THE TRANSVAAL.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 13893, 3 May 1907, Page 5

THE TRANSVAAL.

CHINESE LABOUR QUESTION. Proas Association—By Telegraph—Copyright. LONDON, May 1. The Johannesburg correspondent of The Times says that Mr Smuts (the Transvaal Colonial .Secretary) is earnestly attempting to understand the difficulties of the mining industry, hut the Imperial Government is still pressing the Transvaal to procure the immediate repatriation of the Chinese. PRETORIA, May 1. The directors of the Kleiiifontein and Van Ityn deep gold niinesg on the Hand, have decided to closo down. Their funds are nearly exhausted, and they are unable at present to raisa the large sums requited to develop the mines.

Tic following interesting article by ''Saham'.' on "The Ethics of Chinese, Labour" recently appeared in The St. Swithin's Gazette: — A Jaige number of intelligent people may still be found in the lirilish Isles who believe the conditions of Chinese labour in tho Transvaal arc such as to justify the application to it of the. word "slavery." Much a belief is proof of cither an absolute ignorance of the subject or a total inability to appreciate facls. The Chinese are well treated and have, within limits, a large measure of liberty. Prom the point of view of the moral well-being of Ihe Transvaal it must be admitted iliat the conditions of labour do not. partake enough of the form of slavery- 100 much play is given to the vicious propensities of this alien labour. The 'Chinaman working on a mine is no more a. slave than Ihe clerk who signs an agreement to serve a cerlaiu firm or inslitulioii for two or three years. The main difference seems lo be Iliat the former has better food and more comfortable quarters provided (ban was his lot in China, whilst tho latter has the choice of a number of different forms ,of residences, in none of which will be found those comforts lo which ho has been accustomed in the. Homeland. Kvery Sunday, and sometimes other days, train loads of Chinamen— picturesquely dressed—may be seen to alight at Park Station, whore every available cab is immediately engaged for drives round tho city or elsewhere. At such times cabmen endeavour to avoid taking a "white" fair. A system of labour flint permits of such a stale of things can scarcely be called slavery even by the most imaginative. The Chinese as a race are recognised tho wide world over as a callous, cunning, immoral, vicious people. The 55,000 or more imported to the Transvaal for purposes of unskilled labour seem lo haw these national characteristics fairly well developed. To'bring a largo number of such men, without womenfolk of their own race, to work thousands of miles from their kith and kin, is an outrage against Nature which must inevitably leave an ugly blot on the moral life of Iho Transvaal. Any attempt to violate natural law frustrates itself by producing: its own Nemesis. What is tho moral Nemesis in the instance under review? The moral evils that have been engendered by Ihe infroduction of unskilled Chinese labour to the Rand are matters of fact and not of argument. What are these faot«? The compounds are cesspools of immorality of the most bestial and revolting type. Confirmation of fhis may be obtained' by anyone having a friend in Ihe manager of a Chinese compound. It must not bo forgotten that if the latter values his post he must he extremely careful and circumspect as to his remarks on such a subject. That being so, it is no wonder (bat considerable difficulty is experienced in proving the existence of this grave state of affairs. Respectable European women living, as many do, in the vicinilv of Ihe compounds, aro not secure from "insulting aefs and ■revolting suggestions by, these wretches. Not fur from the centre of Johannesburg wc have a Chinatown in omhrvo which can escape the observation of none hut, the totally blind. It is situate at a four crossways in Fox street on tho south side of Commissioner street East. A number, and sometimes a large number of Chinese from the mines may bo seen I here-some standing in the street and at the corners o jiers on tho upstairs verandahs, and yet others coming out of and going into ihe surrounding houses. The shop k]"»s are written in the Chinese characters Two white women were recently prosecuted for immoral acts with Chinese in this district. Kvery one knows of the curse, of the criminal cesspool, of the moral cancer, which the Chinese quarter of San Francisco lias bee,, to that one lime beautiful citv. Having the history of other cities io guKle us, and knowing as we do from hitter experience something of the callous criminality of tho Chinese, it. is not difficult to foresee some of the evils and horrors that J!r U *'l,i e ',," lp,Jen , l wi »'. *hn ff«idual growth of this yellow colony in Johannesburg. Revolting outrages and diabolical murders by Chinese have been of almost weoj y occurrence since the importation of this form of unskilled labour. People ocenpymg ,solat«l houses in the suburbs of .rohannesburg and others further afield 5»* ,,, 0f ft 3; i A ,M - ul -« of ~ !i '^ The economic evil to Ihe Transvaal engendered by this imported labourist a £rgo measure the effect of the moral evils. Bv a process of natural law, the individual who leads an unmoral life reaps as il, c and often an early grave. The same ■W"s to an industry and a. State The Bold industry of Johannesburg, and tho STiTl 0 P.r* P ° ri, - T - ° f Il,c TraLnnl. can not be built upon immoral foundations. Jn tho past two years record monthly Sold outputs bay,. | )PO n coincident month ov month with a more aggravated mining commercial and general depression. If such a condition of affairs shows one thinmore than another it. is that something more than record outputs of P old is burff and Iho Transvaal. That something needed 1S confidence. indrntr?'" 00 ''" lnb °" r ° f tllc minin K Confidence in the future of tho colnnv .Confidence in the stability of its indus-

Confidence in tho judgment, honestv, and inK nCSS ° f lh<! lciulcl ' s of Confidence, and not, yellow labour, is the mo her of prosperity. The capitalists of England and Continental Europe lv jn not nod the monev necessary to the development and furtherance of the indue'?ues of the Transvaal until this confidence is restored. By the very nature of things labour must precede capital, and -until confidence in the labour of the Transvaal is established U,e much-needed capilal will not ho forllicomiiijj. How can there "he confidence in a form of labour which brings in ils train the' aforementioned moral" evils? H mv can ■ nn n r"!i <,PnPC in 53 ' 00(1 labourers, nearlv 20.0G0 of whom have during V, years parsed through t| u > I'olico Courts of the Kami -on one charge or another? How can there ho confidence in an iudiWrv which says it depends for its life upon such a lorm »r_ labour? How can there ho confidence in a Slate which sanctions the existence and encourages the extension of tills labour? Tile people of tho Transvaal have not. had the opportunity fo far of voicing their feelings witlf regard to this question of Chinese labour, hut, when flicv get this opportunity I believe it will lib condemned with no uncertain voice. . The mining magnates do not tire of telling us that "the prosperity of the Rand banes upon the settlement of the unskilled labour difficulty." Exacl.lv so Directly the 53,000 unskilled Chinese labourers become moral, peaceful, lawabiding, SETTLED, hnrd-working. good labourers the Transvaal mav look forward to a new era of prosperity. Tint the system of imported labour in vogue on the Rand generates immorality, disturbance, unseftlorncnt. and thcrfore want of confidence, so that prosperity by the " Royal road" of Chinese labour need not bo looked for. Chinese labour in the Transvaal has been doomed from the very commencement. The capitalists exercise a very largo measure of control over the political affairs of the Transvaal, and it will bo interesting fo watch the tactics adopted to defeat the trrowing ro-onfment of the people of the Rand to this imported laliour. Finally, let us admit Chinese labour to be a great economic success—what, then? Mr Lionel Phillips ■ says: "Do not let lis fight over our bread and cheese " : others sav: "Do not kill the gooso that lays the golden egg." In reply- it might lie said if we are convinced that our so-called bread and olicese contains the germs of disease, are we not to discard it in favour of some more sustaining and health-giving die!? If the. golden esg should h.iopen to lie laid by a .snake, which has hold of our heel, are'wo not to destroy 't? That, the moral well-being of the Transvaal js of vastlv more importance than the multiplication of millionaires and the naylnent of dividends to absentee shareholders is a truism, which had, however, very little weight, in the councils of those who engineered the ordinance for the introduction of ChiiiQ.sc labour into the Transvaal,