OPPRESSION OF NATIVE RACES.
IrTO SRN EDITOR OT TEE ..spserAron..1
Sra,—The interest which the Spectator has always taken in the welfare of native races will, I think, justify me in asking for space in your columns to appeal to Anglican Churchmen on behalf of the oppressed natives of the Pntumayo and the slaves in the Portuguese colonies. It is, I think, clear that the expression of organized public opinion is, at the moment, the most effective weapon we can use. There seems to be more than a danger that the Peruvian Government is contenting itself with marking time, in the hope that public opinion will cease to demand the arrest of the criminals responsible for the cruelties in the Putumayo—an action already long overdue. It is also surely a monstrous thing that the Government of Portugal should be content to tolerate the existence of slave trade and slavery in the manner disclosed in the recent White Book. It is a distressing thought that at any moment the Imperial resources of Great Britain may be called upon under treaty to defend these slave colonies ; and the British public should be asked to demand either the abolition of Portuguese slavery or the abolition of the Anglo-Portuguese treaty. I understand that the Free Church Council is calling the attention of its Committees throughout the kingdom to these questions, and the importance of educating and organiz- ing public opinion upon the need for action. We of the Church of England are also keenly alive to the necessity of protecting native peoples from oppression, and as a member of the Committee of the Anti-Slavery and Aborigines Protec- tion Society I would urge our clergy and laymen to do all in their power to assist us in quickening public opinion. Offers of assistance in organizing meetings will, I know, be welcomed by the Society's officers at Denison House, Vauxhall Bridge
Road, S.W.—I am, Sir, &c., H. R. GAMBLE. Holy Trinity, Sloane Street, S. W.
[We are delighted to publish Mr. Gamble's appeal to Churchmen, and trust it will meet with a wide response. The Established Church should indeed take the lead in demanding that either Portugal must put an end to slavery in her dominions or that England must cease to be her ally.—En. Spectator.]
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