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The Chairman. Do you think the Police Department would be a better department for registering private chair and ricksha coolies?
A.-I don't think there is much to choose, but I think it would be as well to have the control of all those coolies under one department, because private chair coolies are constantly leaving private employment and turning street chair coolies.
or do
Q.-Do you think that the Chinese themselves would prefer one office to the other
you think that is more a thing of the past?
A. Well, this will be a new thing, and of course we flatter ourselves that they prefer our office, the Registrar General's Office.
Q. Do you think it would make a difference of a strike or no strike according to the office in which they were required to be registered?
A.--I daresay any influence the Registrar General has could be brought to bear quite as well although the licences were issued by the Police Department.
Q.---I quite agree with you, and you think that, as licences of public chair and ricksha coolies are in the hands of the Police at this moment, the best thing would be to put the licences of these private coolies in the same hands?
A. Yes, I think that is the best course.
Q.-Is one of your reasons for that the fact that the people who supply public chair and ricksha coolies are the same persons who supply private chair and ricksha coolies ?
Witness. You mean head coolies ?
The Chairman.-No.
licensees of rickshas.
There are certain persons supplied and employed by
Mr. Badeley. Yes, it is like cabs are at home.
A man takes out licences for a
certain number of chairs and the coolies hire them from him.
The Chairman. Those persons who hire them are themselves licensed?
Mr. Badeley. Some of the chair coolies may have their own chairs.
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Mr. Wilcox. I have known cases of chairs being cumshawed by private persons to their old coolies or former servants, so that is proof that the chairs are occasionally owned by the coolies themselves.
The Chairman. Do you think that the fact that the Police deal directly with licensed persons who hold the right to sublet to other people, is argument in favour of putting registration or licensing of private ricksha and chair coolies into the hands of the Police? They seem to have the machinery ready there.
Do you see what I mean?
Witness.-I see what you mean, but I do not know that the licence holders have much control over the coolies they engage. I thought that, with them, it was simply a matter of business. I should prefer to say that in reality no difference can be drawn between private and street coolies because street coolies are constantly going into private employ and going out of it again. The licensing of all these coolies (public and private) should be under one department.
Q. Do you know of any guild, association, trade union or organization controlling the actions of private chair and ricksha coolies?
A.-No; I have never heard of such.
Q-Have you recently investigated the matter?
A. Yes, I have made further inquiries.
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