The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1871-09-29
The COOlie Trade.

According to a late Washington
special, Chief Justice SmaIe of Hong
koHg has recently made q decision
t' hich may have the effect Of putting
an end to the coolie trade without
ihc Intervention oftreaties or legisla-
tiOn. The point came up in this
way: A Chinese coolie was arrested
for mutiny on the high seas, and also
for being concerned in the murder Of
the captain and soi-Ie of the crew of
tie ship NO0eiJe Penelope. The
CHIEF Justice, after an elaborate re-
view IF the case, discharged the pris-
oneF fro "a arrest, on the ground that
the cooIie trade is really nothing but
slave trade, and therefore no better
than piracy consequently is beyond
the pale of law, and the man who re-
sists it guilty Of no crime. Whether
this decision will be sustained,
should it be referred TO legal tri-
bunals in England, is, to say the
least, doubtful, from the fact that
some of the British colonies are
deeply interested in the traffic, and
have taken measures to encourage and
regulate it. From q report submit
ted to the house of lords in 1859, we
find that the sum expended on ac-
count of immigration to the colony
of British Guiana from 1S4l to 1858,
was 81, ,230, ,775-largely over half of
which was for coolies. During the
period named, 1882 of these were
brought from Calcutta, and S,428
from Madras. To Jamaica there
were brought, from 1916 to 1854, ,551
coolies from India and 472 from
China. From lS43 TO 1858, there
were sent from 'alcutta to Trinidad
I1,631 coolies, OF whom 749 died on
The passage, and Ill were put in hos
pital Immediately on arrival. From
Madras and China to Trinidad dur
ing the same period, were sent 8, ,l07,
of whom fair proportion died en-
route. For the colony of Grenada
there were embarked TT, of whom
I32 died ON the voyage. From 1884
10 1853, not less than 250,000 coolies
were forwarded to the Mauritius,
and of these $4,000 died going there
or I'm q comparatively short time, after
ward. To what extent the business
iS carried on now, we have no means
OF knowing, but it is an indisputable
fact that while the philsnthropists
of Great Britain were expending
their virtuous indignation in denoun-
cling American slavery, the govern
mcnt of Great Britain was deliberate
" aiding a system ofhuman bondage
inconceivably worse. "The horrors
of the middle PASSAGE" about which
eve have heard so much, were eclips-
ed an hundred fold by the aWfnl
syEfEerings of these poor wretches car
Tie4 from their homes in India and
ChiRR. TO die in mid ocean, or perish
miseTsbIg on some unhealthy islands
or coast in the tropics. Not unfre-
quently a third or half of those who
sailed were flung from the ships to
feed the sharks before the voyage
-sTNs accomplished, and the misery
endured by the survivors 40 pen car
describe. It was always necessary
20 keep them below, or watch them
closely while on deck, for If left
oI, me they were sure to commit sui.
eide 6v jumping overboard-pTefer-
ring easy- death to horrible life
Nor when they landed was their lot
much improved. Had they beer
slaves their masters would have had
n pecuniary interest, If no other, II
their welfare but being only labor
crs working under contract, they
were subjected to the most bruta
treatment and died by the thousand
unnoticed and uncared for.
tbs quito time the internal traffic
war broken up forever, and the bolt
stand of Chief Justice Smale, If
does not consummate that purpos
st once, can hardly fail to bring
about at an early day.