CO885-(16-18) — Page 466

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :-

سلسل

C.O.885

17 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO

14

To Hong Kong, the Canadian steamers take 21 days from Vancouver. Add 8 from Liverpool to Vancouver, and the total trip takes 29 days. But this, it must be observed, with the present slow service on the Pacific, is only half a day longer than the time of the mails at present going from London to Hong Kong, via Brindisi and the Suez Canal. These mails take 29 days at present.

By putting on 18-knot boats on the Pacific, the time from Vancouver to Australia will be reduced to about 16 days; to New Zealand, 16 days; to Yokohama, 10 days; to Hong Kong, 144 days.

The result of this would be to make the trip from—

England to Australia or New Zealand

England to Yokohama –

England to Hong Kong

24 days,

-

18 days, 221 days,

as against the present mail service by the Overland Eastern route.

For information I give the records of the fast boats at present running from New York :-

North German Lloyd: Fastest trip by "Kaiser Wilhelm," 5 days 18 hours

16 minutes, from Sandyhook to Plymouth.

White Star Line: "Teutonic," 5 days 16 hours 31 minutes, from Queeps-

town to New York.

Cunard Line: "Lucania," 5 days 9 hours 16 minutes, Queenstown to

New York.

There can be no doubt that the proposition which is now being made will, when carried into effect, bring about the greatest revolution in travel and in the formation of lines of communication that has taken place for many years. As matters stand at present, Great Britain, Canada, and Australia are wholly disconnected from the best lines of travel and communication as between themselves. The only first-class service to Canada is by way of New York. The only good service to Australia is overland across Europe, with all the attendant inconvenience and irregularity. What is now proposed would put Great Britain, Canada, and Australia upon the best modern line of transportation in the world, and would have, at the same time, the very great advantage from the standpoint of Great Britain of bringing Japan, China, and, through them, the whole business of the East, on to the same line. The All-British Cable would be an adjunct to the steamship service, so that every necessary factor would be present. Great Britain is at the present time striving strenuously to maintain her trade with her Colonies, of which the greatest are Canada and Australasia. Both Canada and Australasia are desirous of promoting the increase of the trade with Great Britain, and they are desirous of promoting this increase of trade along lines which will not necessitate connection with lines of transport over the territory of any other Power. It has been the policy of Canada for many years to get into such a position as will enable it to build up its own sea- ports. At present, under the Canadian tariff, the imports from Great Britain get a preference of 33%. It is unquestionable that so soon as the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway is completed to the Atlantic coast, thus giving Canada two lines of railway over her own territory to the Atlantic coast, measures will immediately be taken to confine the preference thus given to British goods which are imported by and through Canadian ports. These facts are cited as indicating the trend of the policy of the great Colonies. The inauguration and successful carrying out of the project above indicated, embracing Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Great Britain, will bring about a readjustment of the lines of travel and of trade, which will not only be beneficial to all the contributaries, but will, from an Imperial standpoint, be the greatest step that could be taken to bind the different members of the Confederacy together.

May, 1907.

15

No. V.

British Indians and Self-Governing Colonies.*

The general principles which His Majesty's Government desired to assert in regard to the relations between His Majesty's Indian subjects and the self-governing Colonies were thus stated by Mr. Chamberlain in his address to the Conference of Colonial Premiers in 1897 :-

One other question I have to mention, and only one, that is, I wish See[C8596] to direct your attention to certain legislation which in process of (1897), p. 12. consideration, or which has been passed by some of the Colonies, in regard to the immigration of aliens, and particularly of Asiatics.

I

We

I have seen these Bills, and they differ in some respects one from the other, but there is no one of them, except perhaps the Bill which comes to us from Natal, to which we can look with satisfaction. wish to say that Her Majesty's Government thoroughly appreciate the object and the needs of the Colonies in dealing with this matter. quite sympathise with the determination of the white inhabitants of these Colonies which are in comparatively close proximity to millions and hundreds of millions of Asiatics that there shall not be an influx of people alion in civilisation, alien in religion, alien in customs, whose influx, moreover, would most seriously interfere with the legiti- mate rights of the existing labour population. An immigration of that kind must, I quite understand, in the interest of the Colonies, be prevented at all hazards; and we shall not offer any opposition to the proposals intended with that object, but we ask you also to hear in mind the traditions of the Empire, which makes no distinction in favour of, or against, race or colour; and to exclude, by reason of their colour, or by reason of their race, all Her Majesty's Indian subjects, or even all Asiatics, would be an act so offensive to those peoples that it would be most painful, I am quite certain, to Her Majesty to have to sanction it. Consider what has been brought to your notice during your visit to this country. The United Kingdom owns, as its brightest and greatest dependency, that enormous Empire of India. with 300,000,000 of subjects, who are as loyal to the Crown as you are yourselves, and among them there are hundreds and thousands of men who are every whit as civilised as we are ourselves, who are, if that is anything, better born in the sense that they have older traditions and older families, who are men of wealth, men of cultivation, men of distinguished valour, men who have brought whole armies and placed them at the service of the Queen, and have in times of great difficulty and trouble, such for instance as on the occasion of the Indian Mutiny, saved the Empire by their loyalty. I say, you, who have seen all this, cannot be willing to put upon those men a slight, which think is absolutely unnecessary for your purpose and which would be calculated to provoke ill-feeling, discontent, irritation, and would be most unpalatable to the feelings not only of Her Majesty the Queen but of all her people.

"What I venture to think you have to deal with is the character of the immigration. It is not because a man is of a different colour from ourselves that he is necessarily an undesirable immigrant, but it is because he is dirty, or he is immoral, or he is a pauper, or he has some other objection which can be defined in an Act of Parliament, and by which the exclusion can be managed with regard to all those whom you really desire to exclude. Well, gentlemen, this is a matter I am sure for friendly consultation between us. As I have said, the Colony of Natal has arrived at an arrangement which is absolutely satisfactory to them, I believe, and remember they have, if possible, an even greater interest than you, because they are closer to the immigration which has already begun there on a very large scale, and they have adopted legislation which they believe will give them all that they want, and to which the objection I have taken does not apply, which does not come in conflict with this sentiment which I am sure you share with us; and I hope, therefore, that during your visit it may be possible for us to

This question was not brought before the Conference.