- j)UR8I-J c Iry C O (JIVrL rOvltN CLsRJt-t (J r r( ~

VOl- 71 tmiddot iLpound 527 (~) N 1 72 - shy1

NATAL 1~~~~~~OCIATIO~1s-1 THE NATAL INDIAN CONGRESS )

AND THE COLONIAL BORN IIlt SETTLERS INDIA N ASSO~ATON ) IL- __ 7--I-v

lt HEADQUARTERS - ~---- - C ~ r D~RBAN - ~ --_-- J ~ __

-- ~t ~

PO BOX 22 I v ~ -~ - rO~J --- middotlt 1 ~

qg n - bull -

i All CommnmeiltioDS to be addresoed - ~ - -- -middot 4 i

to the Secretari 1 APRPRR ( ~ fLE-sT ~

ftbull fJJ ) ~ Yk _Z ~TItpound- ~ ~lt7- PHONE 24679 ~~f~ tt3--1 h Jul ~h~i9uRBAN_ p Y ~ ssY NAT

A A M ()t I - J

Secretar V i- f it l - JLii - ~ The ----H j ULawrenc~ committe1e~- bull 4

13 middotcJ

00 The 01tyHa1l DURBAN Sir (

We make te following observations on the proposals of -

) the Town Council put forward by Councillor D G Shepstone

at the meeting of the Lawrence Committee held on 24th May 1942 -

when the Minister of the Interior the HonEGLawrence was

present with the Commissioner for Asiatic Affairs - ~ tmiddotmiddotmiddot f-~~~~~~ ~ ~ ~lt - ~~f-~-~

The proposals arise out of the Resolutions passed by the

Durban City Council on the 22nd DecembEr 1941 reading as

follows shy

(a) That in reply to his enquiry whether any good purpose would be served by the submission to the Lawrence

Committee of the petition received by him in respect of an alleged Indian penetration at 317 Avondale Road~ Durban the Principal Immigration Officer be informed that it is the opinion of the City Council that no good purpose wou1d be served by doing so for the reason that the present inherent weaknesses in the Lawrence Committee l s constitution make it reasonably certain that the Committee would be unable to acheive any result in the specific case in question

1 (b-That in reply to his request for~ ~eportupon the pr-esennorking-position-oi -- the-L-awrence Committee

1 the Principal Immigration Officer b~ informed middotthat in the opinion of the City Council the LavTence Committeee will not be able to acheive any useful result in regulating or controll~ng the acquisition andor occupation by Indians of property witbin predominantly European areas in this City unless and middot

L untU the weaknesses of th~ ~ommitteets present ~ ~ tilt constitution are eliminated and repaired and it i~middot -- ~ V I~ made certain that it will r~ceive middottimeous information - lt - of intended acquisitions and is given some powers in ~~- the matter over and above the powers of persuat5io~if ~ of its members

(0) That the Honourable the Mini~ter of the Interior~ beshyinformed of the resolutions set out above and be requested to give considerationmiddotto the advisiability

--3--

thei~ own compatriots All that has be en done Was to

dissuade our people from purchaSing

If an analysis of the various actquisi tions were made one

would not fail to observe that the purehasers are divided

in~o three groups Namely shy

(1) the purchaser who because he has no other form of investment avallable invests his money on a ~anded property~

(2) the purchaser who requires a decent house to live in and who purchases a property in a locality which is contiguous to areas which are essentially Indian in character gt _ ~ i

j (3) the purchaser who has money and who seeks for a

property in a locality which has the best of civic amenities and commands views of the Town and the sea

)

I We cannot imagine that any exception can be ~ken to the

purchases that fall under the category of (1) and (2)In

respect of all the properties that fall under category (1)-

J

we say that such purchases are the only form of safe - - ~ - ~ ~- - ~

investment that -js open to h1m Thesbares 01 all the great - c~ _~I ~~ -l

industrial undertakings are closed to middothim He is restricted

in business through the licensing rest~ict10ns He does not J

send his money outside South Africa which he recognises as

his permanent home and in which he invests all his moneylt

is said

that there is nothing to prevent the

~ndian from

occupying the property at a future dateo This is an m1founded Jfear fo~we pOited ut to the Indian Penetration

Commission that from January 1927 to October 1940 there was

not a case where an Indian landlord had had to remove a bull middot 1

J

Europeant tenant 13othat h~ ~ght o~~~~Y the prem1se~

~_-~~~~-~T~middotltmiddot-~~~~i~~~ middot - ~c JJ -- 1 -

In regard to the properties that fall under category (2)

we would point out that almost every property is contiguou~

or in cl~se rrX1m1ty to areas predomin~~~~~ o~~~_ middot~~~~~1(~ occupied b~I-d1ans Most of the proJgtert~es are ~+d ~ashioned ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ - and have n6ne of the modern appointments It would be ~ ~ _

-~~~f- ~ ~~~~ -interesting to note that wh~n an Indian purchases one o

~ t -

these properties he has necessarily tQ sp~nd a ~considerable

sum of money to make the dwelling to conform to modern standardsbullbullbullbullWbat

- -_ __ ___ _-IL ___ _~

--3--

thei~ own compatriots All that has be en done Was to

dissuade our people from purchaSing

If an analysis of the various actquisi tions were made one

would not fail to observe that the purehasers are divided

in~o three groups Namely shy

(1) the purchaser who because he has no other form of investment avallable invests his money on a ~anded property~

(2) the purchaser who requires a decent house to live in and who purchases a property in a locality which is contiguous to areas which are essentially Indian in character gt _ ~ i

j (3) the purchaser who has money and who seeks for a

property in a locality which has the best of civic amenities and commands views of the Town and the sea

)

I We cannot imagine that any exception can be ~ken to the

purchases that fall under the category of (1) and (2)In

respect of all the properties that fall under category (1)-

J

we say that such purchases are the only form of safe - - ~ - ~ ~- - ~

investment that -js open to h1m Thesbares 01 all the great - c~ _~I ~~ -l

industrial undertakings are closed to middothim He is restricted

in business through the licensing rest~ict10ns He does not J

send his money outside South Africa which he recognises as

his permanent home and in which he invests all his moneylt

is said

that there is nothing to prevent the

~ndian from

occupying the property at a future dateo This is an m1founded Jfear fo~we pOited ut to the Indian Penetration

Commission that from January 1927 to October 1940 there was

not a case where an Indian landlord had had to remove a bull middot 1

J

Europeant tenant 13othat h~ ~ght o~~~~Y the prem1se~

~_-~~~~-~T~middotltmiddot-~~~~i~~~ middot - ~c JJ -- 1 -

In regard to the properties that fall under category (2)

we would point out that almost every property is contiguou~

or in cl~se rrX1m1ty to areas predomin~~~~~ o~~~_ middot~~~~~1(~ occupied b~I-d1ans Most of the proJgtert~es are ~+d ~ashioned ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ - and have n6ne of the modern appointments It would be ~ ~ _

-~~~f- ~ ~~~~ -interesting to note that wh~n an Indian purchases one o

~ t -

these properties he has necessarily tQ sp~nd a ~considerable

sum of money to make the dwelling to conform to modern standardsbullbullbullbullWbat

- -_ __ ___ _-IL ___ _~

-4-shy

- What emerged from the discussions at the meeting of the t - ~

Lawrence comm~ee held on tbe 6th instant was that much of

the objection was centred on the number of sales that took

place in that area above Avondale Road These sales fall under

category (3) These sales are bound to take place so long as bull

the City COuncfi denies the Indian sites commanding views and

possessing all the civic amenities We would recall the fact

that at the inception of the Lawrence Committee we were able

to dissuade our people from purchasing properties in

predominantly European residental areas byholding out _that

-suitable sites would in due course be made available to them

bull that promise has never been fulfilled The systematic denial

to the Indian by the City Council of any of its unalienated

- lands in the old Borough is ~lt deplored and this we submit

even at the expense of repetition has been the primary I

contributory factor for the purchase of such of the properties

in predominantly European res~dental areas shy

- We are still confident that much can be8 done by the laquo bull ~ - ~

Lawrence Committee provided there is mutual co-operation and

1 there is a bon~fide at~empi on the partmiddot of the City Council

J I to play the game with the Indian Committee We would submit I

the following as our views on the future working of the

Lawrence Coromitte e 1

i fa) that we agree with the proposal put forward by the

Commissioner for Asiatic Affairs that the number of members on the Lawrence Committee should be restricted to tbree from each side A panel of six names should be submitted by the City Council and the Natal Indian Association to the Ronthe Minister of Interior who ~will select three out of them

(b~ ~-rnat -tbe L-wrencecammittee -continue to1unction on non-Statutory lines

(c) that the Indian members are prepared as far as possiblebull to dissuade Indians from purchasing properties in what

are regarded as predominantly European residental areas provided

I (~) the City Council provides suitable sites for t~e class 1of Indians who fall under category (3) iimiddot

- ~

(2) that full civic emenities are provided in localities predominantly owned and occupied by Indians purchasingin the added areas and that n0 differentation is shown

betwe en Europe ans and Indi~n Locality (3) that the City Council take the Natai Indian Association

into its full confidence in regard to Housing and other matters indidental thereto Welt~

-

-~-~---4

We submit that ~f the Lawrence Committee were resuscitated on the lines that we have indicated we have no doubt ~ solution to the question of alleged penetration will be

nearer solution than ever before bull

~ I O

~

Yours faitbfull0~ ~ shy _ A~ - - ~

JOINT HON SECRETARIES cbull Natal Indian Assoeiation

4-~ ~- ~~~lfry HEADQUARTERS

l4~ Saville Street

POClBox 2299

Durban lt

1

I 5 i

f bull - 1

c ~ lmiddot~middotmiddotr-~ c ~bulli- ~

~90lti ~~lt -

I

I

-~-~---4

We submit that ~f the Lawrence Committee were resuscitated on the lines that we have indicated we have no doubt ~ solution to the question of alleged penetration will be

nearer solution than ever before bull

~ I O

~

Yours faitbfull0~ ~ shy _ A~ - - ~

JOINT HON SECRETARIES cbull Natal Indian Assoeiation

4-~ ~- ~~~lfry HEADQUARTERS

l4~ Saville Street

POClBox 2299

Durban lt

1

I 5 i

f bull - 1

c ~ lmiddot~middotmiddotr-~ c ~bulli- ~

~90lti ~~lt -

I

I