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SLAVERY IN EUROPE.
justification for administrative corvée under certain conditions clearly defined by all the civilised Governments and under the exceptional circumstances of an "act of God." Your Excellency's Government is doubtless aware that administrative corvée operates within the following limitations:—
- (a) The labourers must be employed within their own country upon works of public utility to the community, whilst it must be demonstrable that the whole community affected will suffer more from the omission than from the adoption of such measures.
- (b) The labour in which the units are engaged must permit of the maintenance of the domestic life of the labourer.
- (c) Under no circumstances may such forced labour be employed upon industrial work of a profit producing nature.
- (d) That such labour can only be exacted in lieu of taxation and then only under definite administrative ordinance.
Examples of justifiable forced labour may be found in connection with some "act of God," as in the calling out of the population of Holland to maintain the dykes, or that of the inhabitants
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