The Humanitarian League was a British radical

advocacy group Advocacy groups, also known as interest groups, special interest groups, lobbying groups or pressure groups use various forms of advocacy in order to influence public opinion and ultimately policy. They play an important role in the developm ...

formed by Henry S. Salt and others to promote the principle that it is wrong to inflict avoidable

suffering Suffering, or pain in a broad sense, may be an experience of unpleasantness or aversion, possibly associated with the perception of harm or threat of harm in an individual. Suffering is the basic element that makes up the negative valence of a ...

on any

sentient being Sentience is the capacity to experience feelings and sensations. The word was first coined by philosophers in the 1630s for the concept of an ability to feel, derived from Latin '' sentientem'' (a feeling), to distinguish it from the ability to ...

. It was based in London and operated between 1891 and 1919.

Background

Howard Williams, the author of ''

The Ethics of Diet ''The Ethics of Diet: A Catena of Authorities Deprecatory of the Practice of Flesh-eating'' is an 1883 book by Howard Williams, on the history of vegetarianism. The book was influential on the development of the Victorian vegetarian movement. ...

'' (1883), a history of vegetarianism, proposed in the book the concept of a "humane society with a wider scope than any previously existing body". William's idea was developed by fellow writer and advocate, Henry S. Salt, in an 1889 article on humanitarianism.

History

The League was formed by Henry S. Salt, who was also the General Secretary and Editor. Other founding members included Edward Maitland,

Ernest Bell Ernest Thomas Bell (31 March 1880 – 2 May 1930) was a pastoralist and member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly. Biography Bell was born in Camboon, Queensland, to parents John Thomas Marsh Bell and his wife Gertrude Augusta (née Nor ...

(Chairman), Howard Williams, Kenneth Romanes and

Alice Lewis Alice Marie Drakoules (; other married name Lewis; – 15 January 1933) was a British humanitarian, vegetarian and campaigner for animal welfare. Life Drakoules was born near Brussels to English parents, in about 1850. In 1876, she married Will ...

(Treasurer). The League's inaugural meeting, in 1891, was held at the house of Alice Lewis, 14

Park Square, London Park Square is a large garden square or private appendix to Regent's Park in London and is split from a further green, the long northern side of Park Crescent, by Marylebone Road and (single-entrance) Regent's Park tube station. It consists of t ...

, who remained Treasurer for the League's entire existence. Many of its founders were also members of the Shelley Society. Its aim was to enforce the principle that it is iniquitous to inflict avoidable

on any

; their manifesto stated:

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 both corporal and capital punishment. Its other objectives included the banning of all hunting as a sport, and it was also strongly opposed to vivisection. The Humanitarian League thus anticipated the modern animal rights movement; many of its members were vegetarians. However, the League was not confined to animal protection. They were also responsible for the advancement of human rights. For example, they were largely behind the banning of flogging with birch in the Royal Navy in 1906 and campaigning to amend the law relating to imprisonment for debt and other non-criminal offences. The League also opposed flogging in schools, vaccinations because of the pain, and the wearing of feathers and fur. The League spread its ideas through two journals, ''Humanity'' (1895–1902), which was later renamed ''The Humanitarian'' (1902–1919) and a quarterly ''The Humane Review'' (1900–1910). During the First World War, the League's membership and output of publications were reduced in number. The League closed down in 1919, following the death of Salt's wife.

Legacy

In 2013, The Humanitarian League was registered as an organisation in Hong Kong. It operates alongside the

Ernest Bell Library Ernest Bell (8 March 1851 – 14 September 1933) was an English author, publisher and activist for animal rights and welfare, humanitarianism and vegetarianism. Biography Bell was born in Hampstead, the son of the publisher George Bell. He was ...

, republishing historical humanitarian pamphlets and books.

Notable people associated with the League

Notable members and supporters of the League included

Annie Besant Annie Besant ( Wood; 1 October 1847 – 20 September 1933) was a British socialist, theosophist, freemason, women's rights activist, educationist, writer, orator, political party member and philanthropist. Regarded as a champion of human f ...

, W. H. Hudson,

Sydney Olivier Sydney Haldane Olivier, 1st Baron Olivier, (16 April 1859 – 15 February 1943) was a British civil servant. A Fabian and a member of the Labour Party, he served as Governor of Jamaica and as Secretary of State for India in the first govern ...

, George Bernard Shaw, Edward Carpenter, Colonel

William Lisle Blenkinsopp Coulson William Lisle Blenkinsopp Coulson (3 July 1840 – 1 June 1911) was an English army officer and campaigner for animal welfare. He was a notable supporter of the Humanitarian League. After his death, he was memorialised by a statue in Newcastle ...

John Galsworthy John Galsworthy (; 14 August 1867 – 31 January 1933) was an English novelist and playwright. Notable works include ''The Forsyte Saga'' (1906–1921) and its sequels, ''A Modern Comedy'' and ''End of the Chapter''. He won the Nobel Prize i ...

, Leo Tolstoy, J. Howard Moore, Ralph Waldo Trine, Ernest Howard Crosby,

Alice Park Alice Elizabeth Locke Park (; February 2, 1861 – October 17, 1961) was an American suffragist and a longtime defender of women's rights. She served as associate director of the Susan B. Anthony Memorial Committee of California. Early life ...

, Clarence Darrow, Keir Hardie,

Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry of William Word ...

, Bertram Lloyd, Edith Carrington,' Christabel Pankhurst, Tom Mann,

Enid Stacy Enid Stacy (10 June 1868 – 4 September 1903) was an English socialist activist. Stacy was born on 10 June 1868 in Westbury, Gloucestershire, the eldest of the Irish painter Henry Stacy and his wife Rose Deeley's four children. The family moved ...

, Kean, Hilda. (1998). ''Animal Rights: Political and Social Change in Britain since 1800''. Reaktion Books

Carl Heath Carl Heath (1869 – 1950) was a leader of the Quaker movement in Britain and a penal reformer. He was the Secretary of the National Peace Council during the First World War when he conceived the idea of Quaker embassies to establish an internationa ...

Thomas Baty Thomas Baty (8 February 1869 – 9 February 1954), also known by the name Irene Clyde, was an English writer, lawyer and expert on international law who spent much of his career working for the Imperial Japanese government. Baty was also an act ...

, George Ives,

John Dillon John Dillon (4 September 1851 – 4 August 1927) was an Irish politician from Dublin, who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for over 35 years and was the last leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party. By political disposition Dillon was an a ...

, Lizzy Lind af Hageby,

Stella Browne Stella Browne (9 May 1880 – 8 May 1955) was a Canadian-born British feminist, socialist, sex radical, and birth control campaigner. She was one of the primary women in the fight for women's right to control and make decisions regarding their s ...

, Charlotte Despard, Isabella Ford, Anne Cobden-Sanderson, Michael Davitt,

Alfred Russel Wallace Alfred Russel Wallace (8 January 1823 – 7 November 1913) was a British naturalist, explorer, geographer, anthropologist, biologist and illustrator. He is best known for independently conceiving the theory of evolution through natural se ...

G. W. Foote George William Foote (11 January 1850 – 17 October 1915) was an English secularist, freethinker, republican, writer and journal editor. Early life George William Foote was born in Plymouth, the son of William Thomas Foot (a customs officer) ...

Conrad Noel Conrad le Despenser Roden Noel (12 July 1869 – 22 July 1942) was an English priest of the Church of England. Known as the 'Red Vicar' of Thaxted, he was a prominent Christian socialist. Early life Noel was born on 12 July 1869 in Royal Cottage, ...

, John Page Hopps, Josiah Oldfield, Jessey Wade (Honorary Secretary of the Children’s Department; 1906–1919), Henry John Williams (Humane Diet department) and

Henry B. Amos Henry Brown Amos (24 May 1869 – 22 October 1946) was a Scottish activist for animal rights, vegetarianism, humanitarianism and against vivisection and hunting. He also worked for some time as a draper. Amos held a number of positions within or ...

Publications

Books

* Moore, J. Howard. ''

The Universal Kinship ''The Universal Kinship'' is a 1906 book by American zoologist, philosopher, educator and socialist J. Howard Moore. In the book, Moore advocated for a secular Sentiocentrism, sentiocentric philosophy, called the Universal Kinship, which mandated ...

'' (Humanitarian League, 1906)

Pamphlets

* Salt, Henry S.
Literae Humaniores: An Appeal to Teachers
' (William Reeves, 1894) *Collinson, Joseph
''The Fate of the Fur Seal''
(William Reeves; Humanitarian League, 1902) *Dickerson, Philip. '' The Eton College Hare-Hunt'' (Humanitarian League, 1904) *Salt, Henry S
''Humanitarianism: Its General Principles and Progress''
(Humanitarian League, 1906) *Salt, Henry S.
The Case Against Corporal Punishment
' (Humanitarian League, 1912) *Salt, Henry S. (ed.)
Killing for Sport: Essays by Various Writers
' ( G. Bell & Sons, 1915)

References

External links

Aims and objects of the Humanitarian LeagueHumanitarian League PublicationsThe Humanitarian League, 1891–1919Biography of Henry S. Salt
*''The Humane Review'': ** Volume 2; 1901 ** Volume 3: April, 1902 to January, 1903 ** Volume 7: April, 1906 to January, 1907 {{Animal rights, state=uncollapsed, movement 1891 establishments in England 1919 disestablishments in England Animal rights organizations Animal welfare organisations based in the United Kingdom Anti–death penalty organizations Anti-hunting organizations Anti-vaccination organizations Anti-vivisection organizations Defunct organisations based in London Organizations established in 1891 Political advocacy groups in England Prison reform