General Botha made an important statement, in the Trans- vaal
Parliament yesterday week on the subject of Chinese labour. The Government, he announced, had decided not to re-enact the Labour Ordinance, but to repatriate the Chinese immediately on the expiration of their contracts. The Govein- ment Native Labour Bureau would supervise the recruiting 'of natives in South Africa, and negotiations were on foot for reorganising the Witwatersrand Labour Association and ensuring more satisfactory recruiting on the East Coast. The repatriation of the Chinese would restore healthier and more stable conditions in the mines, and promote the larger employment of whites, a more economical use of natives, and a more extensive resort to mechanical appliances. During the subsequent debate the Labour policy of the Government was defended by Mr. Rissik, Minister of Lands and Native Affairs, and Mr. de Villiers, the Minister of Mines. Sir George Farrar, Mr. Quin, and Sir Percy Fitzpatrick severely attacked the Transvaal and Home Governments, charging the former with duplicity and the latter with intervention, and in his reply General Botha vehemently denied the charges of barter or bargain with the Imperial Government. He was merely fulfilling his election pledges, and would fulfil them to the letter.
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