On Tuesday a Blue-book was issued containing the corre- spondence
on the Asiatic question in the Transvaal. Perhaps the most interesting despatch is that in which Lord Selborne replied on July 8th, 1907, to Lord Elgin's dissatisfaction with the Transvaal Asiatic Law Amendment Act. On behalf of the Transvaal Government, Lord Selborne defended the "finger-print law," and made what for his purpose was certainly a telling reference to the use of finger-print identifi- cation in India. He referred Lord Elgin to the book called "Classification and Uses of Finger-Prints," by Sir E. R. Henry, Chief of the Metropolitan Police, in which Sir E. Henry (who was formerly an official in India under Lord Elgin himself) explains that in India the system has not been restricted to criminals, but has been "introduced into all branches of public business." Lord Selborne added : "A system in which apparently the people of India contentedly acquiesce cannot be intolerable when applied to Indians elsewhere." As for the restriction of Indian immigration under the new laws, the Blue-book contains expressions of opinion by Mr. Morley and Sir Edward Grey. Mr. Morley did not dispute the right of the Transvaal to impose reasonable restrictions, but remarked that a law which excluded Indians, however high their social status and educational attainments, would have "an un- fortunate effect upon public opinion in India." Sir Edward Grey said that the exercise of powers of expulsion by the Transvaal Executive—powers ordinarily entrusted to the Judiciary—would probably cause friction with foreign States.
