PRESS OPINIONS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 91, 10 January 1908, Page 4

PRESS OPINIONS.

THE TROUBLE IN THE TRANSVAAL.,' The -'difficulty which lias arison. in tho Transvaal is assuming a moro acute phase, and it is. difficult to say what may bo the end. The passive resistance of tlie Asiatics •t'o tho law may, if successful' in Jtho Transvaal, spread to their-fellow countrymen in Natal and other self-governing countries of tho Empiro when); they havo settled.' On tho other hand, if the law is enforced in its entirety, it undoubtedly will administer a staggering blow to the theory that all subjects of the Empire arc equal, and perhaps it may-add some very inflammable fuel to jtho..-fire.- of - disaffection which' * is" ali-o'ady ! smouldering -in one very important part of ,the Empiro, namely, India. , As a first step towards regulating .tho. admission of further Asiatic immigrants, or perhaps excluding them' altogether, the Asiatic Law Amendment Ordinance has been-passed. Its "immediate object is to find out who are al-' iready entitled-to reside in . the Transvaal, and it calls upon' every Asiatic to' apply l for a; registration certificate," and on tha form asking.for this" certificate every Asiatic male, over eight years' of age,: must place' his-' finger impression. . The penalty for disobedience is severe—first si lino *-of £100 or three months' imprisonment, then the loss of their licenses, and finally deportation. . '. No fair-minded Britisher, whatever his-views 'on the colour question, fcan read without' a certain amount of repugnance, if not of "shamo, , .tho ■ ; statement -in 'late cable's that among : thoso to be deported ■ under the Act ■ is-a man who :has. -:fought for Great Britain in .-four Indian , campaigns and tha Boer War, .who has. been thrice wounded, and has. many- medals. Moreover, it would seem he conies of a brave-and loyal stock, sinco his father was on Lord Roberts's staff •in the march on Kandahar. On the. other harid, the. desire on the. part of British colonists to preserve the British stock free'from admixture'with the people of another colour, another race, and another religion, albeit subjects of',tho same Empiro, is ! one with which. 1 we must cordially sympathise.- It is no, use pretending that all members of the Empire have equal rights, because that is not the case.'- Wo 'have not coniieded'tot our, Indian fellow subjects tho right.of self-government, and tho best authorities are agroed that we should make a fatal blunder were we to do so. The principle must also bo accepted, wo think, that our Indian .fellow subjects cannot bo, allowed as of right .to. settle; in ally self-governing colony, tho inhabitants of which refuse to xcceivo them. Whilo accepting these fundamental rules, : however, we - think it is'in'cumbent on ' any : self-governing colony which determines' on .resl'rictin'g the immigration of Asiatics Who are also members : of tho Empire, to carry out its object with as little •harshness, and as littlo offonco to Indian sontimcnt as possible. .Wo also think that the Transvaal law might be a good deal improved in this respect. — Christchurch "Press."

OCEAN MAIL SERVICES. While there is nothing authoritative in the information oil the subject which has been• 'received"in New Zealand, it is,to be recognised that' the resumption of tho Oceanic Company's steamer services' botweon San Francisco' and Australasia is 'distinctly probable. •. . Now it must be freely acknowledged that no' service of which wo* havo enjoyed tlio bonefit- lias quite taken the place of the San Francisco servico, silico there is none that has ensured such a speedy delivery as .tho Califorriian lino at its best has provided. Ejtill, duo regard must bo givon to the fact!'that' since tho last contract was entered into by tlie Government with the Oceanic:.' Company .important developments have taken place in regard to the whole quostion of international mail- services .and; of the colonial attitudo to tho subject. It would be difficult to say what; at the present time, )S the precise position of-the "All-Red" route project, ■ but it is clear that if there is any tlefinito.,.prp?pect of 'materialisation,, oven, though .this,, may ■ be in .a .form less .imposing than Sir Joseph' Ward ■ desires,. .it wdnld . bo, a mistake, on the part of' New Zealand to, commit itself to a contract for any but a short term, if at all, with the Oceanic Company., Moreover, whilo the Prime Ministers of Canajtla and of New Zealand have been advocating the, establishment of-'a twentyknot or,; twenty-onorknot service between Vancouver and Sydney, a proposed speed of fifteen or, sixteen knots ,in tlio service be•twceii San' Francisco and ' Australia should not .be regarded as very satisfactory. • ' 'But it is evident that we aro not to oxpect'anytiling more than tliis from the' Oceanic Company. Indeed, we may be fortunato if such a rate of speed as fifteen knots will be devdloped by its steamers. For in tho event of tho service _ being resumed, it will, Ave gather, bo carried 'on by threo vessels as successively ! broke : down last year'; they have been undergoing an overhaul at San' Francisco, and it is apparently assumed, though, unless the overhaul has been of a radical character,, .the assumption may not .bo very justifiable, that they will nqw provo as good; as new. Moreover, there is already a suggestion that tho service will bo .utilised for tlio .purpose of experimenting with oilconsuming furnaces, as the Company believes that a greater speed will bo. attainable in this way than'if'the vessels.'shoukl rely upon coal fires for tho generation of steam. It is quite possible, of course, that an innovation of this kind may turn out to be productive of-entirely favourable results; but wo .should,view the proposal with greater confidence if-: the use of oil engines had been demonstrated .by actual experience to-be practicable for long voyages. Wo hope, therefore, that before! New- Zealand is again bound' to a contract ,with tlie Oceanic Company some reasonable assurances Will be required and given that tho service will be carried out in such a manner as will afford no ground of complaint on the part of colonists. —"Otago Daily Times."

THE FRANCO-BRITISH EXHIBITION. Within four months there will. be opened in London the Franco-British- Exhibition, tho greatest affair of its kind evor'held in Great Britain. The Australian Commonwealth hns secured 50,000 ft. of spaco, and is erecting for its exhibits a building which will cost some £20,000. New South Wales, as tho Moth--cr State, has taken a larger amount of space, 17,000 ft., than any other State, and has set about tho work of advertising its resources in a most- business-liko manner. At the outset a Commission of 20. leading men was set up to act on behalf of tli'o Stato and to seo that it was adequately represented. Tbey included, tho .director, of tho Public Intelligence .department, representatives of the Sydney and Newcastle Chambers of Commerco, tho Chamber of Agriculture, tho Chamber.of Manufactures, tho Stockownors' Association, tho Sheepbreeders' Association, tho Director of Agriculture, the Government Printer, an official from tho Department ofPublic Instruction, the Government Architect, besides several gentlomen nominated by the Government. Tho Commission decided that the object of tho intended display was to promote immigration and to induco tho investment of capital'in manufacturing industries, and the exhibit, .therefore, will he of a utilitarian character, nothing being sent that cannot be produced iii. marketahlo quantities. . . , , From first to last, whilst not losing sight of the necessity of making the Court attractive to tho general public, tho Commission has tried to ensure that it sliall arrest tho attention of the man who is thinking of emigrating, and has not decided where ho shall try his fortuno. Tho points that, aro of particular interest to New Zealand aro that tho collection of tho New South Wales Exhibits has been entrusted to a representative Commission—a course which we urged tho Government to adopt months ago—and that tho exhibits aro already being despatched to London as fast as they come in. At the risk of monotony, jvc must aslt once more what steps tho New Zealand Government is taking to ensure that the Dominion shall be adequately represented at the great international gathering.—Christchurch "Press."