571
4.
lay in the power of the British Government
the Chinese Passengers Act of 1855 was passed,
its object being to ensure that here British
vessels or vessels sailing from Hong Kong
were concerned, coolies should not be entrapped
or coerced into signing a contract which he
did not properly understand or of which the
terms were unfair and that the conditions of
the voyage should be as satisfactory as possible.
Experience, however, showed the difficulty of ensuring the attainment of these
objects in the case of emigration to foreign
countries.
There were also no means of guaranteeing that the contracts would be adhered
to in such cases and, after several instances,
in which Chinese coolies sent to South
America had been grossly ill-treated after
arrival, Lord Clarendon expressed the opinion
(in
in a letter from the Foreign Office to the
Colonial