Page:The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, vol. 1.djvu/263

hope that Your Excellency's protection will be liberally granted to the Indian British subjects residing in South Africa.

And for this act of justice and mercy, your Petitioners shall for ever pray, etc.

From a photostat of a printed copy : S.N. 451

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And their work in South Africa

From The Vegetarian (London), May 18, 1895:

It was in England that I read in Mrs. Anna Kingsford's "Perfect Way in Diet," that there was a colony of Trappists^[1] in South Africa who were Vegetarians. Ever since that I had wished to see these Vegetarians. The wish has at last been realized.

At the outset, I may remark that South Africa, and particularly Natal, is especially, adapted for Vegetarians. The Indians have made Natal the garden colony of South Africa. One can grow

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=== Letter to M. C. Camroodeen (5-5-1895) ===

P. O. Box 66
DURBAN, NATAL
May 5, 1895

DEAR MR. MAHOMED CASSIM CAMROODEEN,
I have received from you the signatures of the Indians. I hope ^[9]you have obtained those of the Dutch and promptly sent them to Pretoria. There should be no delay in this, as the work is very urgent. I have wired to Pretoria also to send a copy of the Dutch petition there. All this should be completed by Wednesday. Please write to me in detail as to what you have done.

It is very necessary that every Indian should exert himself to the utmost in this work. Otherwise, we shall have to repent.^[10]

Yours sincerely,

MOHANDAS GANDHI

From a photostat of the Gujarati: S.N. 317

9↑ This petition, too, was ineffective. Dadabhai Naoroji led a deputation to Chemberlain at the Colonial Office on August 29. It presented the case of the Indians in the four States of South Africa.

10↑ On May 8, Camroodeen wrote back (S.N. 39) reporting that he had not been able to collect a single signature to the petition to be presented to Lord Ripon.

=== A Band of Vegetarian Missionaries (18-5-1895) ===