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THE HONGKONG WEEKLÝ PRESS AND
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from the "white Australian "point of view, the case against the Chinaman, drawing bis arguments chiefly from the state of affairs in the New South Wales. He concludes with the statement: "The Yellow Man,"
like a bad habit, is easier to acquire than to get rid of. To those of us who have "seen what his effect has been elsewhere, "the prospect of his possible importation into South Africa is simply appalling. Even if the primary difficulty of keeping "him in his place could be overcome, there “would still remain the tremendous evil of “his effect upon his neighbours, both black \" and white. And when once that ball has"
"been set rolling there is no power on earth "that can arrest its progress or avert its "consequences." It cannot be denied that the Australian arguments against the Chinaman, although lacking in novelty, are not devoid of force. There are many irrefutable charges to be brought against the Chinese immigrant, the real gist of them being that he does not, except in very rare cases, settle in the country to which he goes, but sends his money and ultimately, if he lives, returns himself to China. He is therefore but a scant source of wealth to the country of his sojourn
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[February 23, 1903.
case thus: "To hope to get any profit we immorality," and comes to the conclusion "could not pay the white man what would that it is "negative rather than positive, "be regarded as a fair wage, and then, side | non-moral rather than immoral, a deficiency "by side with the Kaffir, I doubt myself rather than a substantive point in their very much if he would be able to do as | character." There is a great deal to be said "hard work as the black. It used to be for the Bishop's view of the subject, but it "said that one white man was equal to two is safe to say that it will not be entirely or three natives, but I don't believe that endorsed by the foreign merchants in Japan myself, so far as the more laborious forms who suffer by reason of the "defect" which of work, such as drilling, are concerned. they prefer to regard as immoral rather Then, too, you never will get white man thau non-moral. The arguments used are to do what the blacks will do; to become not wholly free from inconsistency. When 'white Kaffir'. is considered a degrada on the abolition of Feudalism in Japan tion, the significance of which is often not forty years ago the military, “which was fully realised here." This statement of the most cultured and honourable class" were paid off and advised to use their the case requires no strengthening.
Judging by the above, we are tempted to money to good account, they soon lost conclude that Chinese labour is the best, if their money and took to the army, the various kinds not the only, resource left for the Rand police, public offices of owners. The question, however, is so even jinricksba-drawing, but not to trade, complicated that it would be foolish to look says the Bishop, “and trade was left chiefly for a speedy settlemeat of a final character. to those who did not belong to the honour. The main facts of the situation appear to be able class, for with few exceptions they only that black labour is too scarce, white labour could succeed in it." Two inferences may two dear, Indian labour inferior to Chinese, be drawn from this statement, via., either and that the mining managers are tired of that this class was a dishonourable class in experiments and in immediate want of a the usual acceptation of the term, or else large supply of men-200,000 to 300,000 that they only could succeed because they are the limits of the estimate. There is the were already experienced in commercial strong prejudice against the Chinaman, on dealings. It is probably the latter view the one hand, and on the other there are which the Bishop wishes to convey, as the opinions of prominent men that the he writes not without admiration of the Imutual consideration which was never Chinaman alone can fill the vacancy at
before "in. present existing. The Commissioner of absent from their contracts the Johannesburg Chamber of Mines has ternational commerce came to demoralise "-demoralise them, that is undertaken to report upon a very vexed their dealings question.
by the elimination of the system of mutual consideration which, according to the Bishop, is impossible in large and complicated engagements and doubly impracaticable in international commerce.
"L
JAPANESE COMMERCIAL
MORALITY,
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If we were
but if
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The question next naturally suggests itself -What alternatives are there to the intro- duction of the variously estimated Chinese labourer? There are four such alternatives, The first, that which occurs most readily, is the employment of British African labour
entirely, throwing open for the purpose the whole of our African possessions to recruit- ing; the second is the engagement of British navvies; the third, that of Italian navvies; and the fourth, the importation of Asiatic labourers other than Chinese. The
(Daily Press, 27th February.) It last alternative may be taken first. In a new quarterly magazine entitled The seems generally agreed that neither Indians, East and the West, issued by the Society for Japanese, nor Coreans are likely to be so the Propagation of the Gospel, appears au good as Chinese; the Japanese are open to interesting article by Dr. AWDRY, the much the same objections as the Chinese, Bishop of South Tokyo, on "Some Weak and the other two are less effective Points in the Japanese Character." It workmen. To the employment of natives consists mainly in an attempt to explain the from districts north of the Zambesi the low state of commercial morality which main objection seems to be the dread of the admittedly prevails in Japan. hitherto mysterious malady known "called. upon to do business with the
· Chinese,' "sleeping sickness," the spread of which to
the Bishop says, we should the Rand would make the situation far
"place complete reliance in them; more serious than it is now. Moreover, it
"with the Japanese we should watch them is doubtful whether there is a sufficientmost carefully at every turn.' available supply of black labour to be got in the northern territories, seeing that there is a large labour demand in them also. As the authority interviewed by the Financial Times stated, one of the things the em ployers of labour have to contend against in the smaller colonies is that local require ments are always said to be capable of absorbing the home supply. That was a cry raised in the ease of Uganda, where it was claimed that the natives may be required for industries which are to spring up in the dim future. And it was fudinn coolies and not native Africans who luilt the Uganda Rail- way. With regard to British navvies, a statement was recently made that the Govern- ment was prepared to import 5,000 of them on condition that the mine-owners would engage an equal number, and that their pay would be 48. a day besides their keep. Kaffir labour costs about 28. a day, and Mr. ALBU told the Chronicle: "If we had to "pay five times as much for our labour as him, Dr. AwDRY tell his readers “we to now, our industry would be killed. "that the Japanese fail miserably in the "These are all experiments. We have been matter of keeping their word in contracts.' “trying experiments for four years, and we Why the difference? The Bishop does not “must now either get to work or close our attempt to furnish any further information mine Italian navvies might be cheaper, on this point than that we have quoted but their employinent seems to find little above, but he discusses at some length the favour, and even they would require high | historical causes of the defect in the Messrs. GoERE's manager puts the Japanese code which we call commercial
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Dr. AWDRY, in the first place, accounts for the difference by saying that in Chica the merchant is respected and self-respecting, while Japan all the best elements of the national culture and ideals are associated with the military class, and trade and the handling of money are accounted degrading. This in itself would be a very inadequate explana- tion. Mr. CLEMENT F. R. ALLEN, formerly H.B.M.'s Consul at Foochow, who con- tributes an article in the same uutaber of the magazine on China's Needs inciden- tally expresses the opinion that Chinese commercial morality is explained by the fact that they have learnt the lesson that honesty is the best policy, and he adds that it is at least doubtful whether they are
actuated by any | higher motive. While Mr. ALLEN justly says of the Chinese. that they will keep to the terus of a time bargain, an that a merchant will account for every penny entrusted
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Be that as it may, after forty years of international trading, one would suppose that the Japanese people would have generally recognised the immorality of the breaking of contracts and have saved them- selves from the, reproach that such articles` as the Bishop's must necessarily cast проц them. We question whether any of the Japanese Chambers of Commerca would offer a similar defence of the evils, which the leading men in the Japanese commercial world fully recognise and, to their credit be it said, are striving to correct.
THEATRE ROYAL.
THE SECOND IN COMMAND." The Brough Company on the 21st inst. introduced to Hongkong for the first time Captain Marshall's military comedy The Second in Command, meeting with a well-deserved success. A great contrast to Are You a Mason 1 the second piece in the Broughs' repertory gives a still better chance for our. to exhibit their talents. The author of His
visitors.
Excellency the Governor has in the play which we witnessed on Saturday presented an amusing picture of military life, though we would tot like to guarantee its perfect accuracy. However, it is sufficiently realistic to appeal even to an audience of which a large section is itself military. There is a good deal of sentiment as well as of comedy in The Second in Command, and if Captain Marshall make his heroes quixotic to an extent which would be irritating in real life, we must forgive him in considera- tion of the genuine entertainment which his work provides, and must overlook the strain on our oredulity imposed by the scene in "Trafalgar Cottage." Portsmouth. The Second in Command, as played by the Brough Company, is well worth seeing-even of seeing twice.
Meters Brough and Lovell between them took the leading masculine roles, those of the two offers of varying degrees of quixɔtry. Mr. Brough's Major Christopher Bingham was, we need hardly say, a finished performance, and we ask for no better exponent of the part. Quiet and restrained, he made the audience accept
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