Humanitarian League
British humanitarian organisation (1891–1919)
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The Humanitarian League was a British humanitarian organisation based in London that operated from 1891 to 1919. Founded by Henry S. Salt with Edward Maitland, Ernest Bell, Howard Williams, Kenneth Romanes and Alice Lewis, it promoted a general principle of humaneness, opposing avoidable suffering to any sentient being, and pursued reforms across both human and animal concerns.
| |
 Manifesto of the League | |
| Formation | 1891 |
|---|---|
| Founders | |
| Dissolved | December 1919 |
| Purpose | Promotion of humanitarianism and animal rights |
| Headquarters | London, England |
The League campaigned against capital and corporal punishment, hunting for sport and vivisection, compulsory vaccination, and for changes in criminal law and prison practices. It disseminated its views through its journals Humanity (1895–1902), The Humanitarian (1902–1919) and The Humane Review (1900–1910), as well as books, pamphlets and public meetings. Membership and activity declined during the First World War, and the organisation dissolved in 1919. Former members subsequently helped to found the League for the Prohibition of Cruel Sports (now the League Against Cruel Sports).
History
Background
In The Ethics of Diet (1883), a history of vegetarianism, Howard Williams proposed the creation of a humane society with a broader scope than any that existed at the time.[1] This idea was later developed by Henry S. Salt in an 1889 article on humanitarianism published in The Westminster Review, where he argued for a consistent principle of humaneness applied to all sentient beings.[2]
Formation
In 1891, Henry S. Salt founded the Humanitarian League, also serving as its general secretary and editor of its publications. Other founding members included Edward Maitland, Ernest Bell (chairman of committee and treasurer),[3] Howard Williams, Kenneth Romanes and Alice Lewis (treasurer). Its inaugural meeting was held at Lewis's house, 14 Park Square, London, and she remained treasurer throughout the League's existence.[1][4] Many of the founders were also members of the Shelley Society.[5]
The provisional committee of the League in April 1891 consisted of William E. A. Axon, R. H. Jude, Alice Lewis, Edward Maitland, R. E. O'Callaghan, Rev. G. J. Ouseley, Kenneth Romanes, Howard Williams and Salt.[6]
Aims and principles
The League's guiding principle was that it is iniquitous to inflict avoidable suffering on any sentient being. Its manifesto declared:[7]
The Humanitarian League has been established on the basis of an intelligible and consistent principle of humaneness – that it is iniquitous to inflict suffering, directly or indirectly, on any sentient being, except when self-defence or absolute necessity can justly be pleaded.
The League opposed corporal and capital punishment, hunting for sport, vivisection, and compulsory vaccination.[1][8] Many members were vegetarians, and the League aimed to reduce animal suffering.[5][6][9]
Organisation and activities
Office and publications
In 1895 the League opened an office in Great Queen Street, London, and launched its journal, Humanity (later The Humanitarian). That year it also held the first National Humanitarian Conference, with lectures covering diverse perspectives. From 1897 its headquarters on Chancery Lane actively engaged with the press and organised public debates.[10]
Executive committee
The League's executive committee consisted of Ernest Bell, Alfred Binns, Hypatia Bradlaugh Bonner, Herbert Burrows, Joseph Collinson, Helen Densmore, Edmund Harvey, Mrs. C. Mallet, W. Douglas Morrison, Henry S. Salt, Howard Williams and Llewellyn W. Williams.[11]
Campaigns and departmental work
The League organised campaigns against blood sports, punishments for vagrancy, imprisonment for debt, "crimes of conscience", and other "barbarisms of the age".[10] It also campaigned for human rights, contributing to the 1906 ban on flogging in the Royal Navy and seeking to reform laws on imprisonment for debt and non-criminal offences.[12]
The League drafted the Sport Regulation Bill in 1894 which was introduced in Parliament by Alpheus Morton.[13][14] The Bill would prohibit the hunting, coursing, and shooting of animals kept in confinement.[14]
In 1895 the League was divided into four specialist departments: the Criminal Law and Prison Reform Department, the Sports Department, the Humane Diet Department and the Lectures for Children. Each department had a separate committee.[1]
Joseph Stratton was honorary secretary of the Sports Department.[15] The department condemned blood sports and any sport which caused suffering to animals.[15] In 1897 the Humane Diet Department was renamed the Humane Diet and Dress Department, and in 1898 an Indian Humanitarian Committee was established.[1]
The Animals Defence Committee replaced the former Humane Diet and Dress Department and the Sports Department.[1] In 1909 the committee campaigned against the cruelties of the slaughterhouse, stag hunting, school-beagling, plumes, seal-skin trades and snake-feeding at zoological gardens. Members included R. Stephen Ayling, Ernest Bell, Joseph Collinson, Charles W. Forward and George Penn-Gaskell.[16][17]
In 1908 the Criminal Law and Prison Reform Department merged into the Criminal Law and Prison Reform Committee, which covered both British and Indian affairs. Joseph Collinson served as honorary secretary of the committee for thirteen years.[1]
Branches
Local branches of the League were established at Croydon and Letchworth after a meeting in 1909.[1] A Manchester branch was formed with support from William E. A. Axon, William Byles and Rev. A. O. Broadley in 1912.[18] By 1914 the Croydon branch had 56 members.[1]
Publications
The League disseminated its ideas through journals, edited by Henry S. Salt: Humanity (1895–1902), later renamed The Humanitarian (1902–1919), and the quarterly The Humane Review (1900–1910).[19] It also published books and pamphlets.[20]
Decline and closure
During the First World War, the League's membership and publication output declined.[1] The organisation closed in December 1919, shortly after the death of Salt's wife.[21][22]
Legacy
Later influence
In 1924, former members of the League, Henry Brown Amos and Ernest Bell, established the League for the Prohibition of Cruel Sports, which later became the League Against Cruel Sports.[10]
Reuse of the name
The name "Humanitarian League" was later adopted by an organisation registered in Hong Kong in 2013.[23] This group operates alongside the Ernest Bell Library, republishing historical humanitarian pamphlets and books.[24]
Notable people associated with the League
A wide range of individuals were associated with the Humanitarian League during its existence. Some held formal offices in the organisation, while others supported its campaigns, contributed writings, or participated in lectures and pamphlets. The following tables list founders, officers, and notable members and supporters identified in contemporary and later sources.
Founders
| Name | Occupation | Role in League | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Henry S. Salt | Writer, social reformer, animal rights activist and vegetarian activist | General secretary and editor of the League's journals | [1][4] |
| Edward Maitland | Writer and theosophist | Member of provisional and executive committees | [1] |
| Ernest Bell | Publisher, writer and animal activist | Chairman of committee and treasurer | [3][1] |
| Howard Williams | Writer, historian and vegetarian activist | Member of provisional committee | [1] |
| Kenneth Romanes | Translator, writer and humanitarian activist | Member of provisional committee | [1] |
| Alice Lewis | Philanthropist and activist | Treasurer and member of provisional committee | [1][6] |
People with roles (non-founders)
| Name | Occupation | Role in League | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| William E. A. Axon | Librarian, antiquarian and journalist | Member of provisional committee | [6] |
| R. H. Jude | Mathematician, physicist and animal rights activist | Member of provisional committee | [6] |
| R. E. O'Callaghan | Activist, lecturer and writer | Member of provisional committee | [6] |
| Hypatia Bradlaugh Bonner | Activist and writer | Member of executive committee | [11] |
| Herbert Burrows | Socialist activist | Member of executive committee | [11] |
| Edmund Harvey | Social reformer and politician | Member of executive committee | [11] |
| Joseph Stratton | Clergyman, writer and activist | Honorary secretary, Sports Department | [15] |
| Joseph Collinson | Journalist and writer | Member of Animals Defence Committee; Honorary secretary, Criminal Law and Prison Reform Department | [1][17] |
| Charles W. Forward | Activist, writer and historian | Member of Animals Defence Committee | [17] |
| Carl Heath | Quaker activist | Member of Criminal Law and Prison Reform Department | [1] |
| James Charles Mathew | Judge | Member of Criminal Law and Prison Reform Department | [25] |
| Jessey Wade | Animal welfare activist and editor | Honorary secretary, Children's Department | [26] |
| Henry John Williams | Clergyman and activist | Member of Humane Diet Department | [27] |
Members and supporters
| Name | Occupation | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Henry Brown Amos | Campaigner, animal rights activist and vegetarian activist | [28] |
| Annie Besant | Writer, women's rights activist, home rule activist and theosophist | [1] |
| Thomas Baty | Lawyer, feminist and international law reformer | [1] |
| Stella Browne | Feminist and birth control activist | [1] |
| Edith Carrington | Writer and animal welfare activist | [29] |
| Edward Carpenter | Writer, poet, socialist and vegetarian activist | [4] |
| Anne Cobden-Sanderson | Suffragist and socialist activist | [1] |
| Colonel William Lisle Blenkinsopp Coulson | Army officer, prison reform activist and anti-hunting activist | [30] |
| Ernest Howard Crosby | Writer and reformer | [1] |
| Clarence Darrow | Lawyer, civil liberties activist and anti-death-penalty activist | [5] |
| Michael Davitt | Politician, Irish nationalist and land reformer | [31] |
| Charlotte Despard | Suffragist and socialist activist | [31] |
| John Dillon | Politician and Irish nationalist | [1] |
| G. W. Foote | Journalist, editor and secularist activist | [1] |
| Isabella Ford | Labour activist and suffragist | [31] |
| Sigmund Freud | Psychoanalyst | [32] |
| John Galsworthy | Novelist and playwright | [33] |
| Keir Hardie | Politician and trade unionist | [1] |
| Thomas Hardy | Novelist and poet | [34] |
| Arthur Harvie | Clergyman | [35] |
| John Page Hopps | Unitarian minister and writer | [1] |
| W. H. Hudson | Author, naturalist and ornithologist | [1] |
| George Cecil Ives | Writer, poet, penal reform activist and homosexual law reform activist | [1] |
| Lizzy Lind af Hageby | Writer, anti-vivisection activist and suffragist | [1] |
| Bertram Lloyd | Writer, poet, naturalist and anti-blood-sports activist | [36] |
| Tom Mann | Trade unionist and socialist activist | [31] |
| J. Howard Moore | Zoologist, philosopher, animal rights activist and vegetarian activist | [5] |
| Conrad Noel | Anglican priest and Christian socialist | [1] |
| Josiah Oldfield | Lawyer, physician and vegetarian activist | [1] |
| Sydney Olivier, 1st Baron Olivier | Civil servant, politician and Fabian socialist | [1] |
| Alice Park | Suffragist and reformer | [5] |
| Christabel Pankhurst | Suffragette and political organiser | [31] |
| George Bernard Shaw | Playwright, critic and vegetarian activist | [1] |
| Arthur St. John | Writer | [1] |
| Enid Stacy | Socialist activist and suffragist | [31] |
| Leo Tolstoy | Writer, philosopher, Christian anarchist and vegetarian activist | [5] |
| Ralph Waldo Trine | Writer, philosopher, animal welfare activist and vegetarian activist | [5] |
| Alfred Russel Wallace | Naturalist, explorer and social reformer | [1] |
Selected publications
Books
- Moore, J. Howard (1906). The Universal Kinship. Humanitarian League.
Pamphlets
The Humanitarian League's Publications
- Salt, Henry S. (1891). Humanitarianism: Its General Principles and Progress. London: William Reeves. OCLC 7301794.
- Stratton, Joseph (1891). Royal Sport: Some Facts Concerning the Queen's Buckhounds. London: William Reeves. OCLC 32797459.
- Jude, R. H. (1892). Rabbit Coursing: An Appeal to Working Men. London: William Reeves. OCLC 29286962.
- Dixie, Lady Florence (1892). The Horrors of Sport. London: William Reeves. OCLC 266995835.
- Lester, H. F. (1892). Behind the Scenes in Slaughter-Houses. London: William Reeves. OCLC 906658421.
- Carpenter, Edward; Maitland, Edward (1893). Vivisection. London: William Reeves. OCLC 80267577.
- R. J. (1893). "I Was in Prison": A Plea for the Amelioration of the Criminal Law. London: William Reeves. OCLC 80380523.
- Ford, Isabella (1893). Women's Wages and the Conditions Under Which They Are Earned. London: William Reeves. OCLC 78943043.
- Mallett, C. (1893). Dangerous Trades for Women. London: William Reeves. OCLC 11239271.
- Carrington, Edith (1894). The Extermination of Birds. London: William Reeves. OCLC 84021277.
- Coulson, W. L. B. (1894). The Horse: His Life, His Usage, and His End. London: William Reeves. OCLC 266995824.
- Hopwood, C. H. (1894). A Plea for Mercy to Offenders. London: William Reeves. OCLC 13979601.
- Oakeshott, J. F. (1894). The Humanizing of the Poor Law. London: William Reeves. OCLC 1232459238.
- Salt, Henry S. (1894). Literae Humaniores: An Appeal to Teachers. London: William Reeves. OCLC 1434140016.
- Greg, Isabel M.; Towers, S. H. (1894). Cattle Ships and our Meat Supply. London: William Reeves. OCLC 1257315847.
- Roberts, Harry (1895). Public Control of Hospitals. London: William Reeves. OCLC 32797385.
- Oldfield, Josiah (1895). The Evils of Butchery. London: William Reeves. OCLC 61456075.
- Carrington, Edith (1895). The Dog: His Rights and Wrongs. London: William Reeves. OCLC 1118563947.
- Foote, G. W. (1895). The Shadow of the Sword. London: William Reeves. OCLC 44488763.
- Stratton, J.; Coulson, W. L. B.; Jude, R. H. (1896). So-Called Sport: A Plea for Strengthening the Law for the Protection of Animals. London: William Reeves. OCLC 21055606.
- Collinson, Joseph (1896). What it Costs to be Vaccinated: The Pains and Penalties of an Unjust Law. London: William Reeves. OCLC 14798180.
- Adams, Maurice (1896). The Sweating System. London: William Reeves. OCLC 21634469.
- Salt, Henry S. (1897). The Humanities of Diet. London: William Reeves. OCLC 9377479.
- Bradlaugh Bonner, Hypatia (1897). The Gallows and the Lash. London: William Reeves. OCLC 2563121.
Others
- Suckling, Florence H. (1896). Lectures for Children. Humanitarian League.
- Suckling, Florence H. (1896). Our Insect Helpers. Humanitarian League.
- Suckling, Florence H. (1896). The Ant. Humanitarian League.
- Suckling, Florence H. (1896). The Dog. Humanitarian League.
- Verschoyle, John Stuart (1901). Slaughter-House Reform. Humanitarian League.
- Collinson, Joseph (1902). The Fate of the Fur Seal. William Reeves for the Humanitarian League.
- Dickerson, Philip (1904). The Eton College Hare-Hunt. Humanitarian League.
- Salt, Henry S. (1912). The Case Against Corporal Punishment. Humanitarian League.
- Salt, Henry S. (1915). Salt, Henry S. (ed.). Killing for Sport: Essays by Various Writers. G. Bell & Sons.
Series
- Animal Life Readers
- Lantern Lectures for Children
See also
- Order of the Golden Age, Christian vegetarian and humanitarian organisation
- Progressive League, a later group operating on the same basis
- Ethical Union, now known as Humanists UK, its sister organisation
- List of animal rights groups