INDENTURED LABOR.

Taranaki Daily News, 28 October 1921, Page 5

INDENTURED LABOR.

THE CHINESE IN SAMOA. PROTEST AT EMPLOYMENT. DEBATE IN PARLIAMENT. By Telegraph—Preu AMocl&tfon. Wellington, La»t Night Indentured labor in Samos woa debated in the House to-night, when the Hon. E. P, Lee moved the second reading of the Treatise of Peace Extension Bill, He said the Bill was necessary to keep alive the treaties of peace, except as regards Western Samoa, in which connection no Order-in-Council shall be made under the principal Act on or after April I, 1922, when th© Samoa Blil now before the House woold come into force. Mr. H. E. Holland (Leader of the Labor Party) said one great fault with the Bill was that it made no provision for the repeal of Chinese indentured labor, and when in committee he would move an amendment which would give the House »u opportunity of expressing an opinion on that question. The people of New Zealand would not stand indentured labor in this country for a single moment; yet that system which we would not tolerate here we were imposing on another people, , A policy of indentured labor was not a policy of practical Christianity, and a responsibility was on the House to get rid of Chinese labor in Samoa at the earliest moment, NECESSITY FOR LABOR. Mr. L. M. laitt (Christchurch North.) questioned the right of Mr. Holland to speak in the name of Christianity. So far from indentured labor being the seed of destruction of the Samoan race, it was the preserver, because it was the one way in which it was believed the Samoan race could be saved. Samoans would not indulge in consistent labor, and unless labor could be found that would keep down the rhinoceros beetle the Samoan race was doomed. Samoa was a magnificent triumph of missionary sacrifice, but so far from indentured labor being repugnant to Christianity, there was not a single missionary who was consulted on the point who did not admit that outside labor in some form was absolutely necessary to combpt the sources of the rhinoceros beetle. New Zealand was not associated with Samoa for the sake of what we could make out of it, and it was an insult to suggest that such was the case. Our care of Samoa was a great trust, of which we should be proud, and in which we would still be prepared to persevere, no matter what sacrifice it imposed upon us. Mr. F. N. Bartram (Grey Lynn) contended that Chinese labor was not necessary to keep the rhinoceros beetle down, because until the influenza epidemic struck the islands the Samoans were keeping the beetle in check. If the Samoans were not prepared to work to keep the beetle down they deserved to perish. Missionaries did not represent the mind of the Samoans on the indentured labor question. The only justification for the importation of Chinamen was to set cheap labor’ to work in Samoan plantations. MUST PAY ITS WAY. Mr. C. E. Statham (Dunedin Central) said he had once voted for the extension labor because they were told the extension was only for one year. Since then he had not recorded his vote in its support, and he for once found himself in agreement with the member for Buller. Mr. Isitt’s support of indentured labor was unworthy and unbecoming on the part of a Christian gentleman. He (Mr. Statham) regarded it as a great breach of a sacred trust. Mr. J. McCombs (Lyttelton) declared that while Samoans would pot work for the planters they were prepared to work for themselves. In any case it would be more to the credit of New Zealsthd to let the plantations go back to a wilderness than to degrade -a noble race, such as the Samoans were. To the credit of the British Government it must be said that again and again they had asked the New Zealand Government to discontinue indentured - labor.

The Hon. C. J. Parr said he was interested in the health and education of the Samoan people, and as a practical man he asked who was going to pay the bill, running into many thousands of pounds—tens of thousands of pounds—which these ser- '* rices will cost if we did not make Samoa pay its way? They had heard a lot of * frothy idealism about doing our duty to Samoa, but w r e had to face the facts, and the fact was that if we could not get labor from inside the islands to keep the plantations in profit then we must get it from outside. The New Zealand would not find the thousands of pounds necessary io preserve thedieaith and edw* cation of Samcans; if they were providing the labor Samoa could find the money. THE PREMIER’S PROMISE

Shortly after eleven o’clock Mr. Massey rose and gave an assurance to the House that as soon as possible the importation of Chinese into Samoa would be discontinued. He repudiated the suggestion that there was anything of slavery about indentured labor. He declared that the class of. Chinese brought to Samoa were not criminals, but were largely decent men, and he quoted a missionary document to show that their introduction was not the moral degredation of the Samoan race. There was nothing of slavery pertaining to indentured labor, because the Chinese left bad conditions in China to go to better conditions in Samoa.

The second reading was agreed to on the voices. The Minister claimed urgency for the Bill, which was put through all stages and passed. When in committee on clause 2, Mr. Holland moved an amendment providing that no further importations of indentured Chinese laborers into Samoa should be made, and on a division the amendment was defeated by 38 votes to 17.