The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-11-09
UNDER ENGLISH FLAG.
London Truth Exposes the Thiniy-
Disguised Slave Trade-Pecuhar
Enforcement of Contracts.

From time to time statements nave
been given to- London Truth, says the
editor of that paper, respecting the
more or less thinly disguised enslaVe-
ment of coolies in outlying corners of
the Indian empire Such statements
have been challenged by interested par
ties, and the exact truth has never
been clearly ascertained
But / have now received, from
source which regard as preclud1ng the
possibility of misStaltement, authorlta-
tive information as, to the cooiie trafnc
in Assam, which points to a state OF
things utterly disgraceful to British
rule in that district and demands the
immediate attention of the authorities.
NY information comes from Chota
Nagpur, and has reference to the sys-
tenn of ''coolie emigration Gas it is
euphemisticaNy styled, by which labor
is supplied to the Assam tea gardens.
The theory of this system of emIgra-
ton is that the emigrant coolie Volun-
tarily contracts to work in AMMAN Tor
a specified term of years, usually four
or five, at an agreed rate OF wages,
usually Rs. 6 or Rs. Z per mensum, plus
over time, and with the right to return
home at the expiration of his time.
The contract is executed in the pres
ence of a. ma gistrate, and renders the
coolie liable tosbe prosecuted and pun
ished in the event of a breach on his
side This may sound legitimate
enough in theory, but in practice 1t
looks very different. Tie practice as
described to me is as flows:
The coolies are brought up to the
contracting point by an enterprising
individual known officially as an "emi-
grafton agent and popularity as
''coolie-catcher."
The coolie-catcher keeps what is
called a "coolie depot He employs
recruiters" male and female, whose
business it is to go into the jungle, and
by the means of drink, false promises
of money or any other inducements
they see fit to offer, decoy coolies into
the depot
The agents from the tea gardens
come to the depot and select the coolies
they want 1t commonly happens that
by the time the selected coolie has So
bered down and reconsiders his posi-
ton and prospects, he discovers a
marked reluctance to go before the
magistrate and execute his contract
Then comes the rub. 1t becomes
necessary to overcome the coolies re-
luctance, and if my information be cor
rect, no means are deemed too drastic
for attaining this end. The coolie is
detained in the depot by force, and he
is thrashed and tortured literally in
various abominable ways until he con-
sents to sign the agreement in order to
escape from his tormentors
In one case, which is vouched for, a
man who had refused to go before the
magistrate was kept strapped down to
the ground with heavy weight upon
his body until he withdrew his obiec-
ton; and | am even told that it is the
custom to keep, a staff of men beating
drums or tom-toms inside the depot, in
order to drown the cries of the poor
wretches undergoing this or other
forms of torture.
BY the time the treatment has had
the desired effect, the coolie is usually
too cowed to give any trouble when
taken before the magistrate and often
by that time he is more dead than
alive. To further preclude any chance
OF dlff1cultieS the men are taken up in
punches. so that the business is hur-
ried through in perfunctory style and
under the eye of the coolie-catcbers
minions.
Finally to complete the helplessness
or the position of the unfortunate crea-
lures, they are mostly ignorant of tho
H1ndustani language, in which the pro-
ceedings are conducted, and the very
responses on their behalf are made bv
the henchmen of the coolie-catcher. In
this manner the Contract" is com
pleted, and on every such contract tbe
coolie receives 100 rupees. Of this sum
it is estimated that 10 rupees are clear
profit. ei
Freedom of contract takes manv
queer shapes, and it is possible that
the enthusiasts of the Liberty ana
Property Defense league NAV find
much to admire in this system. Rut 70
those capable Of seeing facts as thew
are, the system will be nothing better
than slave trade in disguise. And #
IS marked by all the incidents of
slave trade VI d