The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE. Equal and exact justice to all men. whatsoever state or persuasion, religious or political. TUESDAY, JUNE 7, 1892.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 3104, 7 June 1892, Page 2

The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE. Equal and exact justice to all men. whatsoever state or persuasion, religious or political. TUESDAY, JUNE 7, 1892.

It is an unfortunate circumstance that a considerable area of the continent of Australia should be situated within the torrid zone, and therefore for climatic reasons incapable of being cultivated by European labour. The question has arisen in consequence as to where and under wluic conditions the necessary labour could be procured. Naturally those interested turned to the neighbouring islands, and large numbers of Kanakas WGi'G hired on tho ciniG system to work iii the siig&r pliiutiitions, th© climate and soil being admirably adopted for the production of this article of consumption. Imperfect regulations for the protection of tlio labourers, or the waut of ability on the part of the authorities to ouiorco tlit??n led to some very serious abuses both as regards the means adopted to secure recruits and their treal nient after landed in the c.dony. This caused a great outcry, and eventually led to the prohibition of the traffic. The Queensland Parliament recently passed an Act to revise the traffic for the reason that without it the industries which depended upon a supply of labour from this sourc© had to be abandoned altogether. This caused a great outcry at both sides of the world, and Lord Knutsford was pressed to advise Her Majesty to disallow the Act. This ho very properly refused to do. In consequence, several members of the House of Commons delivered hysterical speeches, ami

ohitrucioi'iscd tii(! mr-usurc as ouo to promote veiled shivery. As is usual with men given to this style of oratory, thev .ycro weak in facts, and drew upon thoir imaginafion for circumstances to justify their contention. As has been pointed out by Sir S. Griffiths, the ovonts they instanced took place previous to 1884, when experience led to the making of stringent regulations calculated to do awav with the evils which undoubtedly existed up to that time. There can he no question hut that had Lord Knutsford yielded to the clamour lie would have gone a long way towards weakening the tie between Great Britain and her colonies. The Premier of South Australia, having in view the passing of a similar measure to that of Queensland, has suggested a conference of delegates from all the colonies in order to discuss the question in all its bearings with a view to suggesting to the Federal Council a desirable course of action. He has since proposed that New Zealand and Tasmania shal! be invited to take part. So remotely are we interested in the question that we hardly think it worth while to go to the expense of sending representatives. So long as the labour is introduced on the present terms, viz., that the men shall be returned to their islands on the termination of their term of service, no evil is likely to arise. There is danger, however, that in course of time these men may permanently settle with their wives and families, and thus bring about a political difficulty, such as that which the United States has to face at the present, time. That day of necessity is very distant, but now is the time to take the necessary precautions. The coloured labour muse not be allowed to come into competition with that of Europeans, except within certain parallels to be decided upon, on the grounds solely that Europeans cannot work therein, and they must on no consideration bo allowed to overlap the defined lines. If thesregulations were strictly enforced, the wage-earners would have no cause to complain. On the contrary, they would benefit by the consequent addition to the taxable wealth and the lessening of their own burdens. We have little doubt but that it will be found more ad- j vantageous eventually to procure the necessary labour from the teeming population of India, which is civilised and skilled in the cultivation of the soil. If this channel were availed of, the liability to abuse of the labourers would be reduced to a minimum. The recruiting would be carried on under the eyes of the officials, and no doubt the Indian Government would make necessary regulations to secure the proper treatment of the people. It is unquestionably most desirable that the land of Australia should be reserved for Europeans, but it would be preposterous to propose that large areas of country shall remain idie because circumstances rule otherwise. As Lord Knutsford pointed out, this is a question for the colonics to settle for themselves, and that so long as the adopted principle with regard to slavery is not infringed, it would be highly impolitic for the Colonial Office to interfere