THE ASIATIC QUESTION

Otago Witness, Issue 2808, 8 January 1908, Page 27

THE ASIATIC QUESTION

INDIANS IN THE TRANSVAAL.

TOKIO, January 1.

Japan has agreed to accept some of the suggestions of the United States Government for the restriction of Japanese emigration to America, but" has courteously declined others as being incompatible with Japan's dignity. The Government of the Mikado, at the same time, has outlined other plans for overcoming the. difficulty. NEW YORK, December 28. Advices from Portland, Oregon, state [ that an erroneous report 1/bat^ some citizens haa been murdered in a Chines© restaurant -led" 1500 inhabitants, of Lethbridge,,in-the-Alberta district, 1 to wreck the Oriental quarter 'of the town. The police were, powerless, but a brigade and mounted police ultimately dispersed the rioters. '.OTTAWA, January 6. . - Viscount' Middletonj speaking at Ottawa, reminded the Canadians that * India was the main prop of the Empire. - Instead, of India pulling upon us we were always pulling upon India. It was the Indian troops who saved Natal, who helped to relieve the British Legation at Peking, and who averted a disaster at Suakim. Those who realised that nearly one-third of the world's population Had been attached to the British Empire would deal gently with statesmen in. their difficulties about the Indian races. VANCOUVER, January 3.

Three firemen "were -walking in the Japanese quarter, when one of them stumbled, breaking a shop window. A number of Japanese in the surrounding district wounded all three, who are whites. One man is badly injured. Four Japanese have been arrested. The affair ifi interpreted in some ! quarters to mean that the Japanese are resentful over the September rioting, and are eager to take revenge. CAPETOWN, January 4. '. One of the Indians to be deported from the Transvaal has served in four Indian campaigns, and in the Boer war he was thrice » wounded and received many medals. • His father was one of Lord Roberta's" staff at .Kandahar.- Another Indian has served SO years in the Indian army. PRETORIA, January 6. General Smuts, speaking at Pretoria, declared that the Government did not expect thd Registration Act to cause so much trouble. There, were thousands of false permits in existence. One good gffest ,

of the new act had been to frighten out of the Transvaal 5000 Indians who had no right there. Of the 9500 who remained 5000 were licensed to trade. Thousands were willing to register if it had not 'been intimated that they might be allowed ' another chance of registering. But no mercy would be shown to the leaders of the agitation. * The law would be carried out. LONDON, January 2. The Westminster Gazette says that the Motherland and the colonies will do well to devise some common policy for solving the Asiatic difficulty. January 3. The Daily News (M.), referring to the Asiatic difficulty, says that it is a matter of much more urgency that the selfgoverning colonies should assist Great Britain in defining the status of a " British citizen" than to be dreaming that the ' colonies are able to find in preferential trade <or in Imperial defence a basis of Imperial unity. j The Manchester Guardian (M.) declares that Lord Elgin is powerless. to modify the policy that is underlying the .Transvaal's Indian Registration law, and that it wiil be impossible for the Imperial Government- to disallow that law without imperilling even greater interests than those of Indian immigrants.