10 OCTOBER 1931, Page 15

THE COLOUR BAR

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—Your correspondent S. Mogi states in his recent article that " No distinction in the mental power of the different races has been proved by the experiments of sociolo- gists." I should be very interested if he would state on what experiments this assertion is based.

It is generally believed in this Colony that there is a marked hereditary mental distinction between the Nordic White and the Bantu, and that this mental difference is as profound as the difference of colour and other phys ical characteristics.

I have had no opportunity of conducting exact experiments on this subject, but I have many reasons to believe that the Bantu's reactions are on an average much slower, and that his muscular sense and sense of touch are much less delicate than those of either whites or Asiatics. It would be highly interesting if you could publish the results of any exact experi- ments made in countries where white and black have much the same education and upbringing.

Critics of the colour bar sometimes forget .that the South African Bantu is, in many respects, much more primitive than the builders of Stonehenge. If a country inhabited by such a people of whatever colour is conquered or occupied by a highly civilized race, some distinction in the class of work done by each race and some bar on free inter-marriage may be expected. Where difference of colour is superposed upon difference of culture such distinctions are naturally accentuated.

As regards immigration into the self-governing Dominions of non-white races, the antagonism to this is by no means entirely, or even_ mainly, economic. It arises mainly from the resistance of any society to a fundamental change in its own composition. We, South Africans, do not want to see South Mrica peopled to a large degree by Hindus or Chinese, and such immigrants are no more welcome on a large scale here than they would be in France, Germany or Britain, or than African negroes would be welcome in India or China.. We fully acknowledge the right of China and India to exclude from their territories South Africans, whether white or black, and We agree that the righti of Asiatic immigrimts who have al- ready been admitted should be fully protected. We, however, claim the right to refuse admission into South Africa of anyone not domiciled there without assigning any particular ground for doing so. This right is, I believe, claimed by all self-

governing States and has, I believe, been recognized by the League of Nations.

Any suggestion that the League of Nations has the right to 'force immigrants on independent countries or self-governing Dominions who are unwilling to accept them would, I am sure, be resisted to the uttermost by the South African States. I fancy that in this matter the other Dominions are of much the same opinion as ourselves, and would rather secede from the League of Nations than be compelled to accept immigrants that they did not want.—I am, Sir, &c.,