Political Repercussions: Self-Government Revisited

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As had always been clear, any decision about Chinese labour in the Transvaal would have wider repercussions. Because of the moral panic and failure of the mines and government to gain ‘control’ of the situation, there was a repeat, in many ways, of the debates outlined in Chapter 3, once more directed not just at a local audience but at an imperial one. The chief focus of discussions centred once more on the role of the imperial government in determining the policies of individual colonies. There was again the pull of grand ideologies like whiteness, democracy, imperial federation, and anti-capitalism played out alongside unique, increasingly national, concerns in these colonies. Once again, these issues were played out in the press, through public meetings, transnational organisations, and elections. There were petitions but far less of them. But unlike the debates before the importation of Chinese labour, imperial federation was hardly mentioned, the gloss of the partnership of the South African War having faded. Instead, white male self-government was emphasised by all sides of ensuing debates over Chinese labour, with non-whites increasingly marginalised.