Fern Vale; or, the Queensland Squatter. Volume 2

by Colin Munro

"How so?" asked the other, "will you explain?"

"Certainly," replied Mr Moffatt; "it would little matter to you, perhaps, who only want to realise your fortune, and return with it to your native land. But how different is it with the labouring man who settles here with the intention of making this his home for the remainder of his days? Let us consider the prospect it offers to the colony in this light. It is argued that the northern parts of this island are possessed of a climate that will not admit of the manual labour of Europeans; and that without the introduction of tropical labour the country must remain unproductive. Now, admitting this theory, it naturally follows that, with the exception of owners of property and capitalists, the population would be a mixed and foreign one; and would form a state peculiar in itself, and different in its language and manners from the other colonies. This, be it remembered, in the midst of a British colony, inhabited by the Anglo-Saxon race. Now, it must be manifest that this people, forming no inconsiderable part of our population, must be either admitted to the privileges of British subjects, or governed as a conquered race or an inferior people. Assuming, then, that they are to be recognised as a class of free immigrants, which is in accordance with your own opinion, they at once become colonists, over whose actions we have no undue control. They would be entitled to all the privileges of our constitution, and, consequently, could not be debarred the exercise of the franchise. To say nothing of the absurdity of having a Chinaman or coolie returned to a seat in our legislature, and other incongruities; what would be the effect of their introduction upon our own working population? we will see. This desirable class of labourers with whom you desire to inundate us, we will assume, are introduced into the country in swarms, ostensibly for the cultivation of tropical produce in the northern latitudes of this colony. They are engaged at wages commensurate to the exigencies of competition, so as, as you say, to enable the cultivator to develop the resources of the country by raising a marketable commodity to compete with the slave-grown produce of the western hemisphere. What is the result? Is it to our advantage? Certainly not! The value of our exports are increased, you say, but at what a fearful sacrifice? Granted that these coolies are engaged, and for a period of years say, and that they are bound stringently by penalties to the terms of their agreement. To enforce this, or even to carry on your work, you must have the services of some interpreter; at whose mercy you must ever be, even if you are so fortunate as to obtain one. I would ask you, then, what security have you for the due performance of your labourers' contract? None but their agreement. And how can you in a court of law prove its legality, or the liability of the contracting party, when that party is totally unacquainted with your language and you with his; and he does not admit its validity? But even granting that one or two refractory coolies could be subdued, where would be your remedy if scores or hundreds repudiated their contracts, and refused to work for you at the wages offered to them? That they would so refuse I am firmly convinced, for we are all aware that two differently remunerated classes of labour of the same description co-existent is incompatible with the laws that govern commerce; and men would be found, as you yourself have admitted, who would be ready to obtain their services in other capacities by the offer of higher wages; while the coolies, in their turn, would readily accept an improvement in their positions, without considering the violation of their contract, the nature of which they would doubtless have but an imperfect idea, if not be entirely ignorant. Thus they would be continually drawn off from their intended occupation to fill positions to the exclusion of the white man; and the cotton and sugar cultivator would require to give an equivalent to the European's wages, or supply the places of those who abscond by a fresh importation. In such an emergency it is more than probable that the latter would be the course adopted. Hence we would have a perpetual influx of these undesirable immigrants, who would merely serve a probationary term with their importers, and then mix with our white population on terms of equality. Is it not evident then that Asiatic labour would be brought into direct competition with European? and who can deny that the result would not be disastrous to the latter? Some strait-laced philosophers and fireside philanthropists, who see the miseries of their fellow-creatures through the beeswing of their after-dinner potations, dictate the means for the amelioration of the sufferings of their race with the same self-sufficient spirit that they rule the destinies of their own household. These argue that the introduction of the heathen immigrants to our shores would be an inestimable blessing to humanity, and add an additional lustre to the cause of Christianity, by the intercourse of the two races, and a consequent enlightenment and christianizing of the disciples of feticism. But this I deny, for debase the European labourer by reducing his means to that of the Asiatic (which I affirm would be the consequence of this influx), and instead of the latter being elevated to the level of the former, the former would be rather dragged down to that of the latter. Without going so far as to question the omnipotence of the Almighty I firmly believe that the moral condition of the Asiatic would not be ameliorated in the slightest degree by the contact; while humanity and Christianity would receive a blow in the demoralization of our countrymen. Depend upon it, sir, the expediency of the introduction of cheap labour is a fallacy; whereas the very existence of our religion, and the realization of our future greatness, depend upon the settlement of the wastes of our colony by a thorough British population."

"But, my good sir," said Brown, "how do you reconcile to your objection the thesis that, as the European cannot labour in field service in the tropical heat of the northern part of our colony, without the assistance of Asiatic labour the productions of our land will lay dormant?"

"That," replied the other, "I also deny. I believe European labour is practicable in our climate, even in the remote north; and in support of my belief I could name numerous precedents. Was it not a Spanish population that peopled South America? an European that later settled Texas? and is even now (I allude more particularly to the Germans) growing cotton in that province to compete with the slave-grown produce of the States? Have not the French settled Algiers, and cultivated its soil, even producing that desired staple, cotton? But to come nearer home; have not our own brave countrymen in India incontestably proved, in the trials of the last fearful campaign, without having been inured to the climate, the capability of the Englishman to withstand its heat?"

"But still," said Brown, "the price at which we purchase our labour would never enable us to cultivate either sugar or cotton profitably. We must have cheap labour to perform the work; and, for my own part, I can't see but that, if coolies be introduced into the country as labourers for a specific purpose, they could be compelled by the law of the land to continue at that labour. If the introduction for that purpose is found desirable, the practice of their immigration could be legalized by an enactment that at the same time would bind them to the species of work for which they were engaged, and make their hire or employment for any other purpose, or in any other part of the country beyond the tropical boundary, a felony punishable by a heavy penalty."

"That was just the point I was coming to," replied Mr. Moffatt; "but first I will answer your previous objection. It is practicable for Europeans to cultivate the soil to the northward, though they will do so in the manner most advantageous to themselves. If they find the cultivation of cotton and sugar unprofitable they will turn their attention to other products; but I am inclined to believe that cotton could be profitably cultivated even by our own expensive labour. I have a friend, resident in the vicinity of Brisbane, who has grown some cotton as an experiment, and the result, even in this temperate climate, has been most satisfactory. The cotton he sent home was submitted to some of the first judges in Manchester and Liverpool, who pronounced it of the finest sea-island description, and superior to any obtained from the United States. Now this cotton was cultivated from the ordinary American sea-island seed; so that its fineness arose, not from any excellence in its germ, but the peculiar adaptation and efficiency of the soil in which it was grown; and which does not differ from the land on our entire coast line. This shows that our cotton would be of superior quality, and consequently of greater value. Another fact to be remembered is this, that in 'the States,' owing to the frost and severity of the winter, the plant is only an annual; while with us, as my friend has discovered, from the absence of frost the cotton tree becomes a perennial, and increases its yield each season; while the staple does not deteriorate in quality. Thus, it will be seen, we should have considerable advantage in the cost of production over the American planter; notwithstanding his slave labour. But to return to the coolies; with regard to their forced compliance with the terms of their agreements,—to effect which, you say, certain enactments would have to be passed to meet the exigencies of the case,—I believe the first step would be the dismemberment of those districts from the parent colony, and their erection into a separate state; so as to preserve the stringencies necessary in its government from infringing the constitution of the other colonies. Now in this new state the preponderance of the population would be black, who would in fact comprise all the working part of it; and it would necessarily follow that the government of the state would be comprised of the employers of this very labour, their servants, or sycophants, or at least those whose interests would be intimately connected with theirs. So that they might be necessarily expected to legislate so as to entirely meet their own views, and subvert the rights and freedom of their foreign labourers. The system would then descend into a compulsory labour; and, but for its name, would in nowise differ from slavery; worse in fact than actual slavery, from the fact of the stimulus of protection to one's own property being wanting in this case, that would in the other act as a preventive against unusual tyranny and oppression. So that the right of disposal by death, might reasonably be expected, would be exercised almost with impunity. Depend upon it, sir, such a system would give rise to a state of things, not only deplorable, but derogatory to a Christian nation. But I am convinced it never would gain the countenance or consent of the home government, who, for its own honour, could not tolerate the introduction of coolie labour on such terms; and our own population would never suffer its introduction on terms of equality."

"Well, sir," replied Brown, "though I don't admit myself a convert to your way of thinking, I still believe there is some truth in your arguments; but the thing we can't get over is the want of a labouring population here in the bush; and if we can't induce our own countrymen to emigrate we must try others."

"Believe me, sir," said Mr. Moffatt, "it is not a want of inclination that deters thousands of Britain's redundant population from flocking to our shores; it is the supineness of our short-sighted government, who, instead of creating a fund for the introduction of an agricultural population by the sale of the waste lands of the colony, or by the grant to every immigrant of a piece of land equivalent in value to the amount he has paid for his passage, lock up the lands from agricultural settlers in the fear lest their interests should clash with the pastoral. This suicidal policy has long been manifest; in no way more so than by the fact that we are obliged to depend upon a foreign supply for our very articles of common consumption; whereas nowhere could they be produced with greater advantage than within our own territory. By all accounts you are likely, in this district, to be separated from New South Wales; and one of your first acts in your legislative independence should be to facilitate the settlement of your agricultural lands. The two interests, that and the pastoral, may be separately maintained without detriment to either, and with immense advantage to the state."

"Oh, hang these politics!" cried Graham; "sink all dry arguments just now, you have made me quite thirsty with merely hearing your clatter. Never mind the agricultural lands, coolies, or Chinamen, though I would be very happy to see them and hope we will be able to get a supply of them soon. We will just polish off another bottle of grog, while we screw a spree out of Smithers here." With this little prologue he left the room for a few minutes, returning with a bottle which he placed on the table, and took his seat while he continued: "Bob tells me he is going to 'put his foot into it.' You know he has long been engaged to that niece of Rainsfield's (a deuced fine girl, by Jove!), and he states he is to be married in about a month. Now I say, if he does not give us a spree before he throws us overboard, we will cut him as dead as a herring after he is 'spliced.' What do you say, Brown?"

"Most assuredly," replied that individual, "Smithers ought to entertain his bachelor friends before he withdraws himself from their clique; and I have no doubt he will."