NORTH AUSTRALIA.

Hokitika Guardian, 8 November 1923, Page 4

NORTH AUSTRALIA.

MEDICAL OPINION. SYDNEY. On. - 1 . Apropos of the White Australia policy, under which all coloured rare- are excluded from Australia save those persons who were domiciled here prior la this legislation and a lew who are admitted under special trade agivemeul much controversy has raged round in' 1 qties! ian iif whether Ihe northern par - ti.ms of the continent, where tropnai (■'millions exist, are suitable for while -I’t ilemeut. Advocate" of tine introduction of clean coloured lahoui on an in

denture sy-iene or c,.ntracls lor sp.-vl-ic 1 p"11.ul- cl years have .-irenunusiy i '.'iitended Hv while man i.- imi-1 R ii-ti.-Pally unfit led to develop I bat part of A u -1 ralia. and !ha I it t a nicrc ilog-in l lie-manger, pple.-v 'e ■ xelutl ’!i . .- ahle lo do -o. M'-ilu-a! epi'ii-".! ‘is- '■ eti lunch tivnalheiii.-d hv rei l-11l ic-eateu lii the i iew I Imt the white race- ate ml only lilted to develop the n.f*t H.iii areas, hut are able I I'riii-rlve- to I linve under the conditions and produee a sturdy type. 'Hie mat ter i- niu resini : 1\ dealt wiiii m the Commoiiwea Ih Health pamphlet for Ihe i hit. ii! r, iiiii t! i . In till-- i: i - -[ at r-d I ha. t 11 ia u fairly be claimed Ilia I. a i let a "liera! ion's trial, tin- white race.- can live and verb in the ironical areas "I Aii si. ralia wiihotit. the hi hour ol ihe coloured man. The next queslioii limt aii-es. He j :a I'inli h-i -aa.t":-, is. which branch of the while race.- 1- lie-1 suited lor ibis tropical life, and, in particular, can the people cl licit i--rj stuck hold ifc-ir own wall the others.-' "Ih" answer,’' ii proceeds, "is oi vital im porta:!' e to the British rai-e._ A.I ter a c'-iitui-y oi immigration UK per cent oi th e papulation oi Australia is 'till ccmpi-i-d of the same -talk as that <d H-" British !-des- —aml there i- every I'l'-iiV among Australian- themselves lo keep tin's preponderance in the future. So much so that if it could lie shown thal pontile (;! our own race inusi here give way to oilier European races ii may he doubted whether the very police itself of white Australia would long survive. Queensland claims f'o per rent, of the total tropic dwellin'? population of Australia, the major portion oi whom are scattered along Hie coast north of Rockhampton. In

all lie centres 'of population up to and including Townsville Lite Hritish race predominates absolutely. Xo eomparai ive Lest is possible until we reach I lie sugar districts north of Townsville, j where the climate i- more or le.-s of a pro mm need tropical character. [Tore

w e lind a eoii'itlerahh' number oi | Italians and smaller numbers of orooks. I Spaniards, llu-iaim, Maltose, and other nationalities, who generally keep together in small bauds. Individual members of the Teutonic and Scandinavian races are also .scattered along tile coast. Tim Eastern races have been

represented chiefly by Chinese ('once present iu considerable numbers'), and in a lesser degree by the Japanese, and the natives of India, the latter chiefly from The Puniatib. All these different people have been employed at some time or other in the work of the sugar industry. At the same work, and tinder the same conditions during the past twenty years, men of the Publish •aco have worked alongside and in competition with each and all of them. Oil the whole, the Hritish gangs head the list against all comers. The cane inspector.', whose business it is to supervise this work and to know intimately ihe capabilities o] all the different gangs, are practically unanimous in holding that the speediest and toughest of the cutters are Hritish. Thov are the lim-t indonondant, how-

ever. and sometimes cause trouble. Home the preference which has sometimes been accorded to other nationalities-. ..The term British i> ti'C' l irrespective ot whether the men are horn in Australia or the British Isles. The British proved that in speech and stamina they were the equal of any other race, ami certainly superior in intelligence and adaptibility...The men from North Italy came next. For work under the worst possible conditions with least possible food picked Puiiiaubeso would probably win, with Chinese next."