The Blue-book published last week containing "further correspondence relating to
labour in the Transvaal mines" is chiefly remarkable for a long despatch from Lord Selborne which deals exhaustively with the situation, and may be regarded as the best official apologia for Chinese labour. Lord Selborne rests his case on the contentions that the Chinese coolie is recruited on exactly the same principles as the Kaffir; that the black labourer was at the outset even more disorderly, riotous, and criminal than the Chinese coolie; but that as the result of improved management the natives give no trouble and the system works quite smoothly. He frankly admits the existence of difficulties in the case of the Chinese, viz., the bad character of a small percentage of the coolies; the improper exercise of authority by individual white men; and the misunderstanding due to mutual ignorance of the English and Chinese languages. But he asserts that the great bulk of the coolies are industrious and orderly, and confidently anticipates that with improved management, the multiplication of trustworthy and competent white interpreters, and the powers of summary jurisdiction conferred on the Superintendent and inspectors under the new Ordinance, the Chinese, who have already proved more enduring and efficient than the natives, will also prove equally orderly and tractable.
Previous page
