The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1869-10-30
y Partial Review OF the Report
of His NInjcsty's Commits
SIoner of Immigration.

sIoner of Immigration.
twill be remembered that DIR. William lille
brand was sent to China and India in 1865. for
the purpose of selecting laborers for our planta-
tions, ut the same time taking into consideration
the necessity of rcpopulating these islands.
The recent meetings ON the labor question
have caused many to read upon the subject who
have never before cared enough about it to give
their time and attention to it. The Commits
siOner's report was published, after his return,
in December, 1866. We italicizc parts of it.
1t has been said at these meetings that it was
hard for persons holding coolies or other persons
bound under our contract system to dircst them
selves of the idea that the laborcr was n chattel
that they had a right of property in the body.
Pertinent to this point we find in the Commits
sioner's report the following sentence, in allusion
to the higher cost Of Macao coolies sof which
fact you have had an opportunity to convince
yourselves last SUMNER, tlS65) when the Peru
Wan brig Mafador arrived in this port TO offer
for sale a part Of her cargo" What was her
cargo. coolies or contracts? Again We find
'. those few brought here last summer were, nc
cording to an expression their Oionr used to me
in speaking Of them, "a picked lot" Con-
tracts or coolies?
Farther on the Commissioner says: d" Only
treaty powers have the right to draw coolies
from n Chinese port Hongkong is an English
and Macao n Portuguese port. Hawaii not be-
ing n treaty power, the Commissioner says:
a. Suppose, therefore, we should conclude to draw
from Annoy o. Shanghai the business could not
[only p be done under the protection of u foreign
Ang, through a mercantile firm of that nation,
and under n fictitious declaration"
The emigration from Chinese ports to these
islands, which have no treaty, &" offers, besides,
some other grGre and serious Obstacles" BY the
treaties with other powers the contract IS provides
n return passage to every contract-emigrant leav-
ing China and "to all the members of his
family who 90 with him, not tied by any agree
ment.' . . !. IF the coolie, after the cx-
piration of his term of contract prefers to re-
main in the country Ito which lie has been
taken,) he is entitled to an equivalent in
money to the amount of his return passage to
China" The schedules of the con-
tracts contain many clauses which, although in
serted from mofiUes Of humanity, may be found
rery irksome 10 The employers Of The coolies" \
strange admission, and one which we believe
some OF our planters will repudiate. Thus it
appears that one obstacle 10 obtaining coolies
from Chinese ports is that to do so we should be
compelled to make n - fictitious declaration,''
Fictitious is n very handy word,) but the most
.. serious and grave obstacles remain in the fact
that many clauses 80 inserted from motives of
humanity" exist in contracts from Chinese ports
which would be 50 irksome to the employers
Any one who has ever read the British contracts
knows that they are quite liberal and humane.
In an examination of the various contracts used
in Chinese ports, and comparing them with our
contracts, we find that all humane provisions, all
tending TO place the laborcr ON an equality as to
rights, have been carefully eliminated.
The Surinam agency draw contracts similar to
ours rs to term and compensation, " bat a return
passage is secured them at the expense of the en-
ployer, and the right to change their MASTER
However, we do not believe the commissioner saw
the force of this argument, as throughout his re-
port we have evidences of his humanity and
honest endeavors to improve our population.
Speaking OF q free or spontaneous immigration,
which the Planters meeting so strenuously op-
posed, the commissioner says:
as Pein,sS GU, las, year !, would BE- quite practicable, Il
Chinese immigrants, " government would adopt the plan fol-
xAseiss The p1sssse MONEY. and looking to reimbar.ement BIZ
hiring out The immigrants 20 planters for a sufficient length Of
time No graf1ify or afranes being paid In this arrange
menf, bat the term Of unbounded service becoming materially
reduced a better class Of Immigrants eonLd be obfrfned,
among xhom they would be a hr proportion Of artisans and
.kiIea iAborers or what Importance such a class would be To
our plantations the o~ners CT managers Of the same need not
be todd"
This is a strong point in favor Of free immi-
grafton. To those who have attended the meet
ings it is patent that the Ministry together with
some Of the planters have no idea Of encouraging
any such system. Contract laborers or none is
their cry. In other words bondmen, not free
men. To resume our extracts We take the fol-
lowing:
"For any stranger anacqaainted with the language and
manners Of the people TO try 10 >nroL or even 10 watch
Cinnamon al their dealings with each other, would be n most