CHINESE LABOUR.
[To TRH EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR.1 SIR,—I read with great interest your article on "Chinese Labour and the Empire" in the Spectator of March 26th. Having formed a part of Mr. Creswell's white labour scheme on the Village Main Reef towards the close of 1903, and being now at work on a mine which employs Chinese labour, perhaps a L. or observations from me might be of interest.
Certainly there is no question that we all worked our hardest on the Village Main Reef, machine drilling. There was a small premium to be earned on every foot drilled over a certain amount. We went down the shaft at 7 a.m., with a sandwich, eaten in ten minutes at midday, and a bottle of tea ; up again at 4.30 p.m. ; at 5s. a day first month, 7s. 6d. next month, and so on. Of course we were inexperienced ; but Mr. Creswell argued that we paid better than Kaffirs. I am glad to hear it, but must say that I rather doubt it. The complications in working out exact expenses per ton milled—e.g., the amount of rock broken in the stopes before we signed on, the amount of waste (worthless rock) sorted out, cost of air used running the machines, &c.—make the calculations almost as intricate as the Fiscal problem,'where we see men of undoubted integrity (as Mr. Creswell) drawing exactly opposite conclusions from the same premises.
One clear instance I can give. A gang of white men, chiefly British, were engaged on the cyanide plant shovelling sands from large 400-ton tanks, and dumping the truck loads, under a fore- man who got the• last ounce of work out of his men. Under pressure from the directors, these men were replaced by an equal number of Kaffirs, who got through the same amount of work at exactly one-third the pay drawn by the white labourers. I know also that the less experienced battery hands were working seventy-two hours a week under Mr. Creswell at Is. 6d. a day. Certainly Mr. Creswell got the very Most out of his men. I certainly agree that white men can work on the Rand, and have no sort of objection to doing manual labour, apart from Kaffirs.
In your article I read: "The true duty of the Imperial Govern-
ment is not to develop low-grade mines in haste." But what about the low-grade mines, only intended to be worked on a cheap-labour basis, which are already developed ? It is a dreary ride from Johannesburg to Roodeport ; for instance, passing eight or nine mines, gloomy and deserted, with silent batteries, the sight of them makes one think any remedy, however desperate, better than the evil.
Now, re slavery, there are thirty-eight white men on this mine in Central Sumatra, all on two or three years' contracts, passage paid out and home again. If a man goes away before his contract is up he, of course, forfeits his passage home,— and his passage out, if it can be got out of him. We are virtually imprisoned in a compound, as there are no means of getting away, except our own legs, which soon tire in this climate. By our agreements we are liable to be sent to any other place where we may be wanted to work, yet we by no means consider ourselves slaves ; and similar contracts are made all over the world. No one who knows anything denies that the Chinamen are excellent workmen. I would like to put in a word for their cleanliness, which I have seen much maligned. I know that all the Chinamen working on a part of the plant where there is an unlimited water supply invariably strip and turn the hose over themselves both before and after their work, whatever the time of day or night.
Lebong Donok, Sumatra.
P.S.—Putting aside the slavery question, every argument I have heard against the employment of Chinese labour on tho Rand can be applied with equal force against the employment of Kaffirs on the mines.
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