The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1895-03-09
THE KANAKA LABOR TRAFFIC.
Lecture by the Rev. W. Gray at
Sydney, New South Wales.

The Rev. w. Gray, for IL years
missionary on the island OF Tanna,
and more recently OF Queensland,
lectured in the upper hall of the Y.
M. G. A. last night on the Kanaka
labor traffic. The attendance was
not large one. The Rev. j. E.
Moulton, Of Newington College,
presided.
Mr.. Gray said that for the first 10
years OF his residence in the New
Hebrides he was a silent observer Of
all forms OF the Kanaka labor traffic,
and probably his voice would never
have been heard had Queensland
not renewed that traffic in 1892
Having suffered in the past, having
seen the evils OF the traffic in the
past, he felt constrained to speak
when the traffic was renewed after a
cessation Of six months during the
latter half Of 1891. Charges OF
ignorance had been freely made by
both sides, aud the explanation OF
that lay mainly IN the fact that the
traffic had two ends-the island end
and the colonial end. The good
ness claimed at the Queensland end
could never compensate for the evils
inseparable from the traffic at the
Island end. Mr.. Gray then referred
to Sir Henry Norman's dispatch OF
May, 1892, on the traffic, and also
to the manifesto issued by Sir Sam
uel Griffith in February Of that year
on the same subject. The first, he
said, contained facts as seen through
the spectacles OF his Minister'S; the
second laid it down that Queensland
was to be the home OF any man who
would benefit the country; and the
sugar industry must be the premier
industry OF Queensland. The land
must be held by small men--farmers
who would work their own farms
with white labor, mainly, OF course,
their own families. Sir Samuel
Grifiith's change Of policy Mr.. Gray
attributed to the fact that he had
only II opponents in 1891, when in
opposition to the traffic, and he had
only II opponents in 1892 when he
was in favor OF il. Dealing with the
question whether the Kanaka could
bear more labor in a tropical climate
than the white man, Mr.. Gray gave
it as his experience that he could
not. In his own experience as a mis-
sionary he found that he had to
take OFF his coat and work like a
Niger. The Kanaka had no power
OF continuous hard work; but it was
not colored labor that was wanted
in Queensland, but cheap labor, that
was not aware that il had any rights.
Colored labor could be procured
from India, but the Coolie or the
Chinaman knew that he had rights,
and he also knew how to assert
them. II the Kanaka got any good
in Queensland it was by accident;
the planter aud recruiter had no
such benevolent intentions toward
him. Laying down as a broad prin-
ciple that when traffic required to
be fenced round with minute regula-
tions ia order to protect it, then the
traffic was in itself inherently bad
Mr.. Gray referred to the various
evils connected with il at length
speaking for nearly two hours in
condemnation. The Islander, he
said, lost his citizen rights at home
after he went to Queensland, lost
his property, and even his wife, and
received low wages in return. The
heavy mortality among the Kanakas
in Queensland was also referred to-
London TelegrdDb,