The correspondent, of the Times at Johannesburg sends an interesting
account of the position of the labour question there. Although some five thousand natives offer themselves every month, the number of labourers on the Rand is always- insufficient, and as the prejudice against Asiatics is immovable, there is a disposition to turn towards white labour. The mine- owners are prepared to pay 5s. a day and "all found" to labourers from England, who would not only do the work re- quired, but would help to solve the problem of turning a Dutch into a British Colony. Experiments are being made with this end, and if they succeed, if, that is, the mine-owners can over- come the British dislike to work in rivalry with blacks, the future of the Colony will be assured. If not, and machinery cannot afford any adequate relief, we suspect that the gap will be filled up, as in America, by a large importation of Italians, and Slays from Hungary. We do not quite under- stand why in a country of black men the comparatively civilised Indians or Chinese are so detested ; but it is useless to reason with the colour prejudice, and of course British labourers, if they can only be obtained, would for political and social as well as economic reasons be infinitely preferable to any others.
