The Sun.
London, England, 1858-06-22 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

lIOUSE OF LORDS.—(YESTERDAY.)
COOLIE EMIGRATION.
The Bishop of OXFORD moved for copies of extracts
of correspondence between the Colonial department and
the Governor of Hong Kong, and between the Colonial
department and the Foreign-office, on the subject of
emigration from Hong Kong and from the Chinese em-
pire to the British West Indies and to foreign countries
and their possessions, since the let of January, 1856.
The right rev. prelate said that no guilt would be
greater than that which would be incurred by England
if, after standing up before the world as the abolisher of
slavery and the slave trade, she should by any careless-
ness suffer her own people in her distant dependencies
to be once mere drawn into that abominable traffic.
He was afraid that in the neighbourhood of Natal we
were in some danger of being involved in this snare.
He was afraid that the Boers in that locality were gra-
dually re-establishing the institution of slavery, and that
we were in a great degree guilty in this matter. We
refused to allow the African people to be supplied witk
gunpowder and the means of defence, whereas we al-
lowed the Boers to supply themselves at will with the
means of aggression. We bad thus handed over the
liberties of the people to the Boers in a manner that
would be familiar to the readers of the interesting work
, of Dr. Livingstone. A practice was growing up of tak-
ing the children of Africans, and he was afraid that un-
less the greatest vigilance was used this would he made
a means of introducing slavery. Hr had on a previous
evening alluded to the conduct of Spain, and he had
been rnierepraieuted as if he had recommended the ,
go-
vernment to go to tear with that country. He had said
I nothing of the kind. All that be had said was that her
Majesty's government should use their legaimate
ence with Spain, and he did not believe that war would
be necessary. When slavery was abolished it was
I thought necessary to adopt various measures for the
I purpose of supplying the color-ins with free labour ; but
it was felt that that could only safely be done by ac-
comparet ing every one of those measures with an
elaborate system of check., to prevent the reintro-
duction cf. ilavery under the pretence. of free lebourere.
It was enacted that there shcul l be a protector of
the immigrants ; and provision was made that every
free labourer should have the power to return when he
wished. Ail these measures were proofs of the necessity
that was felt to exist for precautions against abuse. He
was glad to say that, so far as the Mauritius was con-
cerned, the experiment had been most successful; and
there had grown up in that colony a body of men who
were really free, as well as honest and contented la-
bourers. With respect to the more imme.hiate subject
of his motion, statements had been reoeived which had
given him great uneasiness. A proclamation had been
issued in 1854, from wheal it appeared that slavery was
then being introduced, and there wire now reports
coming over Ia this country from which it would seem
that the system which that proclamation was intended to
put down was re-appearing. Bar gunge of rebuke had
been used towards those who had ekown themselves
jealous of the system which some sere seeking to intro-
duce. But this ceuetry went to Cement as a Christian
people and as professed advocetee of the freedom f mar.
Their lordships had recently heard an el quest d'-nun-
elation of practic,.s which were carried on under the flag
of a eieigLbeuring nation. But surely we ought not to
enelae Fiance to term round uteri, us and say, " See
what your °en people are doing at Hong Kong ! " We
ouch: to be above suspicion. We aught to Le doubly
cautious teat under no possible co; junctere of cheutu-
s•ancee so great a sin as the save trade should again be
brought upon us. We ought to be able to show the
world that no gain, no aavantate, no colonial con-
venience should ever prevent us from procl dmieg with
plain, clear, and unenistakeaLle yr ics, that we would
neither dine ly nor indirectly suffer thtS crime of kid-
napping and reakirg staves to be palmed off upp-n the
British nation.
Tee Eat l cfCARNARVON hal no objection to pro-
duce the parrs f which Lie tight rev, friend had
moved, iu a seeeih which had embraced a wide selection
of topcs. Tee papers would lay open what was in many
respects a painful story ; but, at the san e ,nne, be had no
wish to keep back any tbir g. lie eas gltd hie right rev.
friend had dated his return from the let of Jan, 1856 ;
because on that day the Chinese Pareereer Act mime
into operation. Tee right rev. prelaee Lad alluded to the
roclamatien of 1354, hut he rune t reweinLer that was
bean e the act was in force. By that measure an emigrant
agent Was estatiii-lied at llung Ker.g., and at each of the
ether four open ports, who-e du.), it was to eee that
stiffit;ient accommodation and a proper dietary were pro-
vided, He (the noble ear ) was afraid, however, that
the etc: had not proved so satisfactory as might have
been desire a • But it should be remembered that there
were two classes cf emigrant ships—those who to k
coolies to Engish colonies, and those a ho conveyed them
to feretu posscesions. Thu papers for wiaca the right
rev. prelate Lad moved wood show that the act had
kea well ei h regard to the one class, but that with
regard to the other class there were still man) serious
and crying abuses. It was obvious that even if the law
was not evreled, as Was ger erally the case with respect
to vessels cl aring. out for fe reign poxes, the government
had no authority over them when they reached their
destiiiation. \V te regale] to British posse-scions the case
was very (afferent. Between the years 1834 and 1856 no
fewer than 170,000 coolies Lai been conveyed to the
Mauritius; and in 1856, no fewer than 134,000 re-
mained. Their wages were from 13,-. to 17'. per month ;
aid during their five years' service they could accurnu•
late 251.. wlach warm of course quite a competence for
them. In British Guiana 236 coolies were employed,
at wages averagirg about a dollar a day ; in 1856,
there was in the savings bark about 40,000 dollars be-
longing to them ; and 6,0001. had been transmitted
home. In Trinidad there was; about 350 coolies, who
had,deposited 6,2901. with the authorities for the saute
purpose. Tam Chinese, it should he said, proved to be
the best emigrants and the beet labour. re. But what
had been the case v ith the coolies who emigrated to
foreign poem es,-ions ? The returns es ere not very com-
plete, and he was not disposed to lay much stress un the
relative mortality on board the two classes of ships. In
the years 1852.54 the number of Chinese conveyed on
board Batish slips to British possessions was 2,340, of
shorn there had died on the passage 230, or 10 per cent.
—csrteanly a very large percentage. But in the ten
s ears, 1847-57, 9,-600 persons were conveyed on board 26
British ships to Cube, and of these 1,391 died, or neatly
11 one-th rd per cent. 130 was sorry to ray the British
ship ii were almost at the bottom of the list in point of
mortality ; the American per centage bung 91, the
Dutch 11 1-3, the French 12a, and the Spanish lla.
The eeirlence as to the cause of this excessive mortality
did riot appeer to be very satisfactory. It appear ed, how-
ever, to have been to some extent owing to want of ven-
tilation, bad water, and the line, but it also appeared
that the emigrants were not always selected from the
classes best able to stand the voyage. He would now
mention a few of the more remarkable cases. The John
Calvin made the voyage to Havannah in 150 days, and
out of 332 emigrants slie lost 121 ; and the Duke of
Portland lost 123 out o: 332. (l'he isobar lord instanced
some ether ebips, the names of which were not clearty
heard.) Is must be remembered that these were skis
which Lad not only been emit from Hoeg Kong, but
which appeared to have complied with the requisite re-
gulations. He was afraid that what his right rev, friend
bad stated with regard to kidnapping was quite true,
and that these poor people were got on board not only
by kidnapping, but by false pretences, by devices of
various: kinds, and even by force. There was eo reason
to belies e that the contract which it was alleged was
entered into with these people was kept. On the con-
trary, the only evidence was that they were subject to a
species of servitude which under the canto of free emi-
gration amounted practically to slavery. It might be
said that the coolie was free when he was landed in
Cuba, but it was quite unreasonable to suppose that a
man in a strange country, cut off from intercourse with
his own countrymen, could under such circumstances
preserve his ft eedom. He csuld only say in oenclusion,
that the noble lord at the head of Foreign Affairs bad
turned his attention to the subject, and though be was
not in a cendition to say that a remedy for this state of
things bad been applied, !still various remedies bad been
suggested, which his noble friend hed under considera-
tion. It shou:d be remembered that there wasa broad dis-
tinction to he drawn between the conveyance of Chinese
coolies to Cuba and the conveyance ef them to ourcolonies.
Wish reg rd to English calonieer, he believed that the emi-
gration had proved as eadsfactory to the coolies as it
bad to the emigrants.
Lord BROUGHA.aI said he was quite sure that if
the statements of the right rev, prelate were borne out
by tee papers—if a very
sena!l proportion of the enor-
mities which had been mentioned turned out to have
been committed, there was but one course for govern-
ment and for parliament to take, and that was to abo-
lish this traffic altogether. In our colonies we could
enforce the fulfilment of the contracts entered into with
the coolies, but there was no means of enforcing the
fulfilment of them in Cuba. Ever since 1835 the slave
trade bad been against the law of Spain, and legally all
the negroes imported since that time were entitled to
their freedom. The persons so entitled, it was calcula-
ted, amounted to one-half of the whole number of
negroes on the island, and if the half of them were de-
clared free, it would be impossible to keep the rest in
slavery. A portion of the population of the United
States were desirous to obtain possession of Cuba by
peaceable means if they could, and by any means if
ti:ey could not, the of being to carve three slave
states out of Cuba, and thus obtain a decided majority
in the senate', a-here at present they had only a majority
of one. This object weal be furled if the slaves iu
Cuba were set re:-. It was gratifying to find that the
colidition of the coolies in the Chinch°. Islands had been
much amelierettd.
Tire Earl of CLARENDON said the papers would be
esceediegly numerous, but he thought his noble friend
the Secretary for Foreign Affairs niight male a selec-
tiora TBete were lepers dating from 1853 which
would be e a aedit glv interestirg to the country, and
if they were producer:i it would be seen what was the
elate of :Ideas which existed before the Chirese Act cetue
rates effect. lie would t'dse the oppertunity of adverting
to a leport that the feeliuge or car duct of Sir Jehn
Bowlieg, the Governor c f llone IC-1:1g, bad undergone
some caanae. 11 what seas now s ated werenorrenn he
had greatly changed during these four months, because,
certailay he had denounced all etarnper to revive what
he considered to be a slave trade, and he was the first
per, on to dermence obtaining what were celled female la-
boerers. Ile said there was eci such:Hug knownin China
as toluntaty- female emigration. Teey, thersfere, en.
tirely put a stop to it; although great preeseee lad
pot upon the Gevernment, by the British coloniee, in
older to obtain Chinese women. By the colonial regula-
t'.l2.4, uelens a certain proportion of women aocompareie I
the emi:trants, they were not elate ed to land, and thee es
fore at present Chinese emigrants were Lot allowed to
tena in our felonies. He would also ad; the Secretary
fur Fors i4u Alfalfa to lay on the taale the et roe p, td-
eacu which led to the pi cclamation respecting the coolies
en the Chiucha Idaede. Hu was ilea:lilted of the atroci