THE PRICE OF MEAT

Evening Star, Issue 12900, 24 August 1906, Page 4

THE PRICE OF MEAT

A Christchurch message states that owing to the high price of fat cattle the Master Butchers’ Association have decided to raise the retail price of beef as from September 1.

“JOHN.” AX INTERVIEW ABOUT HIM . WITH ONE WHO HAS SEEN HIM. A visitor to Dunedin at present is Captain 0. C. D. D. Dallas, who has recently been i appointed mounted instructor to the New Zealand Government. As secretary to the Foreign Labor Department in-South Africa, he saw the “ inside story ” of the Chinese question, and, speaking to a ‘Star’ representative this morning, lie gave it as ho had seen it, without attempt to twist the facts to suit any political or social theory. It should he mentioned that. Captain Dallas has been fill his life a soldier. He was educated in France, and began his military career as an officer in the “ Forty-twas.” A mounted experience, including a period with the Italian cavalry, followed, and he went through the Boer War, as well as seeing active service on the West Coast of Africa. “ I do not know how the Chinese question has been represented in New Zealand, or what your feeling is towards it. I know that there has been misrepresentation, in England. If you tell me the points which you wish information on I will tell von what I know.” “ Well, first of all,” said the reporter, “ we have a peculiar class of Chinese in New Zealand—-a sort of low-caste Cantonese, who do duty as ‘vegetable Johns.’ These are not fine to look upon, either as to physique or any other way, and New Zealanders, never having seen any others judge all China by them. That, of course’ is not correct. So the question which I want first to be clear upon is: What class of Chinaman were imported into Sonth Africa? Do they include Shan-tung mm, for instance?” “ With the exception of the first ship load, the whole of the imported laborers, which over 60,000, came from North China. Nearly all the recruiting was done there, and the recruits were men of unmistakeably fine physique. In the first two shipments there were some ‘ bad lots,’ morally speaking. It was proved after they arrived that some of them laid taken part in tiie Boxer rising, and these, of course, were not desirable either as employees or neighbors. But, generally speaking, the proportion of bad characters is not greater than one might find among 50,000 men, and when we come to measure up the Chinaman in our imperfect Western way as ‘good’ or ‘ bad ’ we are apt to lose sight of the complex workings of the Chinese mind, and his peculiar notion of the value of human life, aud his peculiar ideas on ethics generally. With the peculiarities of the Chinese character nil the stories of the outrages, murders, and executions are bound up. We. will come to that by-and-byc. “ Taking the question of the Chinese compounds first, it should be understood that before a mino-owner can procure a batch of Chinese laborers he must satisfy certain strict requirements as to accommodation before he receives a single man. Each man must have 000 cubic feet of living room, and all the Chinese quarters are fitted with up-to-date cooking places and large halls in which the meals are served. They have also places of recreation for the holding of Chinese theatricals, and things of that sort, and there are bathrooms, with abundance of water, both hot and cold Also, there is practically no restriction as to liberty. It is true that a general rule prevails which prohibits a Chinaman from going off his mineowner’s property without a permit, but these properties alone are of large area, and a permit can usually he got for the asking. The object of the permit is to have a record of the whereabouts of those who are out on leave. ‘‘As, no doubt, you know, there have been ‘outrages,’ and this, as I remarked before, opens up the whole complexity of Chinese mind and morals. One canse, frequently leading to trouble, is the Chinaman’s inherent love of gambling. When he incurs a gambling debt he is bound in honor to pay it, and if he cannot get the money by fair means he sometimes attempts to do so by foul. Stealing and reprisals follow, and when all other means fail suicide is not an uncommon resort. Almost every case of outrage has been traced to gambling, and the Government are using their best endeavor to put it down. “ The Chinese view-point and onrs are everywhere different. There is their disregard of life, for instance. In China yon can buy a substitute for the' gallows for twenty-five shillings. When I was in Johannesburg I remember a case where four Chinamen were condemned to death for murder. On the night before the execution three of them placed such statements before the Governor that seemed to show that the fourth man had had nothing to do with the murder. The execution was therefore stayed. Inquiry was made, and ultimately the case reopened. It turned out that the fourth man was really innocent. But he had been mixed up in connection with ‘a debt of honor’ owing to the real murderer, and he had allowed the onus of the position to fall on him m order that his creditor might escape detection and get away. That there was anything unusual or extraordinary in the whole affair they could not be got to see. No European .will ever be able to grasp the workings of the Chinese mind. ’ “ Is the risk to life -among Chinese greater than it would be among other collections of foreigners?” I think so. That is because of the traits of Chinese character I have mentioned—because of his disregard of life and his peculiar mind. Under the circumstances it is very little use discussing what is provocation to a Chinaman and what is not. Still, on the whole, they are law-abiding. When all the. conditions and the number of men employed are considered, the wonder is that outrages are so few. ° Apart from cheap labor, is such imported labor desirable?” ~ “ T^ at is th ? cru* of the whole question. Sufficient native labor is not obtainable. White men could not do the work, first because it would involve a loss of prestige, and secondly because the mineowners could not pay him sufficient wages to live. Prestige is a more important matter than outsiders might suppose. But it is well understood in South Africa, where a handful of whites are living among a host of native races. I he outlook just amounts to this • oOO.OGO laborers are needed to work the mines, and if natives were recruited from every likely place south of the Zambesi you could not get more than 200.000—that is, 100,000 short of requirements. Before the Chinaman come a great deal of recruiting was done in Portuguese territory. And still the mineowners haven’t got their complement, or anything like it; and the consequence is that thousands of white men, who were acting as clerks and overseers’ are walking about idle in Johannesburg,’ or were when I left four months ago.” ’ “And how will it end?” “ Well, the Home Government will shortly grant responsible government to the South African States affected, and then they will have to settle the question for themselves. I think they will settle it in favor of the importation of Chinese labor. You see, the dislocation of work in connection with the mines means the dislocation of trade everywhere. When I left, half the tradespeople in Johannesburg, which is the heart of South Africa, were bankrupt, or on the verge of bankruptcy, and very little improvement- in roads, railways, and suchlike could' go on, because tlic revenue necessary to carry it but must come in the first instance from the mines. The feeling ' of the white people generally is that without Chinese labor, or some labor like that, the country must go to the dogs. It might have been possible to have got Italian la-’ bor, and it would have been quite possible to have got Indian coolies, but there would have been this about it: alter their three years’ contract had expired these people would have stayed in the country as ordinary citizens. That would be very undesirable. On the other hand, when the Chinaman’s contract is finished he goes back to China.” “ Is there any other aspect of the question that yon could mention?”—“Yes; I want to emphasise one tiling. In the whole, question there is no tint -which looks like slavery in anyshaps or form. In Johannesburg you can see the- Chinese jynng to-the

circus, walking about ,tbe streets, or riding abont in cabs, and generally doing as white people do. In the early days,before the department was able to superintend the labor properly, permission was given for I slight floggings for breaches of discipline. 1 here was no other means of punishment. No serious flogging ever took place, however. It should also lie mentioned that every Chinaman belongs at least to some secret society. -This, of course, does not tend to simplify the Chinese labor problem.”