Taranaki Herald. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9,1908. THE CASE FOR THE CHINESE

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 13747, 9 September 1908, Page 4

Taranaki Herald. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 1908. THE CASE FOR THE CHINESE

There are Chinese and Chinese ; good, bad, and indifferent among them as 'there are among Europeans. There is no sound reason why the better class should not be encouraged to come to this country for trading purposes; the bad should not be admitted even if the poll-tax of .£IOO, or even £1000, is forthcoming. At a dinner given by the Chinese merchants in Sydney recently the Chinese Commissioner expressed his agreement with those who held that Australia needed restrictive immigration Jaws, but added that Australia should take the strong and unassailable attitude of social and economic reasons for opposing that immigration, and not base its opposition purely on the slender thread of nationality or colour. The time might come when the Commonwealth might wish to enter into relations, commercially or otherwise, with the great Asiatic countries. It would then be possible for an Australian statesman dealing with these Asiatic countries to defend legislation keeping out the undesirables of these nations. At the same time, he urged, these restrictive laws should be equally applicable to persons from other countries, which is sound logic, for it is absurd to 'admit white people of the criminal class, while excluding Asiatics whether of the criminal or any other class. The Commissioner pointed out that it would be a difficult task to enter into any sort of compact with China if Australians wore going to adopt sweeping and indiscriminate legislation against the Chinese. Australia's trade relations with China were promising, and they ought not to be disturbed by (unnecessary and unjust laws. What Australia should do openly and honestly, he said, was to declare that a certain number of students and merchants, together with other eligibles, might come to this country for commercial purposes, or for pleasure, while the undesirables should be excluded. Another Chinese, Mr. Toiitf Chai *Chih, la to editor of the Chinese paper published in Sydney, on the eve of his departure for China the other day,

spoke out more emphatically. lie expressed the view that it was farcical for different Australian States to have commercial agents in CJiina extolling Australian products, and then to put an embargo on the merchants coming here and making purchases. 'The system now in vogue with regard to a Chinese returning to his native land from Australia he deuounced as a disgrace to Christian civilisation. 'Must think for n moment," ho said, " th a t th ere are merchants who have resided here for twenty or forty years, and who before leaving have to undergo indignities that are only due to a criminal or a gaol-bird." He could not see why Australia j and China should not be the best of friends commercially. China wants wool, wheat^ and hardwoods, and offers a splendid market for those staples, and in return can supply Australia with rice, tea, silk, and ginger. " Seeing, however," he concluded, " that the mandate has gone forth that the barrier of race must keep us apart in the future, you must reconcile yourselves to the fact that the Chinese will be justified i:i declaring ' China for the Chinese. 1 " These arguments seem to us unanswerable, and they are a** applicable to New Zealand as to Australia. This country desires to find a market for its produce in China — at least it must

be assumed so, since a trade commissioner has been sent there more than once to report upon the prospects — and we should have no reasonable ground for complaint if the authorities in China submitted us to treatment similar to that meted out to Chinese here. We should have no reasonable ground of complaint if they insisted upon an education test (in Chinese) and imposed a poll-tax upon New Zealanders desiring to enter China. No doubt New Zealand has much to complain of in regard to the customs and behaviour of some Chinese this country. As individuals many of them are altogether undesirable citizens. But on what grounds do we base our antipathy to the race? To its religion"? We have all creeds among our white population. To its methods of living ? We have white people living in as degrading surroundings as the lowest of the Chinese. To its morals ? We have whites as immoral and as steeped in iniquity as the worst Chinese in the country. No, the objection is thjat they are Chinese, and yellow ; sometimes that they are too frugal and industrious; and the remarks of the Chinese gentlemen quoted above are amply justified in New Zealand as well as in Australia. By all means let us keep out real undesirables, but let us treat the honest respectable Chinese as well as we treat the honest respectable man of any other nationajity. If a3 a nation we want to have nothing to do with Asiatics we should not attempt to find markets in their countries unless prepared to treat them on commercial equality-

The Brindisi mails despatched from Wellington on July 31 arrived at London on September 5.

An application has been received by tho Taranaki Education Board for the erection of a teacher's residence in connection with the Board School.

The little tarn in Pukekura Park which through a misprint in our report yesterday is made to read "arm" is a lakelet of remarkably clear water which has been formed at the head of the gully just above the Central School swimming bath. It is the intontion of the Board to beautify this with lillies and other plants.

About 8.30 o'clock *this morning a horse galloping along Queen Street with its rug flying loose startled the horses attached to Mr. M.* Jones's breakwater 'bus, which was standing in front of the White Hart Hotel. The 'bus driver, who was attending to the windows of the vehicle, made an effort to check his horses, but failed. The animals dashed round the corner of Robe and Devon Streets, and brought the 'bus into collision with a milk cart belonging to JS/ir. R. C. Clemow, of Omata. f The two. vehicles were locked together, enabling the horses to be quieted. The milk cart was damaged somewhat and the milk sent flowing down the road', but no one was injured.

"Current Thought" is the^ title of a new journal issued by Messrs Whitcombe and Tombs, Ltd., the well-known publishers, of Christchurch. It is designed to provide the latest informa- , tion regarding the current literature of the day, and to familiarise its readers with the lives and works of authors, and to help to cultivate a greater love for good literature. A worthy ideal, indeed! The first number contains, among other matter, an article entitled "The Legend of Herbert Spencer," a Maori sketch by Miss Baughan, Science Notes, a column for photographers, a page or two devoted to the garden, and some political sketches. Like all Messrs Whitcombe and Tombs' publications, the workmanship is excellent.

Up to date, £6400 has been collected , for the Dunedin Anglican Cathedral Building Fund, and £3000 has been I promised. The foundation stone will bo laid in June, 1910. It is estimated that New Zealand consumes about 11,000 tons of butter per annum, or at the rate of about £lb per head per week. About 15,000 tons of butter is exported, making the total product approximately 26,000 tons, worth two and a-half millions sterling. To make this quantity of butter requires about 131,000,000 gallons of milk. The Second Ballot Bill, as it passed the Committee stage, contains provision to enforce the cessation of all activity on the part of candidates between the first and second ballots, and the suppression of all printed comment upon the election during the same period. A further new clause provides that the total expenses of any candidate at the second ballot shall not exceed £50. The establishment of a crematorium in Wellington is not now far distant (says the Times). The subscriptions received amount to about £830, including Miss Studholme's donation of £400, and to this total has to be added the City Council's contribution of £400. It is estimated that the bare necessities (furnaces, etc.) will absorb £900, but the funds in hajnd wilj» enable a commencement to be made*' with the work. In the course of the discussion in the House on the subject of local bodies' borrowing, Mr T. Mackenzie instanced Gisborne, Napter, and New Plymouth as places where huge sums of money had been spent upon harbours without any benefit to shippers. In most cases, he added, the site of the harbour was selected by' people who were locally interested in the selection of the site. Members who presume to speak in the House should take" care to know something of what they talk about ; but Mr Mackenzie evidently knows nothing about the breakwater at Moturoa.

The promoter of the ceremony at Te Ngutu o to Manu, Rev. H. W. Klingender, has received the following telegram from the Hon. R. McNab: — "I cannot return to Wellington without congratulating you on the pronounced success which attended yesterday's proceedings, and I would have regretted exceedingly had an opportunity not been given the Government to be present at the historical gathering. lam only expressing to you the opinion of many given to myself that the function was the most successful public gathering which has been held in Taranaki, and I hope steps may be taken whereby yesterday's gathering may become an annual one, at any rate so long as we have with us representatives that took part in the stirring events of the Maori War." Mr H. F. Blanchett writes as follows to the Marlborough Herald: "Experimenting some years ago, I discovered that wood ashes would instantaneously take out frost, no matter how severe and leave the growing plant as good as, if not better, than before. I have many times tried this, and have never known it to fail. The method of application is as follows: The ashes, must be dry from the fire. If they are allowed to get damp they are not half so effectual, and once wetted are useless. Then, before the sun gets on the potatoes", take the bucket of ashes under the left arm, and with the right hand thoroughly dust the plants as you walk between the rows. In this way four of us have done a quarter of an acre in 20 minutes, and the land has crunched under our feet during 'the operation. The potatoes look v^ery unsightly until there has been a shower, as the ashes adhere, but after the-, rain the leaves will be a darker green, have more gloss, and the plants generally have a stronger appearance. I think the effect would be the same on tomatoes, etc., but I have not proved this. It is quite interesting to watch the frost disappear from a plant, which it begins to do the instant the ash is, applied, and is gone in a few seconds." A perilous experience befel the passengers travelling from Otira to Broken River by one of the West Coast coaches on Monday. It appears that two coaches left Otira together in the morning, the mail coach leading vthe way. When the second coach was ,about half a mile from the top hut, near the Benley, a huge landslip occurred. Among the debris which came down was a large boulder, about three feet in diameter. This landed on the roadway between the leading horses and those at the pole. The latter managed to jump over the obstacle, but before Mr Clarke, the driver, could rein in his horses, the front wheels of the vehicle struck the boulder and the coach capsized. The horses became frightened, and broke away with the fore-carriage. The remainder of the vehicle was left perched on the edge of the road, which at this particular point is some 50ft or 60ft above the river bed. The runaway horses soon overtook the leading coach and were promptly stopped by Driver Searle, who immediately returned to the scene of the accident. Driver Clarke was rather seriously injured, and a passenger had his hand cut slightly. Two of the horses were injured, but not seriously. It is stated that if the horses had not got free of the cbach at the time they did nothing could have saved it from falling over the precipice down to the river-bed. The Select Committee on Hops, set up in the House of Commons, has declared against the duty of 40s per cwt on imported hops which most of the hop-growers demanded. In fact, the committee goes out of its way to condemn that notion of imposing a duty, but it suggests that the extent to which i foreign hops are used in the brewing of beer should be indicated on the cask or bottle in which the liquor is' sold. It appears that the prevailing depression is caused by a supply in excess of the demand, and while better methods of culture have resulted in the grubbing up of lands formerly under hops, the quantity of hops grown has not decreased. The plain meaning of this is that the competition of foreign hops has resulted in a clear gain to the nation. Wo now grow the same quantity of hops and have the surplus lands for the production of other wealth. Moreover, the committee testifies that the English growers have so well held their own that the importation of foreign hops shows some reduction during the thirty years. It is obvious that where farmers are skilful and labour abundant hop-growing pays. The cost of production varies per acre from £35 to £54. The average cost is £4 per cwt, and the average price £5. The real enemy is the landlord, for rents average £3 an acre against 30s in the Eastern States. When it is remembered that the rent of the same acre as arable land would be about 255, it is obvious that the landlord is levying a toll on the labours, the skill, and the improvements of tenants. Taking it altogether, the report furnishes a notable lesson to the nation in the gain which it derives for insisting that its industries shall stand by their own strength, or not at all.

The Mayor of Wellington is inviting the citizens to make holiday on Dominion ©ay, September 26. The Oamaru Borough Council has decided to take, no action in respect to the Premier's request that Dominion Day should be kept as a holiday. The Auckland School Committee has decided to purchase' copies of the Ten Commandments to hang in all the classrooms. The tree-planting operations of prisoners at the Hanmer camp have now extended all over the fiats and foothills in the vicinity of the township. Mr Murphy, the gaoler, states that the work has been so successful that the camp will probably be moved to a new district for next season's planting. The prisoners have given no trouble during the past year, and the general conduct has been excellent. — Christchurch telegram. A good deal of success in the killing of birds with nets is being achieved by Mr It. Southby, who is employed by the Temuka ltoad Board for the purpose. Last week his son got 753 birds in one pull, and 1500 out of one setting altogether. Last year he t killed about 18,000 altogether, and he hopes to do better this year. This (says the Temuka Leader) is the besi plan ever yet adopted for keeping down the small bird nuisance. Most of the dairy factories in the Hawera district have now held their annual meetings (states a Press Association telegram). The balance-sheets record a very prosperous season, despite the falhng-off of the milk supply consequent on the drought. The shortage was compensated by the high prices. Nearly all the factories are making extensions and improvements to deal wi'tn tho expected bigger supplies. Prices-,on offer for the current year's output exceed last year's, and, if accepted, assure good profits, but it is probable that a big majority of the factories will consign. "New Zealand continues to attract immigrants from Great Britain in fairly considerable numbers, and the steamers of the Federal-Houlder-Shire line are freely patronised by the new settlers," remarks the Melbourne Age. "The Oswestry Grange, brought about 250 immigrants of whom no fewer than 235 are booked for various ports of New Zealand. , They are an exceptionally desirable-looking . class of' people. Most of them, are young, single men, but there are also a fair proportion of families and unmarried women among the batch. It is beyond doubt that a better-looking lot of people generally has not yet arrived from Gceat Britain, and of their habits and conduct during the voyage the ship's officers speak in terms of praise." Mr H. L. A. 1 Mackintosh, second officer of the Antarctic expedition ship Nimrod, has made a complete recovery from the effects, of the accident whereby he lost .an eye when the vessel was landing stores on. the ice in the far South. Mr Mackintosh has been granted a. commission in the Royal Naval Reserve, the Admiralty authorities' evidently considering that the, loss of his eye will not debar him from performing active 1 service in his Majesty's navy. Shortly after 1 the return of the Nimrod from the South Mr Mackintosh went to Sydney, to undergo special treatment, for his injury, and he is still in that city,, but it is understood that he will return to Lyttelton, probably in November, to rejoin ihe , Nimrod for her second voyage to the* Antarctic.

According to an American paper despatches from' Madrid show that mothers-in-law are sometimes troubled some even in royal .families, as the youthful King of Spain has discovered to his sorrow. It transpires that the' mother of his queen, the Princess Henry of Battenberg, endeavoured to keep up with mother-in-law traditions and run the household of the royal couple at Madrid. First the jars in the married life were slight, but daily they) increased in violence until the King Eut his foot squarely down and gave is mother-in-law an example of kingly temper that was surprising. > The quarrel was tempestuous, the exchange of compliments being entirely outside the book of court conversation, and the result was that the mother-in-law I suddenly packed her baggage and left ' the palace, vowing she would never re-J turn. It is understood that the Queen has taken Alphonso's side in the. estrangement. "We're travelling alon*e, without a chaperone, and merrily our time employ." So sing the, hockey girls in a ballet in the opera t( A Moorish Maid," and the -girl players at the tourjnament in Wellington seem, to have been living up to this reputation. This is what a correspondent of the Times says abont them: "There was not much to cavil < at in the hockey field proper, but on the boat back the up* roarious behaviour of some .of these young people, encouraged by some brainless youths, made things pretty lively for the passengers. The lasti glimpse I had .of some of these girls was that one of their number had tumbled down in the muddy road at the end of the wharf from, excess of laughter-, and several of the aforesaid brainless youths .were engaged in trying to haul her up against her disposition, so it Beemed. Such a deplorable exhibition or rowdyism amongst girls it has not been my lot to witness. The 'question arises: Where were the chaperohes ?' ' To the marvels of modern invention at the Franco-British Exhibition there has been added a wonderful telegraphic apparatus, by which messages may be transmitted at the rate of 40,000 words an hour. The importance of the new invention (writes a London correspondent) will be realised when it is stated that the rate of transmission by the most up-to-date methods in use does not exceed five or six hundred words. Another advantage which Mr Pollak, the inventor, claims for the new machine is that it may be manipulated by only two operators, whereas other machines require at least thrice that number of hands. "It was while making experiments in Hungary on the velocity of light," Mr Pollak explained to a press representative, "that my late confrere, Mr Virag, and myself hit upon the idea of constructing the present apparatus, which, by the way, took us five years to complete." The principle on which the Pollak^Virag is Based is one of the most ingenious combinations by which optics and electricity have been turned into practical use.. The inventors have, indeed, accomplished the amazing feat of controlling the movements of a minute spot or light hundreds of miles away as unerringly as if they had the mirror that reflects it in their own hands. The apparatus itself consists of three parts — a perforator, a transmitter, and a receiver. The first may be worked by any typewriter, and the other two are purely automatic, working through the agency of electricity and photography. Mr Pollak further stated that his machine was successfully tested a few months ago by a number of experts especially appointed by the French Government.

'i It has been necessary to temporarily •close the Huiroa School, 'th* teacher having contracted scarlet fever. On the motion of Mr H-ugh<SS, hi* Honour Judge Edwards has , granted probate of the will of the late Samaei Knight, of Waitara, to his widow. During the past few weeks a billiard tournament amongst members of the local Fire Brigade has been progressing at the Central Station, and las% night the prizes were presented by Superintendent Bellfinger. The winner's were as follow:— A. Courtney (billiard cue), 1; W. Prior (framed certificate^ 2 ; C. Bond (pair of horns), 3. ? \ While the NoJicense League Iriieeting was in progress last evening, a -respect-able-looking man, evidently urfder the influence of drink, staggered mfco tho (^ueen Strefct Church. He took* seat and eventually got full-length along it for a . sleep. He thp&gtpfe; ho was safe there, perhaps, for tb© supper was being seryed h& was not forgotten. A no-license area.M-? A boy named Bertie Jury, t^ef eight year old son of Mr T. W. Jury, ghad » miraculous escape from seriou£ iijjury yesterday afternoon. Latterly • He? has been delivering small parcels for Messrs Morey and Moore after school, and he was riding a pony round to the. store when the accident happened. -When going around the corner from l>evon Street into Brougham Street thde pony slipped on. the wood blocks (which are always very slippery in wet weather and have caused numerous horses to fall) throwing the youngster ,tb the ground. Unfortunately his right foou remained fast in the stirrup., The pony, which was considerably, frightened, galloped back along Devon Street dragging the boy after it. Numerous attempts were made to stop the. animal but none succeeded, the lad .being dragged until Currie Street corner was reached. Here the stirrup leather gave way leaving the youngster on the road. The pony was allowed to continue, on its way unmolested. ' Mr O. W.'-Sole grasped the boy in his arms and, rushed to Mr Hall's chemist shop. Dr.. Blackley at once; made a careful examination of the boy'knd found that he h#d received no injury, of a serious Mtttre. i The cartilage of the nose was jhmtecl i and he had one or two rather' s*ad bumps on the hea,d. No bones were broken, and, so far as the doctojr ceuld then make out there was no internal injury-. Devon Street was busy'at the time of the accident, and whilst many people attempted to stop the pony others seemed, to lose their presence of mind and stood horror stricken as the boy was dashed along the road. It was undoubtedly a terrible sight to witness and everyone; expected the 'most serious results. The boy was wonderfully plucky and, before Dr. Blackley cfculd proceed with his examination, said he wasn't hurt. Those present in the sur-i gery could not resist a snaile- when he remarked "My nose feels as big as a nnst " s v v -- -