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THE PEARLING INDUSTRY.
It is questionable whether there is not
a tendency to delegate too much of
Parliament's responsibility to Commis-
sions; but in view of the highly contro-
versial aspect of the white or coloured
labour question in relation to the pearling
industry there are substantial grounds
for the appointment of the Royal Com-
mission proposed by Mr. Bamford in the
House of Representatives on Thursday
last. In the opinion of many of those
chiefly concerned, the Federal Govern-
ment's determination shortly to abolish
coloured labour on the pearling grounds
will, if persisted in, have the additional
effect of extinguishing the industry so
far as Western Australia is concerned.
Though the mover of the resolution ex-
pressed the opinion that pearling could
be conducted by white labour ,the
weight of expert, if not entirely disin-
terested, local opinion appears to be
against him. Undoubtedly white men
could be found to undertake the diving.
White labour can be obtained practically
for any class of work, however danger-
ous or disagreeable it may be. The mat-
ter usually narrows down to a question
of remuneration; but in this connection
there are several points to be considered.
The physical effect of working for any
length of time on the floor of the ocean
is certaintly disastrous, and although
white men may be tempted by wages
much higher than could be earned in
any other avocation, they themselves ul-
timately pay heavily in wrecked consti-
tutions or an unduly shortened span of
life. It is questionable whether the
State should allow men to be bribed
to maintain an industry at the expense
of their health or lives. And apart
from the actual work of pearling the con-
ditions that obtain at the centres of the
industry — although the darker side is
usually grossly exaggerated by critics
whose knowledge is largely supplied by
imagination — are not conducive to the
making of a healthy white community.
Should it be proved that the pearl
fisheries cannot be profitably worked
exclusively by white labour, or except
at the cost of the rapid deterioration of
the men who undertake the more ardu-
ous portion of the work, will the Fed-
eral Government sacrifice the industry
on the altar of policy? The iron law of
economics fixes a point beyond which the
cost of production cannot advance with
out involving the extinction of any in-
dustry. In this particular instance the
increased cost cannot be passed on to the
consumer, as practically the entire sup-
ply is purchased beyond the confines of
the Commonwealth, and the market price
is not subject to the influence of local
conditions or local legislation. But
even were the yearly exports valued at
an infinitely greater sum than £300,000,
the consensus of opinion would probably
be favourable to the loss of this trade
if its maintenance; menaced the racial
purity of Australia. " This is the crux of
the problem. The enrichment of a small
section of the community would prove
small compensation if the employment of
coloured labour resulted in the rooting
of so many centres of racial infection on
the North-West coast of this State. The
preservation of Australia from this evil
is of vastly more importance than the
conservation of a dubiously suitable
avenue of employment for the white
worker. The coloured peoples, particu-
larly the low types that usually engage
in manual or menial labour, in addition
to their own inherent vices or failings,
acquire by contact the least desirable of
the white man's attributes; consequently
to allow the coloured divers and sailors
of the pearling fleets unrestricted free-
dom on shore would be inimical to both
races. At present the coloured workers
engaged on the pearling vessels are
usually kept to the boats and away from
the shore and cannot land without per-
mission. It is possible that even more
rigorous supervision and control could
be imposed by the authorities for the
prevention of contamination of both
white and coloured, European and abori-
ginal. Indubitably before any drastic
action is taken which might lead to de-
struction of a valuable industry without
any compensating gain; there should be
instituted a searching inquiry into all
phases of the subject.
The jurisdiction of the Commonwealth
Government extends only three miles
from the Australian coast. If coloured
labour be abolshed and the substitution
of white divers proves unprofitable, or
generally unsatisfactory, pearling head-
quarters may be transplanted to Dutch
territory, or the industry wholly ab-
sorbed by foreigners. Coloured labour
in these circunmstances would certainly be
utilised, and it is not improbable that a
portion of the embryo Australian navy
would be constantly engaged in patrol-
ling the North-West coast to prevent re-
petition on a wholesale scale of the re-
cent poaching iqcident. As racial, com-
mercial, and economic questions are
commingled it is of the utmost impor-
tance that a commission vested with
authoritative powers should be carefully
chosen and its personnel uninfluenced by
political opinion or party bias. A duel
between convinced protagonists and an-
tagonists of an undeviating observance of
the White Australian policy, irrespective
of circumstances, could more expe-
ditiously and cheaply be fought out on
the floor of the House. The political
element, if not entirely eliminated from
the proposed Royal Commission, should
not preponderate. The main issue is
not whether Australian industries should
give preference to the white worker
against the coloured. This question has
passed the stage of debate, being now
the settled policy of the country. But
the Royal Commission's chief objective
will be to determine whether it is possible
to confine the pearl fishing industry
solely to white labour, with due con-
sideration for the permanency of the in-
dustry and the welfare of the men en-
gaged. Sir John Forrest's suggestion
that the Government might experiment
with a pearling boat manned by a white
crew and divers is a practical one. In
tropical agriculture and stock-breeding
and other directions numerous Govern-
ment experiments have been made; and
a practical trial of white labour in pearl-
ing should be worth an infinity of theory
or inexperienced opinion.
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