WHITE SLAVES.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1776, 14 June 1913, Page 8

WHITE SLAVES.

PROCURERS IN OUR CITIES. THE LAW ASPECT. [BY T.H.N.B.] Tho holy Jaw of Jesus Olirist governs oyr civilisation, but it docs not yet permeate it. It is said that slavery h-M disappeared from European civilisation. This i» a mistake. It still exists; but it weighs now only upon woman. and it is callod prostitutionVictor Huffo. Interesting indeed was the information conveyed in a Melbourno oablo message that appeared quite recently in tho New Zealand nowspapers. Someone liad complained that foreign procurers were at work in tho Victorian oapital. The natural conscquenco of such a complaint was a Departmental inquiry. A police report came next. The polioo were practically reporting upon themselves. To report that tho White Slave traffic existed in Melbourne would Cave been to condemn the Melbourno police. The report showed, however (so tho cablegram tells us), that the traffic was non-existent there. The character of Melbourne and tho Melbourne polioe was cleared. Somewhere about the same time ns this police report made Melbourno immaculate, our own Dominion was treated to a coating of whitewash by Lady Stout. Tho ncoasion was an address to "women/ only" in Wellington. A newspaper notice of tho address states:— The speaker compared legislation in England with that in New Zealand, pointing out how tho Homeland was far behind New Zealand in not having on tho Statute-book Acts which were of tho greatest benefit to wives and mothers. Lady Stout dealt extensively with the evils of tho Whito Slave traffic. A groat deal of pressure had to be exerted upon tho Government to brinjj down a measure on this matter in tho House of Commons, but owing to tho influence which _ tho Women's Liberal Federation exercised, a Bill was drafted and passed into law. As a consequence, the pooplo who had been carrying on the traffic had to leave London and go to the Continent; but tfliey would be back again at the back door, and would bo carrying 011 the same work until tho women had some power effectively to prevent them doing so. Somopeople said that the White Slave traffic was exaggerated, but there were numerous cases occurring every, day of frirls, and even responsible women, being entrapped by procurers. Hundreds of girls had disappeared in London and no trace of tliem could bo found. Girls were taken away by agents_ and locked up in houses from which they could never get out, etc.

Popular Fallacy. It is plain that Lady Stoufs speech was intended to convey to her hearers three impressions of New Zealand: —(1) lhat the White Slave traffic oannot exist here; (2) that it is because of the measures on our Statute-book that it cannot exist; and (3) that these measures ore on the Statute-book becauso of the fact that women have tho vote hero. Popular fallacy! About tho only portion of this argument that can bo accepted. is tho fact that New Zealand women have the vote. For the benefit of those people wlw, like Lady Stout, imagine that tho statutes are of tho utmost value in checking the White Slave traSc, it may be lioro 6tated that tto law relating to brothels is entirely goTerned. by tho English law on tho subject. This was decided some years ago. And, ivhilo the Dominion traffic in white slaves dees not exactly mean tho forcible carrying off of unwilling girls, there exists a more insidious phase of tho traffic—the systematic seduction of numerous young girls, who through force of circumstances have, to .work for a living in the largo cities, where they'are without parental protection.- , For the' mornont, however, it-will b9 as well to keep to the subject of tho law. The Now Zealand statute was interpreted in 1908 in tho case of Cassells v. Hutcheeon. in which tho defendant was charged with keeping a brothel. Tho_ magistrate in Wellington dismissed tho information because it had not been proved that there had been more than one woman in the house, and according to tho English law (Singleton v. Ellison) the place could not, therefore, come within tho definition charged. The police appealed, and tho point was deemed of such importance that three Judges sat on the Supremo Court Bench to hear argument. Mr. M. Myers, the then Crown Prosecutor, pointed out that The magistrate, in dismissing tho intormation against the respondent, followed tho English case, Singleton v. Ellison, but that case was of no authority here (counsel argued) for wo had a statutory definition of "brothel," which went .beyond tho common law definition. That definition was the same as tho definition of "common bawdy-house" in tho Criminal Code, which was quoted in Singleton v. Ellison, but was not accepted. Wo had, however, adopted it in New Zealand, and it was wide enough to include a house kept by one woman for the purpose of prostitution, oven if no other women resorted there for that purpose. So counsel argued, but his argument did not carry conviction, for Stout, C.J., Cooper, J., and Chapman, J., all expressed the opinion that tho English caso held good Tn New Zealand, and the decision of the magistrate was upheld.

Foreign Procurers Take Shelter Here. This is part of tho story. What is th» remainder? It scarcely needs telling. Ever- since 1908, foreign procurers, and others not foreigners, have been sheltering behind that Supreme Court decision. This is a point that certainly should have been noted by Lady Stout when comparing legislation in Now Zealand with that in England. Practical illustrations of how tho law operates have been given since the year 1908. About July, 1910, a cablegram from London announced that two foreigners had been arrested in Loudon for procuring a Wellington girl for tho White Slave trade. Tho incident caused a stir in Wellington, if not in other parts of the country, and Parliament called for tho usual report. Here; again, a ridiculous situation was created. Tho police were practically reporting upon their own conduct. What a work of art that report was! It was all in direction of blackening the character of tho unfortunate girl upon whom every cloud had already fallen. There were some details, but much tliat might have been included in tho report was missing.. It might, for instance, have been mentioned that between June, 1309, and 'January, 1910, tho two foreigners arrested in London had kept a house of ill-fame in Brougham Street, Wellington. It might havo been added that during tho eamo period the same two foreigners kept another liouso of ill-fame in Pine Street, Wellington. Nor would the report havo strayed from the truth if it had added that during the same period the same two foreigners had kept two houses of ill-fame in College Street, Wellington. The report might—indeed it I should—have disclosed theso things and stated openly that tho foreigners had been sheltering behind the case of Singleton v. Ellison. " . . But now for the sequel. The foreigners wero sentenced to imprisonment in London and deported. One at least of them subsequently returned to tho Dominion and plied hi 3 loathsome trade again in Auckland (see tho evidence given by a detective in a batch of Auckland cases in January last). Not only plied his trade,, mind you, but walked out of tho Dominion again without having incurred tho displeasure of tho law. Hence it will bo seen that our legislation is so much in advance of that in the Old Country that whereas in the latter place procurers nro imprisoned, hero tho gaps in the meshes of the law enable them to escape their deserts. Under Cover of Soft Drink Shops. One other illustration. Quito recently several "soft drink" shops wero raided in Auckland liccauso of the fact that they were brothels. Not long after "soft drink" shops commenced to crop up in several of the busy thoroughfares in Wellington. Without doubt some of them nvo controlled by a foreigner, who was not long ago carrying on an abominable business in Auckland. In each of tho shops is one woman. Tho police have requested some of the occupants to shift. Probably most of thorn will decline to do so, find

will point to Singleton v. Ellison and to Cassolls v, Hutchcson. And so the thing goes on. Hundreds of ruined women in Now Zealand to-day arc wishing that Mr. Myers's interpretation of the law had been accepted by tho Supremo Court in 1908. Ignorant of tho dreadful lifo ahead of them, they wero ensnared, simply enough, by theso procurers. And now having endured nil, borneall, experienced all, suffered nil, lost all. wept for all, they oTo resigned with that resignation that resembles indifference as death rescinblos sleep. Yet hero shall wo continue to boast of our advanced legislation and pass with little concern over, the darker spots in our civilisation.