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Q-Do they prefer to be private coolies or public coolies?
A. When they know how to carry a private chair they prefer to carry a private chair.
Q. What is the difference between learning to carry a private chair and learning to carry a public chair?
A. Suppose two men carry a private chair, one of them must know the way, the roads and streets of Hongkong and the residents. He can't become a private chair coolie unless he understands what his master tells him to do. He must understand to take chits for his master, how to work for his master and he must know the times when he is wanted.
Q.--You think that is the reason then why they don't become private chair coolies ?
A. They don't know how to carry a private chair, therefore the master dislikes them.
Q.-That I can't understand because, if a man can carry a public chair, it seems to me that he can carry a private chair so far as carrying goes.
A.It is very hard to be a private chair coolie because the table boy comes and tells the chair coolie that master wants the chair at such and such time, and often it happens to be when they are taking their chow. They have to leave their chow then to attend to master.
Q.-You say you get your coolies from your native district, do you think you could supply chair and ricksha coolies to the non-Chinese community of Hongkong ?
A. I could not supply all.
Q. How many could you supply, do you think?
A.--I can't supply all, but, if some high official of this Colony wants to engage a private coolie he can instruct the Captain Superintendent of Police, and I think I could supply six, or seven, or eight to him.
Q.-Do you think you could supply as many as 500 ? Don't you think that if you went back into your own country and told your people there that there was good employment in Hongkong for 500 chair and ricksha coolics at wages of $$ a month and lodging thrown in as well and private coolie clothes from their masters, don't they would soon come if they knew about the chance?
you think
A.-There is very little population in my district.
Q.—But 500 men would come away, would they not, if they got
better
wages than
they were getting at home?
A.-In other villages which are more populous they might.
Q-I am talking about your district, not your village.
A. It is a very small district.
Q.-There are 350,000,000 Chinese?
A. When they are willing to come to Hongkong, their parents try to stop them, and when they are not willing their parents stop them.
Q.-Do you say parents and relatives stop coolies from coming to Hongkong?
A. When they are willing and anxious to come, their parents can't stop them. I was informed by a coolie that so-and-so wanted to come to Hongkong with him but was stopped by his wife.