behind the age, still curse the British islands and their dependencies. This system of slavery, with all its destructive effects, will be found fully illustrated in this volume. Our plan has been to quote English authorities wherever possible. Out of their own mouths shall they be condemned. We have been much indebted to the publications of distinguished democrats of England, who have keenly felt the evils under which their country groans, and striven, with a hearty will, to remove them. They have the sympathies of civilized mankind with their cause. May their efforts soon be crowned with success, for the British masses and oppressed nations far away in the East will shout loud and long when the aristocracy is brought to the dust! " • • • • • AS WE HAVE BEEN GREAT IN CRIME, LET US BE EARLY IN REPENTANCE. THERE WILL BE A DAY OF RETRIBUTION, WHEREIN WE SHALL HAVE TO GIVE ACCOUNT OF ALL THE TALENTS, FACULTIES, AND OPPORTUNITIES WHICH HAVE BEEN INTRUSTED TO US. LET IT NOT THEN APPEAR THAT OUR SUPERIOR POWER HAS BEEN EMPLOYED TO OPPRESS OUR FELLOW CREATURES, AND OUR SUPERIOR LIGHT TO DARKEN THE CREATION OF OUR GOD."—_Wilberforce._ CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. General Slavery proceeding from the existence of the British Aristocracy _Page_ 13 CHAPTER II. Slavery in the British Mines 28 CHAPTER III. Slavery in the British Factories 104 CHAPTER IV. Slavery in the British Workshops 168 CHAPTER V. The Workhouse System of Britain 206 CHAPTER VI. Impressment, or Kidnapping White Men for Slaves in the Naval Service 257 CHAPTER VII. Irish Slavery 284 CHAPTER VIII. The Menial Slaves of Great Britain 370 CHAPTER IX. Mental and Moral Condition of the White Slaves in Great Britain 379 CHAPTER X. Coolie Slavery in the British Colonies 433 CHAPTER XI. Slavery in British India 441 CHAPTER XII. The Crime and the Duty of the English Government 489 THE WHITE SLAVES OF ENGLAND. CHAPTER I. GENERAL SLAVERY PROCEEDING FROM THE EXISTENCE OF THE BRITISH ARISTOCRACY. What is slavery? A system under which the time and toil of one person are compulsorily the property of another. The power of life and death, and the privilege of using the lash in the master, are not essential, but casual attendants of slavery, which comprehends all involuntary servitude without adequate recompense or the means of escape. He who can obtain no property in the soil, and is not represented in legislation, is a slave; for he is completely at the mercy of the lord of the soil and the holder of the reins of government. Sometimes slavery is founded upon the inferiority of one race to another; and then it appears in its most agreeable garb, for the system may be necessary to tame and civilize a race of savages. But the subjection of the majority of a nation to an involuntary, hopeless, exhausting, and demoralizing servitude, for the benefit of an idle and luxurious few of the same nation, is slavery in its most appalling form. Such a system of slavery, we assert, exists in Great Britain. In the United Kingdom, the land is divided into immense estates, constantly retained in a few hands; and the tendency of the existing laws of entail and primogeniture is to reduce even the number of these proprietors. According to McCulloch, there are 77,007,048 acres of land in the United Kingdom, including the small islands adjacent. Of this quantity, 28,227,435 acres are uncultivated; while, according to Mr. Porter, another English writer, about 11,300,000 acres, now lying waste, are fit for cultivation. The number of proprietors of all this land is about...