Britain's Colour Problem AN EXAMINATION OF FEARS AND PREJUDICE

Press, Volume XCVI, Issue 28362, 22 August 1957, Page 12

Britain's Colour Problem AN EXAMINATION OF FEARS AND PREJUDICE

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AIDAN CRAWLEY

in the "Sunday Times")

icy AUJAH UnAHUOI »r» „ a (Reprinted by Arrangement)

London, August 4.—The con-I troversy over coloured immigration into Britain is coming to a head. The resolution passed by the largest trade union in the country. < the Transport and General Work- : ers, at their conference last* month, : is before the T.U.C. at this i moment. It calls on the Govern- ' ment to “safeguard the position 1 of the people of this country with ’ reference to their employment ’ and standard of living” by im- 1 posing ’’a strict and orderly con- : trol oh the import of labour.” i And although the union has : reiterated its abhorrence of the ’ idea of a- colour bar, it is openly admitted that the resolution has < been prompted by the influx of I coloured, and particularly West Indian labour. Whatever action the T.ILC. may 1 take on the resolution, the facts ' leading up to it are contradictory ; and disturbing. For example, the ' transport company of one of our ’ largest cities, Bristol, has recently : refused to accept coloured work- 1 ers, largely at the instigation of the local T. and G.W. branch, whereas in Sheffield, and other i large- cities where in spite of the ] initial opposition of the union, j coloured workers have been < taken on, they have been a sue- i cess and their numbers are in- 1 creasing. 1 The behaviour of private em- ] ployers varies no less. Some take i infinite pains to give coloured i workers a chance. Others, on i different pretexts, refuse to em- J ploy them at all. 1 Unless as a people we make up our mind whether we are prepared i to accept a permanent and < increasing coloured population in ’ this country and establish a uni- ’ form pattern of behaviour towards 1 it we shall find ourselves in a ’ dispute which might bedevil re- < lat ions throughout the Common- 1 wealth and even prevent its fur- ! ther peaceful evolution. 1 Numbers Still Small ] Let me first try to put the j problem in perspective. There is • no check on the entry of British . subjects into this country and it ’ is therefore impossible to say at | any given moment how many im- j migrants from the Commonwealth there are. The Board of< Trade < makes estimates, based on ships’ j manifests; but the majority of , West Indian immigrants are now i believed to be coming from the . Continent, having travelled in Italian and other Continental ships ; returning from South America < direct to Eurone. And of them there is no trace when they cross the Channet All figures therefore are guesswork. At the moment reasonable ; guesses seem to be that, apart I from students, there are rather i more than 3000 Ceylonese, about 75,000 Indians, 7000 to 8000 Pakistanis, and between 80,000 and 85,000 West Indians living and working in Britain; No official authority would guess at the number of West Africans, but jt is unlikely to be large. L The first fact to grasp, there- ( fore, about the immigration of < coloured as opposed to other British subjects into Britain is that it is still on a comparatively small scale. And the rate at which immigrants from the colonies are arriving has dropped considerably this year. Since 1953 the greatest increase has come from the West Indies, and in particular from Jamaica; but from January to July, 1957, only about 6000 West Indians have arrived, and although the numbers have increased in the summer months it seems unlikely that more than 15,000 will come this year as against nearly 30,000 last year. No Discrimination Why, then, is there any problem? As far as employment is concerned, if immigrants continue to arrive at their present rate, there seems little doubt that they can be absorbed. During the recession last winter it was feared that a high proportion of those thrown out of work would be coloured; for many had been given work on the understanding that if redundancy occurred they would be the first to go. But it did not work out that way. In Birmingham, where some 17,000 people were out of work last December, littje more than a thousand were coloured; in London, out of a larger coloured population, the numbers of unemployed among them never rose far above 3000. In practice, coloured workers were treated like everybody else. Since then the position - has greatly improved. The unemployment statistics of the Ministry of Labour make no distinction between those who are coloured and who are not, but at the moment it is believed that all but a few hundred coloured immigrants are in work; and of those out of work the majority are women who in most cases are supported. How far, then, can fears of redundancy and of a threat to our standard of living expressed by both employers and employed be taken seriously? Certainly immigrants from some parts of the Commonwealth have different

from ours, but they are paid union rates and there is no evidence that as a group they work longer hours. It is said that in private sgme trade unionists are accusing the Government of bringing in coloured labour to force unemployment among our own workers and so reduce the pressure for higher wages; but this does not bear examination. Since 1945 we have already absorbed well over half a million Europeans who were displaced by the war, and even now we are finding homes and work for Hungarians without great difficulty. There are not only many more jobs than people to fill them, but there are vast and necessary projects, such as the thorough rebuilding of our roads, which are never likely to be undertaken unless labour is imported on a scale far greater than hitherto. _Colour Prejudice Not New

The more one studies the problem the more one is forced to the conclusion that the agitation which has arisen over colonial immigrants is really due to their colour. Now there is nothing new about colour prejudice in Britain. Anyone who has been connected with the Colonial Office knows that it ha- always existed: and organisations like the British Council and the universities have been doing their best to mitigate it for years. But until recently it has arisen only in connexion

I with students, and few people outside academic or Government circles have been aware of it Within the last five years, how. ever, noticeable coloured com. munities have appeared for the first time in at least. 20 of our major cities, and thousands- of citizens who had previously thought of the colour question only in connexion with Africa or the United States have suddenly found it on their doorstep. The result has been that both pre* judice and conscience have been stirred, often in the same breast, and controversy has raged. And of course it is right that controversy should rage. The principle of the equality of man before God is so fundamental; both to the Christian faith and to the ideals of modern democracy that when people become aware of some new application or infringement of it they are disturbed. Some rebel, others defend their faith. But the debate is not academic. “Here to Stay** We have got to face the fact that the majority of those who have arrived are here to stay for some years. No doubt many are disappointed with what they have found here, and, when asked, say they would like to return home; but the difference between expressing such an opinion and carrying it out is very great. Almost all the immigrants are eam r ing good mqney and sending steady contributions to their families. In 1955 alone more than' £2.000,000 in postal orders waa v sent back from this country to. Jamaica; and more undoubtedly! went through the banks in money orders and cheques, especially tojthe large cities. From claims 1 ’ which are being lodged for in-come-tax relief it would appear that on an average between £1 a' I £2 a week a head of immigrants is being sent through the post, and as two or more immigrants usually belong to the same family their 'dependants in the West Indies may be receiving anything from £5 to £8 a week. This is far more than would ever, be left over from spasmodic earnings in their own country. Assuming that the present satisfactory level of employment continues, it is reasonable to suppose that immigration will in- ; * crease again Tiext year. Should r such an increase be permitted? None of the old Dominions allows unlimited immigration even from the countries within the Commonwealth; should Great Britain harmonise its laws witfa theirs? And if the immigration laws are not changed is any legislation necessary in this country to help a growing coloured community fit into our way of lift? Personal Items VICE-REGAL An announcement from Govern- : ment House reports that the Governor - General - designate (Viscount Cobham) and Lady Cobham will pay their first official visit to Christchurch on September 16. They will arrive at the Royal New Zealand AL- Force Station, Wigram, about 1 p.m. that day. A civic reception will be held that evening, and on the Tuesday morning they will be taken by the Mayor (Mr R. M. Macfarlane, MJ’.) and Mrs Macfarlane on a drive to place* of interest in and around Christ- , church. Their Excellencies will fly to Dunedin on the afternoon of , Tuesday, September 17.

Mr W. D. Murie has been elected to the council of the Canterbury Progress League in place of Mr Roger Doig who has had to resign because of other commitments. Mr Murie will represent the league on the cpmmittee being formed by the Canterbury. Chamber of Commerce to examine industrial development. Captain R. Murphy is to succeed Captain A. G. Christie as harbourmaster and pilot at Nelson. Captain Christie, who is expected to retire soon, has served the Nelson Harbour Board for 22 years. Captain Murphy joined the staff more than two years ago as master of the dredge, Tasman Bay.— (PA.)