PORTUGUESE SLAVERY.
[To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR1
Sin,—The following extract from a letter from Portuguese East Africa may interest you :-
"Thanks for the Spectator r slavery' articles—they are very interesting and, I thought, scrupulously mild ; the publicity given to the question has had very good results here. I have heard of no raiding by the Portuguese for the purpose of forcibly recruiting labour, though of course the call for compulsory labour goes on, and there is something to be said for that if fairly con- ducted. The Government must have labour, but I think it should be paid and fed ; the forced labour here is neither ; and it is also unfairly recruited. Mohammedans escape it altogether, as when they take the fez they renounce obedience to the chiefs. Many take to the fez only to escape forced labour. But I think com- mercial enterprises should rely on voluntary contracts. The sugar estates rely entirely on forced labour, which means they pay a wage below that at which they can get voluntary service. In the same way the American Methodist Mission, which runs an experimental and instructional farm under Government semi- recognition, relies for its labour (300 per diem) on Government compulsion. These temporary slaves are expected to attend mission service,"
—I am, Sir, &c., E. G. HAMILTON WILLIAMS, M.D.
The Goldings, Colwall, Malvern.
In the original the name of the sugar estates above referred to is given.
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