THE ASIATIC PROBLEM

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14282, 3 August 1908, Page 5

THE ASIATIC PROBLEM

AN IMPORTANT QUESTION. OOLONEL SEELY'S VIEWS. Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright. LONDON, August 1. (Received August 2, at 4.15 p.m.) 3 Speaking in the House of Commons, on a motion for adjournment to October 0 12, Colonel Seely (Undcr-secretary for tlio Colonies) admitted that the Asiatic qucfi■J lion in the colonics was ovorwhelmingly important. Ho eaid 1 the whole future of 11 the Umpire depended upon the present ' stops taken, audi a fak© move might shatter it. Britain ought not to adopt ! > a superior tons towards tlto colonies, ■with whom the question was more acute '■ than it was to England. Thoy were 5 bound to admit that the self-governing l ' colonics could exclude wlitan they would, " and the British Government could not ® interfere; but certain principles might be laidj down. If immigrants wero ad- '■> rnitted they must sooner or later be given '' civil rights. Thoy must be admitted freo 1 or not at all. If the sdf-governing • colonies sought to exclude British sub--1 jects owing to economic reasons —to pre- • vent wages being cut down, or because 1 of climatic conditions or social antipathy e causing riots—they ought at anyrate to s treat with the utmost generosity the a coloured immigrants already there. The Imperial Government asked that for a thsm, and the request had been met by I Canada an the friendliest spirit, He was n confident that tlie Governments of A-us- • tralasia and South Africa would show the same spirit, realising tlio necessity for mutual forbearance. He agreod that the Imperial Secretariat should take tlio matter up. He bi/iicved it would 1 bo necessary to make ® tho Secretariat real—namely, the clearinghouse of tho Empire, where all the differII ent laws might be examined and reported on, enabling every part of the Empire to know what was being done in other 3 parts. 1 Sir Gilbert Parker said the essential structure—a national life —slmuld he built up from tho beginning by tho whites, otherwise it would bo rotten. Colonel Seely'e words would be ro-edhoed in every 1 corner of tho Empire. He commended 0 the Government, fort taking the right view by appealing to tfie colonics and conferring with them.