By Gary Kynoch Mentally constituted as is this branch of the Mongol race, one cannot hope to attain the end in view without meting out to the individual justice administered in a manner within the limits of his comprehension.... Once allow the bonds of discipline to be relaxed, or the impression to get abroad that Government are riding with too loose a rein, it will be a matter of the greatest difficulty to keep this large army of men under restraint. And, should they get out of hand, I should hesitate to guarantee the safety of the lives of those employed on the mines. (Superintendent, Foreign Labour Department, 1905)1 I beg to bring to your notice the fact that we are having a good number of desertions amongst our Chinese Coolies, and that while they are invariably recaptured they make it no secret that three or four weeks in Gaol is no punishment.... The hard labour they are subjected to in Gaol is much easier than the ordinary work in the Mine, and it would greatly help us in general control of them if their life in gaol was made irksome to them instead of luxurious. (General Manager, North Randfontein Gold Mine, 1905).2 Between 1904 and 1907 some 63,695 Chinese men were imported into South Africa to work as indentured laborers on the gold mines.3 By 1910, with the exception of a handful of deserters who were unaccounted for, and those who had died, all had been repatriated to China. During their time in South Africa these men struggled against punitive working and living conditions designed to grind them into a compliant labor force. Labor relations were volatile and the workers * The author gratefully acknowledges the support of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Thanks also to Dunbar Moodie for his suggestions and comments.
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