Chapter 43 Chapter 16 Backfired

Now that the case is closed, I have no reason to stay in Pretoria any longer.So I hurried back to Durban and began to prepare for my return home.But Abdullah Sai wanted to bid farewell to me, or he would not let me go.He gave me a farewell party at Sydenham. They intend to spend the whole day there.I was flipping through a few newspapers there, and I happened to see a news article in the corner of a newspaper entitled "Suffrage for Indians", which talked about the bill that was being discussed in the Legislative Assembly at that time, trying to deprive Indians of electing Natal Rights of Members of the Legislative Assembly.I didn't know there was such a proposal, so I became the latest guest to arrive at the meeting.

I asked Abdullah Sai about this.He said: "What do we know about these things? We only know the things that concern our business. We're all out of business in the Orange Free State, you know. It makes us fret, but it's no use. Besides, we are all useless people with little education. We read newspapers, usually just to find out what the market is like for the day, etc. How else can we know whether to legislate or not to legislate? Our eyes and ears are like Europe here Lawyer." "But," I said, "there are so many educated young native Indians here, don't they help you?"

"They!" Abdullah Sai sighed in disappointment. "They've never bothered to come to us, and to tell you the truth, we're even more impatient to buy into them. They're all Christians, and they're all under the breath of a white priest who's subject to the government. " This speech opened my eyes.I think this group of people should be regarded as our own compatriots.Is that what Christianity means?Can't they be Indians anymore just because they are Christian? However, I was about to return to China, and I couldn't express what I was thinking at the time.I simply said to Abdullah Sai: "This bill, if passed and becomes law, will put us in a very difficult position. It is the first nail in our coffin, it hits our pride root."

"Isn't it?" echoed Abdullah Sai, "let me tell you the story of the suffrage question. We didn't understand anything at first, but one of our best lawyers, Mr. Escambe--this man is You know, put the question in our heads. Here's how it goes: He's a great fighter, and he's been feisty with the wharf engineer, who he fears will deprive him of his votes and defeat him in the election He. So he told us our situation, and we were all registered as voters at his behest and voted for him. Now you should understand that the right to vote is not as important to us as you think it is. Estimated value. But we understand what you mean. So, what should you do with your opinion?"

The other guests were listening to the conversation, and one of them said, "Shall I tell you what to do? You refund the ticket for this boat and stay here for one more month, then we will do as you wish." Ordered to fight." The others said in unison: "Good idea, good idea. Abdullah Sai, you must keep Gandhi." Abdullah Sai was a smooth man. He said: "I don't need to keep him now, because you have the right to keep him. But you are right, let us persuade him to stay. But you want Remember he is a lawyer, what about his fees?" The mention of fees made me sad, and I burst out: "Abdullah Sai, fees are not a problem. There is no charge for public services. If you can be a public servant of everyone, I can stay. But you know, I don't know these friends well. If you believe that they will cooperate, I plan to stay for an extra month. But there is one thing, although you don't have to pay me any money, the nature of what we plan to do We can't do the work without some funds. For example, we may have to send telegrams, we may have to print some documents, we may have to send people around, we may have to consult with local lawyers, and since I am not familiar with Your law, I may need a few law books for reference. All these things cannot be done without money. And this work obviously cannot be done by one person, and many people must come out to help."

So they said in unison: "Allah is great and merciful. There will be money and people. You have as much as you want. As long as you agree to live, then everything will be resolved." The farewell party was thus turned into a working committee.I propose to finish dinner quickly and go home.In my mind, I prepared a plan for launching this movement.I tracked down those on the voter roll and resolved to stay another month. Thus God laid the foundations of my life in South Africa and sowed the seeds of a struggle for national pride.