The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1877-03-28
Chinese Coolies in Cuba.

The London Saturday Revie,o, com.
menting upon the report of q special
commission appointed to investigate the
condition of Chinese coolies in Cuba,
says:
One sentence in the commissioners re-
port supplies terrible intimation "Of
the moro than lao, 900 Chinese who sailed
for Cuba, upward of 10000 died during
the voyages" With q few exceptions
the concurrent testimony of the witnesses
bears evidence to an amount of suffering
endured on the passage which almost
surpasses belief.
The wretched creatures were confine
in the holds :; were beaten without mercy,
in some cases even unto death were sup
piled with bad food and insufficient
water were shut up in bamboo cages,
or chained to iron posts some were
clicked to death by the Sailors" and
"others on the point of death, but not
dead, were thrown overheard" No won
der, then, that numbers sought relief in
suicide. One witness says: "twenty
men" (hisfellow passengers) " cast them
selves overheard y "eight jumped over
board" states another and opium lent
it's aid to rid some of the sufferers of
their misery.
"On arrival, what happens to the
coolie?" asks the Chinese government.
"On landing," replies Hsieh-Shuang-
chin, -four or five foreigners On horse
back, armed with whips, led us like a
herd of cattle to the barracoons to be
Sold" These men were then taken to
the market, and were compelled to sub
NIT to treatment which to Cinnamon,
whose sense of decency is keen, was
peculiarly abhorrent. They were obliged
to remove their clothing, 80 that their
persons might be examined and their
prices fixed. "This covered us with
shame" say fifty-two petitioners.
After the evidence brought forward as
to the way in which the coolies are treat
ed during the various stages Of their
immigration until they reach the sugar or
other plantations of the island, the ques-
ton "Do employers treat coolies kind
ly? ?" sounds like mockery but it might
at least have been supposed that self
interest would have induced the masters
to keep the coolies in good bodily health.
Even this motive, however, seems to
have been insufficient to work any good
for the immigrants. They are underfed,
overworked and treated with great bar
barity. Maize and bananas form the
staple food allotted to them.
Many stated that, contrary to the regu-
lations which limit the hours of labor to
twelve out of the twenty-four, they were
made to work from four in the morning
until midnight. Sunday brought them
no relief, and any attempt to rest was
punished by merciless 'fogging. Album
dant evidence is furnished that the muir
dor of coolies was not at all infrequent,
and cases of suicide by hanging, by
jumping into sugar caldrons and by tax
ing opium, were OF common occurrence.
These statements appear 80 incredible
that we naturally turn for their confirm
alton or refutation to the statistics fur
nished by the commissioners, and from
these we learn that out of ia, ,091 coolies
who landed in Cuba during the twenty
years ending 1873, 3,502 died in the
island. These figures speak for them
selves. And it cannot be said that in
firmities arising from old age had any
thing to do with this high rate Of mortal
ity for, according to the commissioners,
the coolies were all young men.
The fact, therefore remains that during
the twenty years above named, nearly
fifty per centum Of the young and natu-
rally vigorous Cinnamon who landed in
Cuba succumbed to the effects of the
cruel treatment to which they were sub
jected.