8
EMIGRATION FROM CHINA TO THE WEST INDIES.
Fitting between decks and kitchen will cost for 300 men about $400; wages S4 per month, and one month's advance, will be required. The Coolies will engage themselves for five years; are to be fed, lodged, and medical attendance, at the expense of the importers.
The freight paid here has been for Peru $25 to $30 a man, for a voyage of 120 days, with provisions put on board for 150 days.
The Government of Peru allows a premium of $30 for each man imported. Vessels of about 1,000 tons are required for 400 men, and it is very essential to have ports between decks for ventilation. The greatest attention is to be paid in choosing good captains, of mild temper and temperate habits. The Chinese are generally of mild character, but will not bear rough handling.
If you want any more information, give me your views, and I shall do every thing in my power to satisfy you.
I have, &c. (Signed) J. A. DURRAM.
P.S.-I am not aware that any stipulation has ever been made for the return. of Coolies to China. I am certain that nothing was provided in the exporta- tions to Peru.
J. A. D.
Commission
Ditto to Chinese collector
N1
+
Memorandum of J. E. Endicott, Cumsingmoon.
Supplies of food, &c. &c. on a voyage of five months, at $5
a month
25
* Cash advanced to Coolies for supplying themselves with
clothing
+
This is to be refunded by the Coolies after their arrival in the colony.
Syme Muir and Co. in their letter of 31st May, undertake to put emigrants on board at Amoy for the sum of 71., say $93 60c., with provisions, water, and all necessaries for the voyage.
These memoranda must be considered "private" until some arrangement is definitely made.-JAMES T. WHITE.
No. 2.
JAMES T. WHITE Esq. to HENRY BARKLY Esq., Governor of
British Guiana.
Hong Kong, July 19, 1851.
SIR,
I HAD the honour to address your Excellency from Macao, under date 21st ult., No. 12, mentioning my arrival in China, and what steps I had taken in furtherance of the objects of my mission to this quarter. Thinking it ad- visable that I should make myself acquainted with the appearance and condition of the people in the neighbourhood of Amoy, and with the prospect of obtaining labourers from that quarter, I left this on the 20th ult., and returned on the 16th instant, the voyage there and back occupying ten days.
2. Amoy lies about 300 miles to the eastward of Hong Kong. It is situated on an island off the mainland, numbers a population of upwards of 100,000 in- habitants, and has for years past been the seat of extensive emigration to all parts of the Indian Archipelago. The trade and commerce of the port are con- siderable and gradually increasing. Several European houses are established there, and a large portion of the coasting trade has fallen into their hands. The southern coasts of this great empire being so infested by pirates, which the Government, or naval authorities, are either unable or unwilling to destroy, that the Chinese merchants prefer the security of foreign shipping to the risks attendant on their own junks.
The sugar cane is extensively cultivated throughout the entire district from Canton to Amoy. At Changchow, a large town seated on a shallow river about 40 miles above Amoy, I visited an extensive refinery, where I found the pro-
EMIGRATION FROM CHINA TO THE WEST INDIES.
9
cesses of manufacture precisely similar to what prevailed in England previous to the introduction of the vacuum pan. The few cane pieces which I saw in the neighbourhood were luxuriant in appearance, and had been cultivated with the greatest care.
3. During my short stay at Amoy, I visited as much as possible of the sur- rounding country; going into the villages and examining the habits and character of the people. I did not meet with the slightest obstruction, although I frequently went alone and unattended. I found the people civil and obliging. At Changchow we were followed at first by considerable numbers, but they offered neither insult nor rudeness, and displayed only that cager curiosity which may be supposed natural to people many of whom had probably never seen a European previous to our arrival.
4. As far as my observation extends, the people of this province are not so robust or muscular as those in the province of Canton. They are, however, considered to be of a more quiet and orderly character, hardworking, and sub- missive to authority. They are almost entirely agriculturists, are eager to emigrate, and are so poor that they will go anywhere on any conditions that may be offered, provided they can secure the bare necessaries of life. Their language is a peculiar dialect of the Chinese, but differing so entirely from that spoken in the Canton province that the inhabitants do not understand each other, and are obliged to resort to interpretation in their oral communications. Any number of people may be obtained, for the country is peopled to excess; and a careful selection of those offering as emigrants would secure good and effective labourers.
5. A vessel called the "Amazon" was lying in harbour, and had been en- gaged some time previously to convey emigrants to the Sandwich Islands, but in consequence of some pecuniary difficulties affecting the ships, which occasioned her detention, the emigrants had been dismissed. Through the agency of the house intrusted with the operation. I sent for some of these people. It was stated to me that the best and most effective of them had returned to their villages, and that those I saw were the worst description. They were all men from 16 to 30 years of age-the greater part of them strong-framed and young effective; but all of them thin and meagre, and evidently suffering from the want of sufficient food. A few were very inferior, and not fit to be sent out as emigrants to the West Indies. They had all been engaged at wages varying from 2 to 8 dollars per month. The inspection of these people led me to infer that such low wages are insufficient to induce the emigration of the better class of labourers, and that under any circumstances great care must be taken in the selection.
6. The wages ought to be fixed at $4 to $5 a month, with food, lodging, and medical attendance; or, perhaps, it would be more congenial to the Chinese character if the wages were placed at $6 to $7 per month, leaving them to provide food and lodging from their own resources. Both conditions might be
set forth in their contracts, leaving them to make their own selection as soon as possible after their arrival.
7. Great weight seems to be attached by the Chinese to their receiving an advance of money previous to their departure. Hitherto, this has been only 86, but I am led to believe that if the amount were fixed at $10 to $12 it would ensure a better description of emigrants, even more so than by giving them a high rate of wages. The Chinese are essentially a domestic people, fond of their family, and extremely attentive to their aged relatives. Of this advance, $4 at least would be required to enable them to purchase the clothing and other comforts necessary for the voyage, the rest would be given to their relatives and friends, or disposed of in the settlement of debts to enable them to leave the country.
I am assured that there never has been any difficulty in recovering from the "Chinese emigrants the money advanced to them previous to their departure from China. The amount has been stated in the contract, with the condition of repayment by monthly instalments of one or two dollars, and this condition has been carried out without difficulty or demur.
B
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
TC.O. 885
π | | | | | | | | | | |
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
Page 310Page 311