The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1867-03-19

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EXPECTATION OF COOLIES.
MIR. B. Cochrane, in calling the attention of the
House to the expectation Of Coolies from the East
Indies said the subject wasone Of the ddest IN
terest. We had abolished the slave Isde at an
immense cost and we had since then kept up a
large feet on the coast OF Afrca at the expense OF
nearly half a million year with view to its COM
plete suppression; but while we incurred that
heavy expenditure to put down the trade in slaves
we we're actually promoting and developing sys'
tenn of what was, called fee-abor emigration from
the East IndiesS which was nothing more than
that trade in another shape. That was being done
too although-and we believed the noble Lurd the
Secretary for Ir5;a would bear him out in the
statement-there was in that country, and had
been for d. long time, great scarcity Of labor.
What, then, he would ask, was the reason why
= emigration Of those Coolies was encouraged?
When We abolished the slave trade the natural
result VAS that the proprietors Of plantations in
the West Indies could not procure 2 sufficient
proposed 70 1emedy by lending the support or the
81 Government to. the importation Of Coolies into
th6se Colonies! Under the new system each Of the
roo1oniesr might state what number OF ab0rers it
sfsquiisi and an officer was subsequently employ
ed to collect together that number in India, and to
ahfp thnm cd. for the Vest Indies with all possible
sdispStcl The holding out inducements to- men to
Smgrate under conditions which bound athem
j WAS, as might be supposed, system which was
:rIgbteeto very great abuse and 1t had been found
TO beisc IN practice The Coolies were enlisted in
the service by officers whose duty twas to collect
.io them In order TO get tiem to embark in the VEN
.ture. : Everybody knew how weak these poor
creatures we're, and how easily they were imposed
uponGFy the picture OF some M Dorado which
II was represented to them they were to find
en- their: arrival at their destination. Having
by those means been brought together in somo
establishment st Calcutta, they were; efter .
delay of perhaps not more, than four or five
days shipped sOf in the first vessel that could
.ebas msde availabler for the colonies On landing
There; III the engag agements entered into with them
6 were not fulfilled they had no doubt theoretically
an opportunity afforded them, Of asserting their
and 3D. might, for tue pmpose appeal to q
= = magistrate; but, as the appeal must be brought
g before magistrate IN the province in which The
- planter to whom they were consigned resided, It
hequeIIty happened in practice that they failed to
obtain anyredfess. Hehad, indeed, been inform
ed by a.gentleman that he had. seen in Natal o
number Of those people, who had come in to COM
:: PLAIN OF Etreatment before a magistrate, tied to
. carts by their 0Yerseers and fogged back again
, into fder own district. TT was clear, therefore,
that although these unfortunate creatures were
d hedged round by guarantees, yet. owing to their
Ignorance, derivedhrom them but little adj
vantage. 1t might be said Of course that the
Statements Of the suffermgs which they endured
were but It vas scarcely possible he
the treatment TO which they: were subjected orr
board ship, ~ or sec Of ~ the. conduct arof the
.ofieersF JIM India. sinT shipping them in the
Vessnlg which they chartered for the purpose: The
report Of the Emigration Commissioners for 1864 S
would show the:House how great was.the mortali-
ty, among them after athey had been shipped on
that tpRsssge, which had BEEN called the voyage Of
6eatt. The i3actiRasr that ANIMALS were better
treated and had more trustworthy ships provided
lAoE their cenyeyanee: The first st ship m m:n1oned in
cfhe was the Incelles, on board Of which 437
Coolies embarked at Calcutta, the number Of which
reached their destination being 42s that in that
the nsosaty was sJ reEy h ths next
stha ElrE bussea, 585 embarked and 1872 arrived; il.
thbn6ft $50: embarked, out of which number only
SS arrived; in the next 45 emb arked, the number
of fste arrivals being only 911; IL the next the num-
41 embarked, while only 1876 reached their
: destination. 1.-The total number. Of. deaths on
= The sJa6SsGe for the year was 1884,; out of
/ 8 shoWmgs.s mortality OF nearly one-third
Of the entire number, exclusive Of those
acRktItied from weakness or illness immediately
after landing Now, what, he would ask were the
scAsai fearful state Of things? The object Of
the officers in India WIS to procure ships at as
annSu cost as possible, and one fHghtfM loss had
Occurred about eighteen months since, which, like
al those melancholy occurrences, attracted but
very little attention IN that House or in the coun-
try. The EagIe:S Speed was lost the day after she
Esailedl .because she Was altogether unseaworthy,
q the report stated that none Of the Euro
: peAlhi were missing. The emigration agent and
The protector both repudiated their responsibility
in the natters The emigration agent said he had
nothing t0do with the Grew, and the protector
,saidastt Vaa no part'of his duty to see that any
ii tnles affecting them were complied with. There
were noits buoys; although there were tour hun
cdred and atwenty adults on board. The day
!: rishe saled theyessel went down ); the chief
= ail9,r o. nothing, the doctor did nothing:
:. the effects Of drink, and three hundred and
Z tW6ltY sQns were left to perish. The conclusions
,o-arIiYeas ats were that. the . emigration agent
gaod the. protector failed In their duty
IdepluablY, the second officer and the
9bpgsWam acted .' 'disgracefully, that the crew
, generally behaved badly, and that only two
. sealaen behaved weni;sN might be said that this
was an isolated case and did not prove that other
vessels we're not properly manned and commanded
but we did not know that for it was seldom We got
eco fill aoreport bearing upon the treatment the
Coolies received In 1859, an interesting article on
= = Moaaes It reviewed = work BY d. DaHaiIy, who
nstthe pianter) the ooohe merely took
the negroa place, and emigration was no more
than q return to the old system; it was-if one
may venture to say so-tne slave trade OF the 18th
= century p esae.. -. =: - -
The same author said - -.
~: ~ It is curious thai emancipation has brought
back recruiting for laborers for our colonies near
IF t9 OF things prevailing before slavery
emigrant but modification of those white bonds
men Of the 18th century who paid for their passage
by :! three years surrender of their liberty and
Whse sui1efmgs brought to mind the most fright
full feateres OF the slaye trade p
A gentleman who had published work in favor
otthe system OF emigration, (A1r. Beaton), wrote:
1.-THE Government, yielding to the popular
Glamour and the threats Of the press ordered the
656 Coolies to be disembarked on Flat and Gabriel
Islands, two miserable rocks, q few miles from
Port Louis where no suss cient provision had been
made, for aaording them shelter and food. Tie
condition OF these miserable wretches was tr11lv
deklorable. The quarantine laws, strictly enforcaj
forbade them to land-the open sea and the bare
rocks offered them only grave. In the course OF
q short time the bones Of 200 coolies were bleach,
ing on those barren rocks, the victims Of Creole
coNa1dlce and Government mismanagement. This
painful mortality. created little sensation amon~
the Creoles. Cholera had broken out in Port Ionis
and they had no sympathy for any suffering save
their own."
The writer's advocacy of emigrationhendered it
improbable that there vas any exaggeration in
this account. Was 1t possible, then tor us to shnt