Mohandas K. Gandhi

“ I notice in your paper of today a letter from Newcastle, stating that the mighty Corporation of that town had won their case brought against them by one Vawda, to whom they had refused a licence, and giving the information that the result will be welcome throughout the Colony. Vawda is an Indian who has been trading in Newcastle for the past 15 years, during which time he has been a good citizen; but, unfortunately for him, he has also been a successful merchant, a fact which evidently the members of the Licensing Board in Newcastle, who are merchants themselves, don’t like. ”

“ No honest thinking man can say that the new Bill gives these people justice, or the community justice, because it puts into the hands of interested parties the power to push out a competition, which is beneficial to the multitude, and enables these interested parties to fill their own pockets. ”

“ If Local Boards, Town Councils and Licensing Boards are wise, they will never do anything to put the employers of Indian labour to such a trial.
Your Petitioners offer no apology for having given the long extract, as it is very important, not only because of its source, but also because of the manner in which the subject has been dealt with. The good intentions of the Legislature are not in the Act itself, though they might have been reproduced therein, which would have spared the Indian traders the anxiety as to their bread being suddenly snatched from their mouths. ”

“ How the next year will open for the Indian traders your Petitioners do not know. Every storekeeper is, however, in a state of feverish anxiety. The suspense is dreadful. The larger houses, fearing that their customers (small storekeepers) might be refused their licences, and having the only hope that they had of securing some check on the Licensing authorities taken away from them by their lordships of the Privy Council, have become despondent and hesitate to clear their goods. ”

“ The Council was reminded of the definition given by you to the Colonial Premiers, of “an undesirable person”, viz., “It is not because a man is of a different colour from ourselves that he is necessarily an undesirable immigrant. But it is because he is dirty, or immoral, or a pauper, or has some other objection which could be defined by an Act of Parliament.” ”

“ The Colony of Natal which boasts of its being the most British Colony in South Africa, has acquired the power to deprive the Indian traders abruptly of the right of trading, and has attempted and threatens to exercise that power. ”

“ In those days such a combination, detrimental to the public, but beneficial to the pockets of the storekeepers, could have been carried out, but such a combination today would be utterly impossible, and if you could get such competition into the butchery business, you would shortly hear less about the price of meat.
You appear to complain that these people can live cheaply. Yes, they can live cheaply—don’t drink, give the authorities little trouble, and are, in fact; law-abiding subjects, and if they can sell cheaply by living cheaply, the benefit is surely the public’s. ”

“ The Newcastle Town Council consists of 8 councillors—a medical practitioner, a solicitor, a carpenter, a canteen keeper, a miner, a bookseller and two storekeepers. The Licensing Officer is also the Town Clerk who would be the Clerk of the Court when the Town Council sits in appeal against the decision of the Licensing Officer.
The Dundee Local Board, however, promises to outdo both the Durban and the Newcastle Town Councils. In November last, a trade licence was granted by the Licensing Officer to a Chinaman, and a majority of the rate-payers appealed against the decision of that officer. ”

“ He has made it a rule not to grant a trading licence to any Indian who has not before held such a licence in Durban, whether the applicant has held a licence elsewhere in the Colony or not, whether he is an old resident or a new arrival, whether he is an accomplished gentleman knowing English or an ordinary trader, and whether the premises in respect of which the licence is sought are suitable in every respect and have been before licensed or not. ”

“ It is, therefore, a menace to the welfare of the community.”
I entirely agree with you. All combinations of this kind are morally wrong, and a menace, because the few benefit while the multitude suffer. Further on you say: “In the other case the Indian traders have also become a menace, in that, by reason of the fact that they can live so much cheaper than Europeans, they are driving the latter out of trade, and out of the Golony.” ”

“ As there are only twoclasses of Europeans—the one violently against the Indians, and the other indifferent—this councillor, as a rule, carries the day before him whenever a matter concerning the Indians comes for disposal before the Council. The Licensing Officer appointed under the Act is a permanent officer of the Corporation, and is, therefore, in your Petitioners’ humble opinion, more or less under the influence of the councillors. ”

“ They have already felt the pinch. They had to suffer owing to the refusal of the licence to Mr. Dada Osman (above referred to) . Mr. Amod Jeewa owns properties in Estcourt, Dundee, Newcastle and Durban, which are almost entirely tenanted by Indian storekeepers, and most of which can be used for no other purpose. The shutting up of only a few of the businesses would mean practical ruin. These are but typical instances which can be multiplied.
Your Petitioners have been taught to believe from their infancy that in all Her Majesty’s dominions there is absolute security of life and property. ”

“ Your Petitioners are free to acknowledge that the other Town Councils and Local Boards do not appear as yet to have shown any desire to act in an oppressive manner; though there, too, it is practically impossible to obtain new licences even for old established Indians. The power, your Petitioners were almost going to say, the despotic power, given to them under the Act is there, and there is no guarantee that they will not copy the example set them by Durban, Newcastle, and Dundee. ”

“ Moreover, your Petitioners trust that Her Majesty’s Government would be pleased to secure from the Colony of Natal, which owes its present prosperity to the indentured Indians, a fair treatment for the free Indians in the Colony.
All over the world, whenever necessary, Indian soldiers have been fighting the battles of Great Britain, and Indian labourers have been opening up fresh fields for colonisation. Only the other day, a Reuter’s cablegram stated that Indian soldiers would be requisitioned to train up the natives in Rhodesia. ”

“ And yet, as will appear hereinbelow, there is an organised attempt being made in the Colony of Natal not only to deny to the Indian traders the right of earning an honest living, but also to deprive them of such right which they have been enjoying for years past in the Colony; and the instrument whereby the European Colonists in Natal hope to achieve their purpose is the above Act.
The Durban Town Council consists of eleven councillors, and is the premier Corporation in the Colony. Of these councillors, one is an avowed and out-and-out opponent of the Indians. ”

“ The effect of the Act is to place in the hands of the declared enemies of Indian traders the power to grant or refuse trade licences; the consequence is as might be expected and we all feel humiliated at what we see, whether we admit it or not. ”

“ Does not your Dada Osman live as well as any European on the same platform? Has that meant anything to the Town Council? No; whether we live well or live ill, we would fare neither better nor worse.” The European Colonists have been proclaiming that they would have no objection to respectable Indians living in the modern style. Your Petitioners have always contended that the objection on the ground of alleged insanitation is a fiction, and the Durban Town Council, it would appear, has proved the contention. ”

“ Every person desiring to obtain a new license or a renewal of an existing license shall make application in writing to the Licensing Officer of the division, borough or township. The application shall contain the particulars set forth in Schedule A. 3. An applicant for a new license shall attach to his application a ground plan, drawn to scale, of the premises sought to be licensed. ”

“ I am the applicant for the license. I have been in the Colony about ten years and in Newcastle about 8 years. I have held a license for three years, two years at the fruit shop, 42 Scott Street, and one year at the present store. Neither the inspecting officer nor any other officer of the borough has pointed out any objection to the premises to me. I do not know why my license was refused. The Licensing Officer has never been inside my premises. ”

“ In your Petitioners’ humble opinion, it is almost impossible to imagine a stronger case than the above, or greater injustice than that done by the Durban Town Council—a Town Council of a British Colony—sitting in appeal as a judicial body. It has put a premium upon insanitation and questionable trade practices. What incentives could your Petitioners hold out to the weaker members of the Indian community? They, the weaker members, might say: “You ask us to adopt the modern sanitary methods, and live better ”

“ Laughton read letter to applicant from Licensing Officer dated 23rd December 1897, Licensing Officer’s decision and reasons and sanitary report, viz:
SANITARY REPORT
I examined the premises referred to in application which is a small store in decayed condition. No direct communication with bedroom, occupied solely by Applicant—and is kept fairly clean. Applicant is in the fruit trade which would probably form part of his business at this store—a feature that might have a different bearing on the sanitary condition of the premises under consideration a month hence. ”

“ Many small storekeepers have been weeded out this year: some because they, having hardly a gross out-turn of ten pounds per month, buying cash and selling cash, could not afford to keep any books at all, as is not unoften done even among small European storekeepers; and some because they could not afford to comply with the requirements of the Sanitary Inspector having connection, not with the cleanliness of the premises, but with their structural arrangements. ”

“ Their Lordships of the Privy Council have decided that, from the decisions of the Town Councils or the Town Boards, there is no appeal to the Supreme Court of the Colony, under the above Act. This decision has paralysed the Indian traders. Consternation has seized hold of them, and there prevails amongst them a feeling of insecurity and a nervous fear as to what may happen during the ensuing year.
The troubles the Indian community is passing through are numerous. ”

“ Three well-known European merchants certified as to his respectability and honest dealings. He was to trade in a locality mostly inhabited by Indians, and his custom was to be entirely Indian. Counsel for the applicant asked for the Licensing-Officer’s reasons for refusal, as well as a copy of the record of the application. Both these applications were rejected, and the Licensing Officer’s decision was upheld by the Town Council. ”

“ There are several matters of minor importance which we think might be improved, but to our mind the principal defect in the present Act is that, no appeal being allowed from the Town Council’s decision, injustice has been done and is likely to be done to applicants for licences. ”

“ In these Rules “Licenses”, unless otherwise specified, means either a wholesale or a retail license. “New License” means a license in respect of premises for which there is not at the date of application an existing license similar to that applied for. “Board or Council” means, as the case may be, the Licensing Board of the Division or the Town Council of a Borough, or the Local Board of a Township. ”

“ The then Prime Minister who introduced the Bill said its main object was to affect those persons dealt with under the Immigration Bill. Ships would not bring those persons if they knew they would not be landed; and the people would not come here to trade if they could not get licences. ”

“ As he could not find suitable society for his wife in either of the above places, and in order to meet the extra expense required owing to the arrival of his family, he intended to settle in Durban, so that he could supply his businesses upcountry with goods himself, and also do some business in Durban. ”

“ As a consequence, he, the landlord, was compelled to reduce the rent of his property, and Mahomed Majam & Co., are reduced to poverty, and have to live entirely on the work of one of their partners who is a tinsmith. ”

“ AND OTHERS
1↑ The word licence is being spelt as in the original printed copy, sometimes with ‘c’ and sometimes with ‘s’. Both the spellings were current at that time. 2↑ Vide “Petition to Chamberlain”, 31-12-1898, infra. 3↑ Vide “Petition to Lord Rippon”, before 5-5-1895. 4↑ Vide “Memorial to Secretary of State for the Colonies”, 15-5-1897, et seq. 5↑ Vide “Somnath Maharaj Case”, March 2, 1898. 6↑ Vide “Dada Osman’s Case”, September 14, 1898. 7↑ The date appears to be a misprint in the original printed copy. Vide “Dada Osman’s Case”, September 14, 1898. 8↑ This is not available. ”