THE WHITE MAN'S BURDEN.

White Ribbon, Volume 25, Issue 294, 18 December 1919, Page 1

THE WHITE MAN'S BURDEN.

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free; there is neither male nor female; for ye arc .ill one in Christ Jesus.” Paul, the great Apostle, was cenaiics ahead of his time, and enunciated here to the Galatians a truth which, as yet, our own enlightened atfc does not fully realise. We are sometimes astonished at the >lovvness of the people in grasping the mdc conception that in Christ Jesus *e arc all one great harmonious whole; our nation only one in the (treat brotherhood of nations; our l>lan» t only one in God’s great universe, and that not only our world, but all the worlds, arc “bound by golden chains about the feet of God.’ The links of that golden chain arc love and self-sacrifice, a love at over leaps the boundaries of country, race, creed, or colour, and applies the Hrien rule alike to black or white, h»nd or free, man or woman. Es pcciallv should we tori ‘he sirred oh igation to treat our coloured brethren. i'ho give allegiance i<> our flag and arc our fellow-subjects, with the Writ of love, courtesy, and self nti( e. Parts of our vast hmpire are moved Mih the spirit «d unrest: Ireland on ’he verge «d rebellion, India and Tg\ |.t seething with discontent. And these troubles are largely the result ot ’he mistakes of the past, of the spit it H coercion instead of sympathy, and "I ’lie l u k of im igination in the or binary British statesman, his utter in abiht \ to pat himself in another’s place, or sec any jioint of view but his own. e cannot undo the past, but in the name of common sense, for the sake

of our common humanity, do not let us repeat these mistakes and hand on to our successors an Empire torn by the spirit of discord, when we might, by the healing power of an undei standing sympathy and the application of the golden rul*\ knit together the various parts of our Empire in re, bonds of love and unity. When the first slaves were taken across the lantic and sold in North America, n»* one guessed what a frightful cotia* tion of affairs was to develop. We cannot plead ignorance in regard to indentured labour. W *■ have seen its late development both in I* iji and in ,S < nh Africa. We are told that inddtituied labour i different in Samoa from what it is in Fiji. We have never questioned this, but indentured labour in Fiji is growth, and even those who introduced it never contemplated its becoming sin h an open sore. 1 he in troduction of indentured labour into Samoa is a little step on' the down grade, but “Facilis descensus Averin,” and Fijian plantation and South African compound give fail warning what depths tan be reached even under the 1 nion Jack. ’The same old arguments are advanced. We are told the inden tured labourer is not a slave. He certainly is not a free man, and therefore, to a greater or less degree, is a slave. The fact that s«»me of these labourers are happy is no reason to leave them in slavery. Many slaves in kenturkv homes were happy, but that was no ivason whv the thousands who were unhappy should be left in slavery. The Samoan plantations i annot be profitably worked by free labour I he same old lie that we read in l S A If the slaves were set free national

bankruptcy would follow . Abraham Lincoln set the spiritual advance of his people before material prosperit> and freed the ‘ laves, and the country is ric lirr and more prosperous than ever. One M l’, has said that the folk who oppose indentured labour in Samoa do not know what the> are talking about. We think l)rs. Burton and Andrews know more about the quetion than the M.l\ who so grandilo quently discounts their knowledge. We do not ourselves lay claim to any spec ial knowledge about Samoa, but we do claim to know the bedrock principles of Christianity, and every one of these is outraged by indentured labour. Would any of the people who defend this system like their own sons and daughters to lx* indentured labourers, even in New Zealand : The principle is outrageous and vicious; it raises deep indignation against us in India and elsewhere, and it lowers tin morale of the people w ho own th' se labourers. Even in Australia, when prisoners were hired out as servants, it is well known how critelh and unjustly they were treated. Men can not be trust cd to have slaves or servants undei their absolute control. We sin« ercly hope that the elections will return to power men who will set national character and the principles of liberty and justice above material prosperity. ‘‘ln a hovel rude. The king I sought h»i meckk stood. \ naked, hungry child (Tung round His graoous knee, Vn<| a |x>or hunted slave looked up and smiled, To bless the smile that set him five. 1 knelt and wept: my Christ no more 1 seek. His throne is with the outcast and the weak.”