legislation. All these three points were referred to a Commission before any step was taken. I therefore venture to think that a Commission should be appointed, and the whole question thrashed out before any drastic measures are taken.
I venture therefore to hope that Your Lordship will see your way to grant this small measure of relief to the British Indian community.
BEFORE THE COURT IN 1907
Mr. Gandhi's appeal to Lord Elgin and the efforts of the British Committee in London were successful only to the extent of securing from Lord Elgin a declaration that the ordinance would be hung up until the matter had received the consideration of the Transvaal Parliament that was shortly to come into being. A constitutional Government was soon after formed in the Transvaal and the new measure received the Royal Assent and became Law. The Indian Community in Transvaal, seeing that their efforts were all in vain, determined to night and risk the consequences of disobedience in accordance with the resolution passed at a vast mass meeting of some 3,000 British Indians held at the Empire Theatre, Johannesburg.
On the 26th December, 1907, the Royal Assent to the Immigration Act was announced and simultaneously came the news that a number of the leaders of the two Asiatic communities were warned to appear before the Magistrate to show cause why, having failed to apply for registration, as required by the law, they should not be ordered to leave the Transvaal. They were directed to leave the Colony
