The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-02-27

ably subjected To cruel fortunes. Inc htyphah
law punished with death him who voluntarily
killed a slave, and offered fugtiyes an inviolable
asylum In the temple of Hercules near the Can
opic mouth Of the Nile. Another statute, almost
unique In the history Of legislation. after pre-
missing that the father Vs. the sole author Of the
child, tho mother having merely lodged and
noufished II in the womb, imposed on freemen
the Obligation Of supporting and recognizing as
legitimate their ofsDring by slave women. Under
the mild form here outlined, which ainly
wa not aggravated In subsequent times by the
Influence Of Islam, slavery has continued to ex-
lat In the Nile valley Its worst parasite, more
over, the slave trade, nourlshed without inter-
mission until nomlnally abolished by the present
Khedive In bis decree Of January 10, 1856.
In ancient India slavery was OF various o iein.
Obeying like other nations the instincts Of war
It condemned prisoners TO bondage. but this lot
the LEGISLATOR DihmaassiGned only to those who,
preferring thraldom to death. publicly svowed
their wish TO be enslaved. To the same fate
were exposed the insolvent debtor, the child Of
female save n born IN her masters house, he
who lost his liberty at gaming, battered II for
food or sold II for money, the last being the
vilest OF his class IN the estima tion of the law
Moreover the free man or woman who cohabit-
ed with a slave became the property Of the
slaves master. Another fruitful source OF
slavery In India was the sale Of children by pa
rents, the frequent fanines to which that conn
try is exposed, the slender tie Of family relation
ship. and the promp ings OF svsrice, inducing
them TO sacrifice at all events their girls for pur
poses Of prostitution. Under the pressure Of
similar reasons husbands were accustomed to
sell their wives. In a pro forma attempt to
check such scandals the law merely enjoined
that the wife or daughter should appear to con
sent, and that the family should have been
duced TO extreme misery.
Slaves, however, were not cond emned 10 India
to perpetual bondage. The bankrupt reRained
his freedom by paying his debt with interest;
he likewise was emarcipated who gave yoke
OF oxen to compensate for the aliment received
In time OF famine, and he that sundered once
for al his relations with the female slave for
VIII ON he had resigned his liberty. The prisoner
Of wsr who enslaved himself by crying Il" am
thy tnralll' aud he that lost his freedom by
gambling, both recovered " completely whom
ever they could substitute another slave In their
own stead. The slave, moreover, who saved his
masters hfe from imminent peril not only be-
! came a freeman In the eye OF Sanskrit law. but
| inherited a sons portion OF his lords estate.
And now come to a statute Of singular EN-
cacy for the restraint OF sensuality yet uuhsp-
PLY never written in the code Of any other peo-
pie, ancient or modern, whereby the master
who had offspring by his slave lost uthority
over mother and child, both OF whom were fpso
tdeto emancpated. While, however. in the
cases just now cited, the slave might be llberat-
ed even against his masters will, the latter's
express consent was indispensable where the
slave had been purchased, donated, inherited.
or hld been born In the lords house, or where a
free man had voluntarily sold his liberty.
/ wret ned as Is the condition OF the Sudra, the
fourth orlowest caste among the Hindoos, lie
| Is vouchsaf by the code Of Manu- many rights
expressly denied to slaves. Forexample. he may
change bis M ster or his district, may receive
gifts or acquire property, inherit from parents,
and by a series OF in ermarriases with superiors
gradually rise In the social scale until In the
enth generation he attains the sacerdo tal caste.
Even that most Infamous OF the mixed or Impure
half castles" the lchanddla, luckless OF pring
OF Sudra and = Drahmin woman, whom Euro
peans know as the Pariah. name given him on
the Coramandel coast, loathed and outlawed as
he Is, is no; a slave.
The number OF slaves at present assigned to do
mesiic service IN British India IL incousiderable
and these are mainly to be found In the estab-
lishments OF Mussulman grandees. Those, OF
the other hand, employed in rural labor, includ-
| ing those condemned to rot In the rice plan;a-
lions of Trayancore, are rather serfs, ddscriptl
OlebB, than slaves proper. The total Of both
classes never rated by the most Ell travaeant
estimate (Monteomery Martins, ublished SOM
ten years ago. above four millions, In other
words, about two per cent. OF the population oil
British India. These figures, however, appear
sufficiently scandalous in tue eyes OF the Anti
Slavery Society, and the truth is that slavery
would have been abolished In 1893 throughout
Hindostan but for the determined opposition OF
the Duke Of Wellington.
Did China. like other nations. possess slaves IN
primeval timesG To this question all investig l-
lions thus far have made reply In the negative
In ancient days, saws one OF the most trustwor
thy native writers, there were neither NAL,
nor female slaves In China, the earliest instance,
being some delinquents adjudeed to hard labo
for the behoof Of the State, and even this oc
CURED not later than 1874 h. c. The nrst trac,
Of slavery, then, in the Middle En- pire, " forced
labor OF kind exacted to-day IN many Ameri
can prisons deserve SO harsh a name. appear
some fifteen centuries after the commencement
OF that period which Is known TO be distinct,
historical.
Among the causes which gradually developed
Chinese slavery foreign wars were far less pote n
than revolutions and intestine disturbances
Yet 1t Is to be noted that the enslavement o
rebellious districts, since It diminished the mum
Der OF taxpayers, was often revoked ny suOse
ouent Emperors. AT all events the victims o
|
serfs bound TO the soil, OF which latter class thu
only survivors at the present day belong TO th
Tartar soldiers OF the rclgnng house, The lat
ter, moreover, can hardly muster one huncre'
thousand lighting men, a meaere handful beside
the 1--WE hundred and thirty millions at which
the census. Of 1852 placed the population o
China.
The perennial and most abundant fount o
slavery IN the Celestial Empire was, and Is, tn,
sale OF free persons. Not that nsolvent debtor
lose their liberty, for this custom, elsewhere 8,
common, seems never to have been sanctioned
by legislation at the darkest epochs Of the ma
tional decadence. But 10 the year 20s ID. G.
with view OF checking antcde, then as nov
the worst stain on Chinese society, the founde
OF the Han dynasty accorded TO those persons
reduced to the last extremity the right OF sell
Ing their wives and children. The practice thel
initiated has wthstood all subsequent attempt
at prohibition, and continues TO this day.
The fact that Chinese annals record no In
stance OF Instruction or even disturbance oil
the part OF slaves, demonstrates the clemen
aud temperate character with which the law
and public opinion have invested the institu
| a. of ala O.. awI. ID ~