CHINESE AND THE STRIKE MESSAGE ON A 1907 PICTURE POSTCARD

The message
“Strike still going on. all getting fat and will brunet with the sun for we are having some lovely weather. the strike was well planned for the weather. our yellow friends must go thank god. the first batch leave tomorrow june 24^th. + general Botha who will do his best for the workers on the Rand”

Note
This is a message par excellence. For in just a few lines the writer records the weather, a labour disruption, the first Chinese who were returning to (southern) China after working on the Witwatersrand gold mines, the outcome of the Transvaal Legislative Assembly Election of the 20^th February 1907, and the support of some mineworkers to the new Boer Prime Minister, just over five and a half years after the end of the South African War.

Weather
It is always nice to visualise the weather a hundred or more years after an event, in order to picture the place, and those who took part.

Chinese
Yes, the ‘Chinese Indented Labours’ did go. The first Chinese to be repatriated on account of the expiration of their three-year contracts were 573, mostly from the East Rand Proprietary mines on 2^nd July 1907. (The difference in the dates here may relate to the date the Chinese left the mines and the date the ship taking them back to China had left the Wharf at Port Natal.) All the Chinese Indentured Labourers were phased out by February 1910, their place taken by African labour mostly from Portuguese East Africa on six month contracts. Those Chinese in prison for robbery or murder, serving sentences of between 12 years to life with hard labour, became a problem for prolonged debate. It was finally agreed to remit their sentences, and they were sent back to China with ten shillings each.

Transvaal Responsible Government and strikes
Following the grant of responsible government by Britain on 1^st January 1907, the Transvaal held an election on 20^th February. During the election some of the Europeans working on the Witwatersrand gold mines voted for Botha's Het Volk party. Previously Viscount Milner had sent a message to Joseph Chamberlain noting the problem in elections was that some British voters would vote for the non-British candidate: “... because of the large proportion of cranks that we British generate and who take particular pleasure in going against their own people …” and “They get absorbed and become more Dutch than their neighbours”. It was General Louis Botha, in the ‘Standerton division’ who was successful in the Transvaal Legislative Assembly Election, and destined for Premiership. Following the results he was carried to a huge box on Landau’s Corner, opposite the Standerton Post Office, where he addressed a crowd and talked, among other things, of unity between Boer and Briton.

There were poor labour relations on the gold mines, the overseas miners who come to the Witwatersrand to earn high wages, were always wary of unskilled labour, which after 1904 included men from China. By 1907, these and the African laborious, now mostly from Portuguese East Africa, were gaining experience. Although the Europeans mineworkers’ skills were, on paper, already protected, the employers resisted recognition of trade unionism as negotiating organisations. Strikes on the mines were therefore not uncommon and 1907 saw the first violent strike.

The mine managers increased the number of drills a European ganger was required to oversee, and doubtless were acting unlawfully if they were using Afrikaners and others to set of dynamite charges without licences.

In a world of fierce economics, where profits are stronger than social integrity, the world can often be turned up-side-down. In 1907 the new Boer leaders of an elected Transvaal government, who in 1902 had been fighting British troops, were now requesting the British Army to quell a mine workers strike who were fighting to keep their working privileges.

I have not found any picture postcards of the 1907 Miners’ Strike. Peter Kallaway and Patrick Person published photographs in their 1986 book - see below. They illustrate a mass meeting of miners at Germiston and Johannesburg Markets during May 1907, Strikers waiting at Ferreira for scabs (those who had crossed the picket line and were still working) to come off shift, police / army tented camp on the Ferreira Gold Mine, the aftermath of a dynamite attack of a Germiston shift boss home, etc. The Illustrated London News of 17^th May 1907 record and picture: ‘on July 12 a terrific dynamite outrage, believed to be the work of strikers, took place at Kilfoil’s Hotel, Boksburg, South Africa. The explosion occurred in the bath-room, and the charge crashed down through the ceiling of the billiard-room, killing a Mr. Lewis and a Mr. Oliver, …’.

1913 industrial violence
Later during 1913, industrial violence began at New Kleinfontein Gold Mine, Benoni; where there was a change in management; E. H. Bulman became the general manager and H. C. Whitehead the underground manager. They made changes for underground mechanics with new working hours, the men declined the new conditions. A meeting with management was convened, and the men assured that Saturday afternoons would still be a holiday. However, when a deputation met the new management for a second time, they were told that the new hours would be enforced. A meeting was held at the mine on the 25^th May and the men decided to strike. This was backed by the Federation of Trade Unions; a ballot was taken and work ceased. A letter was send to the management, stating that the men sacked should be reinstated and that Saturday's working underground should be 7am to 12.30pm only. As the letter was not sent by one of their employees the management did not reply. The Town Council arranged a meeting, which was unsuccessful. The strike was cruel and brutal, with white miners, including at least one Afrikaner miner lying dead in the streets, and an African killed in Fox Street, and another burnt to death.

The bloodshed on the streets of Johannesburg, and the mêlée lasted from Friday 4^th to Saturday 5^th July, and left at least 20 dead and perhaps 250 injured. There was an attempt to disperse 3000 men with a police cavalry charge with batons. Later the cavalry rode through the streets with drawn swords, but did not use them. More troops and cavalry were called in to police the Witwatersrand towns and mines with just under 3000. According to Lord Gladstone*, “The Imperial troops … saved the situation” he went on to say that he deeply regretted the loss of life. This would have included a boy of 13 years, Monty Dunmore, who had been selling copies of the Strike Herald, and was shot in the back and killed. Johannesburg was placed under Martial Law. The Government justifying their actions, as they feared that with 170.000 African miners on the Reef and 80,000 more in the area around Johannesburg could have been drawn into the conflict. Clearly the Union of South Africa Government had failed to formulate a policy to avoid such a riot. Fearing the sacking of Johannesburg and the gold mines by the mob, the Government, Botha and Jan Christian Smuts (Colonial Secretary) reinstated strikers and set up a judicial committee to investigate their grievances, and to recognise the miners trade unions. Despite this 1914 saw another violent strike which originated on the Natal coal mines and extended to the Witwatersrand. This strike was recognised by the trade unions. The fact that in this message on the postcard notes: "... Botha who will do his best for the workers on the Rand", was perhaps somewhat optimistic. - see below for the postcards of the 1913 mines strike.

The picture postcard
Published by Sallo Epstein & Co., Durban, the divided back is printed in green, and entered the post at Germiston on 24^th June 1907, and the picture is captioned in red. The picture is captioned in red ‘The late President Kruger’s Grave – Pretoria’.

* Lord Gladstone (Herbert John) was the youngest Son of the UK Prime Minster, W.E. Gladstone. H.J. Gladstone was the first Governor-General of the Union of South Africa and returned to the UK in 1914.

Acknowledgments
I thank Gail and Annabel for their advice regarding the picture postcard illustrated here.

Bibliography
Cooke, Clement Kinloch, Sir, Bart., (1906), [Chinese Labour-in the Transvaal-: being a study ... ], [British Library Shelfmark: 8156.f.50.]

Horwitz, R., (1967), The Political Economy of South Africa, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, pp.89-91.

Kallaway, P., and Pearson, P., (1986), Johannesburg: Images and Continuities, A History of Working class though Pictures 1885 – 1935, Ravan Press, Braamfontein, pp.100-103.

Marks, Shula, and Trapido, Stanley, ‘Lord Millner and the South African State', History Workshop, (1976), Johannesburg.

Marlowe, John, (1976), Milner Apostle of Empire, Hamish Hamilton, London, p.132.

Nesbitt, L.N., (1936), Gold Fever, London, pp.97-104.

Thompson, T., (1990), A History of South Africa, New Haven and London, pp.144-149

Whitehouse, J.B., [1938] History of Benoni, Benoni Town Council, Union of South Africa, [British Library Shelfmark: x.800/8359.]

Yap, M. and Leong, Man D., (1996), Colour Confusion and Concessions, a history of the Chinese in South Africa, Hong Kong University Press, pp.130-132.

Woolgar, J., (2010), Chinese Indentured Labour on the Witwatersrand Gold Fields illustrated by Picture Postcards published between 1904 and 1910, including an analysis of postcard and covers, England, pp.passim

The Transvaal Leader, Johannesburg, Friday 22^nd February 1907, p.8.

The Weekly Star, Johannesburg, Saturday 23^rd February 1907, p.6.

The Standerton Advertiser, Transvaal, Saturday 23^rd February 1907.

The Illustrated London News, 17^th August 1907.

The Illustrated London News, Number 3876, 2^nd August 1913.