'RACE AND RACEMINGLING'

Evening Star, Issue 22443, 14 September 1936, Page 12

'RACE AND RACEMINGLING'

RAILWAY W.ErA. CLASS We often hear the remark that a person of mixed breed “ inherits the vices of both races and the virtues of neither.” Is this statement in agreement with facts oi; is it founded on ignorance or prejudice? This question, with others, came up for discussion on Sunday afternoon, when the Railway W.E.A. class listened to a lecture delivered by the tutor dealing with the problem of race and race-mingling. “ When some of us were very young,” the tutor stated, “ and there was much talk of the menace of Asiatics, any argument in favour of friendly association with them was usually .countered with the retort: “Would you like your sister to marry a Chinaman? ’ and by that anyone was supposed to be effectively crushed.” The lecturer next traced the gradual change in individual opinion on this matter and stated that nowadays there was a more general recognition of the fact that there were .good, and less good, in every race. In New Zealand, where any mixture of Maori blood was considered distinctly damaging a generation ago, few people made any bother about it now, and a well-known statesman surprised an American visitor recently by declaring with some pride that his wife was part Maori. Scientific opinion had come even more definitely to reject the belief that race-mingling brought any harmful biological results. As to social results, the position was different, and no one would question the fact that many halfcastes were brought up in miserable conditions. All the evidence of modem science and of practical experience went to show that, in decent circumstances, a person of mixed race was as fine, physically, intellectually, and morally’, as any pure-bred. In collecting material on this important question, the tutor had, he explained, referred to the opinions of no fewer than 53 scientific authorities who dealt with the problem of race-ming-ling. Of this number, 44 refused to see anything at all harmful in racial intermarriage, and of these 44, 15 asserted that positive good was derived from it, while four more maintained that there were beneficial effects to be obtained from the mixing of certain specified races. Twenty-five of the 44 contented themselves with simply saying that the talk about inherent degeneracy in persons of mixed blood bad no evidence to support it. It might be truly pointed out, continued the speaker, that, over 40 years ago, Herbert Spencer had advised the Japanese people to have nothing to do with other races. Although Herbert Spencer was a great thinker, yet modern science and research showed that bis arguments were not correct. His contentions, based upon the difficulty of getting a stable cross between breeds of sheep, had been refuted by the successful prodc on of a stable crossbreed in the Corrietlale. In 1908 A. F. ■Schultz wrote in a book entitled ‘ Race or Mongrel.’ published in Boston, that “ Nature degrades the mongrel mercilessly, and in time stamps it out.” However, Professor H. G. Duncan, of North Carolina, a leading authority on race, pointed out that Schultz was simply disregarding all historical facts. He said, in reply to Schultz, that there is no “ pure ” race, and that the nearest approach to purity is to be found in tlie Eskimos, 1' negians, gypsies, ami pigmies. Another authority, A. J. Todd, says “ we are all mongrels.” In conclusion, the speaker summed up the whole position by stating that it was on purely social grounds that intermarriage might be opposed, because of the difficulties resulting. On

the other hand, it-might be favoured as tending to break down barriers of race hostility. As to the biological argument that the mixed breed inherited “ the vices of both races and the virtues of neither,” there was no reliable scientific opinion or evidence to support it, and if racial restriction of immigration was to be favoured, it seemed that it must bo ou other grounds. Two papers by students wore then road—one in support of raco-miugliivg and the other against it—and the remaining hour was occupied with profitable discussion.