A.-4

404

11th Day.] British and Foreign Shipping. [19 June, 1911. Sir JOSEPH WARD— cont. so great that it will be difficult to fill our needs even with the 300,000 people a year which was referred to as coming from the United Kingdom—or a large portion of them —to the oversea countries now, and we could, beyond all question, absorb in our countries all the white people that it is possible for any of the white countries to send. The natural pride of the Indians, the Chinese, and the Japanese has as much right and title to consideration as that of the white people, upon the score of keeping their own race pure. In consequence of these extraordinary difficulties which are presenting themselves on this matter in every portion of the overseas Dominions, the Secretary of State for the Colonies, acting for the British Government, is piit in an embarrassing position from time to time trying to adjust the unnatural conditions that exist as the outcome of representations made from the oversea Governments owing to the conflict of labour-conditions and rates of pay and the feeling of race. Why, then, should not we take the matter up from the highest national standpoint and urge upon all the different portions of the world the desirability of having all our races kept to their own zones. The Japanese do that to a large extent now, because Japan is one of the countries which say that their race in another country must not be naturalized, and they have to stand by as subjects of the Mikado no matter to what country they go. It is of just as much importance to the Chinese to preserve their race as it is to the British people to preserve a white race, and to the Japanese to preserve their race; and so it is with the Indians. If we could in a dignified way let all those people understand what our standpoint is, and we agreed ourselves to do so, I think it would be a good thing. I do not know exactly how it is to be done, because I admit it is a very difficult matter. In the different portions of the British Empire we pass legislation that is looked upon as hurtful and distasteful to the coloured races; but if we could show them from the point of view of the preservation of the race in our own countries that we are anxious to keep out of our countries people of other races, and, therefore, urge the desirability of keeping every coloured race in its own zone, then I believe such a policy, though I admit it is an extremely difficult problem, would be a good one, because this question of the mixture of the races is one which must come up for drastic settlement in the next 20, 30, 40, or 50 years. It must be recognised that there are duties devolving upon each of the governments responsible for the governing of the races in the different countries, and I believe at some time or other in the future we shall have to come to the question of providing for every colour going back to and keeping to its own zone. I am particularly anxious not to take up too much of the time of the Conference, but T feel I have to speak my views upon this question. It is a matter upon which I feel strongly, and upon which the people of my country feel strongly, and what I urge is that the Conference ought to do something in the direction of what is contained in the two clauses of the New Zealand Bill to which I have referred. I want to repeat that the provision of one of the clauses of that Bill is that the owners of ships using coloured crews are to pay them the same rates of pay that we pay to our white crews, and, in the event of that not being done, the Bill gives power to impose 25 per cent, additional upon the bill-of-lading freight, and so on, for the various purposes set forth in the Bill. If they pay the rates of pay to their coloured crews which we are paying to our white crews, then that proposal under Clause 3 does not come into operation. I do ask the Conference to keep those two important questions separate —to keep the question of the introduction of the coloured races into our country out of consideration upon this matter : it does not arise at all. The question now before the Conference is as to the employment of coloured races on ships that come to our shores and go from our shores, and do not remain there at all. Finally, I want to say upon this very important matter, that I admit it is to my mind one of the most difficult questions we have to deal with, but I do urge upon the Conference with all sincerity that, as the matter stands at present, it is a menace to the continuation of the shipping industry owned by British people in British Dominions (though these vessels are owned in the oversea Dominions they probably have shareholders permeating the whole world over for aught I know to the contrary), and it is a menace to the position of the white crews