CHOICE OF YELLOW LABOR.

Evening Star, Issue 12164, 7 April 1904, Page 4

CHOICE OF YELLOW LABOR.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir,—The experiment of using yellow labor in developing the Transvaal mines will be watched with keen interest. In ' Punch ' (London, January- 28, 1903) we have a scene from "The Merchant of Venice,' wherein Portia (South Africa), referring to three carkets marked white labor, black labor, and yellow labor, addresses Bessanio (Right Hon. J. Chamberlain) : " I pray you, tarry ; pause a day or two before you hazard, for in choosing wrong I lose your company." Now, it is proposed that'so,ooo Asiatics shall be employed in the Transvaal as the result of Imperial legislation. The Kaffirs were getting 30s a month at the mines, and the wages were increased, but in February of last year the unskilled men were to be reduced to Is per shift. This will be handsome remuneration to the Chinese, who were said to be tatirfied with three halfpence daily in their own country. Including 15,000 Government employees, there were 80,000 male white adults In the Transvaal when the petition in favor of importing Asiatic unskilled labor to South Africa was prepared. It was signed by 45,100. Ot these 28,000 resided in the Transvaal ana district, 7,000 were employed in the mines, and 10,100 were' residents in the country districts, and included a large number of Dutch. Most of the Kaffirs are independent, or rich, and avoid work in the mines, and Lord Milner proposes to employ foreign labor temporarily.—l ;;m, etc, W. A. W. Wathen. April 7.