Los Angeles herald., 1907-09-22
LAW DEFIED
BYASLATICS
SERIOUS TROUBLE FEARED IN
TRANsvAAL
EAST INDIANS WON'T SUBMIT TO
REGISTRATION
Say They VIII Suffer Business Ruin
or Deportation Before They
VIII Comply with Legal
Exactions


JOHANNESBURG, Sept A.-Will the
Transvaal have to build a new jail to
accommodate 10000 Asiatics? Or will the
first law passed by the first elected par
| lament be successfully defied by the east
ern peoples within her borders?
These are the questions South Africa Is
asking The Transvaal's latest trouble
raises an issue of the greatest import
ance. The Indians In the colony nave
armed themselves with the weapon OF the
English Nonconformists. They have be-
come passive resisters. They sit down
and stolidly refuse to obey the law. They
are prepared to be sent to jail, or ruined
| in business, or deported. But they VIII
not be registered by act Of parliament.
The deadlock is an awkward one.
| What the Asiatics in the Transvaal, do
today the Asiatics in Natal. or Australia.
or British Columbia may do tomorrow.
Worse still, the resistance to the law may
| have bad effect upon the millions of
colored people in the sub-continent. They
may begin to say among themselves that
the rule of the white man is not SO very
strong after all. And, lastly, the mere
| fact of this resistance may tend to fan
the flame of anti-British feeling in India
| There are In the Transvaal some 1900
Asiatics-exclusive of the Chinese mine
coolies, who do not come within the new
act. 1t is declared by the administration
that their numbers are being constantly
added to by the influx of newcomers who
get in on the strength of false permits
or without any permits at all.
Asiatics Must Register s'ts
| It was resolved, therefore, to find, out
precisely who are entitled to reside In the
Transvaal, and for this purpose there
was passed the Asiatic law amendment
ordinance, which, although not assented
- exr.& &x1 rArr1r rIr--
| ture, was allowed by the imperial authors
ties when passed by the self-governing
colony. This law calls upon every Asiatic
| to apply for a registration certificate, and
| on the form asking for this certificate
every Asiatic male over years of age
must place his finger impressions.
| The government decided to put the act
in force district by district. They began
with Pretoria, where the Asiatics were
called upon to register between July
and July 81. Led by the British Indians,
| the Asiatics refused. ~.
They placed pickets outside the regis
tration office and the official appointed
to receive the applications sat all day
and every day waiting for Asiatics who
did not come. Then it was decided to re-
ceive applications secretly at night at
private houses Forty Memons gave in,
and it is believed another thirty or forty
Indians applied. But in Pretoria alone
| 1000 Asiatics defied the law, and, assum-
ing that the proportion is maintained in
all the other districts. there will event.
ually be over 10000 Asiatics liable first to
a fine of $500 or three months imprison-
ment, then to the loss of their trading
licenses. and finally deportation.
Refuse to Be Singled Out
The Indians object to the principle OF
the act, and also to its provisions. They
ic rlo foI Ia ffrr, ~ ba
type. They say that If every man in the
Transvaal were called upon to register.
they would register as quickly as an
one. But when they are singled out by
law, they refuse. They protest that a
precedent would be created. They say
that once the principle of special legisla-
tion is admitted in the statute book, there
is no guarantee that it will not be ex-
| panded and that they will be forced to
live and trade in special locations. pay
special taxes, and, in fact, be treated diff
ferently from other British subjects.
The secondary objections are equally
strong. They protest that the finger-im-
preston system is humiliating and de-
grading, and classes them with criminals
They protest that the demand that they
shall declare their mothers name is an
insult to their religious ideas. for with
many Indians it would be. deemed a Sc
rious disgrace to utter the name of Ineir
mother. Rfea SsA
| Well-to-do merchants have resolved to
face ruin rather than submit. Mr.. Gand-
! hi, who headed the recent deputation, to
England. asks to be the first to be sen.
to prison for resisting what he says il
gross injusticle to law-abiding and peace
| full British subjects. Heads of Asiat;c
| business houses have cabled to their sup
porters in all parts of the world can
ceiling orders until it is decided whether
| they are to be ruined or not.esThe hawlker
abandons his daily round in order to att
tend protest meetings.; stores in distant
dorps are closed while the owners hasten
to Pretoria to support the agitation.
Concessions Demanded
To some extent. the Asiatics are pre-
pairing to give way They will agree to
voluntary registration, with finger inn
pressons If the obnoxious act is with
drawn and only enforced against those
who will not register voluntarily. This is
the greatest concession they will make.
Voluntary registration, yes. Registration
by law, no-not even If the alternative be
| Jail and ruin.