Editor’S Note

I met Mr. Vogan in Pitt Street. Sydney, and we discussed the proposal of the Lever interests to introduce Hindu labour ers to the Solomon Islands.

“One recognises the economic neces sity,” I said, “but how is it going to work out sociologically? What will it do to the Solomons? Sooner or later ‘in dentured’ labour gets a permanent foot

ing.”

Then this deeply-read, widely-travelled gentleman told me many significant things about the Hindu people. I begged him to write these things for me—and the accompanying article is the result. It will be read with interest by everyone who is trying to see something of the future of the white and coloured races in the Pacific.

Those who have made no study of eth nology must bear in mind in reading Mr.

Vegan’s article that we white people of Europe are very closely allied, in a racial sense, to the Hindus—there is a much closer relationship between European and Hindu than between European and negro or Asiatic.