THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. MONDAY, JANUARY 28, 1906.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXVIII, Issue 7951, 29 January 1906, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. MONDAY, JANUARY 28, 1906.

The possibility of slavery onee more becoming, practioally, permanent beneath the British flag, appears to be most likely with the coming into power of the Gampbell-Bannerman Government, for while the previous Administration was in office, there was always the slavery question upon whioh to attack the Government, and always the hope that British public opinion might be roused to auoh a pitch of indignation that steps would be taken to prevent the continuation of the employment of Chinese labour in the Transvaal mines, for a brief 48 years, or thereabouts, the Britisher has . been able to boast that there was not a slave under the Flag, though, it mus»; be admitted, that prior to the abolition of

the slave traffic and the emancipation of slaves, the British nation very largely approved of slavery. Wljen the abolition of slavery in British colonies was finally carried by the Slavery Abolition party, the Government . paid no less than £20,000,000 by way of compensation to slave holders—a fact that testified very eloquently to the completeness of the change in national feeling, brousrht about by the good work of philanthropists, in regard to the slavery question. * * # r * But the feeling of the British people to-aay against slavery is not one atom diminished since the time when £20,000,000, compensation, was paid to slave holders —indeed, this feeling has become much more intense. To-day, it may be said, that one and all rightly regard slavery, or any co&dition of that nature, with absolute repugnance and abhorrence. As unscrupulous as the Balfour Administration were in the matter of the employment of Chinese in the Transvaal they used their utmost efforts to convince the nation that the condition of the Chinese was not that of alavery, and the prespnt "Liberal" Government are careful to declare that, as a result of their criticisms, the oondition of the Chinese has been ameliorated! By shuffling and misrepresentation the Balfour Administration hoped to blind the eyes of the British public to the true inwardness of the "Raudlords"' nefarious scheme, and by shuffling misrepresentation, and legislation, the "Liberal " Government hope to successfully secure—from their point of view—the perpetuation of the abominable system. i It is obvious that the present difficulty of the British electors is considerable—the abominable system, which Sir Henry Campbell-Banner-man ha 9 described as "villainous," waH sanctioned by the defeated Government, and, by a clever trick, it is going to be perpetuated by the victorious party. The, almost, indecent haste that is being made to grant "independence" to the Transvaal emphasises the keen desire of the new Government to rid themselves of a duty that they should unflinchingly undertake. ***** In the meantime the burghers continue to disinter the bodies of their brothers, who fell in the war, and Mr Steyn urges that the ohildren should not be allowed to forget their sufferings when in the concentration camps. Cablegrams from the Transvaal state that British residents are anxious as to the intention of the Imperial Government, and, all the while, the success of British colonisation and supremaoy in the Transvaal is steadily becoming more doubtful. Moreover, is it so very certain that the Boers will not attempt to regain their independence should it see in to them, at any time, that they have a reasonable prospect of accomplishing their desire? The roar of the guus of "freedom" has been followed by the institution of a system that has created general loathing and disgust. The danger of the veldt is the "yellow peril." It has bee.n, necessary to arm the Boers in order that they may protect themselves against the dangers created by the new Administration; and is it surprising that, in the murders, robberies—and other deeds of worse character—committed by the escapees from the compounds, the Boer finds an additional reason to hate the British? * # * * * There are two points, it aeems to us, that are specially worthy of consideration in connection with Chinese labour on the Kand. (1) Is the oondition of the coolies that of slavery; and (2) why were they imported at all? In regard to the first question there is a good deal of conflicting evidence, but the few broad faots that cannot be disputed certainly indicate that, the Chinese coolies in the mines have less liberty, and are quite as brutally ill-treated as any slaves there have ever been. They are comprised largely of the soourings of the Chinese gaols in the ooastal towns, and from this fact, it may be adjudged that they are not oonsulted in the matter of their deportation to the Transvaal. If any coolie esoape from a bompound—according to the law—he immediately becomes an outlaw, and is a fair target for the bullet of any man who cares to shoot him. The awful depredations that the numerous escapees have been guilty of suggest very forcibly that the coolies are the sort of beings, who can only be controlled hy the most severe disciplinary measures, or, shall we say, by a most cruel system of slavery? What goes on within the compounds, and in the bowels uf the earth, can be pretty well imagined—for from time to time what appears to be a little of the truth leaks out I ***** 1 The great argument of the apologists for the use of Chinese labour in working the mines is that unless such labour were employed the mines could not be made to pay, and that, consequently, there would be a considerable falling off in the world's gold supply. But this attempt at justification is scarcely worthy of consideration. The mines in the Transvaal are the riohest

mines in the world, and they paid excellently before Chinese labour was employed. Tbe sole reason for the importation of tbe Chinese was the desire on the part of a body of grasping mine-owners to increase their profits,' and history has shown again and again that when men give themselves up solely to the winning of gold there is very little that most of them will not do to "increase "Droflts," If the work in the mines is 'unsuitable to white men, or if the ore is not of a sufficiently high grade that it can be worked with the employment of white labour, clearly, then, Kaffir labour should be utilised. Before the war the Kaffirs were largely employed, why not since? Simply because the profits of the "Randlords" would not be so large. The Kaffirs would not consent to be treated as slaves, and they have sense enough to Know that under the British flag they can, as British subjects, obtain fair play, and as such they are not wanted in largo numbers by the "Kandlords. M To grant independence to the Transvaal, at the present time, is to hand the country over, holus bolus, to the "philanthropic" magnates, for the constitution will, no doubt, be so devised as to place the country within the power of these teen; whose tender mercy and sense of justice seem to be only properly appreciated by the Chinese who flee from it. That, however, the granting of responsible government will "settle" the Chinese question,or that the Boers have lost all hope of regaining their independence are two things that we do not believe.