The Colour Line.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVI, Issue 88, 18 April 1904, Page 2

The Colour Line.

AN ADDRESS BY MB JOHN NORTON.

Mr John Norton, a member of the Now South Wales Legislative Asdelivered fin address ut Dunedin 011 the subject of " A White Australia versus a Pibald Empire." at Dunedin, the Dunedin Star reports. A large number of persons attended. Mr A. K. Barclay took the chair and made a few remarks, llis ((ualificatljans for 'introducing Mr Norton were not very great, He only met Mr Norton that morning. Hut the gentleman who was to have taken | (he chair had not come, so Mr Norton asked him (Sir Barclay) to preside.

Mr Norton met with loud applause as he rose to speak, lie said he had deemed it on honour to appear on a plutform with a man whom, on llis past career, he (Mr Norton) would venture to desolate as one of tho most fearless and conscientious men that Australasia had produced —a man who had dared to tigfht and suffer for his principles.—(Applause.) He (Mr Norton) came to Dunedin under his own auspices, lie came to deliver a message to -such of (lie I Democracy of New Zealand as diil him the honour to attend and lis-

ten to hini —u; message of congratulation from nearly 5,000 of the citizens of New South Wales in pi<Hlic meeting assemibied to endorse and strengthen the grand, noble, timely, opportune and statesmanlike protest made by King Dick of Seddon Dand—(appftiusij)/— afcliinst the importation of Chinese into South Africa. It was a matter of congratulation, considering all thu toadies that the recent lioer war developed, that Mr Keddon, in spile of his Imperialistic surroundings and all the seductions of popular i applause, should have remained true to democracy, and to a white democracy. Imperialist though Mr Seddon was, he was not prepared to see the interests of tho Anglo-Sax-on-Celtic sacrificed to the selfishness of a few Jews. King Seddon had spoken for New Zealand, and for the whole of the white Empire. By his uttrances Mr Seddon not only bulked bigger to-day than formerly in the pi|lVlic opinion of the Empire, l.Hit he' was far and away the best friend and the greatest statesman that the democracy of the Empire had to trust to to-day.—(Applause) That wus a g?'eat deal to say of any man, but it was New South Wale's opinion. The pronouncement had borne good fruit. It had set tho wheels of puli/ic opinion going. It had aroused the apathetic white conscience of the Empire, especially that of Australia. Even.the Labour Party had forgotten its duty to Its cause and its organisation. Leaving others out of count, why

did New Zealanders so loyally and numerously and magnificently rally to tlie imperial Standard in South Africa In the late war? l)id they go to facilitate competition of the yellow, the black, and the Ifrown man against the white'? No. Did they not go to assist the Uitinnder, who was represented by the Johannesburg Jew cabal as being oppressed ? These Uitlanders were earning £1 a day under Kruger, hut they wanted a vote, and many who went from the colonies—especially from Queensland—to give them that vote might have done better to stay at home and try to got the

vote for themselves, instead of starting off to bhyowet men who were ready to give the tjitlanders the vote upon their complying with the 'jond'it ion of seven years' residence. What more could have been offered in such a case b,y any British country than was offered by the Boers ? lint whether the purpose was noble or not, nobly the outlying portions of the Empire helped the Empire in the war. lie had no intention of flattering New Z(ealanders. He was relyintj on the report of the Koyal Commission on the conduct ot the war in South Africa, and what that amounted to was that, apart from the New Ztenluaiders, the rest of the eouliivgents were a lot of rag'tag and bobtail, fit only to lake the Doers' cattle and Bibles. The purpose of the war was achieved, and mj-w if thoh-e who helped to strike down the two Dutch Republics wanted to go there urnl settle on the land they had saved they were told that they could not go unless they could show t'hey owned iUOU. If they lvad been told beforehand that as a reward for their services the places of white men in South Africa would be taken by Mongolians, he doubled whether they would have volunteered.—(Applause.) Why the ne-

cessily for Chinese'! Were the Kaffirs nJt cheap enough at tl'is a week? No, for the Kaffir had something of tiie man left in him, ami there were severui hundred millions of Oh'inuso ready to go and work for 21s a uioiiih. Yet some of the South African mints were paying from 30 to 100 per cent, with white labour and

one as high as 187J per cent. In this matter the very destiny of the Anglo-Saxon-Celtic races 'was at stake. If this thing could be done in South Africa, might it not be repeated elsewhere V—(Applause.) The wiiito people were not in the majority. Mliey were the salt that gave the savour, the life, and tho vitality to the Empire ; but they were not tho majority ; they were a paltry one-eighth of the total subjects of the British Empire. Seven-eighths of the subjects of his Majesty were coloured, and tho whites had Lo consider how long the permanency of the Empire would bo maintained if they permitted a policy of yellow labour in South Africa to spring into existence. Tho cable had reported lately that a conference of Christian Churches at Johannesburg'hud unanimously passed a resolution approving of tho influx of Chinese labour. The Sahution Army at Johannesburg had passed a similar resolution.(Dissent from a Salvationist at the rear of tho hall.) Well, he hoped that the report was not true, but it woulti do the Army good in the colonies to cable to South Africa and ascertain if it was true or not.—(Applause). It would have been better to let South Africa alone than lo liuitd it over to Jews to farm it out on a system of sweated Chinese labour.—(Applause.) If the protest that was now going round the Empire was not loud and constitutionI ully forcible the Boers would make the importation of yellow labour the means of an awful revenge for the late war. What was to be done ? Let them keep agitating until the small majority in the House of Commons in favour of yellow lalwiur was | turned into a minority, and then such meetings would have an irresistible force in compelling the Liberal Administration that would come into ofhee to revoke the law. to stop those of the 50,000 Ch-iiianu-n who had not arrived, and to send out those of the number who Ivad already arrived at the expense of the ■Jews who had sent them thpre.(Applause.) The lecturer concluded by moving—"Thal this meeting of Dunediii citizens protest against, the importation of Chinese coolies into the Transvaal under the imperial sanction not only as a breach „f the loyal white citizens of the Empire, who so recently fought and bled and died in its South Africa, „ ul ulso lls )iaught with perM to the social ami industrial integrity of the Angh,- , "V.''"" Ct ' illc l» l °ple, upon whom the •stability 01 the British Empire mainly depends."

The.' Chairman said, i„ (i„, inot.on, that whatever the audience bought about some „f ju,. Nl ranai-'js, the wording 0 f the motion tionlb£ " S

The .notion was largely voU,l for ouslv bt cim ' icd