Sin,—Mr. Rider Haggard in his interesting letter under the above
heading (Spectator, October 7th) says: " To allow a vast number of men in the prime of life to spend months and years bereft of the society of their womenkind and families is to attempt a very dangerous experiment." This is perfectly true, and has been pointed out over and over again. What, so far as I am aware, has not been noticed is the impossi- bility of securing Chinese labour for the mines on any other conditions than those indicated, and the consequent futility of any promises that may have been made under this head. It is, I believe, illegal for any Chinese woman to emigrate ; and though Chinese laws are in many instances a dead letter, yet this one has the force of public opinion behind it. Emigration is looked on as the last resort of those too hope- lessly destitute to make a living at home, or too hopelessly degraded by their own vices and follies to keep their position in society; and no emigrant dreams of taking his wife with him, any more than any respectable woman would entertain the idea of leaving her own country. There are exceptions, as at Singapore, where Chinese of the wealthier classes have effected a permanent settlement; but that these are not numerous enough to affect the rule is shown by the numbers of Chino-Malay half-breeds to be found in Java, and doubtless elsewhere. In California, where alliances with the population of the country were out of the question, the difficulty was met by Chinese dealers, who bought or kidnapped cargoes of girls for export to America, —as depicted in Mr. Fernald's " Chinatown Stories." (This book, it may be remarked, also gives pictures of Chinese families living permanently at San Francisco; but these belong to the well-to-do minority, who are not likely to seek work voluntarily at the Johannesburg or any other mines, not to the coolies.) It is to be feared that, if any attempt were made to carry out the promise of providing " facilities " for the miners to be accompanied by their wives, the result would only be an extension to South Africa of this abominable traffic. This is a further proof, if any were needed, that the importation of the Chinese, even though it had been im- possible to work the mines without them, was unjustifiable.—
I am, Sir, &c., A. WERNER.
Previous page
