EGYPTIAN SLAVERY.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2296, 27 July 1880, Page 3

EGYPTIAN SLAVERY.

■<“ The news from Egypt on the subject of the slave trade (says the “Pall Mall Gazette ") is an instructive comment on the Convention of 1877, whereby the traffic in human beings was believed to have received its death-blow. It was pretty well known by everybody except the Egyptian Government that large caravans of slaves were constantly arriving in Upper Egypt, and were there sold for a few Napoleons a head ; but no one took the troubleof investigating the matter. It was left to a Gorman missionary, Mr Roth, finally to call public attention to the serious nature of this illicit commerce. He informed Mr Mulct, the llritish consul, who induced the Egyptirn Government to despatch some troops of Siout for the arrest of the dealers and release of the slaves. A caravan of about 300 boys and girls, the former bearing traces of having been dragged in chains, was seized by these troops, under the guidance of Mr Loth, and the dealers sent for trial to Cairo; and wc now learn from the “ Daily News,” that a further convoy of 00 has been arrested and the slaves liberated. It is not creditable to the Egyptian authorities that it should devolve on a private person to inform them of the existance of a flagrant breach of the law; and her Majesty’s Government expressed the general feeling when they remonstrated with the Cairo authorities on their lack of energy. The dismissal of the mudir and other officials at Siout will serve as a caution to the easy-going representatives of the Khedive ; and wc may hope that the infamous traffic from Darfur, which Colonel Gordon puts at 20,000 slaves ayear, will in future find its Egyptian depots closed.