AN EXCLUSIVE POLICY.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 12635, 21 December 1903, Page 2

AN EXCLUSIVE POLICY.

The policy of the Labour party, winch has been adopted by the Federal Government, received a very striking illustration from an incident in connection with the recent wreck of the Petriana, The boat was manned by Malays and Chinese, and J[™'ent ashore on the Australian ,cpast. The law prohibits the landing of men of colour, and the Ministry actually refused to stretch a point in view of the emergency of the case. To save their lives the men had been taken on board a tug, Ini.t any sanction to put them ashore that tW plight be cared for like any other slriiwn&kpd nifirincrs was refused. The agents of the ship might act at their own risk and responsibility if they chose. The castaways might be landed and penned somewhere at agents’ expense until opportunity offered for shipping them away again like so much refuse. Not in inch would the authorities budge from that position. there not chanced to be an pulgoing Japanese steamer probably this tng would still be tossing in the offing beyond swimning reach of land unless the captain chose to solve the difficulty by jettisoning his hapless cargo. It is almost impossible to believe that a law passed to,protect the Interests of Australian labour could be construed so harshly. But «uch is the case. “The law is there,” says an Australian coiltemporary, “and it is framed with such narrow, jealous care by the men (who believe-that a continent can bolmade prosperous by surrounding it /with a chevuux de frise that had these unfortunate Malays and Chinese drifted ashore on wreckage no one had/ the right to harbour them. Hud they » pier-

head, ought their fingers to have been unclenched and Ok* men pushed bad: to drown? il is easy to laugh at that picture as a reductio ad absurdnm. and to declare that in an emergency Jhe dictates of humanity override all Labour clique laws. Nevertheless, here was an emergency somewhat less acute, and those charged to administer our Restriction Act positively refused to relax it.” This is the spirit which inspires the Labour legislation of the Commonwealth, and, as we have remarked, we are likely to have more of it now that party has strengthened its position at the polls. Wo need not wopder that the captain of the vessel has ventilated his views with uncompromising frankness. and that the action of (ho Ministry has been pretty freely condemned. It is difficult, indeed, to find any justi hcation for it. If the Government are to manifest a similar spirit in their policy during the next two years their prestige will suffer, not only in I lie eyes of the world, hut also, let us hope, in the eyes of the constituencies.