THE COLOUR BAR.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXI, Issue 62, 14 March 1900, Page 2

THE COLOUR BAR.

Among the many gratifying signs | of the deep Imperial sentiment evoked by the war, the most comforting and not the least gratifying are the demonstrations' of loyalty in India— not lip loyalty, but the practical betrayal of feeling that Australia and Canada have indulged in. The feeling would be the reverse of remarkable if it merely dominated the AngloIndian community, whose m/embers are British by breed and education if not by birth, but it is apparently shared by Hindoos, Mafliomedans, and Parsees alike. Nearly £100,000 has been raised in ;one way or another for purposes connected with the war in spite of the fact that famine and pestilence are making heavy calls upon ; the purses of the charitable in the great dependency. Moreover nearly all the great chiefs have placed their troops at the free disposal of the Government, thus giving the lie direct to the foreign mendacities about discontent and disloyalty in India. There is discontent there, great discontent, Aye know, among the native troops, bu* it arises from the fact that they do not understand why when men are wanted to fight for the Empire they should not be given a show. The Gihurkas for instance want to knowwhy they were not sent out to take care of their brothers, the Highlanders, witih whom they have fraternized m many a bloody field in Afghanistan The Ghurkas are grand little fighters, keen as terriers, artful as monkeys and will do a day's fighting in what the average Tommy would reckon a poor show for breakfast. But we apparently may not employ them or any other of our Indian coloured troops, lest we Offend the tender susceptibilities of our Continental ncignbours. Whnjt difference it can make to the Boers wlhether they are shot or bayoneted by a white man, a black, brown or yellow man, 1 leave others to decide. My own opinion is that if we can safely spare the men from India we ought to take them at their word and give- them a fair show at the front. Some of the India irregular cavalry are simply splendid bodies of men, and the need for horse soldiers in South Africa is great and growing.