The Washington union. [volume] (City of Washington [D.C.]) 1857-1859, 1857-07-23
INTERESTING DEBATES IN THE BRITISH PARIIA-
MENT ON AFRICAN EMIGRATION TO BRITISH
Guiana


to call the attention Of the House the necessity Of
adopting for facilitating immigration into Brit
ish Guiana. He said, at the end of March last very
large and respectable meeting convened at George
town. DcmaTa for the purpose of considering this ques
ton, and the result that petition, which unani
mously adopted, had been transmitted to him. with re-
quest that he would present il to the House Of Commons
He the readily undertook this duty because In that
petition there angry complaints to past
commercial policy, indications of party political
bias, and feeling OF hostility shown towards any par
tcular minister of the day but il set forth circumstance
In that colony which he could not help thinking demand
ed prompt and favorable consideration by the govern
ment and the attention and sympathy of the House II
would be waste OF time in him TO make any remarks as
to the importance OF the prosperity of this colony to the
mother country In reference TO its capabty TO produce
articles which entered into the consumption of the pop
uation of this country The colony of British Guiana
somewhere about no. 600 square miles in extent
and contained upwards of so 1000 900 Of the most
fertile land II had the advantage OF internal commun-
cation great surface OF for shipping and was
within month six weeks railing from this country
The only inconvenience felt in the colony the
OF labor There ample scope for procuring abund-
ant supplies Of cotton aud sugar, but limited was
the population that the cultivation of those articles
had been entirely neglected The colony opened up
therefore, extensive field enterprise and labor but
unfortunately il so happened that out of population OF
90 900 only quarter of the people within the
nomination of laboe including 20 900 Portuguese
and coolies which had been admitted into the colony
The great problem to how the requisite
of labor to be furnished He was ready allow that
it should be found that the effect of emigration TO
colonies from Africa led to all those unnatural and
those acts of barbaty which distinguished the slave trade
we ought not to listen to the suggestion OF procuring
supply Of labor for the colony of British Guiana from that
quarter of the globe But this question which ought
not to be neglected, and If emigration from Africa
resored TO in order to furnish the of labor in this
case 1t of supply which ought be watched
by the government The petitioners prayed that they
might be permitted to import emigrnts from any part Of
the globe in which British consul resided III Africa
WEI wins fb. n, LAP
There again. restrictions which initiated against the
possibility OF obtaining supply Of labor In the first
place from Calcutta in no one ship were than $50
coolies allowed to be sent whatever might be the size of
the vessel and If the Great Eastern herself
The result had been that ships Of inferior character and
capacity had been employed in this trade to the exclusion
Of others much better adapted for in every respect
The regulation which made the payment of the back pass
age at the end of the cooys service obligatory re-
qnired alteration AT present cody receive
equivalent if he chose to stay in the colony The passage
money must be paid and he must be shipped whether
wished to go not The coolies at the end of their
tude had ainassed in many considerable Of
money and were quite able to pay for their passage
The principle which ought to be adopted complete
freedom, regulated only by what necessary for the
sake of humanity and philanthropy but the principle
which had been adopted amounted to positive prohibition
account of the stringent nature of the regulations and
OF those regulations the colonists had just right to
plain. Hear, hear. In the years from lS4S to
1854 about $4,000 coolies imported into British
Guiana to the great benefit of persons interested in the
property of the colony and without injury to the working
population before existing in it, At the utmost the pop
ulation worked only three four days week and by
task work each could from 2s Cd to 3s Cd. in
a very few hours They might also get laborers from
China. But while the Chinese had been Hooking every
other colony and had been carried in British ships for
egn possessions forhe last two years they had been
allowed to enter British Guiana He could hardly sup
pose out OF Difference to the Chinese government
and could not be because the Chinese dangerous
citizens. The Chinese orderly and Industrious and
wherever they had gone whether to Australia California
Cuba to the French colonies they had increased the
prosperity Of the places to which they immgraed Hear
hear He could hardly imagine subject OF greater i'm.
porance for unquestionably its solution rested the
prosperity of the colonies their permanent attachment
the mother country the obtaining articles in great de-
mand at cheap rate and the showing the world that
colonies with free labor alone, able compete
with the sugar and cotorgrowng States Of America In
this delicate and complicated matter it desirable that
the colonies should in with the government in
to mitigate the evils complained of and in
the exercise of his discretion, he should simply ask
the right honorable gentleman the Secretary the Cal
onies whether her Majestys government had adopted
any to facilitate immigration into British Cu
anaf
Mr. Labouchere entirely concurred that more i'm
portan question relating to colonial policy could pos
siby engage the attention of the House than that which
his honorable friend had brought forward nor did he
differ from his honorable friend in tho general principles
he had enunciated Important the subject was at all
times it especially under existing circumstances
he prescn very high price of sugar drawing the at
to the supply of ahora matter which lay at the very
foundation of their cultivation and formed the very life
blood OF their prosperity 1t was therefore, the duty Of
the government by all lawful means to provide our col
onies with proper supply of labor not only for the
sake of the colonBs Themselves but because there was
10 eectua mode Of discouaging slavery and the
slave trade than by proving to the world that under
state of freedom these articles Of general consumption
srecaly sugar could be produced with quite as much
advantage under compulsory labor. He had always
held that the importation of free aborers the West
Indies should be promoted in every legitimate way but
there certain conditions for its regulation which
they ought steadastly to adhere In the first place they
should take that the laws Of humanity were not VIC
lated that every who engaged himself us a aboler
was free agent; and that system of internal slavery
with all its attendant atrocities should be fosered in the
country from which these persons brought Next
their passage the should be managed
guard against the of any of those fearful
lamtes on board the vessels which formerly excited so
much horror among the people of England The third
condition which ought to be enforced was that when the
aborers reached the colonies they should be treated with
oil the consideration due to free men, and that under
system of so-caed apprenticeship contracts should
the institution OF slavery which he trusted the brand
OF this country had been indebly fixed be in any de.
gree revived Another condition. scarcely less important
than any of the foregoing that IN any such plan of
due proportion between the sexes should
be observed, and that reasonable number of women
should be introduced TO avoid the rghuI evil nsepara
BILE from the carrying of exclusively male population
to any British possession Under these restrictions the
government were anxious to encourage emigration to
colonies, from whatever that emigration might be
derived The honorable member talked as nothing had
been done of late years in this matter But in fact an i'm
xrnA.z. l. -.