Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1909-12-03

10 ~Ork. pT-f-sring iil-He-s' tehATaei' ?
isiic. think, Of that race, wherever
iouudl. the sugar industry t'~gah TO de-
cline. plantations crying ia vain Tor la
tor: aud the natural resources oi lhe
Island SEEMED DESTINED 10 remain IN
Touched by the hand Of development,
for the ~aht Of willing labor. IL Was
possible to make 1t PROSPEROUS
colonial possession Of 'ireat Britain, on
IL by the importation OF lsborers-
Hence. the Coolie Of Trinidad. The
annual importation is now about 25OO.
while q or hundreds return every year
to India. They are recruited in India
by an Immigration Agent General, To-
Gated in Calcutta, their passage being |
paid from a special immigration tax
imposed on certain trades, importations
etc. by the Trinidad Colonial Govern
ment. They are indentnred to work,
mostly in agricultural pursuits, for five
years, at a wage of from s pence, DC
cents) to shilling, . pence, ca cents),
per day, aud at the end of ten years
they are entitled to a return passage to
India 10y paying half fare if men, aud
one third fare if women, the balance he.
ing paid by the party TO whom they
were indentured. Grants of land may
he taken in lieu of return fare. and very
many of them by their industry aud
saving, become well to do, and owners
of small farms, and bank accounts.
Although earning but a small wage,
they accumulate considerable, as it
costs them almost nothing to live tropi-
cal nature furnishing an abundance OF
food, with almost no human effort,
while the most of them are clothed with
a few yards of white cloth wound in
various ways, q presume stylishly)
about the body. Apparently this appar-
ell is seldom worn out by washing, and
is often worn until it is but collection
of worn out rags bundled together And
the quantity required is small for the
men wear it only about the upper and
middle portions of the body. Some OF
the women are quite respectable in the
J style and cleanliness of their clothing,
and great deal of ornamental jewelry
is worn by them in the form of arm
= and ankle bracelets, finger and toe rings
and drops and rings, etc, of many
l strange designs are suspended from ears
nose and lips. Much of this ornamen
: tai curiosity shop is pure gold and silver
and it is often said these people bank
: their wealth accumulations in this way
They are not poverty stricken as {
whole, as is evidenced by recent pub
lished report, which states that the 75(
who returned to India during last year
carried with them, besides large
amount of jeweIry, over $4,000; an'
East Indian residents are credited il
the Colonial Savings Bank with abou
100000. Many of them are dirty an,
lazy, specimens of low class of human
ity surely, and | have remarked tina
when the great Creative agency was Ell
gagged in His mighty undertakings, Their
came time when He possessed nothing
more but the refuse matter, which IL,
saved from wasting by creating some o
: these uninteresting specimens. The
Coolie home is squalid hut by tn,
wayside in the valley or on the steer
hillside in the midst of dense foiag,
near to a little patch of land which h,
has partially cleared of its denser growth
by axe and hoe. 1t may have the form
of house with wood, cement or stone
walls, and tile roof, or its sides may b,
split bamboo, and covered with the
' same or the woven mat of palm leave.
or bamboo bark: foorless except the
gray or red soil, and in every way, from
our view point, lacking all the essential.
of home but its possessors act tn.
spirit of contentment, and the nakec
children laugh as heartily or cry as bit
terly as though they lived in mansion
aud dogs and kittens play as uninter
ruptedly as though they ate their food
from china plates and beautiful flowers
grow in unlimited profusion around the
unshuttered windows and doors, and
make brilliantly gorgeous the overhang
:, ing foliage. In so many ways, nature
seems to love the howell as much as the
palace. Near the large towns we find
8 the Coolie village, an aggregation of the
homes Of the better class, but even here
squalid confusion reigns. These people
have their priests and practice some OF
their native heather rites and ceremon
les. They care little for society Of
course, but the government maintains
schools tor the instruction of the chill
dren, many of whom are quick and in.
teresting; and Christian missionaries
are devoting their lives to the moral
welfare and education of these peope
l have but touched upon some of the
characteristics of this strange people.
They have to be seen to be appreciated
+ In this regard they are not altogether