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Humanitarian League

(Redirected from The Humane Review)

The Humanitarian League was a British humanitarian organisation based in London from 1891 to 1919. Founded by Henry S. Salt with Edward Maitland, Ernest Bell, Howard Williams, Kenneth Romanes and Alice Lewis, it opposed avoidable suffering inflicted on sentient beings and applied this principle to human and animal welfare.

Humanitarian League
Formation1891; 135 years ago (1891)
Founders
DissolvedDecember 1919; 106 years ago (1919-12)
PurposePromotion of humanitarianism and animal rights
HeadquartersLondon, England

The League campaigned against capital and corporal punishment, hunting for sport, vivisection and compulsory vaccination, and supported changes to criminal law and prison practices. It published the journals Humanity (1895–1902), The Humanitarian (1902–1919) and The Humane Review (1900–1910), as well as books and pamphlets. Its membership and activity declined during the First World War, and the organisation dissolved in 1919. Former members later helped to found the League for the Prohibition of Cruel Sports, now the League Against Cruel Sports.

History

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Background

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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] Henry S. Salt developed a similar idea in an 1889 article on humanitarianism in The Westminster Review, where he argued for a consistent principle of humaneness applied to all sentient beings.[2]

Formation

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Salt founded the Humanitarian League in 1891 and served as its general secretary and editor of its publications. Other founding members included Edward Maitland, Ernest Bell (chairman of committee and treasurer), Howard Williams, Kenneth Romanes and Alice Lewis (treasurer).[1][3][4] 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 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

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The League's guiding principle was that it was 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][8]

Organisation and activities

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Office and publications

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In 1895 the League opened an office in Great Queen Street, London, and launched its journal, Humanity, later renamed The Humanitarian. That year it also held the first National Humanitarian Conference. From 1897 its headquarters on Chancery Lane handled press work and public debates.[9]

Executive committee

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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.[10]

Campaigns and departments

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The League organised campaigns against blood sports, punishments for vagrancy, imprisonment for debt, "crimes of conscience", and what it called other "barbarisms of the age".[9] It also campaigned for human rights, contributed to the 1906 ban on flogging in the Royal Navy, and sought reform of laws on imprisonment for debt and non-criminal offences.[11]

In 1894 the League drafted the Sport Regulation Bill, which was introduced in Parliament by Alpheus Morton.[12][13] The bill would have prohibited the hunting, coursing and shooting of animals kept in confinement.[13]

In 1895 the League was divided into four 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. The department condemned blood sports and any sport that caused suffering to animals.[14] 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 Humane Diet and Dress Department and the Sports Department.[1] In 1909 the committee campaigned against cruelty in slaughterhouses, stag hunting, school-beagling, the use of plumes and seal-skin, and snake-feeding at zoological gardens. Members included R. Stephen Ayling, Ernest Bell, Joseph Collinson, Charles W. Forward and George Penn-Gaskell.[15][16]

In 1908 the Criminal Law and Prison Reform Department merged into the Criminal Law and Prison Reform Committee, which covered British and Indian affairs. Joseph Collinson served as honorary secretary of the committee for thirteen years.[1]

Branches

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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.[17] By 1914 the Croydon branch had 56 members.[1]

Publications

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The League published journals edited by Henry S. Salt: Humanity (1895–1902), later renamed The Humanitarian (1902–1919), and the quarterly The Humane Review (1900–1910).[18] It also issued books and pamphlets.[19]

Decline and closure

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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.[20][21]

Legacy

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Later influence

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In 1924, former League members Henry Brown Amos and Ernest Bell established the League for the Prohibition of Cruel Sports, which later became the League Against Cruel Sports.[9]

Reuse of the name

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The name "Humanitarian League" was later adopted by an organisation registered in Hong Kong in 2013.[22] This group operates alongside the Ernest Bell Library, republishing historical humanitarian pamphlets and books.[23]

People associated with the League

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People associated with the Humanitarian League included formal officers, committee members, campaign supporters, writers and lecturers.[1] The following tables list founders, office-holders, committee members and supporters identified in cited sources.

Founders

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NameOccupationRole in LeagueSource
Henry S. SaltWriter, social reformer, animal rights activist and vegetarian activistGeneral secretary and editor of the League's journals[1][4]
Edward MaitlandWriter and theosophistMember of provisional and executive committees[1]
Ernest BellPublisher, writer and animal activistChairman of committee and treasurer[1][3]
Howard WilliamsWriter, historian and vegetarian activistMember of provisional committee[1]
Kenneth RomanesTranslator, writer and humanitarian activistMember of provisional committee[1]
Alice LewisPhilanthropist and activistTreasurer and member of provisional committee[1][6]

People with roles

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NameOccupationRole in LeagueSource
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 [10]
Herbert Burrows Socialist activist Member of executive committee [10]
Edmund Harvey Social reformer and politician Member of executive committee [10]
Joseph Stratton Clergyman, writer and activist Honorary secretary, Sports Department [14]
Joseph CollinsonJournalist and writerMember of Animals Defence Committee; honorary secretary, Criminal Law and Prison Reform Department[1][16]
Charles W. Forward Activist, writer and historian Member of Animals Defence Committee [16]
Carl HeathQuaker activistMember of Criminal Law and Prison Reform Department[1]
James Charles MathewJudgeMember of Criminal Law and Prison Reform Department[24]
Jessey WadeAnimal welfare activist and editorHonorary secretary, Children's Department[25]
Henry John WilliamsClergyman and activistMember of Humane Diet Department[26]

Members and supporters

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NameOccupationSource
Henry Brown AmosCampaigner, animal rights activist and vegetarian activist[27]
Annie BesantWriter, women's rights activist, home rule activist and theosophist[1]
Thomas BatyLawyer, feminist and international law reformer[1]
Stella BrowneFeminist and birth control activist[1]
Edith CarringtonWriter and animal welfare activist[28]
Edward CarpenterWriter, poet, socialist and vegetarian activist[4]
Anne Cobden-SandersonSuffragist and socialist activist[1]
Colonel William Lisle Blenkinsopp CoulsonArmy officer, prison reform activist and anti-hunting activist[29]
Ernest Howard CrosbyWriter and reformer[1]
Clarence DarrowLawyer, civil liberties activist and anti-death-penalty activist[5]
Michael DavittPolitician, Irish nationalist and land reformer[30]
Charlotte DespardSuffragist and socialist activist[30]
John DillonPolitician and Irish nationalist[1]
G. W. FooteJournalist, editor and secularist activist[1]
Isabella FordLabour activist and suffragist[30]
Sigmund FreudPsychoanalyst[31]
John GalsworthyNovelist and playwright[32]
Keir HardiePolitician and trade unionist[1]
Thomas HardyNovelist and poet[33]
Arthur HarvieClergyman[34]
John Page HoppsUnitarian minister and writer[1]
W. H. HudsonAuthor, naturalist and ornithologist[1]
George Cecil IvesWriter, poet, penal reform activist and homosexual law reform activist[1]
Lizzy Lind af HagebyWriter, anti-vivisection activist and suffragist[1]
Bertram LloydWriter, poet, naturalist and anti-blood-sports activist[35]
Tom MannTrade unionist and socialist activist[30]
J. Howard MooreZoologist, philosopher, animal rights activist and vegetarian activist[5]
Conrad NoelAnglican priest and Christian socialist[1]
Josiah OldfieldLawyer, physician and vegetarian activist[1]
Sydney Olivier, 1st Baron OlivierCivil servant, politician and Fabian socialist[1]
Alice ParkSuffragist and reformer[5]
Christabel PankhurstSuffragette and political organiser[30]
George Bernard ShawPlaywright, critic and vegetarian activist[1]
Arthur St. JohnWriter[1]
Enid StacySocialist activist and suffragist[30]
Leo TolstoyWriter, philosopher, Christian anarchist and vegetarian activist[5]
Ralph Waldo TrineWriter, philosopher, animal welfare activist and vegetarian activist[5]
Alfred Russel WallaceNaturalist, explorer and social reformer[1]

Selected publications

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The Humanitarian League's Publications, 1897

Books

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  • Moore, J. Howard (1906). The Universal Kinship. Humanitarian League.

Pamphlets

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The Humanitarian League's Publications

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  1. Salt, Henry S. (1891). Humanitarianism: Its General Principles and Progress. London: William Reeves. OCLC 7301794.
  2. Stratton, Joseph (1891). Royal Sport: Some Facts Concerning the Queen's Buckhounds. London: William Reeves. OCLC 32797459.
  3. Jude, R. H. (1892). Rabbit Coursing: An Appeal to Working Men. London: William Reeves. OCLC 29286962.
  4. Dixie, Lady Florence (1892). The Horrors of Sport. London: William Reeves. OCLC 266995835.
  5. Lester, H. F. (1892). Behind the Scenes in Slaughter-Houses. London: William Reeves. OCLC 906658421.
  6. Carpenter, Edward; Maitland, Edward (1893). Vivisection. London: William Reeves. OCLC 80267577.
  7. R. J. (1893). "I Was in Prison": A Plea for the Amelioration of the Criminal Law. London: William Reeves. OCLC 80380523.
  8. Ford, Isabella (1893). Women's Wages and the Conditions Under Which They Are Earned. London: William Reeves. OCLC 78943043.
  9. Mallett, C. (1893). Dangerous Trades for Women. London: William Reeves. OCLC 11239271.
  10. Carrington, Edith (1894). The Extermination of Birds. London: William Reeves. OCLC 84021277.
  11. Coulson, W. L. B. (1894). The Horse: His Life, His Usage, and His End. London: William Reeves. OCLC 266995824.
  12. Hopwood, C. H. (1894). A Plea for Mercy to Offenders. London: William Reeves. OCLC 13979601.
  13. Oakeshott, J. F. (1894). The Humanizing of the Poor Law. London: William Reeves. OCLC 1232459238.
  14. Salt, Henry S. (1894). Literae Humaniores: An Appeal to Teachers. London: William Reeves. OCLC 1434140016.
  15. Greg, Isabel M.; Towers, S. H. (1894). Cattle Ships and our Meat Supply. London: William Reeves. OCLC 1257315847.
  16. Roberts, Harry (1895). Public Control of Hospitals. London: William Reeves. OCLC 32797385.
  17. Oldfield, Josiah (1895). The Evils of Butchery. London: William Reeves. OCLC 61456075.
  18. Carrington, Edith (1895). The Dog: His Rights and Wrongs. London: William Reeves. OCLC 1118563947.
  19. Foote, G. W. (1895). The Shadow of the Sword. London: William Reeves. OCLC 44488763.
  20. 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.
  21. Collinson, Joseph (1896). What it Costs to be Vaccinated: The Pains and Penalties of an Unjust Law. London: William Reeves. OCLC 14798180.
  22. Adams, Maurice (1896). The Sweating System. London: William Reeves. OCLC 21634469.
  23. Salt, Henry S. (1897). The Humanities of Diet. London: William Reeves. OCLC 9377479.
  24. Bradlaugh Bonner, Hypatia (1897). The Gallows and the Lash. London: William Reeves. OCLC 2563121.

Others

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  1. Suckling, Florence H. (1896). Lectures for Children. Humanitarian League.
  2. Suckling, Florence H. (1896). Our Insect Helpers. Humanitarian League.
  3. Suckling, Florence H. (1896). The Ant. Humanitarian League.
  4. Suckling, Florence H. (1896). The Dog. Humanitarian League.
  5. Verschoyle, John Stuart (1901). Slaughter-House Reform. Humanitarian League.
  6. Collinson, Joseph (1902). The Fate of the Fur Seal. William Reeves for the Humanitarian League.
  7. Dickerson, Philip (1904). The Eton College Hare-Hunt. Humanitarian League.
  8. Salt, Henry S. (1912). The Case Against Corporal Punishment. Humanitarian League.
  9. Salt, Henry S. (1915). Salt, Henry S. (ed.). Killing for Sport: Essays by Various Writers. G. Bell & Sons.

Series

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  • Animal Life Readers
  • Lantern Lectures for Children

See also

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References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 Weinbren, Daniel (Autumn 1994). "Against All Cruelty: The Humanitarian League, 1891-1919" (PDF). History Workshop Journal. 38 (1): 86–105. doi:10.1093/hwj/38.1.86. ISSN 0309-2984. JSTOR 4289320. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 July 2025.
  2. ↑ Salt, Henry S. (July 1889). "Humanitarianism: Its General Principles and Progress". The Westminster Review. 132.
  3. 1 2 "Ernest Bell, President of the Vegetarian Society". The Vegetarian Messenger and Health Review. October 1933. Archived from the original on 30 November 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Humanitarian League". Henry S. Salt Society. Archived from the original on 11 May 2025. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Unti, Bernard (2014). "'Peace on earth among the orders of creation': Vegetarian Ethics in the United States Before World War I". In Helstosky, Carol (ed.). The Routledge History of Food. Abingdon: Routledge. pp. 186–188. doi:10.4324/9781315753454. ISBN 978-1-315-75345-4.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "The Humanitarian League". Newcastle Daily Chronicle. 1 April 1891. p. 8. Retrieved 22 September 2025 – via Findmypast.
  7. ↑ Preece, Rod (2011). Animal Sensibility and Inclusive Justice in the Age of Bernard Shaw. Vancouver: UBC Press. p. 153. ISBN 978-0-7748-2112-4.
  8. 1 2 "The Humanitarian League: What It Is, and What It Is Not". Henry S. Salt Society. Archived from the original on 7 May 2025. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
  9. 1 2 3 "Humanist Heritage: The Humanitarian League (1891-1919)". Humanist Heritage. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
  10. 1 2 3 4 "Humanitarian League Committees". Henry S. Salt. Archived from the original on 14 December 2024.
  11. ↑ Gold, Mark (1998). Animal Century: A Celebration of Changing Attitudes to Animals. Charlbury: Jon Carpenter. p. 11. ISBN 978-1-897766-43-9.
  12. ↑ "Sport Regulation Bill". Manchester Evening News. 29 March 1894. p. 2.
  13. 1 2 "Bloodless Sports: Pleasures Afoot, Afield, and Afloat". The Echo. 20 June 1895. p. 4 – via Findmypast.
  14. 1 2 "The Humanitarian League: A Sports Department". The Weekly Times and Echo. 9 August 1896. p. 3 – via Findmypast.
  15. ↑ "Humanitarian League". The Oxford Review. 7 May 1909. p. 4 – via Findmypast.
  16. 1 2 3 "Humanitarian League: Animals' Defence Department". The Humane Review. 10: 62. 1909.
  17. ↑ "Humanitarian League Meeting". The Manchester Courier. 25 January 1912. p. 10 – via Findmypast.
  18. ↑ "Humanitarian League Publications". Henry S. Salt Society. Archived from the original on 7 May 2025. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  19. ↑ Publisher's list in: Henry S. Salt, Humanitarian Essays: Being Volume III. of "Cruelties of Civilization.", Internet Archive. Retrieved 31 January 2026.
  20. ↑ Henry S. Salt (January 1920). "The Humanitarian League closes". The Vegetarian Messenger and Health Review. 17 (1): 7. Archived from the original on 8 August 2018. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  21. ↑ Preece, Rod (2011). "The History of Animal Ethics in Western Culture". In Blazina, Christopher; Boyraz, Güler; Shen-Miller, David (eds.). The Psychology of the Human-Animal Bond. Springer New York. pp. 45–61. doi:10.1007/978-1-4419-9761-6_3. ISBN 978-1-4419-9760-9. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  22. ↑ "The Humanitarian League Limited". Hong Kong Business Directory. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  23. ↑ "The Humanitarian League". HappyCow. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  24. ↑ "The Late Sir James Mathew". The Catholic Herald. 21 November 1908. p. 4.
  25. ↑ "Meet Cats Protection founder Jessey Wade". Meow! Blog. Cats Protection. 8 March 2019. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  26. ↑ Grumett, David; Muers, Rachel, eds. (2011). Eating and Believing: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Vegetarianism and Theology. London: A & C Black. p. 126. ISBN 978-0-567-57736-8.
  27. ↑ May, Allyson N. (2013). The Fox-Hunting Controversy, 1781–2004: Class and Cruelty. Farnham: Ashgate Publishing. pp. 73–74. ISBN 978-1-4094-6069-5.
  28. ↑ Carrington, Edith (August 1894). "Miss Edith Carrington: Portrait and Autobiography". The Animals' Friend. 1: 24.
  29. ↑ "Colonel Coulson". Henry S. Salt Society. Archived from the original on 9 May 2025. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
  30. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Kean, Hilda (1998). Animal Rights: Political and Social Change in Britain since 1800. Reaktion Books. ISBN 978-1-86189-014-6.
  31. ↑ Freud, Sigmund (2010). The Interpretation of Dreams. Translated by Strachey, James. Basic Books. p. 189. ISBN 978-0-465-01977-9.
  32. ↑ Wilson, David A. H. (2015). The Welfare of Performing Animals: A Historical Perspective. Springer. pp. 30–31. ISBN 978-3-662-45833-4.
  33. ↑ Hardy, Thomas (1985). Purdy, Richard Little; Millgate, Michael (eds.). The Collected Letters of Thomas Hardy: Vol. 5, 1914–1919. Clarendon Press.[page needed]
  34. ↑ "Rev. Arthur Harvie". Northampton Mercury. 5 July 1905. p. 2 – via Findmypast.
  35. ↑ "Bertram Lloyd". Henry S. Salt Society. Archived from the original on 9 May 2025. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
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