No. 5 — Demoralization of Native Races by the Liquor Traffic ; a Paper read at the International Temperance Congress, held at Zurich, September 8th, 9th and loth, 1887, by the Rev. J. Grant Mills, M.A id. No. 6— India and the Excise Revenue. Report of the debate in the House of Commons of March 13, 1888, with preface and appendix by W. S. Caine, Esq., M.P Gratis. No. 7— The Case AS It Is, by the Rev. Canon Elison jd. No. 8 — Report upon the Liquor Traffic on the West Coast of Africa, by the Rev. Wm. Allen id. No. 9— Liquor Traffic and Native Races. Report of the debate in the House of Commons of April 24th, 1888 id. Quarterly Papers of the Committee, giving a summary of the latest action of the Committee (March and Juneare out of print), each number id The Liquor Traffic in Africa. What is it Doing ? How shall it BE Stopped ? Being a Summary of Evidence collected with reference to Africa. This is a most useful pamphlet to those who wish to speak upon this subject ... ... ... ... ... ... ... id. Twenty-five Vears of Church of England Temperance Work ; a Letter to His Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury by the Rev. Canon Ellison 2d. Africa and the Drink Trade, by the Ven. Archdeacon Farrar ... 6d. Drinking and the Drink Traffic in India, by the Rev. Gelson Gregson ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... id. The Drink Traffic in India, by the Rev. Gelson Gregson Gratis. Die moralische Entartung der Naturvolker durch den Spirit- UOSEN-Handel, von Rev. J. Grant Mills id. THE SECOND ANNUAL REPORT OF THE UNITED COMMITTEE FOR THE PREVENTION OF THE ^tmoxdi}Rtxon of llatik §laas BY THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC 139, PALACE CHAMBERS, 9, BRIDGE STREET, WESTMINSTER, S.W. 31 5f March. 1889. DlPROSE, BATEMAN & CO., Printers, Sheffield Street, Lincoln's Inn, UNITED COMMITTEE FOR THE PREVENTION OF THE I^in0rali5ati0n ai Jlatitr^ Eaas BY THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC, 139, PALACE CHAMBERS, BRIDGE STREET, WESTMINSTER, S.W. His Grace The DUKE OF WESTMINSTER, K.G. Chairman. The Right Hon. and Right Rev. The LORD BISHOP OF LONDON. I^ite-C^airmart. SIR JOHN KENNAWAY, Bart., M.P. Cbairman of (^xtcxtttbt Committee. The Hon. T. H. W. PELHAM. His Grace The Archbishop of Canterbury. The Right Re The Lord Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol. „ „ Rochester. „ „ Adelaide. „ , , Algoma. „ „ Auckland. „ „ Barbados. „ „ Bombay. „ „ Brisbane. „ „ Calcutta. „ „ Caledonia. A 2 The Right Rev The Lord Bishop of Cape Town. Central Africa. Guiana. IN Japan. MOOSOONEE. Nassau. Nova Scotia. Pretoria. Queensland. St. John's, Kaffraria. Sierra Leone. Singapore. Waiapu. zululand. MEMBEES ELECTED TO EEPRESENT MISSIONARY SOCIETIES.* Society for the Propagation of the Gospel .— Tremenheere, General, C.B. Elwyn, Rev. Canon. Church Missionary Society: — Allan, Rev. W. Roberts, Clarence A., Esq. Universities Mission to Central Africa : — Waller, Rev. Horace, F.R.G.S. Penney, Rev. W. H. Colonial and Continental Chicrch Society : — Ranken, Rev. W. H. Nugent, R., Esq. London Missionary Society : — Kennedy, Rev. John, D.D. Thompson, Rev. R. Wardlaw. Wesley an Missionary Society : — Olver, Rev. George William. Wood, Peter F., Esq. Cliurch of Scotland Foreign Mission Committee : — MacLeod, Rev. Norman, D.D. Mac Murtrie, Rev. John, M.A. Free Church of Scotland Foreign Mission Committee : — Lindsay, Rev. Professor, D.D. Smith, George, Esq., LL.D., CLE. United Presbyterian Church Foreign Mission Board : — Buchanan, Rev. James. Mac Laren, Duncan, Esq. Baptist Missionary Society: — Baynes, a. H., Esq., F.S.S., F.R.A.S.— Mc Master, J. Short, Esq. Aborigines Protection Society: — GuRNEY, Henry, Esq. Bourne, H. R. Fox, Esq. * Representatives of Missionary and Temperance Societies are on the Executis Committee. MEMBERS ELECTED TO REPRESENT TEMPERANCE SOCIETIES. Church of England Temperance Societies : — Coney, Rev. E. C. Dillon, Hon. Conrad A. Edgcome, Major-General, R.E. Ellison, Rev. Canon. Leigh, Hon. and Rev. Canon. LoNGHURST, Dr. A. E. T. Mills, Rev. J. Grant. Pelham, Hon. T. H. W. Sawyer, Robert, Esq. Wright, Rev. G. Howard. Church of Ireland Temperance Society : — Johnston, William, Esq., M.P. Chapel Royal, Dublin, Very Rev. Dean of. National Temperance League : — Taylor, John, Esq. Rae, Robert, Esq. United Kingdom Band of Hope Union : — Clarke, Ebenezer, Esq., F.S.S. Shirley, Stephen, Esq. United Kingdom Alliance: — Hilton, John, Esq. Sheffield, Captain Frank. Blue Ribbon Mission : — Palmer, William I., Esq., J.P. GouLDiNG, W. P., Esq., F.R.G.S. Wesleyan Methodist Conference Temperance Committee : — Bennetts, Rev. G. A. Seaber, Thomas, Esq. Independent Order of Good Templars : — Mottram, Rev. William. Hilton, John, Esq. MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT AND OTHERS. Lichfield, Right Hon. the Earl of. Radstock, Right Hon. Lord Bridgeman, Colonel, the Hon. F. C, M.P. *Caine, W. S., Esq., M.P. ♦Campbell, Sir George, K.C.S.L M.P. Curzon, Hon. G. N., M.P. Ellis, James, Esq., M.P. Houldsworth, Sir William Henry, Bart., M.P. *Mac Innes, Miles, Esq., M.P. Mac Lagan, Peter, Esq., M.P. Morgan, O. V., Esq., M.P. Parker, C. S., Esq., M.P. Rowntree, Joshua, Esq., M.P. *Smith, Samuel, Esq., M.P. ♦^Stewart, Mark J., Esq., M.P. Webster, Sir Richard, Q.C., M.P. Wilson, Henry J., Esq., M.P. Barber, William, Esq., Q.C. Barker, Rev. Canon. Bathurst, Venerable Arch- deacon. Blackwood, Sir Arthur, C.B. BoNwicK, James, Esq., F.R.G.S. *BouRNE, Stephen, Esq. Burnside, Rev. F. Cropper, James, Esq. *DiBLEY, George, Esq. Edghill, Rev. Dr. Farkar, Venerable Archdeacon. Goldsmid, Major-General Sir F., C.B., K.C.S.I. Gregson, Rev. Gelson. Herschel, Sir W. J., Bart. Hooper, George N., Esq. *Leisching, L , Esq. LivESEY, George, Esq. *Naoroji, Dadabhai, Esq. ♦Perdicaris, Ion, Esq. Pollock, Sir Richard, K.C.S.L Portal, Wyndham S., Esq. *Pringle, Surgeon-Major Robert, M.D. Ridgeway, Rev. C. J. Scott, S. R., Esq. Sinclair, Rev. W. M. *Tritton, Charles Ernest, Esq. Walker, William, Esq. Warren, Colonel Sir Charles, R.E., G.C.M.G. *Westcott, Rev. Professor, D.D. Westminster, Very Rev. the Dean of. Wilberforce, Rev. Canon. Williams, R., Esq., Jun. York, Very Rev. the Dean of. Also on the Executive Committee. PUBLICATION SUB-COMMITTEE. Hon. T. H. W. Pelham. Rev. Canon Ellison. Rev. VV. Allan. Rev. J. viRANT Mills. Surgeon-Major Pringle, M.D. L. Leisciiing, Esq. INDIA SUB-COMMITTEE. Sir Geo. Campbell, K.C.S.I., M.P. General Tremenheere, C.li. Surgeon-Major Pringle, M.D. Clarence A. Roberts, Esq. M.P. Samuel Smith, Esq L. Leisching, Esq. Dadabhai Naoroji, Esq. tli/rcasurcr. FRANK BE VAN, Esq. The Rev. J. GRANT MILLS, M.A. gissislaiit ^emtarg. Mr. a. W. BODGER. gaulicrs. Messrs. BARCLAY, BEVAN, TRLrTON & CO., I, Pall Mall East, S.W. INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE. America, United States of. — Judge James Black. Austria.— CiiEYAiAER Max de Proskowetz. Fresidoit of the Aiishian Iiiebrii'ty Society. Belgium.— Dv. Moeller. Canada, Dominion of, — G. E. Forster, Esq., minister of Marine and Fisheries. Denmark.— Hkryl Lehrer C. Wagenek. France. — Mons. Jules Robyns. Germany. — Herr Dr. Lammers. Great Britain. — Robert Rae, Esq. National Tetiipcrance League. Holland. — Mons. D'Engelbromer. Italy. — Signor Bisocci. Noriuay. — Herr Flood. Russia. — M. Forstadius. 5z£/^^^«.— Madame Natalie Andersson-Meyerhelm. SK'itzerland. —Mo^s. le Pasteur Francois Naef. Also on the Executive Comiiiutee. UNITED SCOTTISH COMMITTEE. Cljairman. REV. D. D. BANNERMAN. Adam, Rev. John, D.D. Adamson, Rev. Wm. D.D. AiTKEN, Rev. James Archer, Gilbert, Esq. Bailey, W. C, Esq. Blaikie, Rev. Professor Blylth, Rev. R. B. Brown, Rolet, Esq. Bruce, James, Esq. Bruce, James, Esq., W.S. Buchanan, Rev. James Christison, Sir Alexander, Bart. Collins, Sir William Daly, Rev. Fairley Dawson, Rev. E. C. Davidson, John, Esq. Dennistoun, Alexander, Esq. Duncan, Rev. Henry Eaton, Rev. George, D.D. Ellis, Rev. Rowland Gladstone, Rev. George Guthrie, Chas. J., Esq. Johnstone, Rev. J. A. LiLFER, John, Esq. Lindsay, Rev. Professor LiNKiE, John, Esq. LocKHART, Robert, Esq. Mair, Rev. Wm., D.D. Mc Farlane, Geo., Esq. Mc Queen, Rev. John Mc MuRTRiE, Rev. John Miller, John R., Esq. MuiR, Rev. Gavin T. Mum, Wm., Esq. NicoL, Thomas, Esq. Paton, Rev. James RoHNTRON, J. C., Esq. Ross, Geo. W., Esq, Ross, Rev. Wm. Selkirk, Bailie Simon, Rev. Principal, D.D. Tait, Rev. W. Todd, Henry, Esq., W.S. Wilson, John, Esq. Wilson, J. G., Esq., S.S.C. REV. JOHN CAMPBELL, Hon. Sec. The following Churches and Associations are represented upon the United Scottish Committee, viz. :— Church of Scotland. Free Church of Scotland. United Presbyterian Church. Scottish Episcopal Church. Congregational Church. Evangelical Union Church. Gospel Temperance Union. Good Templars and Scottish Temperance League. Scottish Permissive Bill Association. Edinburgh Band of Hope Union. .8 ANNUAL MEETING. The Second Annual Meeting of this Committee was held, by kind permission of the Lord Mayor, in the Mansion House, on Friday, May loth, 1889, at three o'clock. The Egyptian Hall was crowded, and during the proceedings large numbers were content to stand. The duke of WESTMINSTER, K.G., presided, and was supported by the following gentlemen : — The Bishop of London, Commander Cameron, R.N., C.B., Mr. W. S. Caine, M.P., Mr. Joseph Thomson, F.R.G.S., Mr. John Mackenzie (late Commissioner in Bechuanaland), Rev. E. R. Young, Mr. C. H. Huntley, C.M.G., Archdeacon Baly, Bishop of Bangor, Canon Ellwyn, Canon Payne, Hon. Canon Leigh, Canon Ellison, Chairman Church of England Temperance Society ; Canon Hensley, Rev. Henry Duncan, Church of Scotland ; Rev. Dr. Kennedy, London Missionary Society; Rev. Dr. Rigg, Principal of the Wesleyan Normal Listitution; Rev. Dr. Dawson Burns, Secretary United Kingdom Alliance ; Mr. Charles E. Tritton, Treasurer Church of England Temperance Society ; Mr. H. R. F^ox Bourne, Secretary Aborigines' Protection Society ; Rev. R. Lang, Secretary Church Missionary Society ; Sir William Wedderburn, Bart., the following Members of Parliament : — Sir John Swinburne, Bart., Mr. Miles Maclnnes, Mr. Isaac Hoyle, Mr. William Johnston, Mr. Peter MacLagan, Sir Wilfrid Lawson, Bart., Mr. T. R. Buchanan, Mr. E. S. W. De Cobain, Mr. John Wilson, Mr. William B. Barbour, Mr. Alfred Pease, Mr. William Lawrence, Mr. Handel Cossham, and the following Gentlemen : — The Hon. T. H.W. Pelham, Major-General Sir F. Goldsmid, General Tremenheere, C.B., Professor Bernays, Dr. Robert Cust, Dr. Ginsburg, Mr. Dadabhai Naoroji, Mr. W. 1. Palmer, J. P., Mr. John Hilton, Hon. Conrad Dillon, Mr. Ebenezer Clarke. The meeting was opened with prayer by Canon Ellison, after which the Hon. Secretary, the Rev. J. Grant Mills, read letters of regret from absent friends who would have been present had it been possible, and he afterwards read an abstract of the annual report. His Grace, on rising to address the meeting, was received with loud cheers. He wished, in the first place, to express his own regret for two reasons, that we had not the honour and pleasure of the Lord Mayor's presence upon this occasion. He was obliged to be in Paris on official business in connection with the Exhibition. For that he was sorry, and also because we lost by his absence some of the prestige which was always present when his lordship took the chair upon an occasion of this sort. He was glad to say he was supported upon the platform by many gentlemen who were thoroughly conversant with the subject of the liquor traffic abroad, and though he thought it his duty the other day in bringing this question before the House of Lords to quote very largely from those authorities, we would agree with him that it would be perfectly unnecessary to do so upon this occasion, because we were brought face to face with the authorities themselves. He would only refer to the resolutions of one of the earlier meetings of this united Committee, which was held in March, 1887 and which was to this effect: — " That in the interests of Christianity and humanity the facts bearing on the traffic and the results should be made more generally known to the people of England and other countries, with a view to the formation of a sound public opinion, and eventually to the passing of legislative enactments for the suppression of such traffic." There were other objects set before that Committee, but this was the chief one — to further and encourage the expression of opinion in the direction in which we were travelling, because, after all, that was mainly what we had to do, both with regard to the influence it would have, not only upon our own Government, but upon other civilised Governments of Europe and the world. There had been in consequence of that re- solution and others meetings and debates, already alluded to in the abstract of the report, both in the House of Commons and in the House of Lords. They had had lately in the House of Commons a debate upon India, which was of a very interesting character, brought forward by Mr, Samuel Smith, and spoken to by Mr. Caine, M.P., well known for his great philanthropy and for his advocacy of the cause of Temperance. Mr. Caine was here, and would be able to give us some of the results of his journey abroad. That debate was in- teresting as showing a very serious defect in the management of the liquor traffic in India, whereby out-stills exist in great number, and we had an undertaking from the Government that the abuse would no longer be permitted. He saw Lord Cross the other day, who told him the Government were doing all they could, and would do still more in the direction of its removal. He thought it showed that these debates did good. Though the Government might be thoroughly willing to work with us, yet a little gentle pressure occasionally did no harm. Then he had the honour of accompanying a deputation to the Prime Minister in December last, and nothing could be more satisfactory than the Prime Minister's words upon the subject. We went to him asking him in the name of the Government to do, in conjunction with the German Government, all that he could in consequence of this new alliance affecting ;the east coast of Africa. Lord Salisbury was very emphatic, and he would quote his words : — "I can assure you that no efforts on our part shall be wanting. We will never cease to press the question whenever we see an opportunity of pressing it with effect. We will press it in season and out of season, because we believe that a vast amount of human happiness and misery depends upon the course which these negociations take." He did not think there could well be stronger words than these, and coming as they did from the head of the Government the greatest importance was to be attached to them. We m.eant to keep Lord Salisbury to his declaration as far as we could by the pressure of public opinion, and by the pressure of such a meeting as he had the pleasure of addressing to-day. There were on the plat- form gentlemen who were more conversant with this subject than he, but he was sorry to know that its ramifications of evil extended over the world. The natives, we knew on the best authority, were not like our own people who were subject, and ought to be subject, to some self-control. In many cases they brewed their own drink, which was sometimes nasty and at others nice, and even in instances rather powerful ; but those who knew well would tell us that the strongest liquor they brewed was not anything Hke, in nastiness or power, a great deal of the foreign spirit which was poured into those countries. The 10 amount of it would be bad enough, but the quaHty made the evil and the resulting sin far worse. The natives, he believed, apart from a liking for their own drmk, had not the tremendous craving for it which this foreign spirit was sup- posed to satisfy. It was hard that this craving should be encouraged from outside, to their own destruction and ruin, body and soul. There were certainly some favourable features of the case as it was now pre- sented to us. Our own Government was with us, and so were all the great societies that had done so much good— the great temperance societies and the missionary societies ; and beyond and besides that,_ we had these great trading companies in Africa, for instance, the Niger Company, which was most favourable to our views. England's mission had been for years, to fight against the wrongs that needed resistance, not only in our own great empire, but in all parts of the world. She had done great things and incurred great sacrifices in regard to the slave trade — and this was really no smaller question than was the slave trade— from all we heard. Her arm was powerful to save when she held it out, and it would be neccessary, in the conduct of this cause, to act as if we were besieging a city, and that we should have a permanent_ camp always ready to resist any sortie that the foe might make— this wicked and wretched garrison of drink— and that we should have our sentries always vigilant and on the alert. It was necessary that we should have our spies, who might in this case be taken to be the merchants and authori- ties, some of whom were here, and that not only should we have from them all the information we could gather, but that that information might be conveyed as early as possible, so that we might be able to give our support and use our pressure upon the Government of the day. Mr. Grant Mills had alluded to another want— a permanent want— that of the foragers, who had to bring in provisions in order that the life of the camp might be sustained. That must be done, for this would be a long fight, and an uphill fight, and a very difficult fight ; but by the help of God, and a thoroughly aroused public opinion, and the assistance of all the friends of Temperance, and all the missionaries, and all who wished to further the great cause of Christianity and humanity, and, he might also add, legitimate commerce, this cause would yet triumph. Mr. Max Muller, in a speech at the Royal Academy, said some people might think this an impossible fight, but as many things had been overcome by the help of God, and in ways we could not calculate, we must try to vanquish the impossible by indomitable perseverance. This should be the aim of those engaged, and of all who laboured in the great struggle of life. The lord BISHOP OF LONDON, who was loudly cheered on rising, moved the first resolution as follows : — " That the traffic in strong drink, as now carried on by merchants belong- i ng to Christian nations has become the source of wholesale demoralisation and ruin to the native races in almost all parts of the globe, and is proving a seri- ous stumbling-block to the progress of the Gospel and of civilisation among them." He did not think that this resolution was one that required any argument to be added to the facts, which were pretty generally known to those who had taken any interest in the matter. He could not say very much in detail upon this point, nor could he adduce many facts, because he had 11 not had the opportunity of studying them as closely as some present ; but he must confess that he felt strongly on this matter. He certainly felt very strongly indeed when he was told that in one place in Africa the Christians were subscribing to build a mosque rather than a church, because the Mohammedans would not bring any drink with them ; whereas any increased number of Christians would mean an increase in the importation of drink. It is a very shocking thing to think that the approach of Christianity in any country should be attended with such an accompaniment as this, and he could not help feeling very much stirred when, at the conference out of which this Committee came for dealing with the whole matter, and convened by the National Temperance League, it was stated, by one who knew well what he was saying, that in almost all parts of the uncivilised world we were destroying the natives because we were bringing to them that poison which we ourselves found dreadfully mischievous, but which to them was irresistible. They were, he said, men with the passions of children, and we who had learnt by tradition something like control over our passions in that way — and not all of us by any means — yet we were bringing to these unhappy people who had never learnt any self-control at all that which we knew would be their ruin, because they could not be moderate in its use. He could not help being much moved by the account which he received from India of the quiet and steady — he might almost say the secret— growth of the use of intoxicating liquors, and consequently of intemperance. It was quite notorious now that the trade which came from civilisation — that trade which, in its own nature, ought to be the means of elevating humanity everywhere ; that trade which ought to carry with it comforts unknown before and appliances and means for every kind of elevation and civilisation ; that trade which had been in many ways and still was capable of being, if set free from this mischief, the instrument of blessing to unnumbered people who had never had any share in it ; that trade was rapidly demoralising and ruining native races because one particular branch of it was shutting out all the rest and taking up the entire field to itself, and that branch was the very last any man would desire to encourage in preference to ordinary trade. What was ordinary trade or commerce ? What was it but the interchange of all those varied blessings and comforts which God in His providence had allowed to be created by the human race, and the consequent intercourse of mind with mind which from our very nature was the great means of elevating and purifying that nature. What was trade but the basis of the civilisation of the world, and it was doubly and trebly wicked to turn that which was intended for so blessed a use into the means of so fearful an evil. He could not but think that men who were engaged in business and who reflected at all upon what their business was intended to do, men who had the opportunities of seeing what a blessing trade could be made, men who were constantly engaged in it, and who, if they were really Christians, looked upon themselves as the messengers of God to carry everywhere the blessings which God had given to all sorts and conditions of men— he could not but think that they must feel that it was a monstrous thing that what they were thus engaged in should be degraded from the service of God to the service of evil. What was all 12 the occupation of this life ? What were the businesses, the services in which we engaged ? Were they not all different occupations in the great household of our heavenly Father ? Had His providence not organised and arranged them all ? Was not every man— the merchant, the banker, the shopkeeper, and the manufacturer, down to the man who worked with his hands — was he not the servant of God ? Was he not doing that which God had appointed to be done? He was as much God's servant as the ministers of the Gospel were God's servants in their way ; and every Christian merchant ought to feel the high dignity of being thus employed in that great household, and ought to be able to say to himself with a clear conscience, " I belong to the great body of God's servants. I regard my business as a part of the work He has arranged to be done in this creation of His— the world in which I live." He ought to be able to say, ''I believe that my business is a blessing wherever it penetrates, as I know that it ought to be, and know that it can be." But what was to be said of trade when there was really a danger of its being absorbed by one of its most evil branches, which, even when it was kept down within the limits of close moderation, could not rise above the rank of supplying a luxury, which was not really a necessity. Was such a trade to be allowed, not only to hold its place amongst the others, but was it to be allowed to predominate so that all the others should perish under its shadow? He could not think that the merchants of this great city could look un- moved upon such a position for England to take, or for the civilised races of Europe to take, in dealing with the uncivilised races of the world. He hoped and trusted that all alike would lift up their voices against what he could not but regard as a degradation of commerce. He hoped that all would lift up their voices and press earnestly upon the Government, and upon all other authorities whom they could reach, the duty in all ways, direct and indirect that were within the reach of making English commerce, whatever might be said of the commerce of other nations, unstained in the eyes of God, and worthy of its true position This was what he would venture to urge upon us now as the true course for all who were engaged in English business to take, as the appeal which ought to be made to every man's conscience in such a great city as this, the great emporium of the whole world, the very centre of civilised commerce, the great example and model, which, because it was the great example and model, other nations had a right to look to as setting the great moral standard that ought to regulate the commerce of mankind. Mr. CELESTINE EDWARDS, a native of Antigua, seconded the resolution. He said that from London intoxicating drinks were sent to native races, and from Liverpool also. British ships from these parts were sent to Germany to be filled with the vilest kind of drink to be despatched abroad. There were two facts which the British public must try to deal with and to stop. In the next place, with regard to Africa itself, the few Africans who had learnt the English alphabet, and who had begun to think for themselves, were thinking this : that they ought to be as fairly treated in commerce and in trade as we treated the other European Powers. At the present time they were not fairly dealt with. 13 In giving the natives intoxicating drinks, we did not give them an equivalent for the goods we took away from Africa. Not only so, but in doing that we not only gave them an insufficient equivalent, but we gave them that which was demoralising them; but bear this in mind, that if we demoralise these native races, we also demoralised ourselves. A great number of his people had been in contact with white men for the last hundred years or more, and they ought to have been ten times further advanced in civilisation than they were, but yet were not one particle better for haying come into contact with such people. That was a terrible shame not only to the natives, but to us, and he hoped we would take these things to heart, and, as his Grace said, keep reminding the Prime Minister of what he had said. There was just one quotation which he hoped his Grace would have made, from the Prime Minister's language, which was this : '' that the native races were children ; " and the Africans demanded that if they were children, we ought to treat them as we would our own children. The CHAIRMAN, in introducing Mr. Caine, said it was im- possible to have a more outspoken champion of this cause than that gentleman. Mr. W. S. CAINE, M.P., who was received with cheers, moved the second resolution : — "That, in the interests of Christianity and humanity, the facts bearing on the traffic and its results should be made more generally known to the people of England and other countries, with a view to the formation of a sound public opinion, and eventually to the passing of legislative enactments for the repression of such traffic." He said that the eloquent speech of the Lord Bishop of London appealed very earnestly to this meeting not to allow English commerce to be stained in the eyes of God. If that appeal should be made with regard to English commerce, what appeal should be made with regard to a Christian Government ? To all practical purposes the Government of India was engaged in the liquor traffic. It drew a large and increasing revenue from its sale— so large and so increasing as to cause grave alarm from every practical politician, every social reformer, and every Christian missionary. He would give us an idea of this. The present system had been in existence fifty years. It was founded in 1838, and reached its perfection in 1887. The revenue then (1838) was ;£"2, 458,000. The revenue rose to ^^2, 619,000 in 1879, ^^^ he would give the revenue for different periods afterwards. In 1879 it was, as he had said, ^2,619,000; in 1880, ;£2, 838,000 ; in 1881, ^3,131,000; in 1882, ^3,147,000; in 1883, ^3.609,000; in 1884, /3, 837,000; in 1885, ;^4,oi2,ooo; in 1886, ^4,152,000; in 1887, ;^4,375,ooo ; so the revenue had virtually doubled itself during the last ten years. When these figures were brought under the notice of Indian officials, the reply was that the increase was mainly due to two causes— the transfer of illicit trade to legal trade, and to the raising of the duties. Without troubling the meeting with a mass of figures— he had no fear of successful contradiction — he could show that the increase from these sources had been trivial, and hardly worth taking into account; and there was no doubt whatever that this increase of revenue 14 represented pretty nearly the increased consumption of intoxicating liquors. Was it on the part of the English or the native population ? He had no hesitation in saying that Englishmen in India were steadily drinking, not more, but less. Ten years ago there was scarcely a teeotaller in the British Army in India ; now there were 13,000. The people of this country, if they were unable to deal with the merchants who engaged in this business, could certainly deal with the Governments. The Indian Government was subject to the India Office at home ; the India Office was under the control of Parliament ; and Parliament was subject to the control of the ratepayers of the United Kingdom ; and we had only to awaken an enlightened public opinion in this country to obtain legislation in Parliament, and get this matter put straight. As to the recommendations contained in the Committee's report, we heartily agreed with them. With regard to India, the Com- mittee had issued a report, " condemning the present system of out- stills, and urging the restrictions of liquor shops, the appointment of commissions for other parts of India similar to that appointed for Bengal " — he, however, thought they had quite sufficient information without that — " the formation of vigilance committees all over India " — and during his visit he formed forty-four vigilance committees — "as well as in Ceylon " — where the consumption of intoxicating liquors had trebled itself in twenty years — " and that all licensing arrangements should be under the control of officials who have no personal interest in maintaining or increasing the revenue." That last paragraph, if it meant anything, meant the abolition of the farming system, with which he entirely agreed. In conclusion, he begged most heartily to move the resolution which he had already read to the meeting. Commander CAMERON, R.N., in seconding the resolution, said that the great obstacle to successfully battling with this, as with all other evils, was that the civilised world was in a state of potential ignorance ; in other words, if people knew such things to exist, they made no use of their knowledge. If every person who knew about the evil of the slave trade and the liquor trade, and about the harm that was being done by flooding Africa with firearms and gunpowder were to do but very little, each one, we should soon see these evils extinguished. It was their duty to spread the knowledge of the evil done by the Hquor trade to native races. Facts had been given them regarding India and Africa ; but let them not suppose that the liquor trade was carried on by Christians only — the Mohammedans were engaged in it also. Sir Samuel Baker found that the Chief of the Barris was brutalised by drink. As the Mohammedan would go directly against the laws of his religion and make slaves for personal gain, so he would break the Koran and carry liquor to the people. And Mohammedans, in some instances, had spread the liquor traffic in Africa. This question must be brought home to all the people of Great Britain, the people of the United States, of France, and of Germany, and it would then be impossible for the Chamber of Commerce of Hamburg to say that they never heard of any of their products doing harm in Africa. No doubt those worthy members of the Chamber of Commerce were good Germans, fathers of families, God-fearing after their own fashion ; and if they could be brought to 15 know the evil they were doing, that might to some extent diminish the drink traffic in Africa. Hamburg was one place that was doing great harm in this way ; and we must exercise our influence, and induce one here and one there to cease exporting gin to Africa, and make it a thing so odious that the whole civilised world would point the finger of scorn at any nation that upheld the trade. What this resolution called them to do was to spread the knowledge of the evil that existed ; and let that knowledge be of a potential kind that would lead to action. He had great pleasure in seconding the resolution. Mr. JOHN MACKENZIE, late Commissioner of Bechuanaland, moved the next resolution, which was as follows: — "That the Chairman be requested to sign, on behalf of this meeting, the foregoing resolutions, and that copies of these resolutions be forwarded to the Prime Minister, the Foreign, Colonial, and Indian Secretaries of State, and the Members of Parliament for the city of London." He thought it would be a good thing if they could by an effort of imagination remove themselves from this somewhat crowded room and get, if only in mind, into a purer atmosphere, drier, and clearer, and more healthful. He would take them to a country without strong drink —a country in which it had been his pleasure to live for about thirty years without strong drink, without publichouses or gin-palaces, and without having to take anything because it was too hot or too cold — (laughter) — without going and advising his doctor jin order that the doctor might advise him that he needed a little something now and then. (Laughter.) That country was Southern Africa, and especially that part of it to the north of the Cape Colony, right in the centre of the country which we had learned to call Bechuanaland. Well, as a necessary consequence, in a country like that, where there were no dis- tilleries or publichouses, there was no drunkenness. He was living in a town of some 20,000 or 30,000 inhabitants, and could only recollect seeing in that town one drunken man, and it was considered a mark of extraordinary wealth that he could "afford" to be drunk. He could testify also, from his long experience in the country, that young men who had gone out to the Cape, having found the little island at home not large enough for them, and others who had been regarded as ne'er- do-wells and sent abroad— these young men making their appearance in a country where there were no publichouses, elevated above the sea-level between 3,000 and 4,000 feet, a country where an open-air life was necessary — no matter how low they might have fallen at home, they soon got right there in spite of themselves. They were now in that country amongst people who were learning the beginnings of Christianity and of civilisation, and who were making the acquaintance of the people of England through the missionary and the trader. The rule of the country was that nobody should touch intoxicating drinks, and that was a rule imposed not by a stern and strict Pharisaical missionary, but by the people themselves. Drink was quite foreign to them, and they wisely said, "We do not want to have anything to do with it." It was a country without publichouses, and where the teachers of religion had made it a rule that their men and women should not touch intoxicating IG liquor. He could fancy some men saying, "Oh, we must get a revenue." Would any man say that one part of a population should be destroyed in order that the other portion of the population should escape from so much taxation ? He did not know any corporation or organisation so constructed as that its prosperity is thought to depend upon the ruin of part of its members ; that those members should be ruined in order that the rest of the organisation should be in prosperity. He thought any one of those present would hesitate before opening the first drink- ing-shop in such a country as he had been describing, and, to use the good old Puritan expression, if they took it to their closet and knelt down before the living God, who judges and weighs every man's action, he did not think they would use it at all. Mr. C. H. HUNTLEY, C.M.G., resident magistrate in Grahams- town, South Africa, seconded the resolution. He was sure they all felt great sympathy with this movement. He had not had the experience of the last speaker in Bechuanaland, but he had had considerable experience in the older part of South Africa, as civil commissioner and resident magistrate at Grahamstown for seventeen years, and that was a part of the colony where these native races resided— on the border. The increase of drunkenness had been immense in that part of the colony. During the time that he was magistrate he was sure that more than half the number of cases that came before him originated in drunkenness. But the Government of the Cape were fully alive to this question. The great mistake had been the abolition of the excise duty by Parliament ; but they were in hopes that another Bill would be introduced to the next session of the Cape Parliament to reinstate the excise duty. Twenty years ago it was a great rarity to see a Kaffir in a state of drunkenness ; now they were to be seen in all parts of the country, both men, women, and even boys. The Government, with the view of mitigating this evil, had appointed licensing Boards. A licensing court was established in every division of the colony where there was a seat of magistracy. The court consisted of the Mayor, the magistrate, and two niembers of the divisional council representing the farmers. This licensing court assembled every year, and before a license was granted to any public- house or canteen-keeper the name was published, thus giving a month's notice to the inhabitants to come forward and state if the house had been conducted in an improper manner. Each case was inquired into minutely, and if the applicant had been convicted of permitting drunken- ness or tippling on his premises, the court had the authority to refuse the license, and this had acted in a beneficial way in many instances. The great evil was that now the natives had acquired a taste for this brandy, and they were beginning to distil it themselves from the Kaffir corn. We must therefore now trust to the missionaries to do their utmost towards mitigating this great evil. He had much pleasure in seconding the resolution. The motion was put to the meeting and carried amidst cheers. Rev. H. DUNCAN was the mover of the next resolution : — '' That this meeting recognises with great thankfulness the service done to the native races in India and Africa by the recent debates in the Houses of Lords and Commons, and desires to' tender its thanks to His Grace the 17 Duke of Westminster, who brought the subject before the House of Lords ; and to Mr. Samuel Smith, M.P., and Mr. W. S. Caine, M.P., the mover and seconder of the resolution adopted in the House of Commons." He would like, as representing the Church of Scotland, and to a certain extent the United Committee in Scotland, on this subject, to express the profound satisfaction with which he was present this after- noon. The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland would meet in the course of a fortnight, and he would have the greatest possible pleasure in bringing before their venerable House the enthusiasm that had been displayed in this deeply important question. It was a question on which it appeared to him that all the churches and all political parties ought heartily and earnestly to unite. It seemed to him that the days were passing away when we should stand aloof from each other on this matter. One thing that must have been peculiarly grati- fying to those who noted the action of the Houses of Parhament the other day was that there seemed to be an entire sinking of political differences in regard to the liquor traffic. We ought to look upon this great social question — affecting the well-being of these native races and the progress of our common Christianity — as far above sect and party. He was sure the meeting would join most heartily in the resolution which he had the honour to propose. They were deeply indebted to their noble chairman, and to those members of the Lower House who brought the matter so faithfully and earnestly before the Legislature, and it was for the people of England to support their action by forming to the best of their ability, in their different spheres in life, that strong public opinion through the power of which they would be able effectually to exercise power over the country. Rev. E. R. YOUNG, a missionary in the North-Western provinces of America, said he seconded the motion with much pleasure, because legislation had, in a great measure, proved effectual in suppressing the liquor traffic among the Red Indians of the Dominion of Canada. He had been struck with the fact that, in the references to the different tribes of the world to-day, no mention had been made of the Indians of America. He rejoiced, however, that although, unfortunately, this ter- rible traffic had crushed the great majority of them out of existence, they had now on the statute-books of the great Dominion, and also of the different provinces, wise and judicious laws which were effectual in sup- pressing the liquor traffic among the remnants of those once mighty tribes that roamed over the Dominion of Canada. It would be one of the grandest aids to success if the missionaries would themselves practise total abstinence. There was a wonderful power in example. His work was hundreds of miles north of Manitoba, among the wild Red Indians of that country — a loving people, who had been misrepresented and mis- understood ; but, rightly treated, they were a noble race, and one of great possibilities. His field of labour extended over 900 miles, and, with the thermometer sometimes at 40 to 60 below zero, he found he could stand the cold and thrive better without touching intoxicating liquors. They found in Canada that the members of Parliament were wonderfully amenable to public opinion. One very candid man on the hustings, after enunciating his views, said, " Gentlemen, these are my sentiments ; but I B 18 am so exceedingly anxious to be elected that if they do not suit you they can be easily changed." (Laughter.) Now, let there go up from this representative meeting, in the heart of this mighty city, such an expres- sion of opinion that every member of Parliament would hear it, and would be compelled to give this question his earnest consideration. What a glorious sight this gathering was ; he was startled to hear by the report that this was only their second anniversary. A few days ago he was down in Hull, lecturing, and was looking at Wilberforce's monu- ment ; but how much better was it to encourage men while they were occupied in such grand and good work than to build monuments to them when they were dead. Let them send out from this meeting to-day this resolution, grandly and gloriously moved. He felt like wishing to add a rider to it, thanking the Dominion of Canada and its provinces for having looked so well after the natives, and passing laws by which the natives rejoiced that this drink curse was put out of their reach. Rev. J. G. MILLS put the motion, which was carried by acclamation. The Chairman said he had come here to-day with a firm conviction of the importance and necessity of arousing public opinion still further upon this question. Judging from the crowded character of the meet- ing, and from the quality of the speakers upon the platform, he was convinced that the object would be attained, and that public opinion would be favourably impressed by the proceedings of to-day. He had no intention himself of changing his opinions with regard to the ne- cessity of something being done. There still rem.ained a great deal to do. Judging from what Mr. Caine had told them with regard to India, and what Mr. Huntley had told them about the Cape, and the other speakers as to various parts of the world, they could only see that the fight would be a long and serious one for many years to come. Might God grant that the efforts of this United Committee would be attended with the success which they deserved. The Hon. T. H. W. PELHAM moved a vote of thanks to the Lord Mayor for according them the use of this hall. As chairman of the Executive Committee, together with Mr. Grant Mills, the hon. secretary, he waited upon the Lord Mayor two or three months ago to ask his permission to hold the meeting here, and he readily acceded to it on the condition that they made the meeting a largely-attended one, and a success. They had already awakened the religious and political world on this subject, and now wanted to arouse the concience of the commercial world. Canon ELLISON seconded the motion, and desired to include in it their illustrious chairman, who had taken a noble part in dealing with this question in the House of Lords. Whatever work the Duke of Westminster took in hand, he gave himself thoroughly to it, and it was on that account that, when they were deprived of the presence of the Lord Mayor, they turned to the Duke of Westminster. The vote was carried by acclamation, and, with the brief reply of the chairman, the proceedings terminated. 19 ANNUAL REPORT. In presenting their Second Annual Report the United Committee for the Prevention of the DemoraHzation of Native Races by the Liquor Traffic are glad to be able to announce that His Grace the Duke of Westminster, K.G., has consented to become their President. The Committee record with satisfaction that distinct progress has been made in the creation of a public opinion, both at home and abroad, although the progress which has been made is altogether incommensurate with the vast importance of the subject. It would have been far greater but for the very inadequate funds at their disposal for the publication and wide circulation of the evidence which they have collected and for the organisation of public meetings throughout the length and breadth of the land. They take this opportunity of expressing their grateful thanks to the Press, both in the Metropolis and the Provinces, for the publicity which, during the past year, they have given to the objects and operations of the Committee. They earnestly trust that when the amount of the year's work is known and realised, funds will be liberally contributed towards its further and wider extension. AFRICA. Several thousand copies ot the important debate of April 24th in the House of Commons on the Liquor Traffic in Africa have been published and circulated by the Committee. A valuable Summary of Evidence regarding the Liquor Traffic in Africa has also been printed and circulated both at home and abroad. This summary contains the latest evidence derived from the Parliamentary Blue Book " Intoxicating Liquors (Colonies) " C. 5563 which was presented to both Houses of Parliament November, iSSS, and published January 14th, 1889. The summary also sets forth the remedies which the Committee propose, viz. : — I. — Prohibition of the traffic where possible^ and where impracticable, restrictions by extremely high licenses, byan International Convention — a combination between Governments — similar to that which has been signed for the North Sea Fisheries, to that which our representa- tive at the Berlin Conference, together with others, tried ineffectually to get for the Congo ; and to one which would have been signed for the islands of the Western Pacific but for the refusal of the United States Government to join the other Powers. B 2 20 2. — The urging upon Colonial Governments the duty of enforc- ing existing laws against the sale of strong drink to the aborigines, and putting an end to the payment of wages in intoxicating drinks. * Deputation to the Marquis of Salisbury. — An important and influential deputation, organized by the Committee, was introduced to Lord Salisbury by the Duke of Westminster, K.G., on December 14th. The Committee record with satisfaction the sympathy expressed by Lord Salisbury on behalf of Her Majesty's Government with the objects of the Committee, as well as the assurance that Her Majesty's Government would press the matter in season and out of season because they believed that a vast amount of human happiness and misery depended upon the course which negotiations took. South African Committee.— -The Rev. W. Allan, Vicar of St. James's, Bermondsey, was appointed to represent the United Committee on the South African Committee. Bechuanaland.— The following resolution [of the Committee was forwarded to Lord Knutsford by their President, the Duke of Westminster, K.G. : — " That inasmuch (i) as the Cape Government places no impost on the manufacture of intoxicating liquors, and (2) has already been the means of extending their sale to various native Communities where, under native rule, they had previously been prohibited, and (3) in view also of the strong opposition of the people of Bechuana- land to the introduction of intoxicating liquors into their territory, as illustrated by the vigorous protest of Khama, Chief of the Bamangwato, the Committee earnestly deprecate the proposal for its annexation by the Cape Government, and trust that whatever may be the future Government of Bechuanaland, effective provisions will be made by the Imperial Government for protecting the inhabitants from the importation and sale of spirituous liquors against their earnest wishes." t Imperial British East Africa Company. — With regard to Article 17 of the Charter of the Imperial British East Africa Com- pany, which has reference to restrictions that may be imposed on the importation of spirits, an influentially signed memorial was addressed by the Committee to the Company, to which an answer was received assuring the Committee that the Company were doing all that was possible in the direction desired by the Committee. Individual Directors, Lord Brassey, Sir T. Fowell Buxton, Sir John Kirk and others, wrote sympathetically. Sir John Kirk in the course of his letter says with reference to the Memorial : — " When presented to the British East Africa Company, I feel assured the subject will receive most favourable attention. For myself I can assure you of my full support since I have never lost * See page 36. f See page 37. 21 sight of the question during my official residence in East Africa, but have done my best to restrict the sale of spirits. ''In this I had the cordial support of the late Sultan of Zanzibar. Our joint action was however always met by the various Commercial Treaties which grant the right to sell spirits to subjects of all Christian powers, the Sultan was therefore powerless, nor will the East Africa Company be able to do much until the Treaties are either altered or set aside. " I was able in 1885 to secure the support of Germany to a higher rate of import duty on spirits than on other articles, but this had been neutralized by the refusal of France to this resolution. '* Your Society may work advantageously in getting the existing Treaties changed and in this you will have my full support." Madagascar. — The Committee have received an important letter from Mrs. Leavitt, of the World's Women's Christian Temperance Union, urging that some effort should be made to induce the English and French Governments to take the same ground with reference to the importation of intoxicating liquors into Madagascar, as already taken by the Government of the United States, viz : — " That the Government of Madagascar may completely forbid the entrance of all intoxicating drinks from the United States." The Committee are at present in correspondence on the subject with a view to bring about the object desired. INDIA. On March 13th, 1888, a debate on India and its frontier policy and excise revenue took place in the House of Commons. A ver- batim report of that part of the debate which dealt with the question of the excise revenue has been published and widely circulated by the Committee. On September 28th, 1887, an India Sub-Committee was nominated by the Executive. On December 13th, 1888, this Sub-Committee, after much careful study of the subject, presented a report which was adopted by the Committee. This report will be found on page 25. In July the Committee heard with satisfaction of the formation of an Anglo-Indian Temperance Association, with Mr. Samuel Smith, M.P., as its president and Mr. W. S. Caine, M.P., as its honorary secretary. The Committee at once expressed their willingness to co-operate at all times with the Anglo-Indian Association in those matters in which they are both interested. Mr. Caine subsequently visited India, and on his return at once consented to speak on the subject at the meeting at the Mansion House kindly fixed by the Lord Mayor for May loth. 22 The Committee have received from the Rev. R. Wardlaw Thompson, Foreign Secretary of the London Missionary Society, the two following important resolutions : — Minute of the South India District Committee of the London Missionary Society. " That this Committee deeply regrets to observe a great increase in the use of alcoholic drinks during recent years, and would urge the Directors to use all the influence they have with Government and other public bodies to check the growth of this evil." Resolution of the Directors of the London Missionary Society. " That the minutes of the South India District Committee with reference to the growing evils attendant upon the present licensing system in India be transmitted to the United Committee for the Suppression of the Liquor Traffic among Native Races, with the assurance that the Directors will be prepared to support them in their efforts to bring the force of public opinion to bear upon Her Majesty's Government in relation to the licensing laws in India." MEETINGS. Annual Meeting. — The First Annual Meeting was held at Prince's Hall, Piccadilly, on May 4th, 1888, at 2.30 o'clock p.m. Lambeth Conference of Bishops. — At the Lambeth Con- ference the Committee, of which the Bishop of London was chair- man, appointed to consider the subject of the duty of the Church of England with regard to intemperance, after speaking of the stain that rests on those countries that are counted foremost in the world, the stain of degrading and destroying the weaker races, goes on to say : — " It has pleased God to make the Christian nations stronger than all others combined, but this strength brings with it a very solemn responsibility, and this solemn responsibility the Church ought necessarily to press on those who bear authority. It is grievous that it should' be possible to say, with any most distant resemblance of truth that it would be better for native races that Christian nations should never come into contact with them at all." Grosvenor House. — The Committee issued invitations to the Bishops attending the Lambeth Conference, to a meeting on Wednesday, June 7th, 1888, at 4 o'clock p.m., presided over by Earl De La Warr, at Grosvenor House, kindly lent by the Duke of Westminster. At this remarkable gathering, important speeches were delivered by the Archbishop of Dublin, the Bishops of Carlisle, Calcutta, Sydney, Central Africa, Minnesota, Niger Territory (Dr. Crowther) and Waiapu, and Dr. Taylor (U.S.A.) 23 Westminster Town Hall. — In July a breakfast was given by the Church of England Temperance Society, to the Bishops attending the Lambeth Conference, and was largely and influentially attended. Much valuable information was given on the de- moralization of native races by the liquor traffic. Breakfast at Exeter Hall.— The Committee desire to return their thanks to the National Temperance League who invited the delegates to the Centenary Conference on Foreign Missions, to a breakfast at Exeter Hall, on June 14th, to consider the special question of the liquor traffic amongst native races abroad. Church Congress Manchester. — Papers were read in the Town Hall, by Sir Charles Warren, K.C.M.G., the Honourable T. H. W. Pelham, Chairman of the Executive Committee, Mr. Celestine Edwards, (native of Antigua) and the Rev. J. Grant Mills, Honorary Secretary. General Missionary Conference at Exeter Hall.— A paper was read on behalf of the Committee, by the Rev. W. Allan. Other Meetings. — The subject has been brought forward at various Meetings at Reading, Aylesbury, Sunderland, Plymouth, Manchester, Liverpool, Bournemouth, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Canter- bury, Reigate, &c., and in Melbourne, at the International Temperance Convention, where a paper by the Honorary Secretary was read. MEMORIAL. *A memorial has been prepared for presentation to Her Majesty the Queen. PARLIAMENT. House of Lords. — The Duke of Westminster at the unanimous request of the Committee, has kindly consented to bring the question, as it affects Africa, before the House of Lords on May 6th.t House of Commons. — •The Committee were rejoiced to hear that Mr. Samuel Smith, M.P., President of the Anglo-Indian Tempe- rance Association had secured the first place for Tuesday, the 30th, for a discussion on the Liquor Laws of India. The resolution to be proposed by Mr. S. Smith is as follows :— *' That in the opinion of this House, the fiscal system of the Government of India directly leads to the establishment of spirit distilleries, liquor and opium shops in large numbers of places where, till recently, they never existed, in defiance of native opinion and the protests of the inhabitants ; and that such increased facilities * See page 34. f Since Drawing up this Report this Debate has been held. 24 for drinking produce a steadily increasing consumption, and spread misery and ruin among the industrial classes of India, justifying immediate action on the part of the Government of India with a view to their abatement."* INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE. Through members of their International Committee the Com- mittee are glad to learn that the matter is occupying the attention of leading men in other civilized countries. In the German Reichstag Herr Richter and Herr Stoecker and others made an appeal to Prince Bismarck to use his influence to put a stop to the Liquor Traffic in Africa. The Committee communicated immediately with Herr Stoecker and sent him full particulars as to the objects and operations of the Committee in England. The Committee rejoice to learn that a resolution is being prepared for submission to the Reichstag, proposing that concerted measures should be taken by Germany, France, and Great Britain with the object of preventing the importation of spirituous liquors into Western Africa. Bokhara. — In an interesting letter to the Honorary Secretary, from the Committee's Austrian Representative on the International Committee, Chevalier Max de Proskowetz, the Committee were glad to learn that the Amir of Bokhara had made a stipulation ac- cording to which no liquors are to be introduced to Bokhara, except for the strict use of the Russian Diplomatic Agency personnel^ and the members of the European Colony, in the town of Bokhara. FINANCE. The Committee in conclusion, would once more draw attention to the want of Funds for carrying on their important work. For this purpose they appeal for an income of ^500 per annum. The Income this year showing an increase of £SS' 19s- Sid. over that of 1888, amounts to £z^2. 5s. 2d. contributed principally by 83 subscribers only. The Committee point with satisfaction to the small amount of actual office expenses. Their great expenditure is in the printing, publication, and circulation, both at home and abroad, of absolutely necessary pamphlets containing valuable evidence and full informa- tion on the subject. They feel sure that, when their need is known, their appeal will not be in vain for a work which is being carried on in the threefold interests of humanity, of legitimate commerce, and of the Christian religion. *NoTE. — Since the drawing up of this Report, this Debate has been held, with the following result : — For the Motion 113 Against it 103 Majority 10 25 REPOET OF THE COMMITTEE With peference to the Liquor Question in India. 1. The India Sub-Committee, appointed on the 28th September 1887, have met ten times, and have read and considered a large number of letters, pamphlets, newspaper articles, &c., received through various friends. They are of opinion that it will serve no useful purpose to wait for further information, and therefore proceed to submit the following report. 2. It may be conceded, and is obvious, that certain classes of *the people of India were accustomed to the use of intoxicants long before a European Government was established among them. Also that they had special facilities for the manufacture of intoxicants from the flowers and trees of their country. 3. The Government of India, like other civilized Governments, has tried to regulate the drink traffic and to make it a source of revenue. They have at various periods laid down the most distinct and commendable principles on the subject, insisting that no con- siderations of revenue can be allowed to outweigh the paramount duty of Government to prevent the spread of intemperance, as far as it may be possible to do so. They have not always been equally fortunate in instilling such principles into the minds of their officers. 4. The system of out-stills, the chief blot on their licensing system, has been grossly abused, and has led to great drunkenness where it was unknown or little known before. 5. It is admitted that many natives now habitually drink spirits who a few years ago were total abstainers, and that the habit of using intoxicants is no longer confined, as it once was, chiefly to low caste people. There is much reason to fear that the contagion of drunkenness is spreading, and especially among the higher classes. 6. The statement prominently put forward that the object of the Indian Government is to secure a maximum revenue and a minimum of consumption, while excellent in theory, appears to us very difficult in practice. Had the maximum of tax been more generally accompanied by a steady and carefully controlled decrease in the number of liquor shops, the result would have been very different, this being in fact the plan suggested by Mr. John Bright for our own country. * Vide Mr. William Walker's " Notes on Drink and the Drink Traffic in India and CcyXoviy" passim. 26 7- There is no point that the Committee would more strenuously urge than the restriction, far greater than at present, in the number of liquor shops allowed and the careful selection of the localities in which they are placed. The remonstrances of planters against the establishment of taverns on or in the vicinity of their estates, to the demoralization of their labourers, have it is to be feared been disregarded, as may also be inferred from the annexed extract from the 22nd paragraph of the "Summary of Conclusions" in the Report of the Commission to Inquire into the Excise of Country Spirit in Bengal : — ''22nd. The excessive number of shops as compared with the number " of actual consumers in some parts of the province, especially in Bengal "proper, has undoubtedly a tendency to encourage consumption, and the "Commission have felt bound to urge strongly the danger of looking merely " to total population and area in taxing excise shops. The consideration "which should be mainly regarded is the probable number of actual con- "sumers. It also appears to the Commission that the increase of drinking " has been in some measure due to the selection of improper sites for shops, "especially in the neighbourhood of villages of aborigines, and of factories "and other places where large bodies of the wage-earning classes are con- " gregated together." Recommen- The Committee are of opinion that the decision as to the number dations. ^^^ locality of shops should be more carefully guarded, and, irre- ^' spective of the mere wishes of the licensees should be determined by Government officers on their own investigation and at their own discretion. II. 8. They are further of opinion that reforms would be much facilitated if all licensing arrangements could be under the control of officials who have no personal interest in maintaining or increasing the revenue. 9. The whole subject is beset with difficulty. How to tax spirits and to restrict consumption without inflicting hardship or en- couraging illicit manufacture are matters that have evidently received the earnest attention of the Government, though their efforts have been accompanied with varying success. The out-still system has been much restricted. It still demands very strict watchfulness. The Committee would urge its abolition wherever practicable. Reforms have been pressed apparently on all local administrations. Such should be continually kept in view, and cannot be too seriously urged on the Secretary of State, whose attention should also be called to the grievous injuries effected by the cultivation and sale of opium and bhang, the former of which has been to a great extent reduced and the latter entirely pro- IV. hibited in Burmah,* and should both be abolished everywhere, except for medicinal purposes. V. 10. The Committee are further of opinion that Commissions in * Government of India Despatch, 269 ; North West Provinces, page 22, para- graph 37 > Burmah, page 22, paragraph 36 j Assam, page 27, paragraph 4. Ill 27 other parts of India similar to that lately appointed in Bengal would be of the greatest service in arriving at the facts as to the present working of the Abkari system. 11. The Committee would urge the formation of Vigilance vi Committees all over India (as well as in Ceylon and other Colonies) to watch over and report on every step taken to increase the consumption of spirits. There are many on the spot, both Euro- peans and natives, who would gladly do this if they knew that there was a standing committee to receive and support their representa- tions, and the knowledge that such an organization existed would be a valuable check upon the increase of the liquor traffic. 12. The Sub-Committee having discharged, so far as has been in their power, the duty committed to them in the first instance, will be prepared to carry out any further instructions which the Executive Committee may be disposed to assign to them in connec- tion with the recommendations of their Report. CLARENCE A. ROBERTS, Chairman of the India Sub- Committee. 13th December, 1888. 28 REPORT OF UNITED SCOTTISH COMMITTEE ON NATIVE RACES AND THE DRINK TRAFFIC, FOR YEAR ENDING APRIL 1889. Since our Report was sent to last Annual Meeting,* the movement has made very considerable progress in Scotland. The largest and probably the most enthusiastic meeting of the year, was that held on 24th May, in Inverness, at the time of the sittings of the General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland, which met last year in the capital of the Highlands. The Assembly Hall, kindly granted for the purpose, and holding upward of 3,000, was crowded to its utmost extent, and great enthusiasm prevailed. Addresses were delivered by competent speakers regarding the drink traffic among native races ; resolutions were passed similar to those of the London Meeting of 30th March, 1887, and memorials were sent to Government and Parliament signed by the chairman in name of the meeting. The subject was brought before the Supreme Courts of the Scottish Churches in May last, both by "overtures" from the inferior Courts, and by the Reports of their Committees on Tem- perance, Public Morals and Foreign Missions. These Reports, and the discussions in connection with them, were fully reported in the daily newspapers and elsewhere, and have done much to draw public attention to the movement represented by our Committee. The deliverance of the General Assembly of the Free Church (June 2nd, 1888), may be given, in illustration of the action taken by the Churches. *' The General Assembly com- mend the movement represented in this country by the ' United Scottish Committee on Native Races and the Drink Traffic,' and referred to in ten Overtures, now on their table, from Synods and Presbyteries, to the sympathy and support of all the office bearers and people of the Church, and resolve to memorialise Government in favour of the proposal to call an International Congress to deal with the subject. Further, the Assembly instruct their Temperance Committee to correspond with the Foreign Mission Committee, with the view of obtaining, if possible, a Report on this subject, with suggestions, from our Missionaries in Africa, India, and the New Hebrides, through the local Presbyteries, Mission Councils, or otherwise; and they request the Deputies, who go out this year from this Church to visit the Missions in India and Africa, to give special attention to this subject." In accordance with these instructions, tlie two Committees pre- pared the circular : — * See " First Annual Report of United Committee for Prevention of the Demoralization of Native Races by the Liquor Traffic," p. 26. 1 29 QUERIES FOR MISSIONARIES, PESBYTERIES, MISSION COUNCILS, &c. 1. Narrate, as far as you know, the rise and growth of the European drink traffic in your district, the laws relating to it, and the results which in your judgment have flowed from it. 2. For India — [a) How does the Abkari (Excise) department work in your town or district, both as to liquor and drugs ? Does the Government work it solely for revenue, or to limit or promote consumption ? (h) What is the licensing system in your locality ? Could it be safely entrusted to the native municipal bodies ? (c) Is the outstill system in operation in your district ? If so what are its effects on the people ? [Correspondents in Africa and New Hebrides are requested to state what licensing or other system of control, if any, exists with them.'] 3. Has intemperance increased within recent years ? If so, among what classes ? State probable causes. How far are (i) the progress of the Gospel and (2) the general well-being of the people affected by it ? 4. {a) Have you employed any preventive agency against intemperance, such as Band of Hope, Temperance Society, or other means ? (b) How many of the communicants at your station are abstainers ? (c) Have any steps been taken to bring the influence of the Mission to bear against the drink system, or for its removal ? (d) Can you speak of any movement outside the Mission for lessening or removing the evils, and with what results ? 5. State any other facts, known to you, bearing on the Drink Traffic with Native Races. 6. Can you make any suggestions regarding (i) Church action (2) Legislative action. 7. Do you wish to be enrolled as a member of the Free Church Temperance Society ? Can you suggest any means by which the Assembly's Committee or Society could further the Temperance movement in your locality 1 These queries were sent last autumn to all Missionaries of the Church in India, Africa, the New Hebrides and elsewhere. Interesting and valuable replies have been received, which will be submitted through the Committees to the General Assembly in May, when further action will be taken. Appended to this Report is an " Appeal from Christian Churches, and Church Temperance Organizations to Merchants engaged in the West African Trade." This Appeal was drawn up by the Committee of the United Presbyterian Church on "Temperance and Public Morals," in concert with our Committee and representatives of other Churches. It has been sent this spring to 114 firms engaged in the West African liquor traffic. The United Scottish Committee have met from time to time during the past year, and have done all in their power to further the movement on the lines indicated in their last Report. In particular, they organized two large public meetings held in Edinburgh and Glasgow on successive evenings in January. Sir Thomas Clark, Bart., ex-Lord Provost of Edinburgh, presided at the first of these meetings, and Sir William Collins, Glasgow, at the second. Addresses were given by various leading clergymen and laymen. The Committee would specially acknowledge the good service done in the cause of his fellow-countrymen by S. J. Celestine Edwards, Esq., whose eloquent and effective speeches made a remarkable impression on the audience both in Edinburgh and Glasgow. The following resolutions were unanimously adopted : — I. (Identical with first resolution of London Meeting of March 30th, 1887.) II. That the facts now established regarding this traffic and its results warrant and demand special repressive legislation, and call for co-operation for this purpose among the Governments concerned. III. That it is most desirable that all the Churches and Temperance organizations in Scotland should work cordially together in this cause. IV. That the Chaii-man be requested to sign these Resolutions in name of this meeting for transmission to the Prime Minister, the Foreign, Colonial and Indian Secretaries of State, and the Members of Parliament for this city and county ; and that it be remitted to the Scottish United Committee on Native Races and the Drink Traffic to use any other suitable means to forward the objects of this meeting. Similar public meetings of a successful kind have been held in Perth, Greenock, Kelso and elsewhere. The Committee desire to acknowledge the kindness and liberality of Sir William Collins, who, in addition to assistance in other ways, printed at his own expense a special leaflet with information on the question of Native Races and the drink traffic, which was largely distributed at the Edinburgh and Glasgow meetings, and proved very useful. St. Leonards, Perth, March Tpth, 1889. D. D. BANNERMAN, Chairman of United Scottish Co??imittee. CO CO CO CO -J •-• CT» - 00 vO xn " - CD s? : : i) • ^ J3 .52 . Q : i : : t^ e^ w : da 2: c4 : : pq C Pi O o o o o a^ ON B "5 f^ : i : ' ^" < u pi, 00 C7N o 00 o rt : : : 8 ?. N o •2 13 ? p^ : : : : S c b/) b/3 3 <: M S .2 : 2 'O u W : . 1) Q, t/T . ^ rt s ■ 5£ ^^ : i i i : .s 1 T3 UJ o X : : : : : i:^ c^ O (1h < pq U : : : VO -^ O "^ N O O f^ . ^ Tf VO O s? S '(/) -^ iJ .2 c 3 >- S..2 f^ ^ •r- -ti <*H 07 O C ° ?, • • bfl >, -I c3 '-P > bjo C fl^ < u e^ u C/3 c/3 W 32 SUBSCRIPTIONS AND DONATIONS Received during the year ending sist March, 1889. Aberdeen, Earl of Bacon, J. T., Esq Baynes, A. H., Esq., F.S.S *Bevan, F. A., Esq Blackwood, Sir Arthur, C.B Bonwick, James, Esq., F.R.G.S Boswell, H. Bruce, Esq. Brookes, Rev. A. H. (Three years' subscriptions at 5s. per year) Burrows, A. W., Esq Caine, W. S., Esq., M.P Church Missionary Society Church of England Temperance Society Church of Scotland Foreign Missions Committee... Clarke, Ebenezer, Esq., F.S.S. Covington, Rev. W Dibley, George, Esq Douglas, Rev. H Dowson, E. T., Esq Eck, Mrs Edgcome, Major-General, R.E Ellison, Rev. Canon EUwyn, Rev. Canon Erith, Collection at a Meeting, per Rev. John Martin Exeter, Bishop of Ferguson, Major J. A Free Church of Scotland Foreign Mission Committee Gale, Mrs Gladstone, J. H., Esq., F.R.S Goldsmid, Major-General Sir F. J., C.B., K.C.S.I.... Grosvenor House, Collection at a Meeting held in... Gurney, Henry, Esq Hitchin (Collection per Rev. Canon Hensley) Hooper, George N., Esq Knight, Rev. W Leisching, L., Esq Livesey, George, Esq London, Bishop of Subscriptions. Donations. ^ s. d. £ s. d. I I o I o o I I o 300 I I o 10 o 1 o o o 15 o 10 o o 500 500 I I o I I o I I o 026 10 10 o o 100 I I o I I o 100 I I o I I o 220 I I o 10 o o 10 o o O 10 o 500 500 O 10 o O 10 o 2 500 10 o o 2 16 7 O I O 10 o Received since drawing up the Balance Sheet. I r 2 2 I I I 5 o o I 10 I I I I 5 o 10 5 o o lO o o Subscriptions. Donations. ;^ S. d. £ S. d. London Missionary Society 500 Mackeson, Rev. Charles o 10 o Mander, Miss, Collected by 500 Mclnnes, Miles, Esq., M.P Morgan & Scott, Messrs Morris, Miss Naoroji, Dadabhai, Esq. ... National Temperance League Noakes, Richard, Esq. Ossington, Viscountess Oxford, Collection at Meeting, per Holford Scott Paget, Rev. Canon Parker, C. S., Esq., M.P Palmer, W. J., Esq., J.P Pelham, Hon. T. H. W Penny, Rev. W. H Portal, Wyndham S., Esq., J.P Prince's Hall, Collection at Meeting held in ... 279^ Rae, Robert, Esq i i o Reigate, Collection at a Meeting held in the Town Hall, per Henry Gurney, Esq. ... Roberts, Clarence, Esq. Sawyer, Robert, Esq Seaver, Thomas, Esq. ... Smith, Abel, Esq., M.P Smith, P. v., Esq Smith, Samuel, Esq., M.P Smith, Major W. W. M Stewart, Mark, Esq., M.P Streatfield, Rev. G. S Tremenheere, General, C.B United Kingdom Alliance, London Auxiliary United Presbyterian Church Foreign Mission Board Walker, William, Esq Warren, Colonel Sir Charles, K.C.M.G Wesleyan Missionary Society ... Westcott, Rev. Canon, D.D Westminster, Duke of, K,G. ... Whitwell, E., Esq Wilberforce, Rev. Canon Williams, R. Esq., Jun. Wilson, H. J., Esq., M.P Wood, Peter F., Esq Zululand, Bishop of ... 4 5 I 2 2 5 10 I I I I I 5 5 2 2 10 2 2 5 5 3 3 5 5 I 00 I I ID I r I 10 2 2 I C 84 APPENDIX. MEMORIAL TO THE QUEEN. May it please Your Majesty, We, being Members of the United Committee for the Prevention of the Demoralization of Native Races by the Liquor Traffic, desire to approach Your Majesty with the expression of our loyal and dutiful allegiance. This Committee has amongst its Members representatives of nearly all the Missionary and Temperance Societies in the United Kingdom, Members of both Houses of Parliament, and public men of widely different political and religious views, who are animated by one object — viz., the removal of one of the chief hindrances to the happiness of the heathen and imperfectly civilised races of the world, and to the spread of Christianity. The Empire over which by Divine Providence your Majesty has been called to reign, embraces a large number of races, differing in religion, language, and customs. We rejoice to think that under Your Majesty's enlightened rule and righteous laws, the different parts of this vast Empire enjoy peace and liberty ; and that during the fifty-two years of Your Majesty's reign, civilisation, education, and Christianity have made greater progress in British Colonies and Dependencies than during any previous period. We regret, however, that in many places the extension of trade and the spread of civilisation has been accompanied by the introduction of what has proved to be "a source of wholesale demoralisation and ruin to the inhabitants, and a serious stumbling- block in the way of the spread of Christianity.'" A native clergy- man, a member of the Legislative Assembly at Lagos, the Hon. and Rev. James Johnson, has said : " The slave trade was to Africa a great evil, but the evils of the rum trade are far worse. I would rather my countrymen were in slavery, and being worked hard, and kept away from the drink, than that the drink should be let loose upon them." We humbly beg leave to submit to Your Majesty a summary of evidence which has been collected by this Committee with respect 35 to this question so far as it affects Africa, and a copy of a report which, after careful consideration, we have issued with respect to India. Whilst we fully realise that it does not lie within the power of Your Majesty's Government alone to effectually deal with the question in those parts of Africa where other European countries have interests, yet it does seem to us important that every oppor- tunity should be taken by this country of urging other civilised Powers to co-operate not only in the abolition of slavery, but also in the suppression of the liquor traffic, in the interests of humanity, the progress of the Christian religion, and of legitimate commerce. We are glad to say that various members of an International Committee, with which our Committee is in union, have informed us that the subject is beginning to excite the attention and sympathy of the leading men in those countries which they represent. We have learnt, with satisfaction, that Your Majesty's Ministers fully sympathise with the objects which this Committee has in view, and that the House of Commons, in the last session of Parliament, passed a resolution cordially supporting the Imperial and Colonial Government in their endeavour to repress the traffic in spirituous liquors in all native territories under their influence or control. We feel assured that any steps that may be taken by Your Majesty's Government to remove that which is a blot on the national honour, will receive the sympathy of all classes of Your Majesty's subjects. Should Your Majesty be graciously pleased to express a sympathetic interest in the object which this Committee has set before it, we are persuaded that such expression would have a powerful influence in ripening public opinion both at home and abroad. It would also encourage those who are endeavouring to do away with this evil in those countries which are more or less responsible for its continuance, to approach their respective sovereigns and chief rulers, with a view to enlisting their sympathies on behalf of those races, to whose detriment this pernicious traffic is being carried on. (Signed) WESTMINSTER, F. LONDIN, President. Chairman. lOHN H. KENNAWAY, T. H. W. PELHAM, V ice-Chairman. Chairman of Executive Committee. J. GRANT MILLS, Honorary Secretary^ c 2 36 TO THE MOST NOBLE THE MARQUISOF SALISBURY, K G., HER MAJESTY'S SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS. ®lju ^mnbii^ ^Btxtovial of the President, Chairman, and Members of the United Committee for the Prevention of the DemoraHsation of Native Races by the Liquor Traffic. We desire to approach your Lordship with an expression of the satisfaction with which we have observed that during this present year the representatives of Her Majesty's Government have stated in Parliament that they are fully alive to the mischief created by the importation and sale to Native Races of spirituous liquors, and to the special duty which devolves upon them of protecting those who cannot protect themselves, and of averting the terrible evils which, unfortunately, civilisation, has too often brought in its train upon uncivilised races ; and that the House of Commons has emphasised these utterances by unanimously passing a resolution, on April 24, in accordance with the sentiments expressed by the representatives of Her Majesty's Government. We venture at this time, seeing that Her Majesty's Government as we understand, have decided to co-operate with Germany in the suppression of the Slave Trade on the East Coast of Africa, to express a hope that Great Britain and Germany will further co- operate in suppressing that trade which is doing as much injury to the Native Races of Africa as the slave trade, and for the intro- duction of which these two countries are themselves through their merchants, principally responsible. We have collected a large amount of evidence with respect to the nature and extent of the traffic in spirituous liquors in different parts of the Continent of Africa, a summary of which evidence is appended to this Memorial. In some States and Colonies successful measures have been taken for prohibiting and restricting that traffic ; but in other parts of the Continent it has been clearly proved that no restrictive measures are possible without united action on the part of the European powers whose national interests are concerned. We would remind your Lordship that there is a precedent for united action on the part of the Great Powers for suppressing the liquor traffic, in the case of the North Sea Fisheries Convention. We recall with satisfaction the attitude taken by Her Majesty's representative, in conjunction with the representatives of Italy and ;37 the United States, at the Berlin Conference, 1885, with respect to the control of the liquor traffic in the Congo. 'i^ We humbly beg to submit to your Lordship that an opportunity has now occurred of obtaining the co-operation of Germany, not only in the abolition of slavery but also in the suppression of the liquor traffic in the interests of humanity, of the progress of Christian religion, and of legitimate commerce, and we therefore pray that Her Majesty's Government will take such steps as may be found expedient and practicable for inducing the Government of Germany to join with England in protecting the natives of those parts of Africa in which they are mutually interested, from the importation of European spirits. And your Memorialists will ever pray. TO THE DIRECTORS OF THE IMPERIAL BRITISH EAST AFRICA COMPANY. My Lords and Gentlemen, We, the undersigned, President, Chairman and Members of the " United Committee for the prevention of the demoralization of Native Races by the Liquor Traffic," desire to approach your Honourable Board with the assurance of the gratification with which we have received the announcement of the Charterof Incorporation recently conferred by Her Majesty's Government on the Imperial British East Africa Company. We have observed that in Article 17 of the Charter, power is reserved to the Directors for the imposition of duties with a view to the restriction of the traffic in European spirits. We should be untrue to the conviction we entertain, and to the purposes for which our Committee was constituted, if we did not respectfully, and at once, suggest to your Honourable Board, as a preferable alternative, the entire prohibition of such traffic. We would urge this in the threefold interests of humanity, of the progress of the Christian religion, and of sound commerce. I. In the interests of humanity — because testimony from many independent quarters establishes the truth that the European liquor traffic in Africa, consists, for the most part, of alcoholic liquor in its most ardent and sometimes poisonous forms ; that there is no legitimate demand among the Natives for any kind of alcoholic drink and that the weaker races, especially under a tropical sun and malarial influences, are unable to withstand the physical effects of 38 alcohol. With respect to the Western Coast of Africa, Mr. Joseph Thomson, the African traveller, says : — " The line of African Coast dotted over with European settlements, " stations, and factories, which ought to be a fringe bright with promise " for the future, is simply (through the liquor traffic) a hotbed of " cancerous roots, which are swiftly growing inward, threatening to " turn the entire continent into one huge festering sore, rivalling in " magnitude, that other great African disease from which that region " has suffered for centuries." 2. In the interests of the progress of the Christian religion — because the complicity of the professors of any religion in a trade which is soon perceived to be the fruitful cause of desolation and death must alwavs prove a grievous stumbling-block in the way of the reception of that religion ; and because, in the inevitable contest with Mohammedanism for the spiritual possession of Africa which js now 'iQr.fforiting'Cfiristian Missionaries, it is easy to see on which side" "the victory willrest, if the one comes heavily weighted with a connection with the deadly drink traffic, against which the other has for ages uttered and maintained its emphatic and consistent protest. 3. In the interests of sound commerce — because while it is ad- mitted that an ephemeral trade success may be best obtained by the introduction of rum and gin as articles of exchange with the natives, it is held by all who from local knowledge may be said to be experts in the question, that it can only be at the expense of all legitimate trade in the future. Mr. Thomson in an address at Manchester, May i8th, 1887, says of this traffic:— " Let us for a moment lay aside questions of Christian morality, " and ask ourselves if this trade in spirits can be a paying one, or if a " legitimate traffic would not, as a matter of pounds, shillings, and " pence, be the more profitable. Looked at superficially, there seems to be " no possibility of doubting that to raise a paying trade rapidly, there is " nothing absolutely like spirits. It takes hold of the negro like wildfire, " and like wildfire it spreads at a surprising rate, and there seems to be " no means of repressing it — it will have its way. But a trade which " commences with gin will continue with gin and will end with gin. A " taste of the better things of civilised life cannot grow side by side " with an appetite for drink. On the contrary, a hundred vices and " evils will follow in its train and flourish in its development. The sole " idea of its victim will be to scrape together sufficient of something to " buy the wherewithal to stay his cravings. Industry and thrift cannot " thrive in such company — and with the absence of these there can be no " development of the mineral and vegetable riches of the country. In " these facts lies the secret of the astoundingly small progress our West " Coast Settlements have made through all the long period they have " been in our hands. Now let us ask what would have been the result " if a legitimate trade had been commenced and persevered in on the " West Coast of Africa ? Clearly, the immediate effect would have been " less marked. The returns would have been slower, and the trade " would have spread with less rapidity. But both would have improved " surely. Industry would have been aroused with the desire to satisfy 89 " new wants — wants which would become more varied each year. In- " stead of there being a trade in little more than gin, there would have " been a demand for a thousand articles which Europe supplies. With " widening wants and advancing civilised ideas there would of neces- " sity have been more work and more thrift required, and with these " would have followed more development and exploitation of the " resources of the country. If such a system had been pursued " from the beginning, our West African Settlements would have " presented a very different aspect at this day — would indeed have been " bright jewels in the English Crown." Mr. Betts, an African Merchant, at a public meeting held in Sierra Leone, on the 9th December, 1887, to protest against the Liquor Traffic by Europe with Africa, and its demoralising influence upon the latter, after describing himself *• as a large dealer in spirituous liquors," said : — " The Liquor Traffic destroys body, soul, and spirit together. The " evil is gigantic, and it is not easy to deal with it. Nevertheless, the " present gathering should congratulate itself on being the first of the " kind held in connection with the praiseworthy efforts of its promoters " to rid our country Africa of this evil whose ravages are like those of a " pestilence. I am, myself, a large dealer in spirituous liquors. I have on " the road, now, thousands of gallons of rum and several thousands of '• demijohns of gin, bound for the northern river countries, where I " carry on the greater part of my business. I am not by any means " insensible of the evil this traffic works to those countries and to com- " merce itself, and I regret it much. Supposing you were to take a large " shipload of goods into any part of them ; the first business question " that would be asked you, is ' How much rum have you brought ? ' and " if you should say ' I have neither rum nor gin," it would be said that you " ' have nothing, that you do not care to trade,' and it will go the round " of the town or city that you have nothing for them to buy, and that " you are not able to trade with them So demoralised by this traffic " have the people become everywhere in the river countries ! Such " slaves have they become to the white man's rum and gin ! Rum and " gin are their incessant demand and cry. The traffic has so debased " them that they everywhere neglect their own comfort. "There is no thought of providing regularly and systematically " for themselves and their dependents ; no thought of cultivating palm " trees or of collecting palm nuts regularly, and shelling them for the " market ; no thought of a proper system of agriculture, no desire or " thought of acquiring wealth and comfort ; no home and no care of " domestic business. As things are at present, work that might be " done by one family in a month consumes a whole year. If this liquor " traffic did not oppress business and hinder its growth as it does, mer- " chants and traders would always get ten times as much produce to buy " as they buy now. The liquor traffic is certainly ruinous to commerce " proper." With such testimonies as these it cannot be a matter of surprise, that the Royal Niger Company, in justifying to their shareholders the course they had taken in prohibiting this traflSc in the Benue region (forming one-third of their territory), should say that " in *' following this path they have not been guided solely by adminis- 40 " trative or humanitarian motives, but have acted in the true com- " mercial interests of their shareholders." They have been guided, the Report continues, " by an enlightened self-interest which accepts ** as an axiom that the permanent success of the Company's extensive " operations in Central Africa demands general and progressive " trade, and that this cannot be built up on the liquor traffic." We are aware that in countries, such as the Western Coast of Africa, where the liquor traffic has been for some time in existence, it may be difficult to take the decided step of prohibition without the intermediate one of restriction by high duties, but even there the action of the Royal Niger Company in their recent prohibitory movement may be taken as an evidence of the goal at which restric- tion aims ; while on the other hand, in an entirely new country, proof both of the possibility and advantage of entire prohibition are to be found in the successful action of the Sultan of Zanzibar on the mainland subject to his rule, and in that of the African Lake Com- pany, as recorded by Professor Drummond in his book on Tropical Africa. We are aware also of the difficulties which may beset one European Government, or set of traders, in keeping out the traffic, while other Governments and traders are persistently forcing the trade through some back-door of entrance. It is no small part of the task to which we, as a Committee, are addressing ourselves, to create such a public opinion in other countries as well as our own, as shall, before long, ensure the cordial co-operation of all the European Governments in giving effect to the recent resolution of the British House of Commons : "That this House, having regard to the disastrous physical and " moral effects of the liquor traffic among uncivilised races, as well as " the injury it inflicts on legitimate commerce, doth cordially support " the Imperial and Colonial Government in their endeavours to suppress " the traffic in spirituous liquors in all native territories under their " influence and control." In the meanwhile it is for some one country, regardless of im- mediate results, to take, from the beginning, the firm ground of righteousness in its first approaches to a Native Race, and set an example for the rest to follow. That God has given to England an entrance into the dark Continent of Africa for this and the kindred purpose of the final extinction of the slave trade, no one who believes that there is a Divine providence shaping the destinies of nations will be disposed to doubt. With the purpose comes the responsibility of the agents to be employed. We can conceive of no more noble opportunity for the discharge of such responsibility — none which more surely shall bring down the blessing of God both on the nation and the trading company which represents it, than that now at the very outset of its career, the company should put on the forefront of its operations the motto on the Royal Ex- change of London, " The earth is the Lord's and the fulness 41 thereof." — We will trust Him, and do the right to the nation he gives to our care. That His blessing may rest on this and every other part of the operations of the Incorporated Association will be our constant prayer. We are, my Lords and Gentlemen, Your faithful Servants, WESTMINSTER, President of the United Covnnittee. F. LONDIN, C hair f nan of the United Committee. JOHN H. KENNAWAY, Bart.,M.P., Vice-Chairman of the U7iited Committee. T. H. W. PELHAM, Chairman oj the Executive Committee. | C. W. TREMENHEERE, Lieut.- Gen., C.B., Representative of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. RICHARD ELWYN, M.A., Hon. Canon of Canterbury, Master of the Charter- house, a7id Representative of the Society for tJie Propagation of the Gospel. WILLIAM ALLAN, MA., Vicar of St. James s, Bcnnondsey, and Represen- tative of the Church Missiotiary Society. CLARENCE A. ROBERTS, Representative oJ the Chnrch Missionary Society. RICHARD NUGENT, J.P., Representative of the Colonial and Continefital Chiirch Society. JOHN KENNEDY, D.D., Representative of the Londoii Missionary Society. R. WARDLAW THOMPSON, Foreign Secretary and Representative of the London Missiotiary Society. ALFRED HENRY BAYNES, F.S.S., General Secretary a7id Represetitative of the Baptist Missiotiary Society. GEORGE WM. OLVER, Secretary atid Represetitative of the Wesley an Missiotiary Society. HENRY GURNEY. Represetitative of the Aborigities Protection Society. HENRY J. ELLISON. MA., CJiaplain iti Ordinary to the Queen, Hoti. Cation of Christ Church, Chairman atid Represen- tative of the Church ofEtigland Temperatice Society. G. HOWARD WRIGHT, M.A., Hon. Superintetidetit atid Represetitative of the Church of Etiglatid Temperance Society. CHARLES ERNEST TRITTON, Treasurer atid Representatii'e of the Church of Etiglatid Temperatice Society. CONRAD DILLON, Represetitative of the Church of Etiglatid Tem- peratice Society. J. W. LEIGH, M.A., Hoti. Canoti of Worcester, Vicar of St. Mary' s, Bryatiston Square, Represetitative of the Church of Etiglatid Temperatice Society. ROBT. SAWYER, Recorder of Maidenhead, Represetitative of the Church of England Temperance Society. WM. JOHNSTON, M.P., Represetitative of the Church of Ireland Tem- peratice Society. JOHN TAYLOR, Cliairman atid Represetitative of the Natiotial Temperatice League. ROBERT RAE, Secretary atid Represetitative of the National Temperance League. EBENEZER CLARKE, F.S.S., Treasurer and Represetitative of tJie United Kitigdom Band of Hope Unioti. FRANK SHEFFIELD, Captain, Represetitative of the London Auxiliary Utiited Kingdotti A lliance. WM. J. PALMER, J.P., Vice-Presidetit, Readitig Tetttperatice Couticil, atid Represetitative of the Blue Ribbon Mission. WM. MOTTRAM, Represetitative of the Itidependetit Order of Good Templars. JOHN HILTON, Representative of the Indepetidetit Order of Good Tetnplars. G.ARMSTRONG BENNETTS, B.A., Secretary atid Representative of the Tettiperance Committee of the Wesley ati Cottference. 42 V. LOVE TT CAMERON, C.B.,D.C.L., CoDijiiauder, K.N. L. LEISCHING. PETER Mac LAGAN, M.P. MILES Mac INNES, M.P. DADABHAI NAOROJL ROBT. PRINGLE, M.D., SjirgeoiL-jSIajor H.M's Bengal Army. SAML. SMITH, M.P. MARK J. STEWART, M.P. BROOKE F. WESTCOTT, Regms Professor of Divinity, Cambridge ; Canon of Westminster. STEPHEN BOURNE, Ho)i. Secretary of the Legislative Committee of theChurch of England Temperance Society. J. GRANT MILLS, M.A, Hospitaller to St. Thomas^ Hospital, Hojiorary Secretary of the United Committee. APPEAL FROM CHRISTIAN CHURCHES AND CHURCH TEMPERANCE ORGANIZATIONS TO MERCHANTS ENGAGED IN THE WEST AFRICAN TRADE. Gentlemen, In name of the Christian Churches and Church Temperance Organizations of Great Britain, whose names appear below, we venture to address you on a subject which has been specially pressed upon our attention, and has called forth our earnest consideration and effort during the last two years, viz. : the traffic carried on with the West Coast of Africa, in so far as it involves the sale of intoxicating liquors to the natives. The evils connected with the trade are unquestionable. We feel deeply the injury it inflicts on the native tribes, and respectfully ask your attention to the words of one who is engaged in the traffic on the spot, and who, therefore, must have better opportunities of estimating its results than those who reside in Great Britain. Mr. Betts, one of the native traders in Sierra Leone, said at a public meeting held lately in connection with this question : '* I am not by any means insensible to the evil the drink traffic works in those countries, and to commerce itself. The liquor traffic destroys body and soul together. The traffic has so debased the people that they everywhere neglect their own comfort. // will certainly be a great gain to commerce proper, and a great blessing to Africa, if this liquor traffic should be eradicated from the country T We believe that many engaged in the traffic will, to some extent, endorse this statement, and would be glad if the trade were brought to an end. We are well aware of the difficulties standing in the way of this most desirable consummation. We wish to put ourselves as far as possible in your position, and to appreciate at its proper value the conviction, which you give as a reason for not relinquishing the trade in intoxicants, — that if you ceased to engage in it, it would simply be carried on from other quarters and with worse results. We know that only an International Agreement ^3 between the various Powers concerned would be adequate to cope with and stop the evil. We are using every effort toward this end, and are co-operating with others in seeking to stir up public opinion in Germany, France, and other European countries, and also in America, so that it may be possible for these governments to advance as far as our own has done. As you are aware, the British House of Commons passed unanimously in April last a resolution in which it pledged itself to "cordially support the Imperial and Colonial Governments in their endeavour to suppress the traffic in spirituous liquors in all native territories under their influence and control." Baron Worms, in speaking on the resolution, characterized the traffic as * dangerous and pernicious,' and not a single voice was lifted up in the British Parliament on its behalf. It seems clear then that, so far as Britain is concerned, the united moral sentiment of the nation, as expressed both in Church and Senate, is unani- mously opposed to this particular branch of the liquor trade ; and it is to emphasise the influence which this unanimous moral senti- ment is sure to have with you, that we venture to address you in name of a considerable portion of the Christian Church of this country. While it would rejoice our hearts to learn that you had with- drawn from all participation in the liquor trade with the native African races, we earnestly press upon you the duty of giving, with- out delay, public expression to your conviction of the evils connected with the trade, and of making a united effort to minimise these evils. We submit that you may do this in the following ways : — 1. By instructing your Agents to strive to substitute other articles of barter in place of intoxicating liquor. 2. By discontinuing, and discountenancing by every means in your power, the practice of paying wages in liquor. 3. By endeavouring to procure the introduction over all parts of the coast of some such fiscal arrangement as has been begun lately on the Niger. 4. By co-operating with those who are engaged in the work of abolition, especially by memorialising Government to bring about an International Agree- ment on the subject. Trusting that you will kindly receive and consider this Appeal and believe that in making it we are actuated by an earnest desire both for the welfare of the African race, and the extension of British commerce, We remain, Yours faithfully, WILLIAM ROSS, Convener of the Free Church of Scotland Temperance Committee. HENRY DUNCAN, Convener of the Church of Scotland Temperance Committee. W. SHOOLBRED, Moderator of the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland. 44. ROBERT WALES, Convener of the Presbyterian Church of England Temperance Committee. R CULLEY, I Secretaries of the Temperance Committee G. ARMSTRONG BENNETTS, | of the Wesleyan Conference. THOMAS SNAPE, President. JAMES DUCKWORTH, Treasurer, ) Connexional Temperance League of JOHN THORNLEY, Secretary, \ the United Methodist Free Churches. ALFRED COLBECK, General Secretary Methodist New Connection Temperance Union. JOSEPH FERGUSON, Secretary, Primitive Methodist Temperance League. J. B. WYLLIE, Convener of the Irish Presbyterian Church Temperance Committee. GRIFFITH ELLIS, Convener of the Temperance Committee of the Welsh Calvinistic Methodist General Assembly. THOMAS ALEXANDER, Chairman of the Congregational Union of Scotland. ALEX. M'NAIR, President of the Evangelical Union of Scotland. J^ME^iTlElRsXa. Secretary, } Baptist TotalAbstinenceAssociation. F. JOHN FALDING, Chairman, I Congregational Total Abstinence D. BURFORD HOOKE, Secretary, j Association. On behalf of the Baptist Churches in Scotland : — WILLIAM LANDELS, Minister, Dublin Street Baptist Church, Edinburgh. WM. GRANT, Pastor, Bristo Place Baptist Church, Edmburgh. FREDK. W. ROBARTS, Pastor, Hillhead Baptist Church, Glasgow. ALEXANDER WYLIE, Pastor, Marshall Street Baptist Church, Edinburgh. HUGH ROSE, J.P., D.L., Hillside Crescent, Edinburgh. ROBERT LOCKHART, Manufacturer, Deacon, Dublin Street Baptist Church, Edinburgh. CHAS. A. ROSE, Paper Manufacturer, i, Belhaven Crescent, Glasgow. GEO. WM. ELMSLIE, Merchant, 19, Albert Street, Edinburgh. CHARLES ARTHUR, Pottery, Glasgow. A. P. NISBET, Merchant, Jeffrey Street, Edinburgh. JOHN WILSON, Merchant, Edinburgh. If from your standpoint you can make any suggestions to us as to our further action in the matter, those whose names are appended will be most happy to hear from you ; or any communication may be sent to Rev. W. Guthrie, Dysart, N.B., Convener of this Committee on Temperance and 'Public Morals of the United Presbyterian Church. A/>ri/ 10, 1889. DiPROSE, Bateman ct Co., Printers, Sheffield Street, Lincoln's Inn. QUARTERLY PAPER OF THE United Committee for the Pfevention of the Demoralization OF SEPTEMBER, 1889. CONTENTS: PAGE Summary of Debate in the German Reichstag 3 Meetings at Windsor ... 7 Meeting in the Westminster Palace Hotel 8 International African Conference .. ... ... ... 14 39, PALACE CHAMBERS, BRIDGE STREET, S.W. LIST OF PUBLICATIONS TO BE OBTAINED AT 139, PALACE CHAMBERS, BRIDGE STREET, S.W. No. I — History of the Movement and List of the Committee... Gratis. No. 3 — India Excise Revenue Statistics, by Surgeon-Major Pringle, M.D ^d. No. 5. — Demoralization of Native Races by the Liquor Traffic; a Paper read at the International Temperance Congress, held at Zurich, September 8th, 9th and loth, 1887, by the Rev. J. Grant Mills id. No. 6 — India and the Excise Revenue. Report of the debate in the House of Commons of March 13, 1888, with preface and appendix by W. S. Caine, Esq., M.P Gratis. No. 7 — The Case as It Is, by the Rev. Canon Ellison id. No. 8— Report upon the Liquor Traffic on the West Coast of Africa, by the Rev. Wm. Allen id. No. 9 — Liquor Traffic and Native Races. Report of the debate in the House of Commons of April 24th, 1888 id. Quarterly Papers of the Committee, giving a summary of the latest action of the Committee (March and June are out of print), each number id. The Liquor Traffic in Africa. What is it doing? How shall it BE Stopped ? Being a Summary of Evidence collected with reference to Africa. This is a most useful pamphlet to those who wish to speak upon the subject id. Twenty-five Years of Church of England Temperance Work ; a Letter to His Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury by the Rev. Canon Ellison 2d. Africa and the Drink Trade, by theVen. Archdeacon Farrar ... 6d. Drinking and the Drink Traffic in India, by the Rev. Gelson Gregson id. The Drink Traffic in India, by the Rev. Gelson Gregson ... ... Gratis. Die moralische Entartung de^ Naturvolker durch den Spirit- uosen-Handel, von Rev. J. Grant Mills id. [September, i88q. QTJAETERLY PAPER OF THE United Committee for the Prevention of the Demoralization OF Jlattij^ Haas h^ tlfje ltqtt0r '^xbMc President— His Grace the Duke of Westminster, K.G. Chairman— The Right Hon. and Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of London. Vice-Chairman— Sir John Kennaway, Bart., M.P. Chairman of the Executive Committee— The Hon. T. H. W. Pelham. Honorary Secretary— The Rev. J. Grant Mills, M.A. Assistant Secretary— Mr. A. W. Bodger. Treasurer— Frank A. Bevan, Esq., 54, Lombard Street, E.G. Bankers -Messrs. Barclay, Bevan, Tritton & Co., i, Pall Mall East. SUMMARY OF DEBATE IN THE GEKMAN REICHSTAG, TUESDAY, MAY 14th, 1889. In opening the debate, Herr Stoecker said they had already treated the question of slavery in that sitting with the greatest energy and highest moral feeling, which he believed would call for gratitude in the remotest circles beyond their own borders. He wished to direct the attention of the house to a question in no way inferior to the contest against slavery. He quoted from Sir Richard Burton, Mr. Joseph Thomson, and the Rev. James Johnson. Their three important opinions he would place as the foundation of his propo- 4 QUARTERLY PAPER. [SEPTEMBER, 1 889. sition, and show that the brandy question was quite as important and quite as tragical as the slave question. An assembly which had dealt with the question of slavery so effectually could not disregard this triple testimony (which was alike the judgment of the whole civilized world), and overlook the brandy question, otherwise they would lay themselves open to the charge of sacrificing pathos and money in a matter in which they had no interest of their own, whilst acting quite differently where material interests were in question, as in the case of the liquor traffic. The matter was nothing new to the German people, it had engaged the attention of earnest men ever since their colonial policy commenced. From Basle in 1885, and from the Missionary Conference in Bremen in the same year, resolutions had been forthcoming. The matter had been taken up by the International Mission Conference, in Exeter Hall, London, in 1888. But not only Missionaries, although he would attribute great value to their utterances as they knew the negro population the best, and were most concerned about their temporal and spiritual welfare, and were better judges than merchants and travellers, but other than Missionaries had spoken out on this subject. The speaker then referred to the important resolutions passed on the subject by the Society against the abuse of spirituous liquors, the Congress of National Research, the German Colonial Society ; also to the action of the International Conference for opposing the liquor traffic, held in Zurich, 1887. The subject had been discussed in the English Parlia- ment. He then referred to the resolutions introduced in the House of Commons on the 24th September, 1888, and to the assurances given by the English Ministers, and to the deputation which waited on Lord Salisbury at the end of last year. All this would show that the question before them was not personal, but one which every thinking honourable Christian man must consider. He contended they had important responsibilities as regards their colonies ; and although the interests of producers, importers and shipowners had to be considered, yet that should not hinder them. Especially the matter must not be shirked, because sacrifices had to be made ; when important moral questions are at stake one must be prepared for sacrifices. It would not do to admit the right to ruin foreign races for the sake of the profit of a few German firms. Much had been rightly said by Germany about the English opium traffic, but other parts of the European world would view the traflfic in liquor amongst the native races in no better light. It was necessary to use judgment in any action taken. Yet he felt he could bring the question with confidence before the Federal Government. He then referred to different laws on the subject in German Colonies. A great difficulty in discussing the question was to get at correct figures. It was stated that ten millions of gallons of spirits were sent to Africa yearly, of which Germany sent over eight million gallons, four-iifths of the whole amount of poison which was flooding Africa. He then answered some objections made by Herr Woerman, and said one thing was certain, the liquor imported September, 1889.] quarterly paper. 5 worked boundless evil amongst the natives. In this, statesmen, doctors, travellers, missionaries, and also traders, when asked, were all of one opinion. He then referred to the objections raised that the natives had intoxicating liquors of their own, and, therefore, there was nothing new in the matter. Here he showed that these native drinks were not so baneful in their results, and had nothing like the power of brandy, which had a bewitching influence on the native. Travellers and missionaries agreed that the negro possessed a tendency towards this kind of drink, demanding little else. He would quote the testimonies from different quarters to support his argument. Herr Stoecker then, amongst political sources, quoted Sir Charles Warren, also read an extract in full from the Natal Mercury, of 2nd of March, 1886, then referred to the testi- mony of Mr. Joseph Thomson. From the reports on the^ subject, the speaker referred to a letter from a German missionary, in which it was stated that the flooding of brandy into the country prevented the possibility of missionary operations. He referred also to the speech of a coloured preacher at a Conference of English Bishops. As to the different questions of what to do he would not fully enter into. He desired only to urge the House to put the question to the Federal States what they believed could be done. He would only state they could suppress the trafflc in brandy, and if the nations participating in this harmful traffic would come to an understanding amongst themselves to gradually prohibit and restrict it, he would be happy. Perhaps Lord Salisbury, however, was right that such a step at once could not be considered, but a system of high duties and license fees for the wholesale as well as retail trade might be m- stituted. There were, therefore, two ways open, total prohibition, or such high Customs and Duties as would not permit such intem- perance, at least as is now prevalent. He then urged, on the grounds given, the acceptance of his resolution. He believed it would make a good impression in the remotest circles of the German people with- out regard to party or creed, and he believed it would be possible to obtain a majority for the resolution : — " That the Reichstag resolve to request the Federal Governments "to again lake into consideration, whether and how the trade in " spirits in the German Colonies can be effectually opposed either by "prohibition or limitation." Deputy WoERMAN said that although to a certain extent he felt he was representing an unpopular side and admitted that Herr Stoecker was influenced by philanthropic motives, yet from official and non-official sources he had obtained the assurance that nothing had been known of any mischief following the importation of brandy and spirits in Cameroon. He was quite willing to agree with the resolution proposed by Herr Stoecker for an enquiry. Deputy Dr. Windthorst agreed with Deputy Woerman that if distilleries were good for Germany they were good for Africa ; he had for many years belonged to the men of the Temperance Society. It would not be surprising that he should join with Pastor Stoecker in not 6 QUARTERLY PAPER. [SEPTEMBER, 1 889. wishing to see distilleries in Africa; if they could be gradually given up in Germany, he would only be too glad. It was an international duty, but just as Anti-Slavery Association had been established every- where,^ so the traffic in spirits should become the subject to be dealt with in International Congresses, until all importation of spirits should cease or be curtailed. It was patent that more evil would be worked by spirits in tropical climates than in Northern European climates. The traffic should be done away with altogether. Inter- national arrangements must be made. He was quite sure that those in Africa that even permitted the use of spirits would be glad if no more brandy was ever exported from Hamburg or Liverpool. He would therefore support Herr Stoecker's motion. Deputy Bebel (Social Democrat) admitted that Deputy Woerman had made a good speech in defence of the interests he represented, and by making out that the carrying out of Herr Stoecker's resolution would damage trade made a strong point, as most people were disinclined to view matters from their moral consequences. Still, after all, Herr Stoecker had shown that the trade was not a moral one, and he agreed with his expressions, and would add to them. He referred to what Herr Woerman had said about the good quality of spirits exported, as if in Germany they only got the worst and the Blacks the best; but he concluded from its very cheapness that it was about the most abominable stuff that could be sent out. He could not vote for the resolution in its present form, as he believed it would be ineffective, and that the Government would do nothing, and this important dis- cussion would end in a farce. He would have the two words *' whether" and "and" left out. Farther, he would like to have it stated in what way the purpose of the resolution could be carried out. He agreed with Dr. Windthorst that it could not be carried out by Germany alone, but was a matter for other nations as well If it were possible for England and Germany to agree to prohibit imports of spirits into Polynesia, it would also be possible for the same to be done by those countries interested in Africa, say those which took part in the Congo Conference. With the prevail- ing opinion on this question in the whole civilized world, the matter, if rightly handled, might be satisfactorily settled. Herr Stoecker had advocated the question on Christian grounds; he would urge it from a humanitarian standpoint, and ventured to say that it would have been better for Africa that it had never known Christianity, for by so doing the plague of drink had been introduced. If any religion had ever proved itself able to cope with this plague it was Moham- medanism. He considered all Africa could not do better than go over to Mohammedanism. He concluded that it was clear that if Europeans avoided spirits in Southern climates, their use must be most baneful to natives never before used to them. He charged Europeans with making use of these liquors to keep down and ruin the natives. If they were in earnest with this resolution, they would do a work for culture and civilization as tliey seldom had the September, 1889.] quarterly paper. 7 opportunity to do in this Reichstag, only the motion should be more definite. Deputy Von Kleist agreed entirely with the remarks of Deputy Dr. Windthorst, but still felt the need of adding something to the debate. He and his party did not go in for the Radical view of Herr Bebel, that such a resolution would have no effect on the Government. All depended on who supported it, and what favour it received in the House. It would be impossible to say what the Government should do exactly beyond what Herr Stoecker had indicated. He had pointed to the joint action of England and Germany in the North Sea, by which the trade in brandy had vanished. Love for the poor natives moved them to do their best to try and alter the unfortunate state of affairs; he hoped the house would accept the resolution. Herr Stoecker in reply to Herr Bebel thought it best to go before the Federal States for the first time with a request and then await results ; it was open to them to act otherwise if necessary. He criticised the opinions of Herr Bebel in his attacks on Christianity, remarking there was also drunkenness among Moham- medans, and that even a Mohammedan was not proof against this vice when urged on by European means. He reminded Herr Bebel that missionaries were the chief opposers of the traffic. In conclusion he remarked they wished to carry on trade with Africa and open out the country, but it must be a civilized trade, they must oppose the brandy traffic, not only as a duty, but also as a matter of interest, because only a people which remained unruined and which grew in culture could be permanent customers. Of course he recommended concerted international action, which would include Holland and Belgium. He looked for the greatest and happiest results from such action. Herr Bebel's amendment that the words ''whether and ** and " should be left out was put but not carried. Herr Stoecker's resolution was then put, and carried, as the president stated " almost unanimously." MEETINGS AT WINDSOR. Very important Meetings were held (by kind permission of the Mavor) in the Guildhall, Windsor, on Tuesday, April 2nd, i»«9. The meetings were presided over by the Very Rev. the Dean ot Windsor in the afternoon, and the Mayor of Windsor in the evening. The Speakers were the Rev. Canon Ellison. Mr. Samuel bmith, M.P., Commander V. Cameron, R.N., C.B., Dr. Gaisburg, Surgeon- Major Pringle, M.D., Mr. John Mackenzie, and the Honorary Secretary. 8 QUARTERLY PAPER. [SEPTEMBER, 1889. Both meetings were very influentially and numerously attended, and the proceedings were most enthusiastic throughout. Resolutions were passed at both meetings, deprecating the liquor traffic amongst native races, and urging the further restriction or prohibition of this traffic. Copies of the resolutions were sent to the Member of Parliament for Windsor, and to the Secretaries of State for Foreign Affairs, India, and the Colonies. Hearty thanks are due to the Rev. A. H. Blake, of Windsor, to whom the credit of the success of these meetings is due. MEETING IN THE WESTMINSTER PALACE HOTEL. This meeting was held on Friday, 26th July. Mr. Samuel Smith, M.P., in the chair. Amongst those present besides the speakers were General Tremenheere, Rev. Dr. John Hall (New York), Rev. William Mottram, Rev. R. Wardlaw Thompson, Messrs. S. Bourne, John Hilton, S. Insull, Daniel Matthews, D. Milligan, J. H. Raper, Mrs. Demorest, Mrs. Eynon, Miss Olive Schreiner, Mrs. Stuart (South Africa), and others. The Chairman said they had been summoned there that day to hear two ladies who had interested themselves in the cause of temperance — Mrs. Leavitt and Miss Schreiner. Of late years they had all had their eyes opened to the dreadful havoc wrought amongst the weaker races of the world by the introduction of alcoholic drinks, and the painful thought was that the Christian nations of the world should be the principal cause in introducing intoxicants among the natives. He was ashamed to think that England had borne its part in this terrible business. Germany and the United States had been equally guilty. Indeed, it was difficult to say what civilised country had not contributed its quota to the degradation of the most helpless races of the world. It was extremely difficult to cope with these evils. It was easy to denounce them in public meeting, but it was difficult to obtain legislation on the subject. It was obvious, so long as any one country was willing to profit by the trade in alcoholic drinks, it was quite useless to do anything. With regard to Africa, various attempts had been made to obtain combination in order to deliver certain regions of that continent from the curse of strong drink. A few years ago a conference was held at Berlin in connection with the Congo region, that vast region which the enterprising Stanley had opened up to the world, but he was sorry to say that the proposals made by this country that the drink trade should be excluded from that region were resisted by the Germans. The Hamburg people brought such pressure to bear upon the German Government that they declined to enter into that arrangement, and the result was that a large trade in intoxicants was springing up in theCon^o region wliich made one doubt whether any advantage had September, 1889.] quarterly paper. 9 come from European enterprise. South Africa was all deluged in the same way with the trade in strong drink, and he was sorry to say this country's colonies were amongst the chief sinners. The colonies had be'en granted responsible government, and this country had no power to interfere with their private regulations. Cape Colony had refused to put any hindrance in the way of trade in intoxicants, notwithstanding that many of the native tribes had pro- tested against it, and asked to be delivered from it. Madagascar had been poisoned to a terrible extent by that iniquitous trade, which was carried on in the interest of the British Colony of Mauritius, the inhabitants of which had poured rum into Madagascar, to the unspeakable injury of the country, and he hoped to hear that day some suggestions as to what was to be done. He then called upon Mrs. Leavitt, who said she was a member of the Christian Women's Temperance Union of Boston, and honorary secretary of the World's Union. She was trying to do what she could to overthrow the great evil growing out of the drink traffic. She was anxious to speak that day about Madagascar, because, although she had read in the pubHcations of the Society much about the West Coast of Africa and of India, not much had been said about Mada- gascar. She had passed some time within the last year in Madagascar, and had investigated the subject as fully as she could, and she wished to tell them something about it. Help was to come from the Britisli people if it came through anyone. It was in vain to look to the Government. While Madagascar was a pagan country there was a small amount of native drink used, which was made from particular trees that grew there. On the Queen becoming Christian, the central governing tribes of the people, the Hovas, very speedily became Christian, they destroyed their idols, and churches were built throughout the country. One of the queen's first acts on becoming a Christian was to have all the trees destroyed from which intoxicating drinks were made, and no drink was taken into the country, except perhaps, by some foreigners for their own use. England and France were desirous of being in power, and these two countries, as well as America, made treaties with the Government of that island. She was glad to say that her own people, the Americans, were not sinners with regard to Madagascar, but she was ashamed to say they were verily guilty with regard to the West Coast of Africa, where they ranked third among the nations as to the quantity of drink they sold to the natives. They were, however, principally guilty in regard to Japan and China in the matter of the introduc- tion of strong drinks. The American treaty with Madagascar said that the Government might admit or reject intoxicating drinks as it liked, and as they liked to reject it, no drink had been carried by an American ship to that island. The English and French treaties, however, said that drink must be admitted, and at the present time it was pretty generally introduced all over the coasts of the country, where the tribes were debauched with the traffic. There was a barrel of Mauritius rum on tap in two-thirds of the houses up and down lO QUARTERLY PAPER. [SEPTEMBER, 1889 the coast, and the result was a vast amount of drunkenness. As she got inland, however, towards the capital, she noticed that all this fell off by degrees, and until very recently there had been no drunken natives seen in the capital. They should remember that Christianity began in the centre of the island, and that drunkenness began at the circumference. There was scarcely any Christianity on the coasts, but at Antananarivo there was a Sabbath which was better kept than the English Sabbath. There were there twelve mission churches, and four large memorial stone churches, the smallest of which would accommodate i,ooo, and the largest 1,500. Though there might be some merely formal religion among the natives, there was a vast deal of true religion. A missionary residing there had told her that, up to within ten years ago, he had never seen a drunken native in the capital, but that since the last war with France such a sight was becoming not uncommon. The speaker then went on to say that the French influence was not so great as they were led to believe it was, and it was not increasing. In communications that she had had with the people of the country, she had found a belief existing that the Malagasy Government were desirous of keeping drink out of the country. The late Queen was so determined to show her dis- approval of this traffic, that instead of selling the one-tenth part of the liquor which came into the country, to which she was entitled, she had it poured out on the sands at Tamatave. (Cheers). She declared that she would not receive a personal benefit from that which was destroying her people. Although the present sovereign does not like the liquor traffic less, she was discouraged from destroy- ing the portion she was entitled to, because it was said that she was only creating a market for more drink, and the result was the Govern- ment were now receiving the money derived from the sale of the stuff". England only kept the clause in the treaty relating to the sale of drink for the sake of Mauritius ; and in order to conciliate that island the Government retained the clause. If that clause were struck out of the treaty it would reduce the profits of the sugar planters of the Mauritius, but it would beggar nobody. She had seen the English Consul upon the matter, and he had told her that if the French would consent to the raising of the Excise duty from 10 per cent, to 30 per cent., and if the Malagasy Government would root out the business in the country, they would consent to it. Person- ally, that gentleman would wish to see the traffic driven out of the country. However, the native Governments were by treaty com- pelled to allow the liquor to go into the country in the same way as the Chinese were bound to admit opium. Then, while there, she found that some of the natives even distilled liquor and sold it to their neighbours. The argument against the prohibition of importation was that, though they would be glad to have a mini- mum of drink brought into the country with a maximum of revenue, they could not allow the revenue to be touched. She had an interview with the French Resident, but found that his opinion was that the Government would on no account allow September, 1889.] quarterly paper. h the Excise duty to be raised. She also had an interview with the Queen and the Prime Minister of the country, and talked over '"the subject with them, but they told her that they were grieved that these things existed, but that they were utterly powerless to make any change, and that it was impossible for them to put a stop to the traffic so long as drink was allowed to enter the country. It was a cruel exercise of great power in Christian lands that traffic was forced upon these unhappy natives. In her opinion the only hope was in the English people and in the efforts of this society. She was inclined to think that if Great Britain should demand of the French that the clause in the treaty be put on the same fair ground that the American clause was, that in order not to lose favour with the Madagascar Government the French Government would be obliged to follow their lead. The Hovas were a fine people, and were quite capable of governing. The capital which a few years ago consisted mostly of mud huts, had been completely rebuilt, and it was now a beautiful city on a mountain in the centre of a plain, with 100,000 inhabit: I's. They also pos- sessed schools and the people were able to read the Scriptures in their own language, and nearly all of them had a good education, and all this had taken place within the last forty years. There was a bodv of very enterprising English missionaries there who had taken a great part in the work. The fearful results of the drink traffic were seen in Tasmania, where only recently ]'the last person in whose veins flowed one drop of native blood " died. God had given this country wonderful privileges through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which had brought them to what they were. They had, therefore, this great power in their hands, and she begged of them therefore to do all they could to save the Malagasy people. Mr. Handel Cosham, M.P., said he had listened with very great sorrow to the tale they had just heard from Mrs. Leavitt, and one could not but be struck with the fact that drink was destroying their people and injuring the English people's fair name. He wished they could instil into the conscience and hearts of the people of this country what the state of things in Madagascar really was. He felt that they really ought to do something to check that terrible drink traffic. The power of the Anglo-Saxon race was very great. The future of the world was theirs and that gave them a very great responsibility. He therefore hoped the people of this country would help them to check that evil. (Hear, hear.) At this point Mr. S. Smith left the chair, which was then taken by Sir William Collins, a vote of thanks being passed to Mr. Smith for his kindness in presiding. Sir William Collins said unless they managed to stamp out the drink traffic amongst the native races in India and in Africa he was afraid that the work of Christian countries would be to a large extent undone. He hoped, therefore, there would be a strong repre- sentation made to the Government of this country to do what they possibly could to put a stop to this traffic. They had been told that 12 QUARTERLY PAPER. [SEPTEMBER, 1 889. the Germans were the greatest sinners in this matter, but that was no consolation to anybody. Miss ScHREiNER Said she was thankful for the opportunity that had been given her of addressing an English audience with regard to a matter which was so vital a question as not only the deteriora- tion but the absolute destruction of the native races in the neigh- bourhood of and under the control of the British Government in South Africa. She had lived in that colony all her life, and had seen what the native races were without strong drink, and what they had become when the introduction of strong drink was per- mitted within their borders. In the course of her lifetime she had known races in that country virtually annihilated under the power and the curse of the strong drink which a Christian Government had permitted to be forced upon them. She said " forced " upon them, because in every instance in which European intoxicating drinks had been introduced among the native tribes and territories it had been done against the wish of the native government. Thank God there was a just God who ruled the world, and thank God the responsibility would be brought straight home to where it ought to be brought; and as God was eternal and just, and right was right, so the principal nations of the earth that used their power to destroy other nations that had no power should verily answer for it before high heaven. The honour of England was at stake in this matter. Its honour, its blessing, its prosperity as a nation was at stake, and because its honour was dear to them, and because they would have the honour of this Christian Government and Christian country continue to the end of time, because they would not see \.\\^fiat go forth that should destroy its prestige and power in the world, there- fore everyone who had studied the history of the drink traffic under British Government control in native lands must feel that the thing to pray for and to work for was that before it be too late the terrible record of the past should be undone and a new history take its place in the future. (Hear, hear.) The account given of the state of affairs in Madagascar by Mrs. Leavitt was the old story over again— a weak people, a people who had no power to study for preservation, fighting to be delivered from destruction, and asking the nations of the world to leave them free to keep tiieir own people from destruction. They ask nothing else — they only ask to be left free and not have forced upon them the curse which would destroy them. She felt tliat this was a question which must be set right, or the God of nations would frown upon them ; she felt that it must be set right, or the prestige that England had held among nations in the past would not continue hers until the end of time. It was certain that if the Anglo-Saxon speaking nations which knew the fearful havoc that was being caused to the native races through drink traffic continued to proceed on the old lines they would be verily guilty, and the cup of their iniquity would be full. Whatever might be the position of a Christian Government with regard to the liquor traffic generally, even within its own borders and its own September, 1889.] quarterly paper. ^3 people, there could not be the slightest doubt that when that Government forced the traffic upon people who objected to have it forced upon them, the culpability increased a thousandfold. The British nation at the present time were forcing the liquor traffic upon people who desired to be free from it. In South Africa there were native tribes surrounding the colony whose one petition was that they might be delivered from the curse of strong drink. Their own native chiefs longed for deliverance. They were petitioning again and again the colonial Government, who had the power to keep this traffic from them and from their people, but in the face of all that the colonial Government were continuing to send the liquor amongst them, and when any movement was made in the Legislature tending to prohibit the drink, no matter how urgently sucli movement was backed up by appeals from the people con- cerned, it invariably failed in attaining a satisfactory result. When the diamond fields of South Africa were discovered, seventeen or twenty years ago, the chiefs who were brought for the first time in proximity to the English race felt that the danger to be immediately apprehended was the one danger of European traffic. The chief of Griqualand West had said that he was afraid the importation of liquor would mean the destruction of his people and himself. Places were licensed there for the sale of drink, and now that chief and his men were a mass of besotted drunkards, and it would only be a matter of a generation or two and the Griqualand West nation would be a thing of the past. Further north, between the borders of Griqualand West and Bechuanaland, a chief who desired to come under British rule made an earnest petition that if he was taken over no intoxicating European drinks should be allowed within his territory. His territory was, however, taken over, and, notwithstanding his petition, within a very few months licences were granted for the sale of drink all along the highways in his territory. The result of this was that many natives who before were well off now possessed neither bullocks, waggons, nor land, and the men themselves, who were once a fine race were now complete wrecks. She attributed the last Basuto war to the introduction of drink, which, she said, had caused natives to murder white men, which led to war. All the difficulty of ruling the natives arose from the liquor traffic. Stop that traffic and then°the native difficulty would be dead at once. They gained nothing as a nation from the paltry revenue obtained through the liquor sent to those countries. They would ultimately suffer finan- cially and in every other way by their false, untrue and unrighteous policy in regard to this matter. The present state of things, though to a less degree existed, when the colonies gained the right to govern themselves. This country, therefore, had caused the present condition of affairs by allowing drink to be taken into the country when they themselves had the power to stop it. There were large tracts of country right up to the Zambesi still in the hands of the British Government and it was to be hoped that the terrible and 14 QUARTERLY PAPER. [SEPTEMBER, 1 889. ghastly past would not be copied in that land. There was a talk about a large company having charge of the tribes in the north, but she hoped a charter would not be granted without it being stipulated that not a drop of alcohol should go there. (Hear, hear.) She hoped that the English people would become alive to the position, and that our legislators might stand as one man in regard to this matter, and, realising the terrible evil that was menacing those neglected heathen tribes, that they would see to it before charter rights were granted to that company that there should be a guarantee they should never be able to set aside, that alcoholic beverages, the Englishman's curse, should never go into the new territory to destroy the races there. (Hear, hear.) Englishmen with regard to this matter had a black record behind them, and there was no need to make it blacker. The drink traffic at the diamond fields had been the ruin of great numbers of the natives who had come down from the north lo work in them ; many had died, but those who lived to return to their own countries were dragged down and degraded by their few months' sojourn in that land. In the case of these countries that had not their own responsible Government but were under English pro- tection, it rested with the British authorities to keep the liquor out. It was for the British Government to decide that the liquor traffic should be absolutely prohibited in Bechuanaland. She trusted that the truth about this matter would be increasingly spread amongst the nations, and that those who took an interest in the question would feel that it was of sovereign importance to ensure that no stone should be left unturned to rouse up general enthusiasm by the edu- cation of the public mind on this question, and that the time would come when the British Parliament would sweep away the evil of the past in regard to this matter. (Cheers.) On the motion of Mr. McKenzie, seconded by Mr. John Taylor, and supported by the Rev. J. Grant Mills, hon. sec, a hearty vote of thanks was passed to the chairman and to Mrs. Leavitt and Miss Schreiner for their addresses, and the proceedings terminated. INTERNATIONAL AFHIOAN CONFERENCE. In view of this Conference which is to be held in Brussels this Autumn, the Committee prepared the following memorial which was presented to Lord Salisbury on behalf of the Committee by our President, the Duke of Westminster, K.G. :— " To the Most Honourable The Marquis of Salisbury, K.G., Her Majesty's " Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. " ST^e Jumble pemorial of the President, Chairman, and Members "of the Native Races and Liquor Traffic United Committee. "May it please your Lordship, "I. Understanding that it is proposed to hold during the coming " Autumn an International Conference on the affairs of Africa, we venture " to express our hope that the important subject of the demoralization of the September, 1889.] quarterly paper. 15 " various native races of the Continent of Africa by the liquor traffic will " receive due attention, and that the Powers represented at the Conference " will concur in some united action for the prevention of the importation " into Africa and the manufacture there, as an article of sale or barter to " natives, of those spirituous liquors, which are so detrimental to the best "interests of the people for whose welfare the Conference is to be convened. "2. We recall with satisfaction the attitude taken by the representatives "of this country, in conjunction with the representatives of Italy and the "United States at the Berlin Conference in 1885, with respect to the control " of the liquor traffic on the Congo, and that the Commission, to whom the "subject was referred, expressed their sympathy with the lofty sentiment " which inspired the proposition of the English Ambassador, and proposed "to the Conference that an agreement should be established between the " Governments to regulate the question in a manner which would reconcile "the claims of humanity with the interests of commerce, so far as the latter " can legitimately be considered. "3. Since that date the subject has received increasing attention, both "in this country and on the Continent of Europe. "4. On March 5th, 1888, H.M. Secretary of State for the Colonies, " Lord Knutsford, said in the House of Lords that Her Majesty's Govern- " ment were fully alive to the terrible mischief created by the importation "and sale to the natives of spirituous liquors. "5. On April 24th, 1888, the following resolution was unanimously " adopted by the House of Commons : — "'That this House, having regard to the disastrous physical and moral *' 'effects of the hquor traffic among uncivilised races, as well as the injury it "'inflicts on the legitimate commerce, doth cordially support the Imperial "'and Colonial Government in their endeavour to suppress the traffic in " ' spirituous liquors in all native territories under their influence and control.' " And in the same debate the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies " (Baron H. de Worms) stated :— "'That the Government were fully alive to the special duty which " 'devolved upon them of protecting those who could not protect themselves, "' and of averting the terrible evils which unfortunately civilisation has too " 'often brought in its train upon uncivilised races, and which did so much in " 'this country to swell the long roll of pauperism and crime.' "6. We would remind your Lordship of the following impressive and " weighty words, used by your Lordship in reply to a deputation from this "Committee, on 14th December, 1888 : — '" We will never cease to press the matter whenever we see an opportunity " 'of pressing it with effect. We will press it in season and out of season, "'because we believe that a vast amount of human happiness and misery " 'depends upon the course which these negotiations take.' "7. The subject was introduced into the House of Lords, on May 6th, "1889, by the Duke of Westminster, and supported by the Archbishop of " Canterbury, the Bishop of London, the Earl of Meath and Lord Aberdare, " and Lord Knutsford then assured the Duke of Westminster that the appeal "which had been made by him would not be made in vain. " 8. Resolutions in favour of some international action have been passed "at large and representative meetings at the Mansion House, and in " different great centres of the country. " 9. With great satisfaction we call attention to the debate in the German "Reichstag, on xMay 14th, 1889, when an important resolution with reference "to the Liquor Traffic in German Colonies, was carried by an overwhelming " majority on the motion of Pasteur Stoecker, who referred at some length "to the action taken by this Committee, and quoted largely from its " publications. 1 6 QUARTERLY PAPER. [SEPTEMBER, 1 889. " The resolution was as follows : — *' 'That the Reichstag resolve to request the Federal Governments to again " 'take into consideration, whether and how the trade in spirits in the German " ' Colonies can be effectually opposed either by prohibition or limitation.' " 10. The debates, speeches, and meetings, to which we have called "attention, have doubtless done much to direct public opinion to this im- " portant question, and to create general sympathy with the object which we " have in view. We feel that the time has now come for some united action " on the part of the civilized Powers, and we are sure that the representatives "of this country at the approaching Conference will be better able to press " the views which were urged at the Berlin Conference, from the fact that " those views have now been so thoroughly endorsed by the British Parlia- " ment and the German Reichstag. " 11.^ We have collected a large amount of evidence from different parts "of Africa as to the evils wrought by the trade in spirituous liquors, and we "shall be ready to lay this information before your Lordship or before those " who will represent this country at the approaching Conference. "12. In conclusion, we would respectively urge your Lordship to use "your powerful influence to ensure that this most important matter shall "receive full consideration at the Conference, and we earnestly pray that the " deliberations of the Conference may result in some immediate international " action for removing one of the greatest obstacles to the civilization of the "Continent of Africa. " We are, my Lord Marquis, " Your Lordship's obedient Servants, " (Signed on behalf of the United Committee). " WESTMINSTER, " F. LONDIN, ^^ President. " Chairman. "JOHN H. KENNAWAY, "T. H. W. PELHAM, " Vice-Chairman. ^^ Chairman of the Executive Committee, "J. GRANT MILLS, ' ' 'July, 1 889." ' ' Honorary Secretary. The Duke of Westminster has forwarded the following reply : — " 20, Arlington Street, S.W. ''Aug. I, '89. "My dear Duke, " Many thanks for your letter and its enclosure, which shall have our " careful attention. " I hope that the contemplated Conference on the Slave Trade may be " induced to take some steps with respect to the subject of your Memorial. " Believe me, "Yours very truly, " SALISBURY. " Tfie Duke of Westminster, K.G." In connection with this Conference other and important steps are being taken. ^amt flaas $c tlj^ mqnav ^xaBt. UNITED COMMITTEE. President— His Grace the Duke of Westminster, K.G. Chairman— The Right Hon. and Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of London. Hon. Secretary— Rev. J. Grant Mills, M.A. Assistant Secretary — Mr. A. W. Bodger. Subscriptions and Donations should be made payable to " The Honorary Secretary ," and Cheques should be c7-ossed " Barclay, Beim/i, Tritton ^ Co." 139, PALACE CHAMBERS, 9, BRIDGE STREET, WESTMINSTER, S.W. LIQUOR TRAFFIC IN AFRICA. WHAT IS IT DOING? HOW SHALL IT BE STOPPED? Including LORD SALISBURY'S Reply to Deputation, 14th December, 1888. I.- QUANTITY AND QUALITY. From 1883 40 the end of 1887 over 30,000,000 gallons of spirits were poured into Africa ! ! ! An analysis of samples of these spirits sent over to England shows some of them to be of an exceedingly poisonous nature. Even without an analysis, the quality of these spirits might easily be inferred from the following price list. The prices, including shipping freight and cost of bottles and packing, of the spirits sent to Africa are as follows : — Spirits sold at Sierra Leone O Superior gin (best quality) Lagos o Hamburg gin o Sierra Leone (rum, coloured) i Sierra Leone (rum. not coloured) i Double rectified Rye Geneva o Gilka, German drink sold at Lagos 2 Jamacia rum sold at Lagos i Another Spirit i Bahia rum i Tafia or French rum o Demijohn of two gallons I The Rev. James Johnson, native pastor in Lagos, says that some of this rum is so bad that no European would drink it, and that native painters have used it instead of turpentine. ^/. £ s. (/. 4-i o 4 6 per doz. P/rtl Bottles 2h 2 6 ) ' 9 ) 4* o 4 6 5> >> o O 12 o ,, ,, o O 12 o >> J J 4^ o 4 6 >> 9> b I lO o J> ,, 6 o iS o ,, Quart Bottles 6 o i8 o >» »> o O 12 o 9 per gallon. 6 o 3 o The following statements were obtained from the Blue Book, "Intoxicating Liquors (Colonies)," C. 5563, presented to both Houses of Parliament November, 1888, and published January 14th, 1889. In this Blue Book are similar statements regarding other of the British Colonies, but which are not quoted in this pamphlet, which has reference only to the African Colonies and Dependencies. Governor Sir W. B. GRIFFITH (Gold Coast). " Neither I nor the Colonial Acting Secretary are aware of any official reports having been issued on the subject of the restriction of the sale of such liquors to Natives." Governor MOLONEY (Lagos). " There has been no local legislation in its true sense restricting in quantity or direction the sale of liquor." Administrator FLEMING (Mauritius). "There is no legislative enactment specially applicable to Natives." Administrator MALTBY (Sierra Leone). "There are no regulations as to the sale of liquor to the Aborigines." IL -TESTIMONY AS TO THE EVILS OF THE TRAFFIC IN AFRICA. THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS (LORD SALISBURY). In Reply to a Deputation from the United Committee, introduced by the Duke of Westminster, Friday, 14th December, 1888. Lord SALISBURY, in reply, said : — Your Grace and Gentle- men — Undoubtedly you are not wrong in assuming that the sym- pathies of Her Majesty's Government are entirely with the objects of this deputation. It is a case that stands by itself. I need not inform you that I am not a temperance enthusiast myself. I do not coincide with many of the views which I hear urged with great con- fidence in this country. But the controversy here and the contro- versy with respect to the native races have nothing in common. The native races are for all practical purposes children, and so far as we can do it, like children they must be protected. No one who even looks at history, still less at contemporary history, can doubt the extreme character of the evil which this unrestricted traffic causes. It has before this swept whole races away ; it is now producing the greatest havoc in all parts of the world. We are so deeply convinced of that, that any efforts on our part would never be wanting, nor would our attention for a moment relax, for the purpose of inducing that common effort by which alone this miser- able traffic can be restrained. But I say this, and I say it earnestly because I feel for two reasons it may be difficult to induce you to believe that we are utterly with you. One is that for so long a time in the past there has been such obvious ill-success which for all we 3 know may yet extend for some time in the future still, and the other that it is often absolutely impossible by the nature of the case that we should lay before you the documentary proofs of our own anxiety in this respect. We cannot publish the negotiations which we have with foreign Governments upon this matter. But I need not tell you, what you know perfectly well, that a very great effort was made — not under the present Administration, but under the last, under Lord Granville — at the Berlin Conference in order to obtain a general agreement for the stoppage of this traffic. I heard it stated that that was stopped by the objection of Germany. I doubt if that was entirely the fact ; that Germany joined in the objection I do not doubt, but I think other nations were quite as forward to urge it as Germany. A Member of the Deputation : Portugal. Lord SALISBURY : I think France also. Then with the United States, I suppose the feeling of the United States Government is with us, but when we have applied to them they have told us that owing to the peculiarities of their Constitution they are not very anxious to enter into obligations with foreign Powers, and we know upon other subjects that that is the case. Therefore we are very unlikely to be able to induce them to enter into any general agree- ment upon the subject. One of the unfortunate parts of the case is that it is a traffic in respect of which different nations are fiercely competing with each other. There is a manufacture of this kind of article at — I will not specify the places — but it is pushed with great vigour, and is productive of enormous profit to several of the nations of the Continent. And my doubt is that if we were to take the gentlemen in this room and divide them into sections, and make them the Governments of the various States upon the Continent — my impression is that when they were there they would find that the pressure from the interests was so strong that they would be powerless to do that which they urge upon us here. Therefore, you must accept in its fullest meaning, and with a full belief in its truth, what was said by the last speaker — that the difficulties in the way of this project are incalculably enormous. We have to deal, of itself a very difficult matter, with a great many foreign Governments, and we have to deal with powerful, wealthy, flourishing — I will not use any disagreeable adjective — powerful, wealthy, and flourishing enterprises and interests which do not feel as you do the religious arguments and the moral arguments which are pressing upon you now. I feel, therefore, that I should be doing wrong if I expressed to you any very sanguine hope on the matter, but I can assure you that no efforts on our part shall be wanting. We will never cease to press it whenever we see an opportunity of pressing it with effect. We will press it in season and out of season, because we believe that a vast amount of human happiness and misery depends upon the course which these negotiations take. But the only chance that we have, I think, is to proceed with caution and circumspection and with a due respect not only for the feelings and opinions of other people, but also with a full recognition of the tremendous extent of the want, or rather craving, which this particular traffic is meant to satisfy. I heard somebody say, I think il was ihe Duke, thai prohibition was the one thing they desired, and that any lesser result would not satisfy them. I think that you will stand in your own way and hinder your own cause if for the sake of obtaining that which is impossible — prohibition — you neglect any opportunity that may ofifer itself of obtaining the minor, but still effective results involved in a high tariff. Your best hope is by persuading the various nations to impose a high import duty. If you ask them to prohibit, you ask them to take a great deal of trouble and incur a great deal of unpopularity, without obtaining any advantage to themselves. If you ask them to impose a high duty you offer them a very substantial compensation for the trouble which they take in imposing that duty. You give them a political result, which is often of very great value. And, therefore, if I may venture to offer counsel to those who conduct this movement, with- out asking them in the least degree to recede from what they con- sider to be the right principle in the matter, I should urge them to press upon the Governments, whenever they have an opportunity, at home and abroad, rather the importance of weighting this traffic \yilh heavy duties than to attempt to enforce prohibition. If you can weight it with a weighty duty, you save from the temptation to drink precisely those who are most exposed to it — namely, those who are most poor and most uneducated, and you leave within the range of temptation those who are the best able to resist it — namely, those who are the most well-to-do in the world. I hope that in this direction we may from time to time be able to achieve some good. It may be that as the evils of this terrible traffic are more brought home to the minds of rulers in various countries, we may do more than this, but it will be a moral conquest of the highest value, and it is only by the means by which all moral conquests are achieved that this great end can be attained. — The Times, 15th Dec, 1888. THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES (LORD KNUTSFORD) In ihe Debate in the House of Lords, March sih, 1888. Her Majesty's Government were fully alive to the terrible mischief created by the importation and sale to the natives of spirituous liquors. RESOLUTION OF HOUSE OF COMMONS. April 24th, 1888. The following Resolution was unanimously adopted by the House of Commons, April 24th, 1888 : — "That this House having regard to the disastrous physical and moral "effects of the liquor traffic among uncivilised races, as well as the " injury it inflicts on legitimate commerce, doth cordially support the " Imperial and Colonial Government in their endeavour to suppress " the traffic in spirituous liquors in all native territories under their " influence and control." 5 THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES (BARON H. DE WORMS) In the Debate in the House of Commons, April 24th, 1888. " That the Government were fully alive to the special duty which devolved upon them of protecting those who could not protect themselves, and of averting the terrible evils which unfortunately civiHsation has too often brought in its train upon uncivilised races, and which did so much in this country to swell the long roll of pauperism and crime." Mr. JOSEPH THOMSON, F.R.G.S. "Manchester Geographical Magazine," January 2'/th, 1886. " In the notorious gin trade, however, lies a still greater evil. It is indeed a scandal and a shame, well worthy to be classed with the detested slave trade, in which we had ourselves ever so prominent a part. The appetite for it increases out of all proportion to the desire for better things, and to our shame, be it said, we are ever ready to supply the victims to the utmost, driving them deeper and deeper into the slough of depravity, ruining them body and soul.'' But how does the gin and rum traffic affect the native as a con- sumer and as a producer ? It may be admitted, as Mr. Thomson says, " that to raise a paying trade rapidly there is nothing like spirits. The development of a trade in useful articles is slower, and, at first, far less remunerative." In an Address at Manchester, May iSth, 1887. " Let us for a moment lay aside questions of Christian morality, and ask ourselves if this trade in spirits can be a paying one . . . Looked at superficially, there seems to be no possibility of doubting that to raise a paying trade rapidly, there is absolutely nothing like spirits . . . But let us ask, ' is that a trade which will continue to grow ? Will it pay in the long run ? Will commerce thrive and branch out ? Will the country flourish under such a system ? ' To these questions I answer emphatically : No ! a thousand times no ! A trade which commences with gin will continue with gin and will end with gin. . . Industry and thrift cannot be found in such company, and with the absence of these, there can be no develop- ment of the mineral and vegetable riches of the country. . . In these facts lies the secret of the astoundingly small progress our West Coast Settlements have made through all the long period they have been in our hands." Commander CAMERON, R.N., C.B., D.C.L. (Canterbury Diocesan Conference.) "An African is addicted to getting drunk whenever he has the chance, and some of the chiefs are able to be constantly drunk. On the West Coast, gin is imported from Hamburg ; this gin is not only spiiit, but absolute poison. On the West Coast every native shop- keeper can obtain a licence to sell spirits by paying so much money, and most of the inland villages are full of shebeens. At the Cape is manufactured what is called * Cape Smoke ' a vile spirit which is eating the heart out of some of the best of the Native Races. On the East Coast, the Portuguese trade bad spirits to the natives. The Mohammedans not only trade spirits but have taught the natives to distil a spirit they call brandy." V\^EST AFRICA. Sir RICHARD BURTON, The Great African Traveller, in his work on Abbeokiita after speaking of the ravages caused along the Western Coast of Africa by the rum says : — "It is my sincere belief that if the slave trade were revived with all its horrors, and Africa could get rid of the white man with the gunpowder and rum which he has introduced, Africa would be a gainer by the exchange." MR. W. 0. BETTS, (One of the principal Native Liquor Traders in Sierra Leone.) Wilberforce Hall, Free Town, gth December, 1887. '' I am myself a large dealer in spirituous liquors; I have on the road now thousands of gallons of rum, and several thousands of demi-johns of gin, bound for the Northern River Countries, where I carry on the greater part of my business. The liquor traffic destroys body and soul together; such slaves have they become to the white man's rum and gin. Rum and gin are their incessant demand and cry. The traffic has so debased them that everywhere they neglect their own comfort." The Rev. W. ALLAN, M.A., Vicar of St. James's Bevmondsey, who visited the Churcli Missionary Stations in Sierra Leone, Lagos, Abbeokuta and the Niger Delta, in 1888. " What I saw on every portion of my journey, when on shore, and more especially when going up into the interior, to Abbeokuta, made my heart ache within me. Liquor in bottles met my eyes on all sides ; warehouses of prodigious size filled with intoxicating and murderous drink, canoes heavily laden with demi-johns of rum, the green boxes in which the gin is packed here, there, and every- where ; the roads wherever I went, and the bush which borders the road, strewn not only with gin bottles, but with capacious glass jars, enclosed in wicker work, which are used for rum, and which, if it were not for their infinite multitude, would be really valuable, but which, by reason of their myriads, are treated as worthless. Not only the streets of towns, the main thoroughfares and water- ways, like those from Lagos to Abbeokuta, but the by-paths leading to distant villages, all testify to the awful, gigantic and ever growing proportions of this iniquitous and brutalising traffic. The very soil of Abbeokuta seems to consist of bottles, and in one place which I visited, Afarjupa, even the House of God might be said to reek of liquor, for the C.M.S. Secretary, the Rev. J. B. Wood, on a previous visit had found the native church seated entirely with gin boxes." GOVERNOR MOLONEY, Governor of Lagos. Blue Book, C. 5563, November, 1888. *' This uncontrolled sale has, it is too visible, a very degrading and degenerate effect on tlie Aborigines." MA LI K I, Emir of Xnpc. To the Right Reverend BISHOP CROWTHER. " Salute Crowther, the great Christian Minister. After salutation please tell him he is a father to us in this land ; anything he sees will injure us in all this land he would not like it. This we know perfectly well. "The matter about which I am speaking with my mouth, write it ; it is as if it is done by my hand ; it is not a long matter ; it is about rum. Rum, rum, rum, it has ruined my country; it has ruined my people ; it has made my people become mad. *' I have given a law that no one dares buy or sell it ; and anyone who is found selling it, his house is 10 be plundered ; anyone found drunk will be killed. "I have told all the Christian traders that I agree to everything for trade except rum. I have told Mr. Mcintosh's people to say, the rum remaining with them must be retw'ued down the river, " Tell Crowther, the great Christian Minister that he is our father. I beg you don't forget this writing, because we all beg that he should beg the great priests that they should beg the English Queen to prevent the bringing of nun into this land. For God and the prophet's sake, for God and the prophet his messenger's sake, he must help us in this matter, that of rum. We all have confidence in him; he must not leave our country to be spoiled by rum. Tell him, may God bless him in his work ; this is the mouth word from MaHki the Emir of Nupe." Rev. JAMES JOHNSON, Native Clergyman of Lagos. Conference Room of the House of Commons, Friday, April 1st, 1887. " I believe that this rum trade is the very death of commerce itself. The people are brutalised and demoralised; and how can they have an appetite for wholesome commerce } " The slave trade has been to Africa a great evil, but the evils of the rum trade are far worse. I would rather my countrymen were in slavery and being worked hard, and kept away from the drink, than that the drink should be let loose upon them. "The liquor imported into these colonies has risen from a few hundred thousand gallons, to 1,231,000 gallons yearly, of which something like 1,205,760 is what is known as' trade gin and rum,' vile, destructive stuff. In the town of Lagos with 35,000 population there are fifty licensed houses." REV. PHILIP DAVIES, Baptist Missionary to the Congo. NeK> Town Hall, Reading, November igth^ 1888. " One has only to travel down the African coast, and_ gp ashore at the different ports, to be thoroughly convinced of the iniquity of the traffic. The great factor in maintaining the liquor trade is that a shilling's worth of spirits has far more purchasing power than a shilling's worth of either Manchester or Sheffield goods. The vile nature of the article supplied may be seen from the fact that all traders agree in regarding the white man as doomed who carries his taste for intoxicating liquors so far as to indulge in the trade article himself. At Watham station, Ngombe, 140 miles from the nearest point where Hquor can be unshipped, we are not at present appreciably aflfected by the liquor trade, as the high rates of transport make it more profitable to carry cloth and other legitimate articles up country, but we much fear for the people when the railway shall be completed, as then it will be possible to carry up spirits at profitable rates. The chief reason for our fear lies in the fact that the tribes about us, as all the tribes that I know or have heard any- thing of in the interior, are drunkards to a man." SOUTH AFRICA. THE BISHOP OF ZULULAND. Westminster Toivn Hall, July nth, 1888. " That the natives in his diocese were children, and ought to be treated as such. They would be deeply thankful in South and South-East Africa if this Association would help them in bringing to bear upon the authorities who ruled them, strong pressure to make them give protection when it was sought." SIR M. H. GALLWEY, Attorney -General (Natal). Blue Book, C. 5563, November, 1888. " I have only to add that, so long as there are canteens at short intervals along the roads traversing the country districts of this Colony, and coolies are allowed unrestricted liberty in purchasing intoxicating liquors (in which they afterwards traffic with Natives), it is impossible for the laws regulating the supply of liquor to Natives to be carried into full effect, especially as there is practically no police supervision over the roadside places of entertainments iii rural districts, and the inhabitants of the Colony are so apathetic in the enforcement of the law." 9 KHAMA, The CJiicf of tJie Baniangicatc, and his appeal to Her Majesty's Representative in Bechuanaland, Sir Sydney Sheppard. "Scottish Leader," November ^rd, 1888. " Your Honour will permit me to point out that it is not the same thing to offer my country to Her Majesty to be occupied by EngHsh settlers, Her Majesty's subjects, governed by Her Majesty's Ministers, and to allow men of worthless and unscrupulous character to come outside of all Governments and occupy my country, and put up their drink canteens, and flood my country with their drink after all the long struggle I have made against it, withstanding my people at the risk of my life, and just when they have themselves come to see how great a salvation my drink laws have proved to be. It were better for me that I should lose my country than that it should be flooded with drink. But to fight against drink is to fight against demons, and not against men. I dread the white man's drink more than all the assegais of the Matabele which kill men's bodies, and it is quickly over, but drink puts devils into men and destroys both their souls and their bodies for ever. Its wounds never heal. I pray your Honour never ask me to open a little door to the drink." COL. Sir CHARLES WARREN, K.C.M.G. Conference, Oxford Diocesan Brancli of the Church of England Temperance Society, 2Sth October, 1886. *' There are many thousands of natives who have been reduced to the lowest depths of poverty and an early death by the drink traffic which has been forced upon them by the laws of this nation. By our laws we force the drink on tlieir territories, which was disallowed under their own laws. That is an absolute fact which I have often brought to the notice of those in authority." REV. HORACE WALLER, M.A., F.R.G.S., Companion of Livingstone. ^' Trafficking in Liquor with the Natives of Africa," January, 1887. *' The Dutch and English Governments in South Africa have witnessed the extirpation of some tribes entirely, as for instance, the Hottentots, and we do not hesitate to name ' brandy ' as the agent here. Blue books, native journals, the testimony of missionaries are once more laid under tribute, and we have the same sickening trail of demoralisation, disease, and death as a direct result of the civilising influence of alcohol." REV. J. HOFMEYER, Senior Professor of the Theological College of the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa. British and Colonial Temperance Congress, London, July 1886. " The white man has taught them to drink brandy, both by his own drinking habits and by introducing it as an article of trade among them. It is a colonial article made worse by adulteration, and 10 possessing ihe power of exciting the evil passions and changing the man into a demon, vastly surpassing that of the native beer. Traders of the lower sort and licensed liquor dealers have been and still are, the means of inflicting an unspeakable amount of misery upon the natives. If they give themselves to drinking brandy, the craving for it soon becomes uncontrollable. "Inasliort time all their cattle are sold for the purpose of purchasing brandy ; they then become thieves, sinking to even deeper depths ; lose health and strength, and miserably die. The drink traffic in South Africa means ruin and death to the natives." MADAGASCAR. REV. W. H. LITTLE, Missionary, (S.P.G.J, Madagascar. British and Colonial Temperance Congress, July, 1886. "The stuff (?>. the damaged spirit of the Christian Colony of Mauritius), was taken down to Tamataveto be bartered iox Malagasy native produce. The native villages soon became scenes of frightful havoc and misery. The crime of the island rose in one short year by leaps and bounds to a height too fearful to record. Like a pesti- lence, the rum of Mauritius flowed along the public way and up the country, till it invaded the capital, Antananarivo, 200 miles from the coast. The Native Government was seized with consternation." EGYPT. MR. W. S. CAINE, M.P. Princes Hall, March zoth, 1887. ^' The native races of Egypt are being demoralised .... I went to the Khedive about it .... He said that he had viewed with grief and shame the increase of public-houses in Cairo and Eo-ypt^ since the British army of occupation came. He said he sliould like to prohibit the sale altogether. He was a prohibitionist. His religion told him to be so ; it was an article of his creed. He said, 'lam powerless.' I said ' Why ' ? He replied, 'There are capitulations or agreements which have been entered mto between the Turkish Government and other Powers for the protection of European traders, and under these capitulations this liquor is forced upon them to sell without control, and so cheap that you would hardly credit me if I gave you the price.' They import cheap spirits from Hamburg with a duty of 9 per cent. ; and you can get drunk for 2id., and some of the natives for less." Ill -EEMEDIES TRIED. CONGO FREE STATE. HIGH LICENSE. By a decree of the Congo Free State of the 17th December, 1887, every person trafficking in spirituous liquors with the natives must be licensed, and pay an annual license fee of 2,000 francs for each 11 establishment, and 5,000 francs for each boat used in the traffic. The penalty for seUing without a hcense in a building was 20,000 francs, in a boat 50,000. Short of actual prohibition, the heavy license fees were perhaps the most available means for bringing the traffic within narrower bounds. CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. RESTRICTION TO NATIVES. '' No spirits shall be sold to any Native, unless he shall produce a permit signed by a magistrate, justice of the peace, or field-cornet, authorizing the bearer of the permit to obtain a specified quantity of such spirits. The permit to be handed over to the dealer, who shall transmit the same at the end of every quarter to the magistrate of the district in which he resides." A breach of this law is punished by^ penalty not exceeding £\o^ or imprisonment, with or without hard labour, for a period not exceeding three months. Nothing contained in these regulations applies to tlie drink called " Kaffir hQQry—Blue Book, C. 5563. November, 1888. BRITISH BECHU AN ALAND. PROHIBITION TO NATIVES. '' Whoever shall sell, exchange, give to or procure for any Native in British Bechuanaland any wine or spirituous or partly spirituous liquor in any quantity whatever, shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding fifty pounds sterling, and in default of payment to im- prisonment, with or without hard labour, for a term not exceeding six months, provided the liquor so supplied or procured was not bona fide supplied or procured for medicinal purposes; and provided further that the provisions of this section shall not apply to the use, sale, exchange, or supplying of Kaffir beer by the Native producer thereof, or to beer or ginger beer, or the like liquor ; but if any wine or spirits are mixed with such drinks, the provisions of this section shall not apply. " The word ' Native ' means any aboriginal Native belonging to any Native tribe, and includes half-castes and all persons of mixed race living as members of any Native community, tribe, kraal, or location." — Blue Book, C. 5563, November, 1888. ZULULAND. PROHIBITION TO NATIVES. In Zululand precisely the same regulations are in force as in Bechuanaland. BASUTOLAND. PROHIBITION TO NATIVES. In Basutoland the sale, gift, or disposal in any way of wine, beer, and spirituous liquors is strictly prohibited. x\ny person convicted thereof shall be liable to a penalty of /20 for the first offence, and ;^40 for the second offence. So that the last report for the year ending June, 1887, was—" the drink traffic here has ceased to exist. 12 "A considerable illicit trade was formerly carried on in this territory, " but it has now been almost entirely suppressed. " I am convinced that the prohibition of traffic in liquor has had a ''most beneficial effect upon the people of this country." — Colonel J. M. Clarke, Resident Commissioner, April 13th, 1888. "What the state of affairs in Basutoland was six months ago is very " well known (prior to total prohibition). ' Drunken Basutoland ! "'Riotous Basutoland !' has been the common talk of all who take any "interest in its future. From Caledon to the heart of the Blue "Mountains, brandy had become a curse, under which individuals, "families, and the whole tribe were crushed without any visible hope " of rescue. "And yet, incredible as it may look, matters have suddenly taken a "new turn. Our chiefs had all become 'total abstainers,' and use now "their great _influence to oblige their subordinates to renounce strong "drinks. . . . What is to happen in coming days no one knows. " But this we do know, that six months of temperance is a wonderful " achievement ; that, to the present time, no sign of an impending " relapse of the Basutos into drunkenness is to be discerned; and that, "with God's help, what seems now to be a temporary lull may become "the normal and definitive state of the tribe." — Christian Express, South Africa, 12th Feb., 1886. ROYAL NIGER TERRITORY. RESTRICTION TO NATIVES. On the granting of the Charter, heavy duties were at once imposed on spirits, while the duties on cottons, silks, velvets, hard- ware, earthenware, etc., were fixed at the extremely low rate of 2 per cent, ad valorem. On the 29th April 1887, the Council were at length in a position to prohibit, by regulation, the importation of spirituous liquors into the terra firma of the Benue regions, forming about one-third of the Company's territories; and in a letter to the Marquis of Salisbury, they pointed out the conditions under which, with the aid of Her Majesty's Government, they might, without offering strong inducements to sm.uggle, prevent importation into another third of the territories. IV. -REMEDIES PKOPOSED. I. — Prohibition of the traffic where possible, and where not, re- striction of extremely high licenses, by an international convention — a combination between Governments — similar to that which has been signed for the North Sea Fisheries, to that which our representative at the Berlin Conference, together with others, tried ineffectually to get for the Congo ; and to one which would have been signed for the islands of the Western Pacific but for the refusal of the United States Government to join the other Powers. 2. — The urging upon Colonial Governments the duty of enforc- ing existing laws against tlie sale of strong drink to the aborigines, and the payment of wages in intoxicating drinks. '' An international agreement, as has been often advocated, pro- hibiting altogether the import of liquor, or even in favour of a high uniform tariff both on imiports and sale, would be 2l very great boon to the Natives^ but its success must be dependent on the complete international occupation of the West African coast line, backed up by a fair revenue sea service to be effected by steam craft." — Governor Moloney of Lagos. NATIVE RACES & THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC. REPORT OF THE DEBATE IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS, OF MAY Gth, 1889 Published b\ llatlw ^acc« ^ tljc liquor ^vaf^t United ®crmmittec, 139, PALACE CHAMBERS, BRIDGE STREET, WESTMINSTER, S.W. ^Ijt liquor ^xaf&t among tiji ^fruait Eaaa OBSE RVATIO N S. The Duke of WESTMINSTER : My Lords, in bringing this question of Liquor Traffic among the African races before your Lordships' House on behalf of all the temperance societies of the country, combined with the missionary societies and others who are interested in the matter, I have to call attention to the evils attending the introduction of foreign spirits among native races in Africa, and to appeal to the Government to continue their efforts to mitigate them by restriction and, where possible, by pro- hibition of the Liquor Traffic. I have been requested to bring this matter before your Lordships by the Committee which represents all the large temperance societies in the country, allied with the missionary societies, who are impressed by the gravity of the case, and are anxious to know what can be done to remedy the evil. Those societies have gained extensive information from all parts of the world, from the most reliable witnesses, and some of that evidence I should very much like to place before your Lordships. I hope I shall not trespass too long upon you if I call attention to a few of the strongest cases which have been brought before them. Debates on the subject took place last year in both Houses of Parliament, and nothing could be more satisfactory than the replies then given by the Members of the Government. I had the honour of accompanying a depu- tation last year to the Prime Minister, and was delighted to hear the reply of the noble Marquess. There is, however, one sentence in that reply, with regard to which I join issue with the Prime Minister, and that is the sentence wherein he said the Government must proceed with caution and circum- spection, and with due respect to the craving for drink which had to be satisfied in Africa. We object to that statement, and assert that the want of drink among the natives is created by the supply. In many cases the natives make their own liquors, but these were as milk and water compared with the abominable stuff imported from this country, America, Portugal, and especially from Germany. In Africa there exists the curse of the slave trade, and the curse of the liquor trade, and some of the natives say that the liquor traffic is almost a greater evil than the slave traffic. However that may be, it is the duty of all the civilized nations to do what they can to put an end to the curse of the liquor trade. Professor Drummond says Africa is the land of the unemployed ; the men do nothing but eat, and the women do the work. Under the great heat prevailing, the drink traffic reduces the natives to absolute ruin and misery. The blackest spots appeared to be on the west and south coasts in the district connected with the Cape. Liquors are poured into that country, and some of the spirits are sold at 4s. 6d, per dozen pint bottles. What is called " superior gin " is sold at 2S. 6d. per dozen pint bottles, and "splendid rum" at 9d. per gallon. These horrible drinks supplied to the natives, under the hot sun beneath which they live, reduces them to misery and ruin. There is no question of moderate drink- ing with them. They will drink to excess. Former Governments have dealt with this evil, and the present Government should follow their example. Mr. Joseph Thompson, a very reliable witness, says : — "In the notorious gin trade, hovever, lies a still greater evil. It is indeed a scandal and a shame, well worthy to be classed with the detested slave trade, in which we had ourselves ever so prominent a part. We talk of civilizing the negro, and introducing the blessings of European trade, while at one and the same time we pour into this unhappy country incredible quantities of ghi, rum, gunpowder, and guns. We are so accustomed to hearing a delightful list of useful articles which the negro wants in return for the productions of his country that we are apt to think that the trade in spirits must be quite a minor affair. Banish all such pleasing illusions from your minds. The trade in this baleful article is enormous. The appetite for it increases out of all proportion to the desire for better things, and, to our shame be it said, we are ever ready to supply the victims to the utmost, driving them deeper and deeper into the slough of depravity, ruining them body and soul, while at home we talk sanctimoniously as if the introduction of our trade and the elevation of the negro went hand in hand. The time has surely come when, in the interests of our national honour, more energetic efforts should be made to suppress the diabolical traffic. There can be no excuse for its continuance, and it is a blot on Christian civilization. From the moment the traveller leaves Liverpool he finds himself in an atmosphere of poisonous spirits. It pervades every corner of the steamer in which he takes passage. He sees the gin and rum disgorged from its capacious holds in thousands of cases at port after port, and he will almost look in vain for a bale of Manchester cotton. On shore he finds the warehouses of the merchants almost exclusively occupied with the same pernicious stuff. In marching through some of the native villages on the Kru Coast, one feels as if in a kind of Hades peopled by brutalised human beings whose punishment it is to be possessed by a never ending thirst for drink. On all sides you are followed by eager cries of gin, gin, always gin. The line of African coast, dotted over with European settlements, stations, and fac- tories, should be a fringe bright with promise for the future, a fringe which should radiate some of the wamth, the sweetness, and light of civilization, which, slowly extending onward, should tinge the whole heart of the Dark Continent. That is how I would like to describe the influence of the white man on the black ; and if 1 am to speak the truth I must use far different terms. To me that fringe of coast is simply a hot-bed of cancerous roots, which are swiftly growing inward, threatening to turn the entire Continent into one huge festering sore, rivalling in magnitude that other great African disease from which that region has suffered for some centuries." I believe, my Lords, that is a very true description of the state of affairs. There is an island of Lagos on the West Coast. It is not a very large place. It is inhabited by 75,000 odd of the natives, it has been a Crown colony for six years, and it is a very unhealthy part of the country. I will quote the statement made in the report of Mr. Johnson : — *' Lagos is a small island on the West Coast of Africa, and has been a Crown colony for the last six years, and it is the key to the Yoruba country, with which it held commercial relations. It has a population of 75,000. Before its cession there was a small amount of liquor traffic carried on, because it was a slave-trading port. Since the cession to the British Crown — and that cession was made with the distinct object of suppressing the .slave trade and the amelioration of the country — the facility which this Government gives to trade has enabled the liquor trade to grow steadily until it has attained at present tremendous proportions. In the town of Lagos, which has 35,000 inhabitants, the Government allow 25 wholesale shops for the sale of this drink. There are 50 licensed places where spirits are sold to the people of the town and district, and then through them to the interior of the country. The farmers bring their produce to Lagos, and they return to their vehicles loaded with rum and gin. Men and women and children all drink, and one result of it is that the people have become utterly demoralized. Their kings and chiefs have en- deavoured by their own laws to put a stop to the importation of this drink ; yet they have no power over their people. The people are so demoralized that they will not conform to the wishes of their rulers, and these have been obliged to give way. And then as to the Niger, where we have 250 miles under British protection, there is a large trade done in liquor with tribes some of whom are cannibals and some of the wildest tribes that could possibly be imagined. We were able to introduce missionary work into some of these towns 30 years ago : but some of them have been in com-. mercial intercourse with England lOO years, and although this is the case, we find during those times that the people indulged in cannibalism and other unimaginable vices." Then there is a Report from Mr. W. C. Betts, one of the principal native liquor traders in Sierra Leone : — "I am myself a large dealer in spirituous liquors; I have on the road now thousands of gallons of rum and several thousands of demijohns of gin bound for the Northern River countries, where I carry on the greater part of my business. The liquor traffic destroys body and soul together ; such slaves have they become to the white man's rum and gin. Rum and gin are their incessant demand and cry. The traffic has so debased them that everywhere they neglect their own comfort." From these reports, my Lords, it is clear that everyone objects to the traffic, speaking from the results in his own part of the country. In the case of the Niger territory the Company have taken steps to prohibit the impor- tation of liquor, and in some parts of their district they have had satisfactory results. The Cape Government Commission on the liquor traffic has reported as follows : — " The Commission have been deeply impressed with the emphatic and urgent representations contained in nearly all the evidence taken, and especially from the natives themselves, on the evils arising out of the sale and consumption of strong drinks. All this evidence points in the clearest way to the use of spirituous liquors (chiefly ardent spirits, the produce of the distilleries) as an unmitigated evil to the native races, and that no other cause or influence so directly increases idleness and crime and is so completely destructive not only of all progress or improvement, but even of the reasonable hope of any progress or improvement. Those members of the Commission who, for the purpose of taking evidence, had occasion to visit the border districts were eye-witnesses of the mischief, wretchedness, and misery which multiplied facilities for the sale of spirits by licensed canteens in the neighbourhood of native locations are producing. If unchecked, it can only have one result, and that is the entire destruction of that portion of the natives who acquire the taste of brandy. All the better class of natives, and even the heathen and uneducated portion, appear to be conscious of this, and have implored the Com^ mission to suppress the evil which is bringing ruin on themselves and their country." Drink has very much the same effects upon the natives in all parts of Africa; they have the same craving for drink, which is never satisfied, except by some of this horrible stuff. The following extract from an article in the Christian Express, of Lovedale, South Africa, of the ist of February, 1886, will show what has taken place in Basutoland : — " What the state of affairs in Basutoland was six months ago is very well known. * Drunken Basutoland, riotous Basutoland ! ' has been the common talk of all who take any interest in its future. From Caledon to the heart of the blue mountains brandy has become a curse under which individuals, families, and the whole tribe were crushed without any visible hope of rescue. And yet, incredible as it may look, matters have suddenly taken a new turn. Our chiefs had all become total abstainers and use now their great influence to oblige their subordinates to renounce strong drinks. It is a fact that for the last six months Letsie, Lerathodi, Mama, Masupha. and all the principal chiefs in Basutoland have not even tasted liquor, and that the bulk of their people have done the same. Strict watch is kept on the border to prevent either the Basutos from going into the Free State and buying brandy there, or the white smugglers entering Basutoland with their accursed merchandize. Canteens, which were very common in Masupha's district, have disappeared, and heavy fines are imposed on those who have been caught in the act of trespassing against the orders of the powers that be." My Lords, I am afraid that the Portuguese are great offenders in this matter of importing spirits. They import great quantities, and I am told that ^ in one opium factory on the Zambesi the people employed are paid in spirits. I quite recoj^'nize the difficulties which surround this question. In connection with this point, I may quote the evidence of two or three people. Mr. James Irvine, of Liverpool, says : — "Two hundred and fifty miles of the West Coast of Africa consume 20,000 tuns of spirits a-year — say, 20 ships of 1,000 tuns each. The amaiing thing is that all this traffic is conducted in the main by not over a dozen firms, the members of which are excellent men, and many of them, I believe, sincere Christians Convince them that they are wrong, and induce them to withdraw. What is accomplished ? simply that worse men take their place. I cordially believe that no effort should be spared to stop or reduce the evil. It is the Lord's work, and He can make it succeed in ways unthought of at present by us." My Lords, we are perfectly well aware of the difficulties surrounding this question. Lord Salisbury told us that he was impressed with enormous difficulties in the way, and one cannot help feeling impressed with the extraordinary difficulties on all sides. Mr. Joseph Thomson, a great authority in regard to the West Coast of Africa, says : — " There is something more required than to bring a British public to a proper sense of its duty in this matter. To be of any use, the entire conscience of Europe must be roused. Britain does not hold one-tenth of the African coast line, and her settlements are broken into by those of France, Germany, and Portugal. Hence, merely to stop the trade or heavily handicap it in our colonies, will only be to invite it to enter by the back door from French, German, or Portuguese sources. It is one thing to arouse a trade or an appetite, and another thing to stop either. If you do not supply the natives with gin they will find a thousand ways of getting it from other people. Therefore, to be effectual, you must get all the countries of Europe to work in concert with you. How difficult this task will be is shown by the Berlin Conference, which would not prohibit the introduction of gin into the Congo, nor permit the suppression of the existing trade in the Niger, though it was, curiously enough, the company itself which worked the Niger trade that wanted the suppression." Well then, my Lords, there was a rather curious letter on the subject from the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce, received by the Rev. R. Lang, of the Church Missionary Society, on June l8th, 1886 : — " Honoured Sir,— In answer to yours of the loth 'inst., I beg to state that the Chamber of Commerce has had no opportunity to go into the question of the liquor traffic in Africa, nor is it known to them that in any part of Africa spirituous liquors are used as a currency and a circulating medium with the natives. The question of the liquor traffic has been brought before the public through the Press, and frequently by the Imperial Diet warmly discussed. Merchants of this place interested in the African trade are of opinion that measures for the limiting of this trade are injurious to the development of the trade with those countries, and that the importation of those liquors as carried on at present has no injurious effect upon the natives. The assertions made by opponents that the chief liquors imported into Africa are dele- terious on account of ingredients contained in them have been disproved by an official investigation, made upon ordinary so-called trade rum which was sent in by The Governor of the Cameroons. Yours respectfully, Dr. Gutscham, Secretary." My Lords, that shows the state of feeling in very influential quarters where the means of obtaining evidence is possessed, and it shows that the informa- tion so obtained has considerable influence in those quarters. The trade in spirituous liquors may be a very profitable one. No doubt great profits are made by it, but in the long run it acts injuriously to commerce in all articles which are conductive to the comfort, welfare, and happiness of the native inhabitants. Those who know Africa well, know that it acts in the long run prejudicially to the interests of legitimate trade. The Rev. Hugh Goldie, 40 years a missionary in Old Calabar, said : — •' The moral aspect of the question is si^reme ; but its economical aspect is also very important. Commerce is employed as a means of elevating Africa ; and if of a useful kind is a most powerful means. But in opening new roads for our manu- factures we open new channels to the destructive flood, so that the benefit intended to be conferred is neutralized by the accompanying evil. One principal cause of the depression of trade existing at present in this country is doubtless, as is alleged, the vast amount of money spent in intoxicating drink. A friend mentioned to me lately that a member of a Glasgow firm stated to him that he formerly employed a large number of looms weaving cloth for the African market ; now he has not one. A trader in the Calabar River wrote recently to his principals to send no more cloth — drink was the article in demand. Mr. Joseph Thomson, in his recent journey into the Niger regions, found this evil so abounding therein that it will render hopeless the demand, anticipated by some, by the natives for unlimited supplies of calico, as effectually as will the sterilty of the eastern countries through which he formerly travelled. In all its effects, moral and economical, this traffic is only evil — impeding the work of the Church at home, marring her mission work abroad, and destroying beneficial industry. The Christian community in past times aroused the nation to abolish the slave trade and slavery in British territory. A like task is now before it, the awakening of the nation to abolish this drink trafiRc." Mr. Joseph Thomson again says— " Let us for a moment lay aside questions of Christian morality and ask ourselves if this trade in spirits can be a paying one. Looked at superficially there seems to be no possibility of doubting that to raise a paying trade rapidly there is absolutely nothing like spirits. But let us ask, ' Is that a trade which will continue to grow ? Will it pay in the long run? Will commerce thrive and branch out? Will the country flourish under such a system? To these questions I answer emphatically, No I a thousand times no ! A trade which commences with gin will continue with gin and will end with gin. Industry and thrift cannoi be found in such company, and with the absence of these there can be no development in the mineral and vegetable riches of the country. In these facts lies the secret of the astoundingly small progress our West Coast Settlements have made through all the long period they have been in our hands." My Lords, something may be done in this matter, and what may be done was suggested by the North Sea Fisheries Convention in 1887. There are at present some 11,000 men and boys engaged in the deep sea trade of the German Ocean, exposed to all weather at all seasons, and in winter it was the most boisterous and uncongenial piece of water in these latitudes. By the North Sea Fisheries Bill the liquor traffic is forbidden in the territorial waters of Great Britain, and by the international agreement between Great Britain, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, and Denmark, which applies to that part of the North Sea outside territorial limits, the sale of spirits to fishermen and other persons on board fishing vessels is prohibited ; fisher- men are equally forbidden to buy spirits ; the exchange or barter for spirits of any article, especially the fish caught, nets, or any part of the gear or " equipage" of the fishing boat, is also prohibited. Vessels which ply on the North Sea for the purpose of selling to fishermen other articles have to be licensed by the Government of their own country, and are liable to strict regulations with the object of ensuring their not having spirits on board for sale. That International Convention, signed at the Hague on Wednesday, November 16, 1887, binds the six countries I have named by their respective Legislatures to carry that arrangement into effect. I do not wish to hamper the Government, but I think that suggests a mode of dealing WMth this difficult question. The fact that a Resolution has been recently passed in another place dealing with the same question, and that the use of spirituous liquors in this country is diminishing, show that the circumstances are favour- able for taking action in the matter. What I ask the Government to do is to take measures for the prohibition of the importation of liquors into Africa wherever that is possible, and, where that is impossible, to see that proper regulations, by means of high licences or otherwise, are taken to regulate the sale of liquors there, and to urge upon our Colonial Governments to see that their liquor laws are thoroughly and properly carried out. Although our hands are not clean in regard to the liquor traffic, I believe we are more free from blame than other nations, and that fact, coupled with the dinimish- ing consumption of liquor in this country, will enable us to take action in the matter with stronger hands. The Earl of CARNARVON : My Lords, I do not think the noble Duke has at all exaggerated the evils flowing from the liquor traffic with native races, which according to Sir Richard Burton causes misery greater even than that of the slave trade itself. It destroys not merely life, character, and morals, and all that religion teaches, but even trade. It would perhaps not be untrue to say that for every gallon of spirits imported a bale of legitimate goods is kept out. The question concerns in part the Colonial Office, and in part the Foreign Office. As regards the Colonial Office there are three classes of territories concerned. There are the great responsible colonies, which may be well to include Natal. Secondly, there are the Crown colonies on the West Coast, and there is a group of protected territories of different sorts in South Africa. As regards the great free colonies, and especially the Cape, they must be left to deal with that question themselves. The Cape Colony have passed good laws in regard to the importation and sale of liquor to the native races ; but the real difficulty is to enforce those laws, which mean considerable expenditure and the employment and main- tenance of a large police force. There is an idea in this country that native Africans are one and all unmitigated barbarians, but those who know the Cape are well aware that there is every shade and degree and variety of civilization among the natives, and in some cases the civilization ap- proaches so close to that of Europeans that it is extremely difficult to distinguish between them. This obviously constitutes a great difficulty in dealing with this question ; but a greater one is that there are great faci- lities for obtaining drink from the Transvaal, and it is here that the mischief is really done with regard to a very large portion of South Africa. In the Transvaal there are laws against the traffic, but they are notoriously not enforced. The frontier line is so thin that it is almost imaginary, and the facilities for crossing for the purpose of getting liquor are almost boundless. There is a second group of Crown colonies on the West Coast of Africa, and I am very much afraid that the condition of Sierra Leone, Gambia, the Gold Coast, and Lagos is very far from satisfactory. Perhaps Gambia is not so bad, but this is because the population is partly Mahommedan, and wherever we come into contact with Mahommedans there we find, as a rule, that this curse of drink does not exist, or at least that the people are comparatively free from it. I can refer with great satisfaction to the successful efforts of a native chief in the district northwards of Bechuanaland to the Zambesi. That chief has not only stopped the importation of liquor, but has induced his own people to abandon the manufacture of it. I think my noble l^riend may do a great deal in this matter. I will not attempt to go through all the methods by which this might be attempted, but I will mention one fact. In some of the Crown colonies it is very common for the wages of the natives to be paid in drink. That is an abominable and demoralizing system. It is a system which can be controlled and checked by the authorities, but, as far as I know, there is nothing in the laws of any of those Crown colonies which prohibits or even restrains such a pernicious practice. In one such colony certainly, though not in Africa (the Leeward Islands) there are regu- lations on the subject. I commended that fact to your Lordships' aitention. It is a system which can be restricted by the authorities. But, after all, my s Lords, llie real dilliculty witli which we have to deal is this, the question of expense. The Treasury have now for many years past, through successive administrations, put down and bullied and cajoled each Secretary of State in turn to such an extent, that money which ought not to have been given up has been abandoned, and poor colonies have been thrown on their own inadequate resources. It is a question which concerns the Colonial Office and the Foreign Office. As regards the Foreign Office I quite admit the great difficulty that the Prime Minister, as Foreign Secretary, has to deal with ; at the same time it is not more important than the colonial side of the question. It is clearly the duty of the Government to endeavour to bring about some sort of common action with foreign Governments, and for this reason : that the imports from foreign trading houses are really larger than those in this country. I speak without figures before me, but I apprehend that where there are hundreds of thousands of gallons of spirits imported by English manufacturers, there are millions imported by foreigners. Some twelve years ago, when I was at the Colonial Office, I endeavoured to come to a settlement with France and Germany as to the possessions of the countries, which oftea run into each other, and overlap each other on the West Coast. The agreement which I had nearly succeeded in carrying out was upset, owing to an outcry by English merchants who declared that valuable territory was being bartered away. So the negotiations were not proceeded with, and very likely the chance will never occur again. I venture to urge on the Colonial Secretary the immense importance of using his powers to act in concert with other nations. I am afraid without that little would be done. There was another somewhat similar case in the Pacific Ocean where there was for a time an enormous trade carried on with the natives in arms and liquor, which were used to demoralize, degrade, and destroy the people in those seas. Nothing could be morally and politically more abominable. In that case my colleagues and I passed a Bill through Parliament which created a High Court there and made the Governor of Fiji for the time being High Commissioner. My Lords, that would have been perfectly satisfactory and sufficient, but for one single thing, viz : that he could only unfortunately deal with British subjects, and the subjects of other countries set our legislation at defiance. Still the Act itself has done some good. I do not desire to take up your Lordships' time further. This is a matter of immense importance, and I would only venture to press upon both my noble Friend the Prime Minister and the Colonial Secretary the advisa- bility of using those powers which they have — the Colonial Secretary in the Crown Colonies and the Prime Minister — in bringing about that concert with the Governments of other nations which is necessary to enable anything effectual to be done. Lord ABERDARE : My Lords, I have for the last five years been Chairman of one of the largest commercial enterprises in this country con- nected with these regions, and your Lordships will understand that I would not have become Chairman of the Company if I had not been desirous that the benefits of commerce might be introduced without those evils which have so often converted it into a curse ; and I was rejoiced to find the ex- perienced men who sat at that Board were as strongly convinced as myself that the introduction of spirits was a thing which not only affected the moral and physical condition of the natives, but interfered with the interests of trade and commerce. My Lords, I would like to refer to what has been done by the Royal Niger Company. Over an immense district extending for 1,000 miles up the Niger, the Company have imposed heavy duties on liquor with the result that there has been a great reduction in the quantity of spirits impoited over the whole length of its great tributary the Binne, extending over 400 miles, the Company, availing themselves of the power 9 conferred on them by their Charter, have absolutely prohibited the intro- duction of spirits. Altogether we have been able to reduce the consumption of liquor in the vast district under our control by 75 per cent. It may be asked why, if the Niger Company has been able thus largely to reduce this traffic, it cannot be wholly abolished ? I think the answer to that question is afforded by a reference to the geographical position of the country. Take the lower part of the district ; it is accessible by I do not know how many different branches of the Niger, and it would be next to impossible for the Company or for any Government to put a stop to the introduction of spirits into a district so formed. With regard to the Upper Niger, again, we are confronted with the difficulty that it can be reached overland from the West Coast, where, as we know, there is an enormous sale of strong liquors ; and, if we were absolutely to prevent the introduction of those liquors into the upper part of the river district from the West Coast, we should in a short time have regular caravans starting from Sierra Leone and Lagos and from other places on the coast conveying liquor, so that the last state in regard to this traffic would be worse than the first. How far, then, is it possible to put an end to this state of things ? What it seems to me it is possible to do, is to induce other Governments to join with us in checking this traffic by the imposition of heavy duties on liquors. By joining with us they would greatly reduce the importation of liquors on the West Coast where so much mischief is being done. Another thing which might be done is to follow the example of the Royal Niger Company in prohibiting the payment of wages in drink. That has been done by them for some time past, and might have been done by all the British Colonies on the West African Coast. One practical step, therefore, which could be taken, is to call upon foreign Governments to unite with us in taking measures for the regulation of the traffic, another for rendering illegal the payment of wages. I doubt whether, in the present disposition of Foreign Governments, more than these measures is practicable. That has been done in the case of the North Sea fishermen, and I see no reason whatever why the same course should not be adopted with success in the countries along the Niger. The Archbishop of CANTERBURY : My Lords, we do not bring this matter forward as in any way connected with the home temperance move- ment, nor do we advocate it as a question on the views of total abstainers. 1 have been convinced by the utterances of statesmen on the subject, and not least, by those of the noble Marquess at the head of the Government, that to apply for prohibition would be rather injurious than helpful. We shall not ask for anything but what we really believe will be calculated to do practical good, on all reasonable principles, nor shall we ask for anything which would embarrass Governments in dealing with this question, least of all, should it be supposed that we could do anything to embarrass our own Government. But by every word I have heard to-night I have been con- vinced more and more that there are preparatory steps which require at once to be taken. We are thankful indeed to the noble Marquess for the clear manner in which he stated the principle that we ought to regard native races as children to be protected by us. In order to take a proper view of the position we must realize that' they are not only children needing to be pro- tected, but children endowed with passions the most fiery and easily mad- dened, that they have all the worst passions of men along with little or nothing of selt-control j;^ and that the first real work of civilization is to give them that self-control. We know that we are obliged to be cautious and circumspect, as the noble Marquess has advised, if we are to be sure we are proceeding in this matter on solid ground. We know that by the interlacing of territories in these regions and from the configuration of the coast, there are great difficulties in carrying out our object. But the moving power 10 which is behind those who have spoken is, I am persuaded, although it has not been thought necessary to make allusion to it, a motive power to which I must make allusion ; and I am sure it will be listened to in this Assembly with the most cordial and earnest sympathy. We stand before you, my Lords, as the Christian ministers of a Christian nation whose bounden duty it is to support Christianity by Christian methods. We say that the power of doing so is being rapidly taken from us by the action of Christian Govern- ments. Our efforts are directed to the promotion of Christianity. We are now engaged in these places really in a contest with Mahommedanism, and Mahommedanism works against us with the great advantage- of being able to oppose a system of total abstinence to a system of drunkenness. We should work with still greater advantage if we could oppose to it a system of temperance, such as all men in their hearts approve. I mentioned m the debate which has been already alluded to the fact that in one of our own Crown Colonies a mosque had been built partly with the contributions of English people, because the Mahommedans were there civilizing and elevating the natives, which we were not able to do, in this respect. Through the drink traffic perdition, body and soul, is being brought upon large masses of the native people. This is no utterance on behalf of a fanatic section of people which I will read to your Lordships, but is from the report of Bishops who from all parts of the world met at Lambeth last year. The whole body of 150 Bishops say : — " It has pleased God to make the Christian nations stronger than any other, stronger than all others combined, but this strength brings with it a higher respon- sibility, and this high responsibility the Church ought to rest on those who bear authority. It is grievous that it should be possible to say that so far from the white race benefiting the natives, it would be better that Christian nations should never come into contact with them at all." It may not convey a very distinct idea to us, but it is stated that in four years over 30,000,000 gallons of spirits have been imported into those districts. The other figures, however, which have been laid before you are a sufficient^ testimony to the ease with which natives are able to possess themselves of drink. Last year the Church Missionary Society* sent a Commissioner to Africa for the purpose of observmg what was going on in relation to this traffic, and nothing can exceed the vivid horror of the report which that gentleman has since furnished. He saw canoes in hundreds coming down the river laden with ivory, tusks, gold, palm-oil, and the most precious pro- ducts of the interior, and returning with nothing but filthy spirits. The ground in villages and along by-paths was strewn with gin bottles and capa- cious glass jars worked with wicker, which had contained spirits, and in grotesque horror the very seats of a church were constructed of the green boxes in which the liquor had been carried. Some of the native chiefs are ardently allied with us on the side of suppressing the evils of the trade, which are sufficient not merely to destroy the hope of Christianity, but the very hope of the continued existence of the race. There is a letter from one of the great native Princes, the Emir of Nupe, entreating Bishop Crowther and the great priests to "beg the English Queen to prevent the bringing of rum into his land." He says : — " For God's and the Prophet's sake he must help us ; he must not leave our land to be spoiled by rum. May God bless him in his work. This is the mouth-word of Maliki." Those are the half heart-broken words of a Alahommedan ruler ; and Khama, chief of an immense territory, appeals to Sir Sydney Sheppard in this moving strain. He says — " It is one thing to offer his country to her Majesty's English settlers, but another * The Gentleman here referred to, though sent out as a Commissioner by the C. M. S., acted in this particular matter on behalf of the Native Races and the Liquor Traffic United Committee. 11 thing to be obliged to allow worthless men to occupy it with their drink canteens, and flood it with drink just after the long struggle with his people at the risk of his life, just when they themselves came to see what salvation there was in his drink Laws It were better for him to leave his country. To fight against drink is to fight against demons, not men. The assegai of the Matabele kill men's bodies, and it is over ; the drink puts devils into men, and destroys souls and bodies for ever. It would never heal. I pray your honour never ask me to open a little door to the drmk''' Is not that pathetic, my Lords ,'' I do not desire that it should be thought that I do not appreciate the encouragement which Her Majesty's Govern- ment are giving to right action in this matter. I own the difficulties, and I know the spirit in which the Government have worked, and will work. But we want to implore them to maintain the policy which was so well put for- ward by Sir Edward Malet at Berlin. What we want is that they should pledge themselves to those international efforts which we are assured can be made, and which we have been told will be made as opportunity offers. We want the whole power of the country to back them up and support them in using their utmost endeavours to have a high duty fixed upon the importa- tion of drink. We do not ask for prohibition ; we believe that it would be impossible, and there are many of us who do not believe that in the long run it would be an absolute gain. But we do feel certain that a great step would be made towards the repression of the evil if a high import duty were by international concert fixed upon the introduction of these liquors. Another thing we desire — I do not know how it is to be done, I do not know the necessary details of the policy, but we want, if it can be done, that support should be given to those noble native chiefs who, just emerging from the darkness of Africa, see the worse ruin that is ahead, and see also the light and strength that England can give them. To all the world beside I truly believe that England's operations have always been the greatest blessing. When the Bishop of Calcutta was over here last year he bore the strongest and most spontaneous testimony to the fact that the very presence of the English of whatever class was a blessing to the inhabitants of India. It is not only the theoretical people — it is not only the working missionaries — but it is the actual presence of justice and right and honour in the very presence of the Civil Servants. And I truly believe that if our Government, as I am persuaded it will, continues its strong and generous efforts the civili- zation of England must be, as it ought to be, no less a blessing to Africa than to all other parts of the world. The Bishop of LONDON : I do not wish to detain the House many minutes, but there are two points which I wish to press on the attention both of the House and the Government. One of them has been mentioned in the course of the discussion, but I think it requires more emphasis than has yet been given to it. This mischief which we are now considering is an increasing one at this very moment, and it is not a time, therefore, for our holding up our hands and considering for a very long while what it is that we ought to do. We ought to remember that year after year the influx of these intoxicating liquors into Africa is gaining ground, and that the examples that are quoted to us — one of them I think was quoted by the noble Duke — are only examples of what has become general. Thus, for instance, it is stated that within the present year in one place the introduction of intoxi- cating liquors — of rum of the very worst kind — has risen from about 400,000 gallons to 1,200,000 gallons, which it was in the year before last, and it is going on increasing still. The same thing is taking place in many other parts. We ought, therefore, to be very strenuous indeed in our efforts, and not fancy that this is an evil which will bide our time, because it will not. As British influence and British power extend every year it is inevitable that the methods by which the native races have hitherto protected themselves 12 where they chose to protect themselves are become impossible. They pro- tected themselves very often by very violent methods, and such violent methods of stopping any evil are inconsistent with our notions of civilisation Instead of allowing people to put things down by physical force amounting to something like riot, we step in and require that everything should be orderly, and when we require that everything should be orderly we rob the natives of their usual methods of resisting the invasion of anything that they strongly disapprove of, and we do not supply them with any methods of our own. Now this goes on, and will still go on, unless we stop it. This is one point that I want to press upon the House and upon the Government. Then there is another and a more abstract matter. I will venture to suggest that we must not lay too much stress upon an argument which commends itself naturally to statesmen generally and to those who mix themselves up in political life ; we must be always on our guard against it ; I mean what I may call the butcher's-dog argument. Your Lordships know the old fable of the butcher's-dog, whose master's meat cart was attacked by a very large number of dogs, and who found it hopeless to resist the attack because the attacking dogs were so numerous. Therefore he joined them in devouring his master's meat, and when the master came out and drove the dogs away and killed some, his own dog pleaded that it was for his master's interest that he should have his share of the meat and join the other dogs in consuming it, seeing that he could not prevent them from doing the mischief. I cannot help thinking that there is a little of that argument very often present in the minds of statesmen in matters of this kind. What we want to do is to bring men to a sense of something that is morally higher than the rule by which they are living. We should try and persuade men to join in what is morally good ; and we may depend upon it that we shall hinder our own endeavours considerably if we allow too much stress to be put upon the argument that, because we cannot stop other people doing mischief, therefore we are to join them in doing mischief. It should be made plain that we are ready to make sacrifices in such a matter as this, and I wish very much that all those who entered into negotiations should endeavour to maintain a high moral standard in the name of England whatever moral standard be adopted by any other country. The Earl of MEATH : Your Lordships are, I think, very well agreed on the principle of this matter, and it miglit be asked, if that is so, what is the use of continuing the discussion ? Now, I think that the noble Lord who brought forward this matter intended this discussion to be in some way a demonstration, for he said that it was necessary to rouse the conscience of Europe. I think, my Lords, that it is necessary to arouse not only the con- science of Europe, but also the conscience of the United States. As your Lordships are aware, the United States did not see their way on a certain occasion to assist the late Government when they did what they could to put a stop to this iniquitous traffic. Both parties in this House are agreed upon this principle. The noble Lord at the head of the Opposition has shown what his feeling was at the time of the Berlin Conference, and the noble Marquess at the head of the Government has stated very distinctly his opinion. He has said : — " We will never cease to press this matter whenever we see an opportunity of pressing it with effect. We will press it in season and out of season, because we believe that a vast amount of human happiness or misery depends upon the course which these negotiations take." It is impossible for any man to speak in stronger terms than that, and I thank the noble Marquess for having been bold enough, if I may say so, to speak his mind, and, I believe, the mind of Her Majesty's Government. We have heard very stirring and eloquent words from his Grace the Archbishop with 13 regard to the Christian point of view of this question, and from the Right Rev. Bishop with regard to the moral point of view. Now, I am going to take your Lordships down to a very much lower ground — a ground which has not yet, as far as I know, been very much touched upon, although it has been slightly touched upon by the noble Lord, Lord Aberdare, the ground of the commercial value or disvalue of this drink traffic. This country is growing at an enormous pace in population. It is long ago since this country has been able to main- tain its population by its food supply. Every year it is increasing in numbers, and every year it is more and more difficult to feed this population. The population is fed to-day by food which is purchased by the sale of the manu- factures that are made by the working men of this country. In order that those manufactures may be sold we must have markets, and every year our markets become more difficult to find. If we look at this continent of Africa we find it peopled by millions who are yet unapproached, we may say, by the trader. You may ask what has that to do with the liquor traffic ? It has this : that wherever a trader with his cask of rum or his bottle of gin goes, there disappears the commerce of England ; and it is therefore common wisdom on the part of the traders of this country to see that the native races of Africa should not be demoralized so that they shall be unable and unfit to avail themselves of the products of civilization. We know for a fact that wherever this drink traffic has gone it has ruined the population, and they are unable to purchase our goods. Now this is a very low ground, but it is a practical ground, and I lay it before the merchants of this country, before the working men of this country, to consider whether it is not worth thinking over. As soon as the gin bottle gets into a district it becomes much more difficult for the honest trader to get into that country. Evil passions are aroused, feuds take place, hostilities commence, and the trader has to fight his way. Well, it may be said, " how is this country to help in this matter?" We have heard of the difficulties which Her Majesty's Government and other Governments have encountered. I must say that I think some of those difficulties have been rather exagger- ated. We learn that in Basutoland it has been found possible altogether to prohibit the drink traffic, and I do not see why, in other districts wholly or partially under British rule, a similar policy should not be pursued with like success. It has been contended that we cannot interfere with our Colonial Governments — that we must leave them free and unfettered. That may be true, but we can assuredly expostulate and advise with those Governments. I can well understand that a much greater difficulty arises when we come to deal with the Governments of other countries. I am certain that if there is one man who will do his best to secure the co-operation of foreign Governments in this matter it is Her Majesty's Prime Minister, and this demonstration — for I look upon it as a demonstration — will strengthen his hands. I hope that the opinion of this House and the opinion of the House of Commons, which has already been expressed, will be known far and wide, and that the United States will re-consider their determination, and will not be afraid of mixing themselves up in the affairs of Europe on a question such as this, which can hardly embroil them in any political difficulty. I trust that the debate which has taken place this day will be of service not only to the advance of Christianity and of morality, but may be of service in increasing our markets and in providing food for our working classes. Lord KNUTSFORD : My Lords, if my reply on behalf of Her Majesty's Government to the appeal made to them by the noble Duke be somewhat short, it is not because the Government are not fully alive to the importance and interest of the subject submitted to the House, not because they do not desire to give effect to the assurances made to the deputation by 14 the noble Marquess at the head of the Government, but because I have very little information to add to that which has already been given to Parliament. The replies to the circular to which I referred in my speech of March, 1888, will be found in the Parliamentary Paper (C 5563), '"^nd I think that all who have read those and the previous papers will arrive at this general conclusion, so far as Africa is concerned, that there is not so much want of legislation, as want of effective enforcement of the existing law. I certainly was not aware that labour had been paid for on the West Coast of Africa in drink as has been stated this evening, and I need hardly say that I shall ask at once for a Report on that subject, and, if necessar}', require that an ordinance should be passed to stop that practice in the future. I think that in dealing with this subject of liquor traffic laws, it must in fairness to the Colonial Governments be remembered that those laws are of all laws the most easily evaded, and therefore the most difficult to enforce, and especially so where, as in the case of Bechuanaland, there is a large non- native population. It is found to be very much easier to enforce the law in places like Zululand and Basutoland, where there is not that large non- native population. Where there is a large European population it is not possible or practicable to prevent importation of spirituous liquors or their sale to other than natives ; but, of course, the more liquor there is intro- duced, the more difficult is it to prevent the natives getting hold of it in exchange for goods, or to stop the sale or gift of it to them. I will now very briefly refer to the different places in South and West Africa referred to by previous speakers. I venture to think that the noble Duke has hardly dealt fairly with the Cape. The noble Duke, in speaking of the Commission appointed at the Cape, omitted to mention that the Cape Government had immediately, after receiving the Report of that Commission, passed a most important measure — Act 28 of 1883 — which was most stringent in its terms, and entirely prohibited the sale or gift of any liquor to natives in certain native locations, and the Governor was also given power to constitute native areas within which liquor was not to be sold at all. I have reason to believe that that law has been enforced in those native locations and areas, as from the Cape Blue Book on native affairs published in 1888, which contains Reports from all the districts, it appears that drunkenness on the whole is decreasing among the natives. There was a good deal of Kaffir beer brewed and consumed at festivities, but in 6 only out of 42 districts do the reports make reference to the prevalence of brandy drinking. The Magistrates seem fully alive to the desirability of diminishing the supply of spirituous liquors by the canteens. In the Transkeian territories the Proclamation of 1885 was very stringent in terms, both as to importation of spirituous liquors and sale of them to natives ; and the last reports are quite satisfactory as to spirits, though it appears there is a large consumption of Kaffir beer. I would only add, as regards the Cape, that, as has been observed by the noble Duke, we have no hand in the administration or legislation of that colony ; but I would venture to suggest to those Associations or Committees who have so usefully taken up this question in this country, that if they are made aware of repeated infringements of the law upon evidence on which they can rely, they should communicate these cases, with full details, either direct to the Cape Government or through the Secretary of State. I am satisfied that such communications will receive full consideration. With regard to Natal, although the law appears to be sufficiently stringent, I admit that, owing to lack of police supervision over roadside places of entertainment in rural districts, there has not been suflflcient enforcement of that law. The finances of that colony have not hitherto been in such a condition that any great additional expenditure could be lightly incurred, and no doubt the increase of police to secure the full supervision would have been very costly. 15 But I am glad to state that proposals have just been received for appointing supervisors over the natives, who will, among other duties, advise the chiefs against the excesses which prevail at their ceremonies. I have been able to sanction the appointment of those supervisors, and, when giving my sanction, I have strongly urged upon the Colonial Government that these supervisors should exercise all their influence towards securing the efficient working of the law prohibiting the sale of liquor to natives. As I pointed out in my speech last year, the question of regulating the importation of liquor into South Africa by means of the imposition of an uniform high duty, was not favourably received by the Cape or Natal. The view taken by the Cape Government with regard to high tariiTs was that, so far as the natives were concerned, the traffic could only be checked by internal regu- lations, and that a high tariff would stimulate smuggling and illicit manu- facture of spirits, much of which would be of a most deleterious character ; and the view taken by Natal was that it would be of little use for them to pass any measures until the Cape and the Portuguese Governments had acted in the matter. With regard to the territories and places under the more direct control of the Home Government, a much more favourable account can be given. In Zululand the Natal liquor laws are in force, and I have received no complaints of evasion of the law. In Basutoland, as has been stated, the drink traffic has ceased to exist. In a report of July, 1888, it is stated that — "The drink traffic has been suppressed, and considering the extent of border, there is little smuggling. For this we are indebted to the assistance we receive from the Orange Free State authorities." As to British Bechuanaland, I have already pointed out why it is more diffi- cult to prevent evasion of the law in that Colony, where there is a large non- native population, than in other places ; but, although in the past there has been a want of energy on the part of the police, every care is now taken to enforce the law. The original Proclamation against selling liquor to natives has been made more stringent. Giving liquor to natives is prohibited, and a license is forfeited on the second conviction. There is, however, great difficulty in obtaining proof of breaches of the law. Although the system of "trapping " is not a very desirable one, it has to be resorted to. " Trapping" is sending natives to the houses to get liquor sold to them ; and the chief difficulty about that is to get trustworthy natives to do the work. It is, however, satisfactory to learn that the largest liquor dealers at Taungs have recently been convicted of selling liquor to natives, and that their licenses have been forfeited. I have also directed that great care should be taken about the granting of licenses, and confining them to persons who could be trusted, and I have transferred the power of granting licenses from the Licensing Boards to the Resident Magistrates, so as to have the licenses more under the control of the Government. Turning to the West Coast of Africa, while I am quite free to admit that the state of things there is unsatis- factory, at the same time I would urge that the remedies are not easily attainable, and the peculiar circumstances of those colonies with regard to the colonies of other nations, make it difficult, if not impossible, either to prohibit or restrict the importation of liquor into our colonies. If the Government of Lagos were to attempt by high duties or in any other way to restrict the passing of spirits through Lagos, the effect would simply be to divert the trade from Lagos to some other place under the French or the German flag. I fear upon further inquiry that there are grave, if not insuper- able, difficulties in obtaining an international agreement for imposition of high uniform rates of import and license duties. It would be next to im- possible to prevent the smuggling along the vast stretch of coast line. A large 16 and expensive augmentation of custom officers would be required, and this expense would have to be incurred while the revenue was diminished, lake the Gold Coast for example. I am not sure that there is any staff at Liberia, Assinee, or Togo ; but if there is, such a staff would have to be largely increased, and I do not think it probable that the foreign Powers would view this with favour, even if the Gold Coast finances would justify the expenditure. As far as Lagos itself is concerned, I do not hear much complaint of drunkenness there, although large quantities of spirits pass through into the inland territories, but I will call for a report upon the state of things I may mention one fact of some interest : Katanu, which is a place under our protectorate, not far from Lagos, has been entirely flooded with spirits from Porto Novo, where the king is under French protection. An appeal has come from Katanu, asking that the Spirit Licensing Law of Lagos might be applied there ; and to that application I have recently given assent. I shall watch with great interest the result of that extension of the law of Lagos. I shall, of course, take notice of the points %Yhich have been raised with regard to the colonies on the West Coast. In conclusion I would say it is satisfactory to the Government to find that in the notice of the noble Duke there is a general recognition of the efforts Her Majesty's Government have made to restrict this traffic ; and I can assure the noble Duke that the appeal which has been made by him will not be made in vain. With reference to a point made by the Lord Bishop of London, I desire to state that the latest returns of the import of spirits into Lagos, those for 1887 show a diminution in the quantities imported as compared with former years, except in Geneva, in which there has been an increase. DiFEOSE, BATEMAN & Co., Pilnters, Sheffield Street, Lincoln's Inn. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY BERKELEY Return to desk from which borrowed. This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. i9Jan DzKL'U JtlNl 6 1952 LU CC1301952LU REC'D LD OCTU'64-IOA(II LD 21-95m-ll,'50(2877slG)476 VB 0759 fsiose H \1 e UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA UBRARY ^^^m^mmmmmmm^m^^mmmmm W^f ^ 9l !'^ m&S i M ^