THE CHINAMAN.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 11126, 15 November 1907, Page 6

THE CHINAMAN.

TWO STURDY CHAMPIONS. DEBATE IN THE' LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. (From our Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, this day. The provisions of the Factories Act Amendment Bill relating to Chinese caused an animated debate m the Legislative Council la.st evening. The Hon. W. C. F. Cai neross protested against clause 16, which provides that "no premises, the occupier of which is a person of the Chinese race, shall hereafter be registered na a factory." He said it was cowardly, discreditable, and un-Britis-h. The Hon. F. Trask also appealed for fair .treatment for the Chinaman. Foreigners were not treated m this country as they should toe. The Hon. Dr. Findlay said it was idle to talk about un-British treatment and things of that sort. Tliere was a. deeper question underlying the whole matter. There was the question of whether our race was to be brought into competition with a race amongst which (for reasons he had no need to specify) our race must go down. "What is at the bottom of this?" the Attorney-General asked. "East is East and West is West, and we don't want the East. Tlie proper method would be to keep out the Chinaman altogether, but the Chinaman has to be admitted, and this country is not responsible for that law. If we passed a law to-morrow excluding Chinamen from New Zealand it would not receive the Royal assent. We are not m a position to remove ourselves from the criticism of the Hon. Mr Carncross, because we have to admit Chinamen. This is the only way we can protect our race. Mr Carncross: Are you going to protect a naturalised Chaniman from engaging m business? Dr. Findlay : You can prevent a barmaid from serving m a bar. Mr. Carncross : You don't. Dr. Findlay: Well, you are going to do so some day. Mr Carncross again declared tliat this was a preposterous and outrageous class of legislation. The. Hons. J. Rig,g and W. W. McCardle strongly approved of the clause, while the Hon. J. Anstey thought it went a little too far. "v The Hon. J. B. Callan aleo considered the clause a harsh one. At this stage the Hon. C. Louisson pointed, out a curious anomaly m the clause. He said that if it passed, any premises occupied by a Chinaman could never be hereafter registered as a factory. Surely this was not intended ? The Attorney-General agreed with Mr Louisson, He rather imagined that the clause had been introduced m the House, and had been passed without the consideration it deserved.. Under the circumstances he would move to report progress m order that he might liave an, opportunity to consult the Minister for Labor. The motion to* report progress was agreed to.