The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1909-07-31
ASK AMERICA TO
BOYCOTT COCOA

LONDON, July A.-When DR.. Liv-
ingstone returned from mis- journey
across the continent of Africa and
told in language eloquent in its sim
plicity the tale of his discoveries and
adventures, the civilized world was
astounded to learn of the extent to
which slave trading and slave raiding
wer carried on, not only by the Arab
dealers from the East, but by the Por-
tuguese in their territories bordering
on the Congo and the West Coast.
A strong appeal to America against
present slavery is made in the Spec
tatOr.
Now the Portuguese islands of San
Thome and Principe employ some 3d.
600 natives from Angola, who have
been either deceived or forcibly taken
from their pleasant homes in the inte-
rior to work the plantations and do
other labor. Twenty years ago the
average yearly export of natives to
these islands was about 2200. In 1901
it reached 1852 and the official figures
for the first six months of 1908 show
that under the legal guise of contract
laborers" slaves were imported into
the islands at the rate Of 5000 a
year.
Although admittedly we'll treated
when htey have reached the islands
where their services are of value to
the planters, they are retained there
with few exceptions in lifelong servi-
tude The same good treatment, how
ever, cannot be predicated of their
which on foot they are driven to the
coast. The vicissitudes Of these
marches certainly account for many
more than the 5000 landed annually on
the islands of Portuguese West Africa,
to say nothing of the unwilling ma
ployed in commerce or agriculture in
the province of Angola itself.
Joseph Burt of Hull, who recently
returned from Portuguese West Afri-
ca where he spent nearly two years
in investigating the condition of col
|
conditions that duplicate those pre-
vailing when Livingstone first gave
to the world the secrets of the Dark
Continent. The supposition that slav-
| cry is thing of the past is, accord
ing to his observation, source OF
DISBURSEMENT to those with any know
ledge of life in Central Africa. Bri-
fish Vice-Consul Beak, whom he
quotes, says:
Throughout central Africa the
question of slavery and slave trading
is a most difficult one, and l know
from personal experience on the Mig
er and Benue how very hard it is to
check. There is nothing more in
grained in native habit and custom
than slavery in one form or another"
This investigator eXonerates the
Portuguese, nationally, of the respon-
sibility for this condition. Portugal,
with the rest of Europe, long ago de-
nOunced slavery. The Portuguese
government was signatory to the acts
of Berlin in 1885 and Brussels in 1890,
both of which aimed at stopping slav-
cry in Africa The Portuguese people,
as a whole, are opposed to the traffic
and powerful appeals have been made
through the press and other channels.
but thus far without avail. An in
fluential and cultivated Portuguese at
Lorenzo Marques assured Mr.. Burt
that all educated Portuguese, with the
exception of those who were financial
ly interested, were opposed to forcing
laborers from Angola to San Thome,
and experienced planters expressed to
him their dissatisfaction with the pre-
sent system.
Two governors-general of provinces
IN conversation expressed their con-
Vlction of the need for reform. The
acting encouragement of Angola
panished two slavers from the pro-
vince. In 1907 the Portuguese colo
NAL minister made definite promises
OF reform, which would doubtless have
hnan boz. t.s.A g.. n.