Ka Leo o ka Lahui, Volume II, Number 327, 19 November 1891 — Chiness Coolie Laber. [ARTICLE]

Chiness Coolie Laber.

».3t tbose whose «eliieh patrioU*Hu be!ieve that the progperity ivft of ihia 4tsland Mng.

dom ean ōnly be aecQi»plisßed hy the iutrodsction of eheap eooiie labor road t#lē following frdpa tbe report of U. S. Consul Stud9r of Singapore:— • "Under tbe l Ghinese emigrant protecting bill, all Ohineee emigrants arriving here are landed at a cerfain plaee, where people ean go and hire them under the superviBion of a cominissioner. A eontract in writing for eaeh eoolie, eontkining all the stipulations 4 is drawn up in triplicate, both parties to the agreement being 'well and truly hound. 1 The fees and advances having bcen paid. the coolies are aUowed U> leave the emigrant depoi, while eueh as have not been hired, and not claiming the commissipn-' ers protection any further, on any «ccount, are allowed to go whiihw they like." ' k If a planter fai!s to carry out fcis contriact or ill treats tha cooly, the latter ean prosecute him. If, on the dther hand, the cooly deserts his employer befoi-e the expiration of the contract, the iatter ean 4iave him arrested and returned on the ; estate, and if it is found that the cooly deserted while in debt to his employer, he is sent. to jail to work for a certain time. and the employcr, ean rcceiye from the. authorit;ies the amouni due him at the tīm'e of, desertion of the coolv. J> - i y . ; ■ .; » V- • "N®w; this bilL witth -prsvi«ions. looks very favorably on ; first appearance, but is far from a popular one, for various reasons."

u Sometimes, immediately after having received advance wage». eooliea find a way of disappearihg, 6nd ae they cannot be puniehed before they are found and arreated, and to find &em hnndreds upon thousande of celestialfl in the ! eity.conntjy and jungie fs said than done. there is cot m»ch faction in that; " But if success{VilIy brought to a plaiatation, they work fora>?hile aad then desert, hiding among countryraen and uatives, and the planter does not find iaiueh protection m that. He nsay hear of thera as being at a reoiote pilaoe, gener»llv many miles aWay ftam a totrn Kaving a poJiice zaagistmte orpr&on, and to catēh them ttnd transport tbem, aßrde fr6m dangers,3B so expQnsive apd fulī of hinderances, that* the plantēr prefere often to let him or them be where they are."

"Itis to while plMiiterB lam aJ*. luding chiefly» because Ohitt£ae 'towkavs,' owrng to being eoutftfyEQeit, or betonging to thesamcChineset&ctions or ;s«cret societies, do not often Jose coolies; aeither, as a rnl6* dathey like the 'Chitiese c>migrant protection meaauw/ heeauāe thoy ean gct eooliea where a whito man would fai!, antl tbie witho«i payiug olScīal feas.' and si&ning& mountniii of agreomenta ih triplicate, and as Ail ph\nters iiKjsk cbiefly on Chinese eooiie, it, ie evi~ deot thāt> the ehiaeee c haa srery advantAge over the . white planter. The number of towkavs ia «teadiiy incr64sing,, and with thecn, their inAuonee, weal th uiid power in thē colony !"

Ou the plantatioa the white plaoter is more blave to his eooliea than he ma@tor. If working by the dn7, unieee umler a sharp ovctseer (and tben tiwy run awav) they wotk only nominai!y; but some ōf them wil) w«rk well iijpon i:ontra6t, wf*en ttK»y see auy i>roepOv:t ofg|tin* ing by it> or a ohanee to or Many of them are opiuui

u&ā nea%\y all gambters,, /lThe planter musfe jiot only supply liherally with rice, fish. curry oil, iohaeeo, &e., but enough o£opium so that they. em have & daifv smoke. If hie stoek of tbe vile drsg gives out, they.wili not work antil * fresh stock arrives. They hav, t,obo watched, ifot only by day, but also by night. If oyer-. Beers do oot go into their shedg at night and set- the lights put oot, they wii! sit up an gamble ānd be. too aleepy wōrk properly isext day% Ja»t to think of a herd of coolieg df*bout 300 to 500 oā one' estate ? Oreat tacf and distiretidh i&required in overseering and.man« agihg ihDm,kttd*'«vhen they dislikē th«ir employers or' overseers, they form secret plots to murder th«u, and etee inspect|ons oftheir «heei ar#<rften resuire<i to seewhether they have eharpened sticks or other weapo*S "coneealed.'' : t£ In order to be informed of plotsthe planters generally have secret' pepouiei-a, ōne to every ialied, who, «nder the character of cooly labor•erfs, receiving secretly extra wages, are relied on to report at headquarters everything that ft seems wrang." 44 It isdangerous to neglect watchfulness, for many planters and overseers have heen ēither raurdered or badly handled. sinqe T have been her 3 ." -