The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1853-06-07
From the Nc,D York Express, June 8.
The Coolies and slay.s
Acting Comptroller.

The English, Scotch, Spanish. and other en-
ployers at Havana have received another install
rnent of the 5000 Asiatics contracted to he do
livered in the Island of Cuba We stated the
terms Of this contract in recent editorial letter
from Havana, after visiting large bodies of the
Asiatics themselves; the pay being for the laborer
SIS month for eight years. and found with an
assurance Of freedom from field labor, and OF
stripes from the employer, when punishment is
given, &c The person hiring such servant for
eight years pays the importer S 800. The leading
presses and people OF Cuba are divided in opinion
upon this new traffic; of them regarding it
as new species of the slave trade, and others az
a means of getting rid of the traffic in Africans
From what we saw of the system of "cooley
labor as it is called, inclined to regard it
as great improvement upon African labor The
Chinese are ready and willing to work. They are
able bodied men, and far more intelligent and
tractable than the negro. Their pay lie six fold
more in Cuba than in China, and they are free
from all undue restraints, incumbrances taxee
&c. Nevertheless, the system is liable to very
great abuse, unless the government nterposee to
protect the Asiatics from the extortions of the
Spanish and foreign employers. The new colo
nists go from Asia to Cuba ignorant of the IAN
guage, country, and customs Of the people They
go, however, with habits of industry cleanliness.
"a rare virtue In Cuba,) and that quiet and orderly
peculiar Oh kDe ASlaGCS. w here
these persons have become their own masters in
the island they have proved very valuable citizens
and if they have fair play there in time to come
we have no doubt they will distinguish themselves
among the best laborers in the world. There has
been, however, but beginning of the experiment
as yet; and 30 long as there are thousands upon
thousands of surplus laborers in Asia and m I'M
supplied demand for labor elsewhere in the world
all will look to see the moral and physical effect
which this imported labor is to have upon the
countries where it goes.
The value of slave labor has doubled in the
United States within a few years, and sineuIary
enough, slaves have increased in value lust in
proportion to the way which has been made upon
the system. There has also been great increase
given to the value of slaves in Cuba. Hundreds
arrived there in April while were in Cuba, and
hundreds have arrived since we left. The slave
trade is encouraged by the Queen of Spain, winked
at by the Captain General of Cuba, and success
fully persevered in from month to month, not
withstandlng all the efforts which have been made
by treaty between Great Britain and Spain and
through the vigilance of British cruisers The
coast part OF the island extends over distance of
more than seven hundred miles, with q breadth of
from twenty five to one hundred and thirty miles
and all along there are bays, inlets coves, small
rivers, SC, where the slavers may generally es-
cape in perfect safety, long the local authori.
ties wink at the system. The British government
pays enormous bounties for the suppression of the
slave trade and the recapture oslaves and slavers;
but there is constant call for labor only 900 900
OF acres OF land In Cuba being under cultivation
in area of little less than thirty three thousand
square miles. On the uncuItivated prairies of
Cuba more than million and half of cattle are
reared. There is Consta mt call for labor there as
there is in the United States, and hence the con
slant evasions of treaties to bring in slaves, and
the contracts to supply deficient aborers by the
importation of coolies.
Gold has taken more than thirty thousand
Asiatic laborers to California within few wears
past. The demands lncident to new discoveries
are now taking thousands more to the W est Indies
In the meantime little daylight has been let in
upon the Chinese empire, and there is, wonderful
TO relate, revolution there. One effect of it, we
hope, may be the spread of Asiatics all over our
continent. We need the labor of their hands and
thu need Civilization