The British Commonwealth

THE BRITISH COMMONWEALTH The race problems in the British Commonwealth are of extreme complexity, for its autonomous dominions, with their different circumstances and traditions, necessarily adopt different labour and immigration policies. This differentiation is possible so long as each dominion shows reasonable consideration for the responsi bilities of the Empire as a whole, and is prepared to tolerate the limitations involved in partnership.

Canada.—The racial problems in Canada are comparatively simple, in spite of the complications due to the French-speaking population, which is increasing in numbers and spreading west ward both in Quebec and Ontario. The Indians of Canada are few (r i o,000) and, though slowly increasing, are of no political im portance. The colour line is an issue only in British Columbia, where there has been a considerable immigration from India and China, which has been stopped, and from Japan, which is now in significant. The main racial problem in Canada concerns the mixture of the present population, which is derived from north western Europe, with immigrants from eastern and southern Europe. If the vast immigration of Italians and Slays into the United States were diverted to Canada, that country would have to restrict her inflow of immigrants.

South Africa.—In South Africa "the poor white" presents a serious problem, and the conditions illustrate the difficulty of maintaining a fair standard of life for the less efficient members of a dominant minority. South Africa has an extremely mixed population, for both the white and coloured sections are com posite. The white settlers include Dutch, British, and some French Huguenots. The coloured population consists of negroes from many different South African tribes, the descendants of West African negroes introduced in the i8th century, and Asiatics. The West African negroes and Asiatics have given rise to the class known as the Cape Boy.

The European position in South Africa has been weakened by the feud between British and Boer, due to difference of ideas on native policy. It led to the early quarrel over the abolition of slavery, and to Cape Colony granting the negro the franchise, which is refused him in the other South African States.

In the effort to save the position of the white artisan the South African Government proposes the policy of segregation. No white man can settle in some parts of South Africa without the sanction of the Governor-General; and it is proposed that in some areas certain occupations should be reserved to the white artisan. The principle of segregation was adopted by the natives' land act of 1913, but it is opposed by many capitalists lest it should raise the cost of labour. The elections in South Africa in 1924 show that a large section of the white population regards some plan of segre gation as indispensable for the maintenance of the European posi tion; but the difficulty in securing for the natives adequate reserves of land has delayed the enactment of the measures pro posed in 1925.

Tropical Africa.

In tropical Africa the race policies are based upon two different principles. In West Africa the Govern ment acts as the trustee of the native, and protects him against the sale of his ground or produce on unfavourable terms. The native is encouraged to become a small holder and cultivate his own land. The resultant increase in numbers and wealth of the population has given the Europeans probably greater prosperity as merchants than they would have achieved as planters using native labour. In Kenya (East Africa) European settlers were invited to develop the fertile lands alongside the railway, large land grants were given and the natives were expected to enter the service of the Europeans. The East Indians, including many who had been employed in the construction of the railway, spread through the country and were especially useful in retail trade with the negroes. The extension of European plantations has now cre ated a greater demand for labour than the population can supply. More labour is required to reap a harvest than to sow the crop. Hence efforts have been made to discourage the natives from working in their own reserves and to force them by taxation and other means into the European senice, "a settlement," remarks Sir Leo C. Money (The Peril of the White, p. 43) "that would finally dispose of Kenya as a White Man's Land." The problem in Kenya Colony is how to work both the native reserves and the European estotes without forced labour, which has been rejected by the responsible leaders of each of the three British political parties as approximating to slavery. The opposition of Europeans in Kenya to the further immigration of Asiatics has been deeply deplored in India.

Australia.

Australia is the one continent which is blest with the absence of any inter-racial problem. When European coloni zation began it was inhabited only by a few nomads. After the Federation of Australia in i9oi, the White Australia Policy was adopted, and the coolies who had been imported to work the sugar plantations were sent back, excepting those who had made homes in the country. The Queensland sugar industry was thus left de pendent on white labour. Despite emphatic predictions to the contrary it has continued to develop. Its success, the health of the people of tropical Queensland and the general trend o'f medical opinion (see, for example, Gregory, Menace of Colour, ch. 8 and 9) show that tropical Australia can be developed by white labour provided the standard of life be maintained by the absence of coloured labour. Some South European immigration is being restricted by an annual quota.

India.

India presents inter-racial problems of peculiar diffi culty due to the great diversity of race, language and religion. The population is mainly dark Caucasian., with some Mongolian elements and, in the south, possibly a negro strain. Racial differ ences are vital in India. Much evidence has been collected by Indian scholars in support of the view that the caste system is in.

origin a colour reaction of a dominant light-skinned group which, by its superiority, imposed hegemony and its institutions upon the indigenous, darker-skinned stocks. Caste is varna and varna is colour. In the south where the dark-skinned proto-Indics (see RACES OF MANKIND) are most numerous, the segregation of the lower groups is still a feature of the social polity. The languages are a Babel, and the two chief creeds, Hinduism and Islamism, represent the very antithesis of religious thought. The problem for the Government of India is how a small oligarchy can harmon ize the conflicting interests of 3 20 millions of such diverse people. The growth of Indian Nationalism has led to an extensive measure of self-government, which has so far proved only a partial suc cess. The establishment of elective councils is a mark of the faith of the British Government in the depth of British influence in India. The spread of western education has rendered many In dians capable of taking a responsible part in the administration of the country. (J. W. G.) The race problem in the United States is noteworthy for its complexity, and for the fact that it has developed within the brief space of three centuries. These conditions, while they create a fascinating subject for the student of ethnology, also constitute an exceedingly knotty problem for the practical political adminis trator. The agglomeration of peoples has taken place so suddenly that the slow processes of natural amalgamation have not had time to operate.

The aboriginal population of the territory that is now included in the United States belonged to the red race, American Indians, or "Amerinds" as they are sometimes called. This is one of the primary races of man on a five-fold classification ; otherwise it is regarded as a highly specialized branch of the Mongolian race. The total number resident in this territory on the arrival of the white man, according to the best estimates, was probably not over half a million. From two-thirds to three-quarters of that number still survive. This element has never become an integral part of the American body politic because, on the one hand, of the difference in culture level that prevented any fusion on a basis of equality, and, on the other hand, of their own refusal to submit to enslavement which precluded any such adjustment as has been made with the natives in many other colonial areas.

The foundations of the American people itself were laid by groups of Caucasians, coming almost entirely from the British Isles, thus predestining the United States to be essentially a white man's country. Very early, however, a highly diverse factor was introduced through the landing of a ship-load of African negro slaves from a Dutch vessel in 1619. The importation of this element was continued for roughly two centuries, while at the same time the natural increase added largely to their numbers, so that by the time the first Federal census was taken in 1790 the blacks numbered 757,18i or 19.3% of the entire population. There was thus created a problem of race adjustment of tre mendous magnitude and extreme difficulty, involving, as it did, two of the most widely differentiated races on earth.

As long as the negroes remained a subject people, the social relations between them and the whites, cruel, unjust and abhorrent as they were in many of their aspects, were at least simple, definite and workable. There was abundant admixture of blood, but it did not involve any assumption of social equality, and the resulting mixed breeds were invariably classed with the negroes. When, however, the Civil War resulted in the liberation of the slaves, the social problem took on a new aspect. It became a question of harmonizing the two races on the basis of an actual legal equality and an implied social and personal equality. Some sort of a inodus vivendi has been established and maintained, but it cannot be considered satisfactory to either element. One factor that must have important bearings on future developments is the fact that while the negro population is increasing absolutely, it is diminishing relatively. In spite of the classification of every in dividual with any black blood as a negro, the percentage of negroes recorded by the census of 192o was only 9.9. This may possibly portend the gradual dilution of the negro stock until it eventually ceases to be recognized as a separate element.

Aside from the negroes, there was no appreciable admixture of the white blood of the American people by any other race until about the middle of the nineteenth century. Then began a small inflow of the Mongolian race, represented by Chinese, attracted largely by the gold finds in California and the attendant demand for cheap manual labor. At first these Chinese workers were welcomed. Their foreign ways were regarded as picturesque and amusing, and their willingness to do women's work in a pre dominantly male community was an asset. As their numbers increased, however, and there arose actual competition between white and yellow workers, the sentiment of the whites rapidly changed until eventually it became one of bitter animosity. As a result of the ensuing protest, fomented by measures not too commendable in their details, Congress in 1882 inaugurated the Chinese Exclusion Acts which have been maintained and strength ened subsequently and have had the effect of virtually putting a stop to Chinese immigration. The few Chinese who remain in the country continue as a separate element for the most part, but their number is not large enough to arouse any concern.

The next contingent of the yellow race to attract attention was the Japanese. These began coming about the beginning of the loth century, at first in very small numbers. As in the case of the Chinese, the original attitude of the Americans was one of wel come, which rapidly changed to antagonism and opposition as their numbers increased. Protests emanating particularly from the Pacific coast, finally became so vociferous that an arrangement was entered into by the diplomatic representatives of the two countries, commonly known as "the gentlemen's agreement," by which, in return for the suppression of certain discriminations against her people, Japan agreed voluntarily to prohibit all ordi nary emigration. This agreement continued in force with a rea sonable degree of satisfaction to both parties until it was super seded by the general clause in the Immigration Act of prohibiting immigration to all foreigners who are not eligible to citizenship in the United States.

At about the same time as the coming of the Japanese there appeared small contingents of Hindu immigrants who at one time threatened to create a serious problem. This movement, however, was effectively checked by the immigration officials who applied the regular exclusion clauses to the Hindus in such a way as to rule that they were all either polygamists or likely to become a public charge--or both. Later they were definitely excluded by the "barred zone" provision, and finally by the "eligibility clause" of the act of It thus appears to be quite definitely established that the United States is to be predominantly a white man's country, at least for a long time to come. There has been a great deal of discussion of the relative desirability of the different branches of the white race, particularly in connection with the agitation that preceded the act of 1924. This has centred about the "Nordic hypothesis," which insists that the peoples of northwestern Europe, belonging to the tall, blond race, are peculiarly adapted to develop free institutions and to preserve the pristine character of democracies. Interest in this theory was intensified by the "quota" provisions of the restrictive immigration laws, which were designed to favour the migration of the Nordic stock, as contrasted with the Alpine and Mediterranean. This led, in turn, to a careful study of the racial origins of the original American people. The best authority on this question is the special census volume, entitled A Century of Population Growth, which gives the proportions in 1790 as follows: English, 82.1 percent; Scotch, 7.o; Irish, 1.9; Dutch, 2.5; French, o.6; German, 5.6; all others, o.3. This indicates a very high predominance of the Nordic stock. Subsequent immi gration has very much diminished this percentage, though the United States census is not taken in such a way as to reveal the facts of race positively. In general, great caution is needed in considering American problems to distinguish between traits that are truly racial and those which are attributable to culture, tradi tion and environment.