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Effect of Immigration Restriction Bill for Indian migrants
[Handwritten note, top left corner, reads: '27/24. 011'.]
Melbourne 19th of November 1901.
Gentlemen,
I am directed by the Right Honorable the Prime Minister to acknowledge the receipt of letter dated 25th ultimo signed by yourself and certain other Indian residents of Victoria, on the subject of the effect of the Immigration Restriction Bill, upon the Indian community.
In reply, I beg to inform you that there is no intention on the part of the Commonwealth Government to dispute of depreciate the services which have been rendered to the Empire by Indian soldiers. I am to point out that a careful examination of the Immigration Restriction Bill (copy attached) will show you that it contains nothing which couples the Indian with the Chinese races, and that consequentially there is no reason for pain on that score. There is also no necessity for any definition of the term "alien", as that word does not occur in the bill in its present condition.
