that the glory of the British Empire depends upon the retention of the Indian Empire and on the face of this, it looks very unpatriotic of the Colonists of Natal, whose prosperity depends not a little upon the introduction of the Indians, to so vigorously protest against the introduction of free Indians. The policy of exclusion is obsolete, and Colonists should admit Indians to the franchise and, at the same time, in points in which they are not fully civilized, Colonists should help them to become more civilized. That, I certainly think, should be the policy followed throughout the Colonies, if all the parts of the British Empire are to remain in harmony.
Are Indians admitted, at present, to all parts of the British Empire?
- Australia has now been endeavouring to exclude them, but the Government Bill has been thrown out by the Legislative Council, and, even if the policy were adopted in Australia, it remains to be seen whether it will be sanctioned by the Home Government. Even if the Australians were successful, I should say it would not be good for Natal to follow a bad example and one which was bound to be suicidal in the end.
What was your main object in visiting India?
- My main object in returning was to see my family, my wife and children, from whom I have been separated, almost continually, for the last seven years. I told the Indians here that I should have to go to India for a short time. They thought I might be able to do something for the cause of the Indians in Natal and I thought so also. And here I may state, parenthetically, that we have not been fighting, really speaking, with regard to the position of the Indians in the Colony, but we have been simply fighting for the principle. The object of our agitation is not to swamp the Colony with Indians or to have the status of the Indian in the Colony of Natal defined, but to have the Imperial question decided once for all, namely: ‘What status will the Indians outside British India have?’ That was the principle we have been striving to determine. The Indian gentlemen interested in the cause in Durban discussed the question with me as to what my plan of action should be in India, and the plan of action was that I should simply get my travelling expenses in India paid by the Natal Congress. As soon as I arrived in India I published that pamphlet.[5]
