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

Background

Howard Williams, the author of '' The Ethics of Diet'' (1883), a

history of vegetarianism The earliest records of vegetarianism as a concept and practice amongst a significant number of people are from ancient India, especially among the Hindus and Jains.Spencer, Colin: ''The Heretic's Feast. A History of Vegetarianism'', London 1993 ...

, 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 Edward Maitland (27 October 18242 October 1897) was an English humanitarian writer and occultist. Life He was born at Ipswich on 27 October 1824, was the son of Charles David Maitland, perpetual curate of St. James's Chapel, Brighton; he was ...

, Ernest Bell (Chairman), Howard Williams, Kenneth Romanes and Alice Lewis (Treasurer). The League's inaugural meeting, in 1891, was held at the house of Alice Lewis, 14 Park Square, London, 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 sentient being; 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 Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non- ...

and

capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

. 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 Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the sam ...

movement; many of its members were

vegetarians Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianism ma ...

. 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 A debtors' prison is a prison for people who are unable to pay debt. Until the mid-19th century, debtors' prisons (usually similar in form to locked workhouses) were a common way to deal with unpaid debt in Western Europe.Cory, Lucinda"A Histori ...

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 wa ...

, 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 William Henry Hudson (4 August 1841 – 18 August 1922) – known in Argentina as Guillermo Enrique Hudson – was an Anglo-Argentine author, naturalist and ornithologist. Life Hudson was the son of Daniel Hudson and his wife Catherine (), ...

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 George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

, 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 Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...

J. Howard Moore John Howard Moore (December 4, 1862 – June 17, 1916) was an American zoologist, philosopher, educator, humanitarian and socialist. He is considered to be an early, yet neglected, proponent of animal rights and ethical vegetarianism, and was a ...

, Ralph Waldo Trine,

Ernest Howard Crosby Ernest Howard Crosby (November 4, 1856 – January 3, 1907) was an American reformer, georgist, and author. Early life Crosby was born in New York City in 1856. He was the son of the Rev. Dr. Howard Crosby (1826-1891), a Presbyterian ministe ...

, Alice Park,

Clarence Darrow Clarence Seward Darrow (; April 18, 1857 – March 13, 1938) was an American lawyer who became famous in the early 20th century for his involvement in the Leopold and Loeb murder trial and the Scopes "Monkey" Trial. He was a leading member of ...

, 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 Dame Christabel Harriette Pankhurst, (; 22 September 1880 – 13 February 1958) was a British suffragette born in Manchester, England. A co-founder of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), she directed its militant actions from exil ...

, Tom Mann, Enid Stacy,

Kean, Hilda Hilda Kean (born August 1949) is a British historian who specialises in public and cultural history, and in particular the cultural history of animals. She is former Dean and Director of Public History at Ruskin College, Oxford, and an Honorary ...

. (1998). ''Animal Rights: Political and Social Change in Britain since 1800''.

Reaktion Books Reaktion Books is an independent book publisher based in Islington, London, England. It was founded in 1985 in Edinburgh, Scotland, and moved to London in 1987. Reaktion originally focused on the fields of art, architecture, and design. In rec ...

Carl Heath,

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,

Lizzy Lind af Hageby Emilie Augusta Louise "Lizzy" Lind af Hageby (20 September 1878 – 26 December 1963) was a Swedish-British feminist and animal rights advocate who became a prominent anti-vivisection activist in England in the early 20th century. Born to ...

, Stella Browne,

Charlotte Despard Charlotte Despard (née French; 15 June 1844 – 10 November 1939) was an Anglo-Irish suffragist, socialist, pacifist, Sinn Féin activist, and novelist. She was a founding member of the Women's Freedom League, Women's Peace Crusade, and the I ...

Isabella Ford Isabella Ormston Ford (23 May 1855 – 14 July 1924) was an English social reformer, suffragist and writer. She became a public speaker and wrote pamphlets on issues related to socialism, feminism and worker's rights. After becoming concerned wi ...

Anne Cobden-Sanderson Julia Sarah Anne Cobden-Sanderson (; 26 March 1853 – 2 November 1926) was an English socialist, suffragette and vegetarian. Life Cobden was born in London in 1853 to Catherine Anne and the radical politician Richard Cobden. After her father ...

, 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 sele ...

, G. W. Foote, Conrad Noel, John Page Hopps, Josiah Oldfield,

Jessey Wade Jessey Wade (2 December 1859 – 1952) was an English suffragist and campaigner for animal welfare, known for founding the Cats Protection League (now known as Cats Protection). She co-founded a number of other animal welfare organisations and h ...

(Honorary Secretary of the Children’s Department; 1906–1919), Henry John Williams (Humane Diet department) and Henry B. Amos.

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 sentiocentric philosophy, called the Universal Kinship, which mandated the ethical co ...

'' (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