§ MR. EVELYN ASHLEYasked leave to withdraw a Notice which he had placed on the Paper, and which now, owing to the close of the Congress, had become an anachronism. It was a Motion for an Address to Her Majesty praying Her to instruct Her Plenipotentiaries at Berlin to move the Congress in completion of the action taken by the Congresses of Vienna and Verona with respect to the Slave Trade, to adopt a declaration—
That the existence of slavery as a recognized institution being repugnant to modern civilization, any State that permits it is thereby disqualified from taking equal rank with other Members of the European family of nations.It had been no fault of his that he had not been afforded an opportunity of bringing this matter forward. A deputation went to Berlin for the purpose of pressing this matter on the different Plenipotentiaries, and all the Plenipotentiaries whom they saw agreed very much with their views, but 1216 thought that England ought to take the initiative. The question was then brought before the British Plenipotentiaries; but they did not take the initiative. He did not, on this occasion, wish to introduce any matter of controversy, so he would content himself with saying that this inaction on the part of the British Plenipotentiaries, whatever might have been their motive, was a matter of great regret to very many people in England. He trusted, however, that in the quasi - Protectorate which we had assumed in Asia Minor the Government would bear in mind that it was not only the traditional policy of England to get rid of slavery and the slave trade all over the world; but that there could be no doubt many of the greatest evils in the present system of Government in Turkey would be cut at the root by the abolition of domestic slavery. By putting an end to that they would put an end to the means whereby the seclusion of women was enforced, and the seclusion of women was the prolific source of intrigues and corruption in the administration of the Turkish Government. The hon. Member concluded by withdrawing his Motion.
§ Motion, by leave, withdrawn.