, 1888-10-17

III the colony to work all the estates, under
eaSytaSkS, but nothing short Of eXOrbitant
wages would tempt the bulk of the creOles
to engage III regular work, and some of
them were proof against all temptation.
immigration had set in, and already
about twenty thousand aliens had been
introduced 5000 coolies, 5000 Portuguese
and 5000 Africans ; but this was "a totally
inefficient contingent to secure success i'll
the war Of prices the planters were being
forced to enter, and further remedial mea-
SureS had to be discovered. The coolies
are described as a fine body of labOurerS j;
the Africans We're valuable men during
the opening years of their service, but
they soon became affected with the squat
ting prociiyities of the creoles and the
Portuguese through their Industrious thrift
ty hlbltS were already making fortunes,
the amount OF which was ''prrfectly incre-
dible. The Commissioner Opined that
the coolies and Portuguese would sup
plant the Africans in the labour market;
but they placed their chief dependence
upon the coolies and expressed the Opili-
ion (Which subsequent vents has amply
juStitied) that immigration from India is
destined to save the country from impeGd-
Ing RUM The planters had not neglect
CT bllCIA uiUN III UlRlIS ny every lGSItl-
mate inducrment to get the creOleS to
work. The best wages the estates could
afford We're offered and the metairi6 sys.
tenn was adopted in the fair hope of in
during the lahourprS to 90 hand in hand
with the planters in the race Of progress;
but the result Of this attempt was the
narrow escape of the estates that made it,,
from ruin, the labourerS deliberately VIC
l1tInU tInlT nnDtplntS md Ia,yinor TIM
fields without cultivation. 4 large and
continuous stream of immigration was the
sheet anchor OF the planters hope, and
If the Government could be brought to
adopt it IA stringent vagramcy act by
which those people who We're seeking out
the abandoned lands for the purpose of
idle >quatting would be saved from fall
ling back into Savagery. The Commits
%sionerS, TO their honour be it recorded,
advocated the incubation Of religious and
moral instruction among the labouring
classes, for thereby 'the better citizens
will they become, and the more useful aud
industrious members of society,"
During the forty years that lave passed
since the Commissioners submitted their
report, the advancement the colony has
made upon the lines these bTave-hearted
men Sketched out for their contemporaries
and successors, could only nave been
attained by men heroic and enterpriSing,
determined to attain to success, no matter
the magnitude of the obstacles in their
way. In indian immigration, as the Com
miSSl0nerS foretOld, the planters have
found not the least part of their strength;
but when it is remembered that the task
our predecessors had to face was practic.
ally the SuperSeding Of the native peasant
ly by the introduction of people from the
turtheSt limits of the globe, at a monetary
expense which less determined men would
have REGARDED as prOhibitive, it will be
admitted that they accomplished a feat
almost, ifnot quite, unique in colonial
history. The nine thousand coolies of
1919 have increased to about a hundred
thousand, and every year the tale grows
larger; and the planter is now able to
regulate his wages list by the indications
of the sugar register in Mincing Lane.
The transition from the dark days of the
Commission to the cheerful atmosphere of
the present day has been marked with
many viciSsitudes, and at times, it seemed
as it the uphill work was more than
flesh and blood could accomplish, but
when things have appeared at their worst
they have always mended, sometimes with
such electrical rapidity, that the grOanings
of yesterday have been forgotten in the
overlooking prosperity and lavish expeu-
diture of today. Fortunately for the
colony the spirit of progress has always