The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1870-06-23
THE C0OLIE QUESTION.
Origin and Operation Of the System in
the British Colonies.
~~>>~~<>~~~~~>~~-~>>c~~~
Results OF Thirty Years Ex-
perience.
>o>><-~>-~<~~>~>~>>--~~>~
The Laws Regulating Emigration,
Contracts, Wages, &c.
Complete Statistics Of the Numbers En-
plycd and Of Those Who Have
Returned Home
John Chinaman and the Ezindoo as
Sons Of Toll.

The United States fs the grand objective point OF
the emigration OF the world. Europe and Africa
have sent US millions OF pairs OF brawny arms to
work In factories ard labor lands, ana now
Asia bids fair to become gre3t recruiting ground
for our industrial army. John Chlnaman mas already
made himself felt an industrial power on the Pa
cGc slope and to his labor must In great measure he
attributed the speedy completion OF the great rail-
road line which spans the continent; and that road
now forms his line Of march TO the fields and facto-
ries that lie OF the Rocky Mountain range. How
far he Will he able to supplement II nor suppant the
skilled labor we already possess is beyond pre-.
sent power OF calculation; but from his ingenuity
and well known initiative power he must evidently
become In trades in our Northern States for
mtdabe rival to the white man, while 1t is not i'm.
possible that he may completely revOlutonize the
present labor system Of the South for he VIII afford
the cutvators or cotton, OF sugar and OF rice the
means or supplying themselves with snllciency OF
laborers not only to I'LL the places OF those "reed-
menu who have sretired, from the field OF active
industry, but to meet the extra demand that Is
daily being created there by the influx OF Northern
capital.
Although parties of hundred or two each OF Chi.
nese have been received in the Southern States
within The past few months, no attempt has been
zen, time, when we find that 1900 are engaged TO
work upon the Alabama ana Chattanooga Railroad,
IN lieu OF negroes who have b en- tried but found
wanting. The ready manner in which Mr.. Koop-
manschap has shown himself able to Ill the order
given for these laborers naturally leads TO sup
pose that he will be equally able to I'll all future
orders "on the shortest notice and on the most
reasonable terms.''
In view or the ''coming man." It Is therefore well
Ia consider the capabilities OF Asiatlcs Us laborers
he lave no data to show what he is able to ac-
complish In skileraft further than the proofs OF
his handiwork which our shippers are co,tinu-
ally importing from the Celestial Land; but the sta
tisfics OF the British colonies in which for than
thirty years coolies have been employed, give us
ample evidence OF the results which have attended
their engagement as manual laborers. And, az the
object is now one OF vital interest," place before
our readers the most complete and comprehensive
account OF the cooie system that has yet appeared
CHINESE AND uINDoos.
The coolie proper OF the British colonies how
ever, Is not Chlnaman but Hindoo. Still no Is
an Asiatic and heathen and both are varieties OF
She same race, between whom there Is a sufficient
similarity to warrant US In lnquring into the results
OF the labor OF one as guidance to the prospective
results OF the labor of the other. Beyond this as
will be observed further on, there Is, In two of the
colonies. considerable sprinkling of Chinese
among the Hindoos, the former Industrial element
having been, few years ago. very alvan'ageously
added to the latter.
The term ''coolie''-which Is now generally ap.
piled to oil Asiatic laborers, and which Kpnipper
more than a century and q half ago (spelIng the
word "kuli9 applied to the Japanese aborers who
loaded and unoaded the Dutch ships at Nagasaki-
properly belongs solely to predatory and barbarOus
horde that formerly infested the province OF
Gujerat in india and 1t is derived from an Hindos-
tanee word signIfyng a hired or day laborer. In
the British colonies the term "cOoie, Is only given
TO the immigrants from India, and not to those from
China.
THE CAUSE WHICH LED TO THE INTRODUCTION OF
COOLIE LABOR.
The necessity for new source OF labor supply
which was experienced in some OF the British colo
MES more than thirty years ago had It's origin as Is
the case at present In the SouD in the abolition OF
slavery. BY the act abolishing slavery, which came
Into effect August 1, 1884, the slaves were trans
formed into apprenticed laborers and placed under
the guardianship Of special justices Of the peace tho
terms Of apprenticeship being for four years, telm
mating August /, 1885, after which date the
"apprenticed laborers' became absolutely Free
For the Mauritius these periods were postponed for
six months.
The position In which the colonies affected by this
act were left when their slaves were manumitted Is
TOO well known. With one exception they were left
entirely without negro laborers as the former slaves
positively refused 10 work. In Barbados alone was
prosperity continued without the introduction of an
entirely new set of laborers, ana this was in conse
quence OF the Island being densey populated that
there was no waste ground Tor the freedmen to
squat upon, and they were, natural result, left
TO the alternative either TO work or to starye or
the rest OF the former slave colonies only those
which have introduced coolie labor have been able
TO hold or regain their former pioductiveness and
by perseverance therein they have as we shall show
In the sequel, greatly surpassed tie well-known
prosperity of the era Of slavery.
WHERE COOLIES HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFULLY EN-
PLoyED.
The colonies into which coolie labor has been in.
trOduced are the Island or Mauritius In the Indian
Ocean, British Guiana, the West India Islands OF
Trinidad, Jamaica, st. Lucia, Grenada and st. Vim
cent and Natal. In Southern Africa. But 1t is only
IN the first three Of these that the system has been
persevered In and coolies imported I'm sufficient
number to test the question; and as result 1t has
in these colonies been carried TO successful issue
We shall therefore conAne our inquiries 10 them
In Jamaica but few coolies have been received their
Introduction into that poverty stricken island being
stoutly opposed ny the negro worshippers of Exeter
Hall, on the plea that the Asiatic would interfere
with the wages OF the African-strange to say OF q
man that would not work for hire-and the black
and tan Legislature Of the colony did not
keep faith with those coolies that were introduced
However, now that Jamaica Is redeemed from negro
rule there is probability that she may profit by tho
experience Of her more fortunate sister colonies
aud step has already been made In that direction,
for at the insgation OF Sir II. Storks the new gov
ernor who was appointed after the lete rebellion
there, emigration from India was recommended in
the season of 1867, bur only upon small scale.
The Introduction Of cookies into Natal only CON-
menced ve years ago, and has thus far been carried
out upon too small scale TO- insure any important
results.
THE THREE GREAT FIELDS of C0oLrE LABOR.
1t Is well that we should here place the reader in
possession OF few facts regarding the three colo
nies IN which the employment OF coolies has proved
remarkably successful.
The first OF these both in priority Of the inroduc-
ton OF the new labor system, and In the extent to
which 1t has been carried ont Is Mauritius or the