"Sold into slavery?"
"Yes, exactly that. They were decoyed on board the labor-ships, and when a sufficient number were there they were bound hand and foot, flung into the hold, and the ship sailed away with them. They were delivered over to the planters at so much a head, and very few of them ever found their way back again to their homes."
"Why, that's just like what we used to read about the African slave-trade," said Fred, who had been listening with open-eyed astonishment.
"Quite so," the Doctor answered. "It was the revival of the African slave-trade, and was carried on under the British flag. And many of the men were taken into slavery on British soil as they were turned over to the planters of Queensland, a British colony.
"The matter became so notorious that the attention of the British Government was called to it, and measures were taken to put an end to the outrages. Ships of war were sent to the South Pacific to suppress the illegal trade, and stringent laws were passed to prevent further outrages. At present every labor-vessel must be licensed for her business, and carry an official who superintends the making of contracts, and makes sure that every laborer signs the agreement with his own free-will, and with a full understanding of the terms of the document. Care is taken with regard to the food and treatment of the men while on shipboard, and also when at work on the plantations."
Frank asked what were the means resorted to to obtain men before the Government took these precautions.
MISSIONARY STATION ON ANEITYUM ISLAND.
"As to that," was the reply, "the tricks and devices were various. The usual plan was for a ship to anchor near an island, and of course she was soon surrounded by the natives in their canoes, ready to barter cocoanuts and other produce for what the white men had to sell. The men were enticed on board, and when a sufficient number was on the deck a signal was given by the captain, and the sailors would knock the victims down as rapidly as possible. Some escaped by jumping overboard, but the rest were secured, and the ship then proceeded to another island to repeat the process until her cargo was complete. Then, with her hold packed like that of an African slave-ship fifty years ago, she steered for Feejee or for Queensland, and the captain and crew made a handsome profit for their work.