The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1842-03-04 00:00:00

proutice

it, should the hon. gentleman seek to impugn it by a specific
motion. lle behaved, that by the course the Government
proposed to pursue, they would put a termination to the
abuses which had heretofore existed, not only in the Mau-
ritius, but also on the passage and in India. The noble lord

to show Ina

of the evils of the former system o

Tian la-

nnungration to the Mauritius, which placed the Inc
bourers for a period of at least fire years in the condition of
ind said that he had had the fullest

slaves to t

communications with Lord Ellenborough upon this subject,
and that that nobleman had full power, as Governor-General
of India, to carry out the views of the Government in putting
an end to these abuses. He also quoted passages from com-
munications from the Governor-General of India and from
the Governor of the Mauritius, recommendatory of sending
labourers from India to that colony, as being serviceable to
both places ' • as in India those labourers could get only three-
halfpence a day for their labour, while in the Mauritius the
price of labour was high, there being a great demand for it.
He would challenge the house to say whether, in the plan
now adopted, there was anything ut all in the nature of sla-
very, or whether there was even anything which could in any
way he construed into compulsory labour. He only regretted
that, in consequence of the non-existence of the papers moved
for, the sense of the house could not be taken on the plan
pursued by the Government.
After a few observations from Mr. Hawes,

Mr. HOGG disapproved of the course taken by the present
government, and contended that the noble lord had not
treated parliament with so much respect as had been shown
by the government of India, for the latter had declined to
legislate upon the subject until parliament should have ex-
pressed its opinion, whereas the noble lord had taken an
important step without waiting for any such expression of
opinion. At the same time be thought the order in council
calculated to remedy many, if not all, of the abuses com-
plained of, as far as related to the Mauritius, but not so in
preventing frauds in India by those employed as native
agents to procure coolies to emigrate.
Mr. W AKLEY hoped the noble lord would abandon the
idea of importing the hill coolies into the Mauritius. Inde-
pendent of its other evils it was an unjustifiable interference
with the rights and interests of the labourers already located
there
Mr. C. BULLER was ready to support the proposal of the
government as good, wise, and salutary in substance.
After some further discussion the motion was withdrawn,
and the other orders of the day being disposed of the house
adjourned.

HOUSE OF COMMONS—WEDNESDAY.
Sir R. I've-E., in reply to a question from Mr. Mangles,
said that no official information had been received as to the
state of affairs in Affghanistan, but he expected to have
some communication i.i a few days.
On bringing up the report of the committee on the impor-
tation of foreign corn,
11r. E. BULLER moved a scale of duties which was the
same as that of Sir R. Peel, until the price reached 645,
when he proposed from thence upwards there should be a
fixed duty of Gs.
Sir R. PEEL, hoped the hon. member would not think it
disrespectful if he declined to follow him in his calculations,
fur the fact was, it was desirable that some limit should be
placed to these discussions, or the public advantage would
be sacrificed in the enormous loss of time which they in-
volved.