At the meeting of the Anti-Slavery Society on Tuesday a
strong protest was made against the Colour-bar Act in South Africa. It was argued that from the point of view of maintaining the wages of white men the Act would fail, but that argument was secondary to the main charge that the new law is unfair to the natives and is moreover a violation of promises. The British Govern- ment, of course, cannot interfere, but it was pointed out at the meeting that it would be possible for the British Government to refuse to hand over further native territories to the Union of South Africa until the bar was removed. It was announced to the meeting that the British Government are determined to do all they can for the Anti-Slavery Convention at Geneva in the autumn. This, of course, will not affect the colour-bar in South Africa, but it will be a historical step forward to have an international declaration that slavery is a crime against civilization.
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