Cape Politics.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVI, Issue 131, 7 June 1904, Page 4

Cape Politics.

The Pall Mall Gazette publis n es a very important letter from its Capetown correspondent. The correspondent, who went from the Cape to Johannesburg in order to And out the real feeling there in regard to Chinese labour, declares that now that the actual appearance of the yellow man is drawing near, public opinion is being greatly moved, and points out how what was before a "more or less harmless growl has ripened into distinctly treasonable utterances." The general public sentiment must, he insists, be faced squarely. "It is this. The promises made to the white men before the war have not been carried out. As a matter of fact many of the Rand men who took part in the campaign have been refused a return of 1 their positions they threw up to bear arms." The correspondent goes on to say that while workers Ix.lieve "that the capitalists have deliberately done all in their power to discourage the Kaffir, and having done so have represented that the mines cannot be worked without the aid of the Chinese. They further forecast that before Uie yellow men are six months on the Rand tho small number of skilled workers will be paid off, since it is possible to make the imitative and intelligent Chinee what the black man can never become—a skilled worker. They argue that in addition to saving alAjut 50 per cent, of the mine labourers' wages, the owners intend to get rid of the white worker root and braTich. They further contend that the vast majority of the white men are solidly against the importation of Chinese, and accuse the capitalists of having gained apparent support by bribery and corruption." The Pall Mall correspondent in addition declares, in rogjard to the public meeting called to condemn the importation of Chinamen, that " it has never been denied that those who formed the opposition to the original idea were ojienly paid 15s apiece for their services." The Pall Mall correspondent ends up his vury gloomy letter by a hint that the Kaffirs are also greatly perturbed by the near advent of Chinese labour. If this letter had appeared in the Daily News or tho Star, it would naturally have been discounted as "prejudiced." Its appearance in the l'all Mall Guzette, a paper strongly opposed to the agitation against Chinese labour, cannot but be regarded as significant. We cannot, of course, take any responsibility for its allegations, but we foe! sure that the Pall Mall would not have published the letter unless it was fully convinced of the trustworthiness and sincerity of its correspondent. The more the whole subject is discussed the more convinced do we become that a terrible blunder lias been committed by Lord Milner and the Home Government in allowing the use of indentured Chinese labour in opposition to the public opinion of tho whole Empire. Nothing but harm to the Empire and to South Africa can come of it. At the same time, it becomes daily clearer that the alternative, the greatly extended use of white labour in the mines urged by Mr Cresswell among the best of the experts on the spot, is a perfectly practical policy.