Japan and Australia.

Manawatu Herald, 27 February 1902, Page 3

Japan and Australia.

Mr A. Marks, Consul for Japan, has given the Japanese view of the Australian Immigration Act to a Melbourne pressman. “ I can tell you," ha says, that they are not very pleased in Japan with the Alien Restriction Act, which has caused a good deal of ill-feeling against this country. Australia cannot afford to ignore Japan. It seems most ridiculous that England should allow three or four millions of people to interfere with her great friends. England is so generous to Australia, however, and has allowed this country to do so much. It is very ridiculous though. England being one of a comity ot nations, is bound by_ treaty to treat the people of other nations in the same way as she would expect them to treat her people. It is not as though you could compare Japanese to Chinese oi* Indians or Kanakas. _ Japan is a progressive nation, and is improving all the time. I hope the Australian Government will see its way clear to alter things. The Japanese Government did not object at first, as the Act originally stated that an immigrant, before he could land, must write from dictation 50 words in some European language. To that the Japanese Government said, ‘ Very well; they are not singling us out; they are treating us as French, Germans, Americans and other nations.’ But when the Act was altered so that an immigrant had to write 50 words in English, the Japanese Government was hurt, because it fell that the Australian Government was specially singling Japan out. As the Act now stands it will simply put a dead stop to Japanese immigration.