Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1867-11-15
Editorial Notes on st. Croix.

4S" PIvhiuent ones VIII he suuciedt Tor N.
purpose.
The first is the provision that all contracts fol
labor on the estates must he for the period o
one full year. beginning on the first day Of Oc-
tober. Al such contracts must be made before
Witresses, and entered on the daybook Of tn,
ertaie notice Of termination Of service from
either party mus, be made sometime during the
previous August otherwise It is Of no vail ity, and
the engagement continues another year. The
notice must also be eut,sel 5n the layblok Of
the estate, anil the hhorsr is 70 have a written
Acknowledgment, Of such notice Neither party
car, AZ his option, break up the arrangement
for the year, when once cat-rei upon Il can
be terninltei by mutual consent in the pres
ence Of the Magistrate AMI the Magistrate can
order the removal ola llborer to another estate
where there IS good cause, such as to bring
/ husband and wife, mother ami chilren, togeth-
er unless good reason obtains to the contrary
I Without The pass-thlt is the acknowledgment
Of notice 20 leave on the first Of October-no Ia
borer can make a valid contract with another
party and any person engaging, or tampering
with lab0rer who has not his pass. is punisha-
be py law If An owner or manager dis
charges a lahorer during the stipulated year Of
service, or refuses to give him his pass when
notice Of leaving has been given. the owner or
mansger IS forced To pay iull damages to the
laborer, aud Is also subjected to 4 fine.
It viii thus be seen that the laborers on the
estates are, for The year, attached 10 the sol, as
it were If the estate should cLsuge owners dur
ing the year, 1t would not affect their contract.
Whoever owns the estate elsims tieir service till
the year is up; ard their Pay ard support for
the year operates as lien upon the estate.
was tod that there i- ccus ier.ais slift,uc from
one estate 10 another a. tie close q ihe year
mostly, bowev r, at the instance Of the laborers.
Generally, If .he hb9rrr does ,olsrsbly we'll. the
manager # ihe estate is glad &c secure him or
her for the next yelr-'he supply Of latorsrs for
the sugar estates on the leland net tirg equal to
the demand. In fact, shout four years ago, by
means Of fund raissI by taxation. nearly two
thousand laborers we're imported unier Govern
ment authority from other places, especially to
be employed On the su-fr estates Nos, Of these
came from Birbai ss, where l1ba-crs are abllI-
aut. 4 few wa-e from other Wcs- Iu!l Islands.
and about three huui-,i wet Coolies from the /
British Eas, Indie These imported lstcrsrs
are under utrsct TO work on the Island for a
lSol period, 20, ezceelio. iye years AID !
WLi.c re they are uu. Ter the provisions Of the /
Labor Act. with sme sr cid exceptions, not
neelfdl 90 De specified l-re They wee allotted. |
ulder conditions, 10 different sugar estates, ia
numbers from three ,r four up 60 forty or fifty
aui IN enc instance, up 90 seventy to one estate.
As for any fear on th, ptr5 Of the lsborer
that be vii De tlsoEn cut of employment,
with loss Of support, ifhe does ult exsr, himself
vigorously for th, estate throughout the year,
take it he hss small occasion to iululse any.
He is provided for, f.z tgelye-mou,h at all |
events; and experience has tod him that if !
he is orderly aad moderately Industrious be will
be wanted for the year TO come Many Of them
DO. in fact, rsmain attached TO the same estate
for long periods some, no doubt. f,r their en-
tire lives.
Great iucouyenience f-ss from the rule ths; /
all contracts with tie la5orers flr their year Of
service must begin a1l end 1n the same iay Of /
the year F.; VIZ, FIRE, # october ye; custom and /
prejudice have bsea s., powerful among the
Planters that all discussions 70 the subject in
the Colonial Council, for a loug time, ended on
y in one way; tba; is. 20 keep to the established
RUE heard just before left, tha; finally, and /
recently, a majority Of the Council hsd decided |
10 have the Labor Act So modified that yearly /
contrac, fr labor might be male TO begin and |
end on any day cf the year. Whether or 10 this |
mobilization sas to te applicable to la5orers Of
all classes and sexes. to Creoles as well as those
brought in from abrosI. I Jill not learn. Whe,h-
er the proposed modification viii be approved BY
the King Of Denmark, remains to be seen. In
general. these lab5rers from abroad were spoken /
Of IS useful EMPLOYEES but more given TO quar-
rels, calling for the intervention Of the Masis-
AA at4s AuAl tllQ-t aAe uAIlHe5 % tAt t.
In the next place, the frsi r1,s erily- ,rages
for each class Of laborers, Il being the sane
whether the work be slack or crowding, vheih-
er there Is little r even nothing to DO; aai if
there he ever So much pressure, the fact that the
most vigorous man 81 % gang has TO iulucement
to work better or faster than the greatest buager
or the greatest shira Who can holl on in the
same class, IS inja-ilus % both the osuer Of
the estate aud TO the Atorers. though in iiltr-
ent ways. It is injurious to IN. ,ea-r because
the cost TO him Of the weekly ration Of f5I Is
the same for the duilest worker As ior the best
one ; and though the CASH wsges IS low enough,
being but ten cents day. for five days .lthe week
to frst-class laborers, a1i Eve cents Day for
second-class laborsrs.-the ration being reckon
ell As i've cents a day more f1- the five working
days, though II always costs the oEner more
than that-any one can see thai II unler this
regulation the manager has thirty la60rers to
DO Wha, twenty could DO As veil as not. ani
would 20 under a proper stimulus, the los to
the estate for ratioas. TO say uothug Of the cost
Of extra gifts and privileges, mus, amount to a
large sum IN the course Of the entire year.
The inquiry ar'ses Why ro' make tn lay in
proportion 70 the amount o wors done, where
the Sork s ef sort easily divided oil into tssks.
as great deal Of the work on a sugar estate g
The ausver 10 this very practical qu's.iou is a
simple one the Labor Act does not allow Of il,
nor Of any hiring by the hour except for certain
/ particular labors at the sugar mills, and then
only for a very brief time, and in addition to
the regular work Of the day, aud for rate Of
pay alec Fixed bP Law. This regulation obvious
ly grew out Of the d slave. condition Of the la
borers and 1t is clung to With invincible tense-
ity by the great body Of the Planters. The old
notion (ahd, for that matter, common enough
even noS in certain class Of minis in oui
own country. that If left to his own viii 8
negro would only work long enough to supply
his instant want Of food. sticks as fast as evel
/ 4, tie mind cf a - Cr.ir Planter ve, thor