The Daily News. MONDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1903. SOUTH AFRICAN LABOUR PROBLEM.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXV, Issue XXXXV, 7 December 1903, Page 2

The Daily News. MONDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1903. SOUTH AFRICAN LABOUR PROBLEM.

News of th« last few clays notifies the raising l of a further issue in the South African labour problem,in the shape of an alleged offer from 100,000 Jews, used to nav vyi'ng, to'work tor a weekly waige of £2 with, Ibband Bind lodging. The eaipitalitets havingl evidently Ween foiled in their efforts to procure cheap coolie labour, have turned for hel'p to a source from whence they hope to draw a supply of laibour sligihtly M'gfhsr priced, but having the merit of a white skin. The cable 'does 'not inform us from what qluarter of the 'globe these 100,000 Jews ure to come, but we may rcaf-vunn'bly presume they are the sweepings of JEuroipe ; men with foreign instincts, interests, awl sympathies ; with no more feeling of loyalty to the British Kmpiro than tihey have love for tiho countries in wihich they have perhaps been cruelly persecuted. Wo •do not object to these men because they are Jews (the - Jews living under the British flag*—and certainly the Jews of our own colony have sliown t'benifwlvos as good citizen* as any other religious sect), hut because they are foreigners, uimd it seems to us that it wtrnld have Ifcen better to leave the country to the sturdy old Boer than to conquer it iuld then ha;md it over to the millionaire to flood with Asiatics and the scum of Europe. Can we doubt, after the evidence erf the lust

months, what the policy of these Itund Mo-loche is ? To us It appears plain that they are prepared to prostitute the welfare of the country to their own interests. It matters little to them whist her or not the country remains loyal to the Crown or affords the Empire some return for the expenditure of blood and treasure during the war, so long as they can procure slave labour to earn them 25 per cent, cfrvidends on their investments. It is against their policy to employ British workmen-, because they know full well that the men would want votes, mrcl the exercise of those votes would inevitably result in a curtailment wi'thin just limits of the privileges that are now s'howei'od upon the "fat mail" O'f the ttainri. What they are struggling for is a plentiful supply of slavc-lutbour at about 30s per month ; dumb labour that will wot raise a demand for a share in the wealth of the country which it cost the Empire so 'dear to win. The cry of the capitalist is, of course, that the mines will not stand the cost of white labour, but the staitemen't is pure "bunkum." We have only to realise that amongst the South African mines there are some of the richest on the glo'be, to see the fallacy of the contention that they would not pay if worked by white men. Surely if we can work low-grade stone in New Zealand and pay British subjects a reasonable wage, the mine-owners of the lianwl can do the same. But even if there are some mines in the country tliat would not pay white mon a living wfflgt, it would surely toe better to shut down- the works than sacrifice the whole country by an 'iwundati'on of spurious foreign- humanity. W'hy should the-Empire be expected to spend millions of pounds 'amid thousands of precious lives in conquering a country for the benefit of a few capitalists ? The British workmen have been tux-od heavily, aod will have to be taxod for many years to come, to make up the Empire's war-lull, and it is but a fair claim that the conquered territory should afford a field for British labour. With the mines thrown open to white labour, thousands of workmen could be drawn from the con6vst«l centres of the Old Country and 'given profitable employment. Yet it would seem that the sole ol> ject in view is tilt- provision of ctenp labour for the capitalist, no thought being given to the necessity for finding employment for the men who bore tho brunt of tha conquest. It is to 'be hoped the Empire will awaken to' a recognition of the danger and foolishness of the policy of "drift"' before the condition of the country necessitate!* a further recourse to arms.