WHITE SLAVE TRAFFIC.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1572, 16 October 1912, Page 7

WHITE SLAVE TRAFFIC.

UNLIMITED POi.ER FOE BRITISH POLICE. By Telegraph—Press Assoclatlon-Copyrlehi London, October 14. • Mr. M'Kenna, Homo Secretary, replying to a deputation, said the Government was firmly determined to pass the White Slave Traffic Bill this session. Unlimited power would bo given to the polico to make arrests. THE OBJECTS OF THE BILL. In a recent article outlining the provision's of tfeo White Slave Traffic Bill, ?i-n -^.' U , lr M.P., said:—lt is not a Will w-hich attempts the..;hop'ele;s task of limiting people virtuous by Act of Parliament, nor does it attempt to effect a complete cleansing of the Augean stables of vioe. Its main and simple object .is to paralyse the activities of those sinister ci'eatures who make a commercial business of decoying, kidnapping, and ruining young and innocent girls, an|l to punish the .degraded-parasites who live upon the earnings of t iiose who have fallen into their clutches.

The procurer, the "cadet," and the 'bully are universally despised and detested, and yet, owing to the inadequacy of the existing law, are able to ply their vilo trades, if not with impunity, at aerate with little risk. The object of the White Slave Traffic Hill is to make those trades so difficult nnd so dangerous that these human beasts of prey—who are notoriously the most cowardly of mankind —will not dare to run the risk of prosecution nnd conviction. The existing laws are unfortunately full of loopholes and defects which are well known to the traffickers in vice, and apart from the technical difficulty of making arrests nnd securing convictions, the penalties prescribed are quito inadequate to bs an effective deterrent. The amendment. l : of the existing law proposed in this liill raise no now questions of principle, but merely closo the loopholes through which a clever offender can now easily escape. The most important chnngo proposed is to make ;the White Slave traffic a felony instead ■of a misdemeanour, and to give power to arrest "procurers" caught in tho act, without tho delay of obtaining a warrant which now enables most offenders to escape, taking their victims with them. Tho police already possess this power against pickpockets, burglars, nnd the like, nnd the Bill seeks to expose the White Trade trafficker to merely similar risks. This is not much to ask. The Bill further provides that when an offender has been previously convicted of participation in the White Slave traffic, the record of such previous convictions may count both as evidence and as justification for heavier punishment.

The Bill also lays down thai- if the tenant of a house is convicted of turning it into a disorderly house, the tenancy may be cancelled .by the landlord, while if such landlord fails to cancel the tenancy after tho conviction is brought to his notice, ho shall be held liable for any continued uso of the house for immoral purposes. Lastly, the Bill strikes at the "bully" and tne "souteneur" by throwing upon them the burden of proof that they are not living- upon the immoral earnings of the women whom they drive upon the streets. At present it is almost impossible to secure a conviction of these ruffians, and they are able to ply their loathsome trade with impunity and under the very eyes of the police.