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Humanitarian League
Formation1891; 134 years ago (1891)
Founders
DissolvedDecember 1919; 105 years ago (1919-12)
PurposePromotion of humanitarianism and animal rights
HeadquartersLondon, England

The Humanitarian League was a British radical advocacy 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.

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

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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] 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

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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

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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

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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 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

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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.[11]

Campaigns and departmental work

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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

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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. L. Broadley in 1912.[18] By 1914 the Croydon branch had 56 members.[1]

Publications

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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]

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 1919,[20] shortly after the death of Salt's wife.[21]

Legacy

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Later influence

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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

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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]

Notable people associated with the League

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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

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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)

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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 [24]
Jessey Wade Animal welfare activist and editor Honorary secretary, Children's Department [25]
Henry John Williams Clergyman and activist Member of Humane Diet Department [26]

Members and supporters

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Name Occupation Source
Henry Brown Amos Campaigner, animal rights activist and vegetarian activist [27]
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 [28]
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 [29]
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 [30]
Charlotte Despard Suffragist and socialist activist [30]
John Dillon Politician and Irish nationalist [1]
G. W. Foote Journalist, editor and secularist activist [1]
Isabella Ford Labour activist and suffragist [30]
Sigmund Freud Psychoanalyst [31]
John Galsworthy Novelist and playwright [32]
Keir Hardie Politician and trade unionist [1]
Thomas Hardy Novelist and poet [33]
Arthur Harvie Clergyman [34]
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 [35]
Tom Mann Trade unionist and socialist activist [30]
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 [30]
George Bernard Shaw Playwright, critic and vegetarian activist [1]
Arthur St. John Writer [1]
Enid Stacy Socialist activist and suffragist [30]
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

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Humanitarian League publications, 1897

Books

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Pamphlets

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj 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". Westminster Review. 132.
  3. ^ a b "Ernest Bell, President of the Vegetarian Society". The Vegetarian Messenger and Health Review. October 1933. Archived from the original on 30 November 2024.
  4. ^ a b c "Humanitarian League". Henry S. Salt Society. Archived from the original on 11 May 2025. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g 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. ^ a b c d e f "The Humanitarian League". Newcastle Daily Chronicle. 1 April 1891. p. 8. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
  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. ^ "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. ^ "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.
  10. ^ a b c "Humanist Heritage: The Humanitarian League (1891-1919)". Humanist Heritage. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
  11. ^ a b c d "Humanitarian League Committees". Henry S. Salt. Archived from the original on 14 December 2024.
  12. ^ Gold, Mark (1998). Animal Century: A Celebration of Changing Attitudes to Animals. Charlbury: Jon Carpenter. p. 11. ISBN 978-1-897766-43-9.
  13. ^ "Sport Regulation Bill". Manchester Evening News. 29 March 1894. p. 2.
  14. ^ a b "Bloodless Sports: Pleasures Afoot , Afield, and Afloat". The Echo. 20 June 1895. p. 4.
  15. ^ a b c "The Humanitarian League: A Sports Department". The Weekly Times and Echo. 9 August 1896. p. 3.
  16. ^ "Humanitarian League". The Oxford Review. 7 May 1909. p. 4.
  17. ^ a b c "Humanitarian League: Animals' Defence Department". The Humane Review. 10: 62. 1909.
  18. ^ "Humanitarian League Meeting". The Manchester Courier. 25 January 1912. p. 10.
  19. ^ "Humanitarian League Publications". Henry S. Salt Society. Archived from the original on 7 May 2025. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  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. ^ a b c d e f 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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