The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1869-10-30

hopeless undertaking. No business house in China has the
pretension to believe itself equal to such a task"
This is corroborative of the statement made py
a speaker that the Commissioner had been over
reached in procuring our coolies. AT the last
meeting there was a strong point made against
the Board, but particularly against Mr.. T. u
Harris. 1t was asserted that If MIR. harris had
used the diligence which he claimed that he had
in regard to the coolie contract system he would
never have challenged any one to produce a cooiie
who could not read or write who did not under
stand his contract, and who had not signed it.
When the challenge was answered ana MI
John H.. Wood had made a statement to prove
that the Board knew that the condition OF AFFAIRS
which was established, existed. Mr. Harris APP
pealed to the Commissioner to deny Mr. "oods
statement, which the Commissioner did so lar as
he was able. But to strengthen and corroborate
Mr.. Woods statement, we clip the following
from the Commissioner report:
"The shortest interval between the medical examination and
Situations. Tlis @Gs pity he case riih tht frst res'eA,
and also urifh the females OF the second"
Again, in a letter dated Hongkong, July 10th,
1865, he wrote:
"Unfortunaiely the arrangements made at the premises
were very Imperfect, ITO men ard IS women passed muster,
and were sent on board bur I hare good reason TO suspect
tNet e"t hH,FS 70 NcNHe
tickets and been ~smHggfsd on board"
What can be thought of Mr.. Harris challenge
and endeavor to drag others into the dilemma
which he found himself in? We answer that his
conduct on this occasion is in keeping with his
whole public career. The report says:
"The Government Of Great Britain r. exceedingly jealous TO
secure 90 its Indian subjects who emigrate on the strength oil
honest dealing while in the foreign country, and insists on a
free return passage At the expiration OF the contract, or us
communication In money"
We have also been told that the cotton planters
in India found some trouble in regard to their
contract laborers and petitioned the Home Gov
ernment for a law by which they could compel
them to hold to the contract. The Home Gov
ernment answered that while they sympathized
with them they could not grant a penal enact
ulent to enforce n civil contract. All honor to
tie Ministry of Great Britain.
To return to the report:
Shall we therefore discontinue to import women with our
COOLEST n you ask me this question, Z most smphaicaHy
say no-ihe difference bsfoeen a eeotie and a Stare as
bonded service. the greater the freedom Of movement allowed
during the same, the more his natural and human rights and
interest are respected, the more you remove his condition from
that Of the slave. Among the latter, the most prominent IS
specied, but its exercise encouraged, you approach his status
that Of a freeman, you render him eontented with his lot, and
attach him to his new country. You remember, gentlemen,
that on accepting your mission, insisted on This promise as
one Of my conditions: In doing which ! met ySar ow nir sSn, . ,
your agent than to contract for a batch of plantation hands in
China. I declared at tbs time before you, that you could have
no difficulty in finding others as well, and II might be, better
suited for that business than MYSELF, and possibly at less
expense. Nothing could have induced me TO lend myself to a
trade ia flesh, AMI II / accepted this otherwise to me distastefui
tbusiness Of procuring coolie laborers, Il was from q weiL-msant
desre to establish on the first beginning, an undertaking which
must become Of enormous Importance to the future OF our
country, on a basis which has no affinity with the slave trade"
What is thought of this language by those
who oppose bringing women with foreign contract
laborers. The small percentage of women brought
with the coolies imported by the Board, and the
cutlery of some planters against women, lays
them open to the imputation of favoring a system
{. differing only in degree, not in essence from
slavery" We gather from the report that SIM
ply contracting for a batch of plantation hands is
disreputable, assimulating to a : trade in flesh"
This is borne out by the statement of one of our
most respectable Chinese merchants that 90 i'm
porting coolies was not respectable business"
1t remains for our citizens to take such a course
rs shall exonerate them from all completely in
the coolie contract system, rs it now exists.