WHITE SLAVE TRAFFIC.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1588, 4 November 1912, Page 6

WHITE SLAVE TRAFFIC.

FLOGGING AUTHORISED. By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyricht (Rcc. November 3, 5.5 p.m.) London, November 2. The House of Commons, by 13! i votes to 1.12, carried on amendment to tho Criminal Law Amendment Bill authorisingl the flogging of miilo procurers for a first offence.

In a recent article outlining tho provisions of iho Whito Slave Trnflio Bill, Mr. Arthur Lee, M.P., said:—The procurer, the "cadet," and the "bully" , aro universally dospised and detested, and yet-, owing "to the of tho existing law, are ablo to ply their vilo trades, if hot with impunity, ot any rate with lifctlo risk. The object, of tho While Slavo Traffic Hill is to make those trades so difficult and so dangerous that thcso> human ' beasts of prev—who nro notoriously the most cowardly of mankind—will dot; dnro to run the rislc of prosecution aud convSo■fcion. Tho most important change proposed is to mii.ke tho While Slave traffic a felony instead of a misdemeanour, and to give power to arrest "procurers" caught 5n the act, without the delay of obtaining n warrant, which now ennliles most offenders to escape, inking their victims with thorn. Tho polico already possess this power against pickpockets, burglars, and the like, anil the Oil! seeks to expose the Whito Trade trartiekci* to merely similar risks. This is not much to ask. The Bill strikes at the "bully" and tho "souteneur" by throwing upon them tho burden of proof that thoy are not living upon tUo immoral earnings ot the women whom they drive upon tho . streets.