The Hawaiian gazette., 1881-03-16

suited to be cast on his own resources
and left to take care Of himself In this
colony"
These quotations 1 give because they
accord with the information given me
by several parties who employed them
in the West Indies, and who without
exception told me that Cape de Verd
Islanders and Chinese were greatly
superior as laborers and also because
they explain the necessity of code Of
laws which must in their operation be
very vexatious to planters, in order to
secure that protection to the Indian
which the Indian Government insists
upon as prerequisite to consenting
to the emigration, and which the I'm
perial Government charges itself with
seeing carried out.
| am aware that it has been some
times asserted that the oversight of
Great Britain is mere formality, and
that these people are upon footing of
British subjects generally, but when
in London / found no such opinion
prevalent, or any desire to make it ap-
pear that the necessary conventions or
arrangements were meaningless, or
that ordinary treaty rights were sufi-
cient. 1t was clearly stated that the
coolies were considered as wards of the
Government, and that special protec-
ton was intended to be given them.
In this the East Indian and Imperial
Governments are probably only full
filling a duty which experience has
shown the necessity of. In dealing
with foreign countries the custom is to
demand the passage of certain laws,
and stipulate that they shall not be al
tered to the prejudice of the coolie
during the term of his service, a regu-
lation which would require class legis-
lation, or curtail the exercise of do
mestic legislation over the whole range
of laws affecting the relations of mas
tiers and servants. This would proba-
bly, be readily acceded to i'll a case
where the greater part of the laboring
population were East Indian coolies,
but should hardly be seriously con-
sidered in a seH-governing, indepen-
dent state, where the larger part Of its
own citizens were of the laboring class.
On this subject of special protection
I may quote the language Of Her Maj
esty's Commissioners
Vide Colonization Circular, 1877 !:
"They are protected by special laws
and by special officers appointed to ad-
minister those laws.
1t should be remembered that the
whole coolie system as it is called,
grew out of an exceptional state of af-
fairs, and is still, more tolerated than
approved by large class of British
statesmen, and may at any time be alb
ruptly terminated.
The fact that special arrangements
have to be made with Great Britain
before any of these people are allowed
to emigrate, is sufficient to show that
East Indian coolies are not held to be
in the same position as any other
British subjects. These special arrange
ments cover the minutest details con-
corning wages, food, lodging, hospital
accommodation, &C., as long as he re-
mains abroad, and provide for his pas
sage home, and he is not free to make
any other kind of contract of emigra-
ton as any other British subject is.
1t may not be inopportune to recall
here the circumstances under which
the system of transporting laborers
from the British East Indies to the SUI
gar growing colonies of Great Britain,
under contracts for long terms, arose,
and to refer at the same time to the
principles upon which the system is
conducted.
1t is now forty-seven years ago that
Great Britain, under the pressure of
advancing popular sentiment, compel
led the British Colonial sugar planters
to abandon the system of negro
slavery, a system under which they
insisted it was alone possible to con-
tinue the profitable production Of sugar,
and therefore to continue its produc-
ton at all and when the forced ap-
premiership system of the negro, which
followed the abolition of slavery came
to an end, it was found as matter of
fact that large numbers of sugar es-
tates went out of cultivation and had
to be abandoned. The British Gov
eminent, seeing the difficulty and anx-
ious to conciliate and assist the Colo
nists, organized with the consent and
assistance of the East Indian Govern
ment, what is known as the East In
dian Coolie system, by which Indian |
laborers, earning very low wages in
their own country, were induced to make
contracts at higher wages to serve as Ia
borers for long terms in the British sugar |
growing colonies. The Colonial Govern
ments became responsible in each case for
the selection, transport, care, treatment and |
return of these people, and stringent rules
were insisted upon by the British Govern
ment in order that no injustice should be |
practiced upon the ignorant and passive
East Indian when removed from his own
country. Notwithstanding these precau-
tons, complaints were from time to time
presented to the English people, principally
through meetings held at Exeter Hall, LON
don, that the Indians were ill-used, and
that the system was only a modified form