Page:The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, vol. 1.djvu/240

 Before 5-5-1895) === DURBAN,

[Before May 5, 1895]

TO

The Honourable the Speaker and Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Colony of Natal

The Petition of the Undersigned Indians Residing in the Colony of Natal

Humbly sheweth that :

Your Petitioners, as representing the Indians in this Colony, hereby respectfully approach your Honourable Assembly with regard to the Indian Immigration Law Amendment Bill now before you for consideration.

Your Petitioners respectfully submit that so much of the Bill which provides for re-indenture and imposition of a tax in default of re-indenture, is manifestly unjust, entirely uncalled for and in direct opposition to the fundamental principles upon which the British Constitution is based.

That the Bill is manifestly unjust, does not need, your Petitioners submit, many words to prove. To raise the Maximum term of indenture from five years to an indefinite period is in itself unjust, because it puts in the way of the masters of the indentured Indians greater temptations to oppression or harshness. No matter how humane the masters may be in the Colony, they will always remain human. And your Petitioners need hardly point out what human nature is when selfish considerations guide one's actions. Moreover, the Bill, your Petitioners venture to say, is an absolutely one-sided arrangement, for, while it shows every consideration to the employer, it gives practically nothing in return to the employee.

The Bill is, your Petitioners submit, uncalled for because no reasons exist for its introduction. It is not meant to help the Colony out of a pecuniary crash or help forward any industry. On the other hand, it was because it was recognized that the industries, for which the Indian labour was specially required, no longer required any extraordinary aid that the £