LABOUR ON THE RAND.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 11484, 17 January 1903, Page 8

LABOUR ON THE RAND.

CABLE NEWS.

BRITISH PROTESTS AGAINST CHINESE.

A LARGE IMPORTATION OF COOLIES.

United Press Aasociation—By Electrio Telegraph—Copyright. (Received January 16th, 8.52 a.m.) LONDON, January 15. The Rand's anxiety to secure Chinese labour leads English newspapers to protest, emphasising the fact that t-b; r.t-w ..oloime will never be British un.iu.sa t:i-v m;;v.--t .v. Briti&ii population. The "Daily Mail" stat«s that ti.-- ! -' financiers propo.se to introduce one liurutivci thousand coolies under contract, not as permanent settler*. 'CAPETOWN, January 15. The Johannesburg Chamber of Mines has raised Kaiiir wagea to the rates prevailing before the war. At a meeting of the Johannesburg Chamber of Mines on December 4th last Sir Percy Fitzpatrkk gave a lucid exposition of the mtuation. The actual position at the mines W-day is that 47.C00 natives are at work, as against 96,000 before the war, though the latter figure, it should be observed, represented eight years' recruiting effort*, and til* present number id the result of ietsa than two years' work. Moreover, the mines now have many more serious rivals in the labour market, the demands for public works, railways, and general construction all over South Africa bulking very large. The prosperity of the natives ie a further obstacle in the way of inducing them to work. They have a great d-ea-i of money on tlieir hands, and it is not to be expected that they should tee any object in piling up more money when they are unable to spend what they already poeee&s. The' attitude of the Chamber toward unskilled labour Sir Percy Fitzpairick summed up in those words:—"As a temporary measure this departure was justified, because of the expense and loss of interest caused by delays in restarting works either fully or partially equipped. But the ditferenw of cast Li so great that if it were "contemplated to start fresh works on tliiS" basis, the whole future of tlie industry would *aye to ba recast.''

The correspondent of the London "Times" thus summarise the situation:—"There is a shortage of native labour. Do you anticipate eventually securing an adequate supply, and therefore counsel patience, it may be for three years? If not, will you endeavour to supplement native labourT In this case, Chinese labour being debarred, will you give white labour a fair trial, implying, of course, employment of the right class of labour—not merely the first to hand—together with improved machinery, in order to counteract the increased cost of higher pay for the more intelligent labourer? This attitude has been misinterpreted as a scheme to srnbst itute white labour for black, which was never intended, and is obviously impracticable. The experiment of white labour must be left to the verdicts of experts. The outsider can only ask a fair trial, which, it may be added, has not yet been given."