THE YELLOW PERIL.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1667, 10 February 1904, Page 23

THE YELLOW PERIL.

THE' WORKING OF THE -RAND ti* ' 39a <£ ' )• /'< ■r'.\ Dft6 ,'-r - . ri'iOV ?»' PROTESTS AGAINST' ivSbiii'TTf' CHIiNE&E. 1 .../.; v fsrtt —;— On '>S&ihtf&Sy afternoon an open-air public meeting or Wellington citizens was held at the -band rotunda, Jennos ■quay, to protest against the proposed introduction af Chinese labour to South Africa for the working -of the ■ Rand mines. There were about four hundred people present, including a number of leading citizens. The Major {Mr J. G. W. ' Aitken, .MJELR.) presided. He was accompanied on the platform by the Premier, Sir J. G. Ward (Minister for Railways); the Hon Janies McGowan for Justice), the Eon T. KMaodonald,v.M.li.G., Messrs W. Naugrn; ton, president of the Trades’ Council, A*.-'. .H. Cooper-secretary, and others. : .-.i: .Letters of apology for non-attendance ■were received from the'' Chief Justice, the Hoas J. RiggmndT. W. Hisiop, Mr W. H. Fieldf M.H.R>; and Dr Wallace iMjaekerizie. 'The Chief Justice wrote -to the secretary of' theVTrades’ Council as follows.:— * : Dear Sir, -*-T have to thank your association for their kind invitation to attend the public meeting called' to' consider the introduction of Chinese labour intoxthe "Transvaal. I regret, for reasons I heed hot' Specify, but which - are well-known to the citizens, that I decline at. present to attend any public or social functions. I deeply sympathise with yoii in your protest. It appears to me that what is sought to be done is to introduce a kind of slave labour into h British ‘ possession. It hiniglLt have befiii •bho.ug’tit xlia-t the di--sastrous' results that have followed the. introduction of Negro slavery into North America would have for ever prevented a similar' experiment in any British 'territory. The same arguments that wore used for introducing Negro labour from Africa into America are repeated to-day as an -excuse for introducing <Ohine«e .slave labour into South Africa. Tho 'Chinese are not to be free men when ...they are employed on the Rand mines. .-Further, the grave problems that ever /arise when - different races of apen, with different civiAsatiohs, are(brought together are not to be lightly passed over. . The Negro problem in tho United States of Amen- ; ca gives 'the ablest citizens there much ' .and .its solution has not ye ». been found. And there is a problem on a smaller .scale in Natal and Cape Colony, regarding Coolie immigration. If it is true, that the Hand mines cannot bo worked by free white labour, it woiiid .be, better to shut them down than introduce 'slavery into the Transvaal. Ther-e is-something of more importance jfc© be considered than the production of ®»ld or the interests of the foreign capitalists. .who mainly own the mines. I may be pardoned if in this crisis I point out that -the British people and other .Western people have not. in the pa&t the Chinese people justly . Opium * -.was forced on them, and there has been meddling with the internal policy of the Chinese nation that cannot be justified. The Shocking brutalities committod on Chinese non-combatants by men ©f. tho allied armies in the recent war deserve the utmost reprobation. Unless China is left alone, we may see her peaceable.,, .industrious and frugal peasants made ihto soldiers and dispersed wer the face of the earth. And if that is brought about, the well-being of the white races will, I believe, be menaced." I have the' honour to be, Sir, your dbedient '.servant, Robert Stout, Chief The Mayor, in opening the proceedings. exhjaiinecl that when asked to eoin- . the meeting he readily consented. •Certain resolutions would be submitted • to them ih conuection with the prointroduction of Chinese labour to the Transvaal. /THE HON T. K. MACDONALD. The Hon T. Kennedy Macdonald proposed the first resolution That this v mass meeting ofcdtlizens of Wellington, having had -personal experience of the. 'dangers of Chinese competition and residence in a white community, d&" lolarea its strongest condemnation of the proposal to employ Chinese in theTransvaal mines, which it regards aariaus!Ww„at the best inter©3ts d ’ of the British'-JSinpire and humanity .rffifiole, calculated to alienate"’W. the self-governing »ifiß isliah®! : Anoitiheo*. racial . predipitaited for .the possession of South' (Africa. Further,, this meeting also ex-' ' -xirßSS es its hjeaity etinptthy with _ those -bicseye shell in. South . Africa who, in the ho ®aye the IJmpire from Übe threatened mtas'tippke ; ,apd we l anaCtfully urge on the Inipenal Gov-; Sient that, ais jr^^tiy 0 ttoXare not been. <sQnoeded - to, aqtionton the dire^j wi!thou&e . sancttpn 1 pie of through the.b^at-; ,h» ? the same to .the JBeDPehany of State for the Ooionlee. o®; iiehalf of the edtizena of •'

He /said be was almost jsorry in -*a sense ? that; the meeting had been '‘called so ; hurriedly, and that a greater''opportu- ; uity had not been given' t-o the publ i c to übderistand this question. He was not 'at all sure that the people of ;ton were in favour of open-air meetings. ■ -He thought they preferred to sit down •quietly in some sucli place its the Opera .House; but the .attendance was a .proof “that they took an interest in this question, and that it was one which deserved at their handls a very serious protest It was argued that we had no right to interfere in the affairs of another -State. At first sight that looked a very sound argument, but it would not bear analysis. The interests of the Empire were common to each of its units and whatever affected any part affected the Empire .as a whole. Hence the people of New Zealand must be deepiv interested in any policy which had for its object legislation affecting the citizeiiiship of any part-vof the Em- ' ppre. .To-day we were fao© -.tpdace .With, tiio fact that after the great; sacrifices , the Empii'e had made in . reference to ’ Siq'u th Africa, there was an... prganiised attempt to dump down half a millien Chinese in the Transvaal. What had the British people sacrificed their blood and treasure for? These sacrifices were made for the political and municipal freedom of the British people in South Africa, and-as the Bishop of Bloemfontein had pointed out “ because it was necessary to provide an open arena for the activities, cf free and .intelligent citizens.” (Applause.) It was the right of the people of this country to speak on -the question, because they had made great sacrifices in connection with the South African struggle. The lonely graves of our New Zealand sons on the veldt and kopjes of Africa epolce trumpet-tongUiOd as to the necessity for our speaking on the question. "They had

LAID DOWN THEIR LIVES in the-cause of that freedom which wais required; and no one could have dreamt in the beginning of the. war that the effect ivas to he to allow in hordes of CMnamen and alien races. One could have understood a proposal to bring into South Africa .civilised people who had a sense of good government, but were .the Chinese indicated in the new ordinance passed by the Legislative Council of Pretoria the pick of Olitma ? Everybody knew that they were the seuin of the seaports of China —the worst that could be produced. We know from experience tiiat. the Chinaman never assimilates with the European. We knew that it was impossible for him to become a citizen, as we understbed it, and that he .was practically of no good to the community. It was true that , he was industrious, and put his money together, but as soon as he had enough he returned to China. The dream of the great Rhodes,- who of all others made .South Africa what it was, was-that It should be a great possession of the British Empire. He was desirous cf painting it red. that overy part cf it should be the home of the British race and that the surplus population of Great Britain should find there”' that wider arena for their energies that would make it one of the greatest possessions of the British Crowd, ;’He never dreamt that one of the first/things the Legislative Council would do 1 after the war would be to inundate the’ country with Chinese. Why was it being done ? They -oonld see now more clearly than three or four years ago that Ti was being brought about by the great capitalists connected with the Rand mines, men .who were practically foreigners, the great bulk of "whom had not a drop of British, blood in their veins, and who had no sympathies with British interests. For the -past ten or fifteenyears the sole aim of these men had been to capitalise the mines—to- create millions of capital and get millions from the people of Europe. , That position was now quite clear. These men wanted cheap labour; they cared nothing for creating a home for the British people, or for seeing that a true democracy occupied South Africa.. All they cared for was that their mines should be work.ed for half the cost that they ought to be worked for. The motive underlying all this business was self-interest and greed, and not a motive that made for the welfare of ‘humanity and for the British people. He h(>ped: w .lihe resolutibn be had moved woul^ 1 °gp 9 -forward from the people of ' and i thaifc it would be fbllow^T^y 5 similar -resolutions from the other ; great centres xff'the colony. Through tlip ,l Fremior we itid voiced ouir opinion, on the subject, 5 and it behoved ns to show that the Premier, in speaking and protesting as he had done, had at his back the united voice of the people of the colony. (Applause.) - MR W. NAHGHTDN. Mr Naught on, in seconding the resolution, said we had no idea when troops were being sent to South Africa that when,the battle was fought, and won, •the Europeans who had fought were to be robbed of an opportunity to~ work, arid that -Chinamen were brought ',in. We sent troiops there,. 41s ;he saw .stated .in n paper the other for the fipurpose of painting Sofithc-rAfrica red, aiid now the rmliionaireis to paint/ .it iZaaland had # tight to antewerq, be-! ;

cau®9 they took part in the coruiuest of the countiy, and if there was any objection to be made to their interference, it should have been made' 'then. (Applause.) Wo tapinioh that we were wiping in South Africa, and that we were simply fighting’ fßh l inil , lionaires. These men were all Jews,- who had no sympathy wiith Biritrfh aspirations. It was necessary, right and proper in the interests of the future of South Africa that it should be peopled by British. (Applause.) THE PREMIER. t - The Premier, who. on rising to support the resolution, was received with loud applause, reminded the meeting that on that- spot in the past they had taken part in sending away the brightest and noblest of their sons, and well had they done thelir duty. (Applause.) Was it ever contemplated for a uiament that they ishouldtiftbet again, as' that day, to protest/ . a kgainst hordes of Asiatics being’ sehtHnto South Africa to work the mines tirafe, axid to take.- the plaoo ; of people or out own race and blood? No on o' could possibly have oontemplated tiiat- such a desecration of the graves of our fallen braves would take p/ace. We did not send our sons to fight for the Rand mine-owners in order that they might be able to make 50 par cent., profit instead cf the 25 per cent, they were able to make with white labour. Beyond that there was a much graver question—there was the question as to whether or not this insult -should be heaped upon, our flag', whether the British escutcheon should ba soiled in the manner that was contemplated. All honour to the brave enemies who had fought against us, and fought well under grave difficulties. (Hoar, hear.) Wo recognised in them a sturdy foe, and now the British Government was breaking faith with the 80-el's. In his -opinion if Lord Kitchener or Lord Milner had endeavoured to put a condition in the agreement made with the Boers .that Chinese were to- be admitted to work the Rand mines, the 80-ers would have fought until there was not a man left. (Applause.) This was an Imperial -question, .and there was no use in the British Government attempting to shirk its responsibility. The present Government of the Transvaal sunpl-y consisted of nominees of the British Government, and there was no doubt whatever, and he regretted to have to -say it, that there seemed to have been a recognition of the Rand mine-owners and’ capitalists in that nomination, and that the people generally and men who would have represented the people, had been excluded from the Legislative Council of the Transvaal. When, therefore, we found as a result that this Council was going to perpetrate this great wrong upon the people of the Transvaal, of Stoufh Africa and of the Empire, we were within our rights in assembling together and asserting pur liberties and freedom of .speech, and protesting against it. What had caused the trouble in South Africa? The Uitlanders principally—the very men who were now about to commit -this wrong. They had

CRIED ALOUD FOR. FREEDOM . of speech, and had claimed that their liberties were taken away from them, ,and tlie ultimatum of the British Government was freedom of speech and representation or the terrible alternative. The result was the war; and there lay in South African ground to-day over 100,000 corpses Briton and Boer; £250,000,000 of money had been spent: and tlio physique and health of over half a miLlion of our fellow-oountry-men’s flesh and blood impaired. And as a result of all tins sacrifice of blood and treasure to give freedom to the Uitlander. it was now to be taken away, and South Africa was to be left to the ■Rand mine-owner., the Boer and the Chinaman. That would be the result if the iniquity proposed was to be permitted. He felt that there qhould! he time given, and that this measure should be considered in all its bearings. Was he as a Britisher to believe that this grant was to be given so a® to enable the - mine-owners to pay the £10,000,000 they promised to 1 the British Government or its representative in South Africa? and that the mineowners had threatened to withhold the money unless tliq. Chinese were allowed in ? If not, wkafc was the reason for thjis haste? the mines kept closed? He believed that the mineowner® .had threatened 1 to reconsider their promise regarding the £10,000,000 unless the Chinese were admitted. There was a veiled threat, and seeing, that shortly afterwards there were others, it could be clearly deducted that there was interference with the rights of the people. If such were the case, lie regretted very much that the principle of the freedom of the people should be given away for pelf in the shape of the redemption money to> bo paid by the mine-owners. He voiced the feeling of this colony when he said that if such w6re. at; the bottom of the we ‘rather subscribe our 'share of the iflqney.;kind allow the people of the to settle thti-r affair® in respetjt 'ho . this, questipn. The populists were ! ;§s|i}hg fpr.a referendum, it flight,'lie. asked, that the Boers, .should be-, on. this., ques- , tifin ? ((No.) He said they were denied, • . . ' - ' 'V ..

because of £the manner in ; which : they were represented .on the Legislative Council at the present time. The pro-, posal was -being forced upon, them, and, with >,aU their (-faults, it -stood -put in’j™ bold relief . that .tho Boem as a race had kept • thentselkes pure. The speaker .alluded to -the introduction of coolies to Natal, and the early troubles between the Bnitish " Government a.nd the Breens an the subject of shiveiy, and pointed : out that a Gtowii colony w.as now about to have SLAVERY AGAIN INTRODUCED to Bouth Africa without any objection by the British Government. The con- ' ditions under which the Chinese were to be introduced by the mine-owners simply amounted to veiled slavery. We were told that the Chinese were to bo kept within a circumscribed limit, . that they were not to be allowed beyond the compound, etc. He pointed out the troubles tiiat had arisen in regard to Kanakas in Ausfcra- i( lia, and said our flag would be insulted if we ejnsented to have .Chinese in South Africa under the conditions described, in- order that the mine-owners might make a few pounds more. He; had no sympathy with people who wept and howled, and went on their knees to pledge every help before the war, and when we gave them all they asked • for. insulted us and -our dead by-such a proposal. The bereaved ones in our country, who had taken honour and glory in the work done by our braves-, would feel that the honour aud glory were gone when they recognised that the great sacrifice had been made so that the mine-owners should .have more .money.; and their anguish would become all the keeuer. The mine-owners bad broken faith with Jameson —'there was an .object lesson there—and they had brokon faith with Mr -Chamberlain, because he put the question very pointedly to them when he visited” South Africa. They then protested and said no, that it was untrue. There was a breach of Ruth again there. The time wag for- us to speak out now, and with uo uncertain sound, and to say that if the same thing were to occur again, we would do as we had done—Empire, country, race, freedom and justice demanded it—hut whilst we said that, at the same time we claimed that we _ were entitled to our say on this quesftion; and whilst we could not ‘have the matter referred to us, at the same time if it was, he did not think one per cent-, of our inhabitants would countenance the . proposal. (Applause.) We were within our rights 111 speaking, and our voice should he listened to. The press had ably taken this matter up. It was fighting for the liberties of the people here and in the Transvaal and South Africa. But there was a terrible power against both press and people, and it was only by standing film and by giving

GOOD AND COGENT REASONS that we must hope for some relief against the uniquity contemplated. Referring to the statement recently made by Sir J. P. Fitzpatrick that 100,000 people would have to dear o.ut unless the Chinese were adfliitted, the speaker expressed regret that a Fitzpatrick should ever have lent himself to such a statement. Speaking with a due sense cf responsibility and with a lifetime's experience of gold mining, it appeared to him as though the mineowners liad deliberately closed down the mines and were trying to starve our kindred in South Africa into submission. (Applause.) Our kindred there had withstood war, famine and pestilence, and, if he knew the race to which they belonged, would withstand this also, and stop it if possible. Had the consequences of introducing Chinese been gauged by those people who advocated them? He opined not. It meant blocking self-government in the Transvaal. Once they had a Grown colony, and the Chinese there, and a government that suited the mine-owners, the mine-owners would not want to have the Transvaal anything but aj Crown colony. That meant that our own race and those of our own colour, the Boers, would be slaves to these people, and would be denied self-govern-ment. They were denied it to-day ; their liberties were taken from them; and they were in the same position as the Uitlanders when the Boers were the rulers. They were not crying out foir war as the Uitlanders did, but were cognising;.mjr laws, .and obeying cup constitutin'. They were holding mass meeting%(isuch had been held at Pretoria and^lSapetown; and almost unanimously . ..resolutions were being passed such as thfttijneeting would be asked to pass, and .Tall-that in spite of every lnfluenice that money and power could bring to bear against them. As the meeting was aware, the New Zealand Government had protested to the Transvaal Government direct, and to the Imperial Government, and that the protest was to be sent to Lord Milner and tine Governor of the Transvaal, They had had the reply of ; Mr Lyttelton, Secretary of State for the-Colonies, and he had told the. New Zealand Government that it: Imperial question. . Wol%ho (tliOr !gye.£tiier) could scarcely believe his he read it. It was cbov gnperial..question yvihen tlie not :to have a ofvtho.. Transvaal,'' apfl now own flesh, add blood ; Ttiestion j/postpened'; jmd referred to the people, ,we were toldlit

was not an question. Until self-government was given to the the only thing to do was to have tihe matter referred to thet people 'by referendum. Let Britorf dnd- Boer express their opinion on the question, and we would be satisfied -with the result. If the Chinese were allowed in, Cape Colony would not federat'd with < the Transvaal, with its teeming Chinese population, and there was' V v AN END TO THE IDEA

of a federated South Africa-. The educational test which existed in New Zealand to-day was first pased by theNatal Government, and lie had despatches from the Imperial Govern- - ment in which it suggested the adoption of the Natal Act. The Imperial Government saitd: “Stop Asiatics coming in,”, and then told them it had nothing ,to do with the Chinese coining into. Sohith Africa. He thought if Mr Lyt- " \ teiton and Lord Milner and Sir Arthur ? Lawley and some of the Transvaal Legislative Council took a trip to New Zealand, rubbed shoulders and met men, v as we did, there would be an end of il the wrong which, was contemplated. Speaking with nearly forty" years’ experience, practical and theoretical, of mining, workj bo held that the Chinese would he a failure for underground work. Any old miner would tell them that a Chinaman was a nervous man under ground, that he would not stand the work and would never i pay. If he were a failure, then what did it mean ? : The had brought him to the country and had to keep him there for a number of years. He would he allowed out of the compound and allow- : ed to go about the country. What that " meant all of them who had been to Little Bourke street in Melbourne, to , a Chinese camp in the goldfields, or to Chinatown in San Francisco, could appreciate. God forbid that-they should - have that trouble. He asked them as free men to look into the ; question intelligently, and they should' come to the conclusion that from every standpoint, from that of race, government, liberty Y and justice, this evil should he resisted. He, hoped the matter would be taken up in various parts of the colony. Sir Wilfrid Laurier, the Canadian Premier, had said, in regard to the Japanese, that it was an Imperial question, yet his Government declined to take any action in regard to the Chinese. He oculd not understand such glaring inconsistency. Although Canada had taken up a negative position, on this question, yet we could rest assured that the Canadian parents whose sons fell in the late war would consider their graves desecrated if the Chinamen were to be brought in there.'The Australian Commonwealth had joined with New . Zealand in the protest with no uncertain sound, as was consistent with the Commonwealth pdlicy of a white Australia." British Columbia was also with : v jus. as well as Cape Colony. It, tliere- > fore, meant that four self-governing States were protesting against the evil, and the groundwork on which they ■ stood was sound from every point of view. \ In New Zealand there was a poll-tax. of £IOO levied on Chinamen, and he believer! if he were to propose to exclude them altogether, the people ■ 0-f ■ '

THE COLONY WOULD SUPPORT HIM

in doing it. (Applause). Was it consistent for the British Government to sanction our law; and yet to silently allow a law to pass which meant that for every Chinaman introduced into South Africa twenty of our own flesh and blood were to he driven from it? If the people there said they were satisfied, we must submit in silence, although we might feel that, a great wrong had been done to the Empire. As sure as he w.*i there, trouble would again occur in South Africa. The Boer would not tamely submit, particularly when he was insulted by the Chinese there.' The British Government was

breaking faith with us after special in-

ducements being offered to our con- . tingents to settle'there. After having got them there now, the British Government was agreeable to the introduction of the? Chinese, which must have the effect of driving away those colonials who.had gone to settle there. l SGr Henry Campbell-Bannerman had :;v£ admitted that there were odnillions of Tour kindred at Home who-, were on the .. verge of starvation. Whyn could they not have been taken to South Africa,, given their liberty there, hnd an. opportunity of-making an honest; living. Why, it was almost an insult to bur race to shy that they ©Wild not do mining as well as Chinamen; . He would nnflertake ' 'to say that any one of these people — from England, Iceland, Scotlan|d or • Wales—would do a 9 much work in underground mining as three ".Chinamen., ■(Applause.) We were working reefs Here and making diem pay with a lesser yield than v>he Rand mines. To say that they: could not be worked ’. without Chinese labour w.as absolutely unfounded. The speaker concluded: “It w i9 trying/^‘.give power t.qr aoselect few in South Africa., and from the that, which, has New Zeavjand. what it .is to-day. Stand;as men; hfe&'-'toua 5. pass this resoluti<Jiiy\ and stop from com jpg ato the. . .. Band.’ . (Loud applause.) *■ -s'* v-.‘ •

OTHER SPEAKERS. Mr A. H. MoTavish, late of the Audiit Branch of the Repatriatioin Department iat Pretoria; * wba had resided for some years l in ll Sfinth Africa, delivered an addreias 'dn working of the Rand mines and iC ftH©' conditions obtaining there. He"stitte'd he had! followed the question attended several meetings, and discussed the matter with people very largely interested in it on both sides- and he could assure those present that the people of South Africa as a body were absolutely, and without exception, against the importation of Chinese. If the capitalists persisted in their project, they would place not only , South Africa, but the whole British. Empire, in a very awkward! dilemma. He explained that the Bond in South Africa was very strong, and it had taken this question up and threshed it out. The Bond -was dead against this importation. Its ambition wais a free republic; from the Zambezi to Capetown, and 'tf the Chinese were imported, the B oriel could make thing® very unpleasant, and perhaps undo all the work we had done there. There were more men to be obtained in the Transvaal ait the present time than for many years previously for the working of the mines. The question of introducing Asiatics was never mooted until after Mr Chamberlain’s tour, which .struck him as very peculiar. (Applause.) The resolution was put. to the meeting, and carried with acclamation. Mr P. J. O’Regau proposed:—“That this. meeting expretsises its warm appreciation of the conduct of the Right Hon R. J. Seddon, Premier, for the prompt and imoompminrs'ing attitude of opposition he has shown to the proposed introduction of Asiatic labour into the Transvaal; and, further, this meeting urges him to persevere at all costs in liiis opposition to a. proposal which, if given effect to, means the introduction of slavery under- the British iflag and fch)9 possible disruption of the Empire. That this meeting hereby records its hearty approval of the attitude of the Wellington pres®, ’in connection with the proposal/ to employ Asiatics in the Transvaal manes, and expresses particular appreeraition of the conduct of _ the ‘Evening Post’ in this connection.” In doing so, he expressed his concurrence with all that had been said by the previous speakers, and characterised the proposed Chinese con tract labour as only another name for slavery. In 1772 Lard Chief Justice Mansfield decided that directly a slave touched British territory he became a free man. Now, in a Country where only a few month® ago we were asked to believe we were fighting for liberty for a white race and fair play for a coloured race, it was proposed tve should establish this system of slavery. We all owed a debt cf appreciation to the Premier for the attitude he had taken on the question. (Applause.) He did not wish to draw invidious cfetinorions, but he invited them to compare the tone of the Australian Premier with the' emphatic, uncompromising stand taken by the Premier of New Zealand. (Applause.) They should sink all minor differences on an occasion of this kind, and give the right bon gentleman the sympathy and encouragement he deserved.. They should also express their appreciation of the (attitude of both the Wellington papers on the question. The people of New Zealand said—“ Trail the British flag 'in the mire of Oriental heathendom, if you will, but we will have no part in it.” (Applause.) Tiite proposal was a disgrace to our common Christianity and an outrage on civilisation; and if he were in South Africa and constitutional means faliled, he would mot hesitate to remind them of Ballarat and the Eureka stockade. (Applause.) Mr W. H. Hampton seconded the resolution. He said they would he justified in calling on the Premier to adopt other measures in lending aid to the people of the Transvaal to get the_ franchise for which they fought two years ago. It s was for the colony to say to the Imperial if constitutional protests were not effective, that wo were prepared to adopt other means. (Hear, bear, and dissent.) It would mean a United - State® in South Africa and this colony refusing to how to a flag that lent itself to such tilings. (Dissent.) *, - - The resolution was panted with acclamation. VOTES OF THANKS.

Mr Naughton moved a vote of thanks to the Mayor for calling the meeting. The vote was oamed with applause. The Premier said lie should be wanting in h:is duty in the responsible position he held if he allowed Mr Hampton’s remarks to go unchallenged. He regretted that Mr Hampton' should have used words and threat© that would never be countenanced) in New Zealand. (Applause.) Within constitutional lines we were within our rights, and we must look to those who had to deaf with those important questions to deal with them from the: same standpoint-. He was sure that reason' 'trii'likl ever 1 prevail, while force, or force, must fail. He concluded by: Wing for three cheers for the preipit‘,.of Wellington, which had done its duty so well. (Applause.) ' . . " ' ■ T V- - - . ■ The cheers were heartily given, an well as three more for the press of the

colony, il for the Premier and for the Mayor. 'j

LONDON, February 5. In th'e House of Commons, Mr Lyttelton, 'Colonial Secretary, stated that owing to the urgency of the mjatter, the Government would he unable' to postpone a decision of introducing Chinese into the Transvaal beyond the 'termination of the present debate of the Address-in-Reply The addresses and evidence, he added, showed that tho introduction of Asiatics was in accordance with the wishes of the people. The Government would not agree to a referendum.