I realise the full force with which it operates nor the extent to which it prevails. However, the only hope of a remedy in such matters is in the steady improvement of the general situation and the gradual education of the heart. Meanwhile it is wise to take note of the existence of this prejudice in any solution of present difficulties that may be thought of or attempted. And now, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to say a word publicly to the Government of this country. The difficulties of its position are great and undoubted. The delicate relations between the two European races, the special problems connected with the future of the vast native population, the powerful colour prejudice, the widespread apprehension among a section of the white population that their material interests are seriously threatened by Indian competition-all these make the position of the Government one of exceptional difficulty. And though its duty to secure the fullest justice to the resident Indian community is clear, I freely recognise that the strongest Government that may be conceived of will not be strong enough to redress all Indian grievances at once, and would be hurled from power, if it attempted to do so. I feel it is incumbent on the Indian community to realise this fully and not pitch its expectation too high-to exercise patience and self-restraint as far as possible, in order to facilitate the task of the Government, for any impatient or vehe ment insistence on immediate relief being granted, where the Government itself is not in a position to grant it without a considerable change in public opinion, can only retard, and not hasten, remedial action. But, while admitting all this, I feel strongly that the face of the Government must be set all through in the right direction, and the progress, slow as it may be, must be steady and continuous towards full justice to the Indian population. It is one of the primary duties of every Government to ensure justice to all who are living under its protection and the Government of South Africa owes this duty to the Indian population as much as to any other section of the community. And the fact that the Indians have no votes only emphasises this duty still further. The Indians resident in South Africa are part and parcel of the general

population, and their welfare must be an object of serioussolicitude to the Government, unless the idea is to hold them down permanently as a depressed community, which I cannot believe. Those who form the Government may be dependent on the votes of the European population for their position. But once they assume the functions of Government, they make themselves responsible for evenhanded justice to all, and to those who are least able to protect themselves from oppression and injustice they are bound to give their protection most.

My final word to-night will be one of appeal to what I would call the better mind of the two communities, European and Indian. To the European community I would respectfully say-you have all the power and yours, therefore, is the responsibility for the manner in which the affairs of this land are administered. You cannot believe in your heart of hearts that whatever temporary advantages may be gained by those who have power from a policy based on obvious injustice, selfishness, or unreasoning prejudice, such advantages can long endure. You oweit to your good name, you owe it to your civilisation, you owe it to the Empire of which you are part, and whose flag stands for justice and freedom and opportunities for progress for all who live under its protection, that your administration should be such that you can justify it in the eyes of the civilised world. That you have votes, and the Indians have not, only throws a double responsibility on on you the responsibility for actively promoting their prosperity and well-being as well as yours. The affairs of this country must no doubt be administered in accordance with European standards and by men who understand the spirit and working of European institutions, but the Government must exist for promoting the prosperity not of the European community only, but of all its subjects; else it is a travesty of Government to them. To my own countrymen resident in this land, my parting appeal is always remember that your future is largely in your own hands. You have by no means an easy position here, and it is not impossible that it may grow even worse. But, whatever happens, do

not lose faith or give way to despair. I pray to God that such a struggle as you found it necessary to wage in the Transvaal during the last three years may not have to be waged again. But if it has to be resumed, or if you have to enter struggles of a like nature for justice denied or injustice forced on you, remember that the issue will largely turn on the character you show, on your capacity for combined action, on your readiness to suffer and sacrifice in a just cause. India will no doubt be behind you. Such assistance as she can give shall freely come to you. Her passionate sympathy, her heart, her hopes will be with you. Nay, all that is best in this Empire, all that is best in the civilised world, will wish you success. But the main endeavour to have your wrongs righted shall have to be yours. Remember that you are entitled to have the Indian problem in this country solved on right lines. And in such right solution are involved not merely your present worldly interests, but your dignity and self-respect, the honour and good name of your Motherland, and the entire moral and material well-being of your children's children. Ladies and gentlemen, I will now bring my remarks to a close. I thank you for the kind and indulgent manner in which you have listened to me. And to all of you I say good-bye and farewell,

INDIANS IN THE TRANSVAAL.

[At a meeting held in the Town Hall of Bombay on the 9th September 1909, Mr. Gokhale spoke as follows:—]

Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen,-You will see that the first part of this resolution is practically identical not only in substance but in its very wording with a resolution which was adopted in this very Hall at the begining of last year by a Public Meeting presided over by H.H. the Aga Khan. Eighteen months have elapsed since then and the fact that we have to repeat the self-same resolution again to-day shows that no relief has come in the interval and that the period has been one long night of tribulation and suffering to our brethren in the Transvaal. Indeed, gentlemen, the position to-day is far worse than it was when the last meeting was held. The actual struggle then had been only a month old, and it so happened that the very next day after the Bombay Meeting a compromise was effected between Mr. Gandhi and General Smutts, seemingly full of promise of a peaceful settlement honourable to both sides. Again out of a total Indian population of about 8,000 men in the Transvaal, 7,500 were engaged in the struggle. To-day the total Indian population in that Colony has dropped to less than 6,000; and though most of these are in deep sympathy with the struggle and are helping it financially and in other ways, the brunt of the persecution is being borne by a brave band of about five hundred Indians, led by the indomitable Gandhi, a man of tremendous spiritual power, one who is made of the stuff of which great heroes and martyrs are made. Gentlemen, we have all been following this struggle with close interest and with deep indignation and pain, relieved only by our admiration of the heroic stand which our countrymen have made, but I think it will be useful to recall briefly on this occasion the principal facts. Under the old Boer Government of the Transvaal, a law was in existence which required all Asiatics who entered the

Transvaal after 1885 for purposes of trade to register themselves and to pay a registration fee of £3. There was no limit to the number that might so enter and the Indian population in the Transvaal before the war was estimated-and the estimate has been accepted by the Government-at 15,000 males, leaving women and children out of account.

Another provision of this law required Indian traders to trade in locations only but it was never rigorously enforced and, in fact, an attempt to enforce it strictly was alleged by both Mr. Chamberlain and Lord Lansdowne as one of the causes that led to the war. In those days the Indians resident in the Transvaal were not only regarded as entitled but were actually encouraged to turn to the Imperial Government for protection. Before the outbreak of hostilities most of the resident Indians left the Transvaal, carrying with them passes from the Boer Government permitting them to return after the close of the war. The war ended in 1902, resulting in the annexation of the Transvaal to the British Empire. It was however soon discovered that the substitution of the British Government for the Boer, so far. from bringing any relief to the Indians, actually made their position far worse. In 1903, the agents of the British Government that had gone to war with the Boers for seeking to enforce the law about locations, themselves sought to enforce that law in a far more stringent manner than the Boers had ever contemplated. The attempt failed on an appeal to the Supreme Court, but it gave the Indians a taste of what was in store for them under the regime, and it naturally filled all right-minded men with indignation and disgust. Then the cry was started that Indians were flooding the Colony and it was necessary to stop the influx. How dishonest and unscrupulous the cry was may be seen from the fact that the Indian population in the Transvaal since the war has at no time reached the number that was there before the war. I have already said that the male population alone before the war was 15,000. In 1904, a regular census was taken when it was found that the entire Indian