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emigration under indenture strongly expressed in the speeches of the Honourable Mr. Gokhale and the Indian members who supported his motion, there appear two distinct governing lines of sentiment on which the objections brought forward are based.
2. The objections to the "system" put forward by Mr. Gokhale (page 3) are five, viz. :—
(1) The contract is inequitable, the penal clauses imposing criminal liability
not being explained to intending emigrants.
(2) Protectors and Magistrates in the Colonies do not give the adequate pro-
tection of the law to the immigrants against the cruelty of employers. (3) The vast and terrible amount of suffering and heavy mortality caused by
the system in the past.
(4) Frightful immorality inseparable to it.
The continuance of the system is degrading to the people of India. Dealing with supposed arguments in favour of the system, Mr. Gokhale (page 8) states :-
The third and last point is that, though the fact about the penal nature of the contract has carefully kept out of all agreements all these years, the Government has, so far, taken no steps whatever to remedy this
If a penal liability is not necessary to this system I shall gladly withdraw the greater part of my objection to that system. abolish the penal nature of the contract under which labourers have to work, If you are prepared to the rest would be a comparatively simple question, and I shall not press this motion to a division; but, as I understand it, penal provisions are the very essence of the system; without them the system could not be worked."
3. The second line of argument is that more distinctly indicated in the speech of Mr. Subba Rao (page 14). He states :—
"We may concede all that he (Mr. Freemantle) has stated; we may hold with him that what the Honourable Mr. Gokhale has described is not correct. The question still remains; how does this indentured system affect the country at large? Has it a debasing or degrading influence upon India in the esti- mation of the outside nations? What is the attitude of those people who receive these coolies towards India as a whole
? We are all familiar
how in Natal, for instance, the best and most cultured of Indians are treated as coolies. Why is that? The simple reason is that South Africa has come into contact with India in the shape of coolie labour, and she only knows India as a vast recruiting ground for menial labour, and therefore whoever goes from India is naturally looked down upon as a coolie and no better than a coolie
The question strikes at the root of our national self- respect, our national honour, and national existence question all classes of people are unanimous." &c. Apparently Mr. Gokhale would not oppose emigration if the penalty of imprisonment was abolished for immigration offences.
Mr. Subba Rao, and those who think like him, take more extreme views.
On this
I have made some comments on the statements made by Mr. Gokhale on what he characterises as the principal feature of the system of indentured labour, six in number (page 1). Many of these objections have been replied to and controverted by the Honourable Messrs. Freemantle and Clark in their replies, but others were not cleared up.
(1) "Those who are recruited bind themselves to go to a distant land, the
languages and usages of which they do not know."
NOTE. In this Colony, in the districts in which immigrants are usually allotted, Indians already outnumber the Fijian population and the small number of Europeans. The common language on a plan- tation is Hindustani, and the usages of the immigrants are not interfered with.
(2) "They bind themselves to live on the estate of the employer, must not go anywhere without a permit, and must do whatever tasks are assigned to them, no matter how irksome these tasks may be."
NOTE-The Government consider it necessary that an immigrant should reside on his plantation, in order that the employer may be able to carry out the responsibilities enjoined on him by Ordinance, in
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order to ensure the health and welfare of the immigrant. For instance, the daily inspection of immigrants in the Lines with a view to attention being paid to the sick, and the prevention of heavy mortality of children and infants; experience has shown the necessity for this.
Permits. It is nowhere provided by law that an immigrant must obtain permission of his employer to absent himself from the plan- tation when he has performed his allotted work. As a fact, such permission is not asked for or needed. known to be a deserter may be arrested if he fails to produce a ticket An immigrant suspected or of leave, and return to his plantation: a very different matter.
Tasks.-A task is that extent of work which an ordinary immi- grant can perform within six hours of steady work. The work which can be assigned to an immigrant is ordinary plantation work connected with the cultivation or manufacture of the produce of the plantation; such work should not be irksome except to an habitual idler. If the immigrant considers the task excessive, he may complain to the Inspector of Immigrants or Magistrate, and the matter is attended to. (3) They cannot withdraw voluntarily from the contract, and have no means
of escaping from its hardships, however irksome."
NOTE. The Agent-General has the power to cancel the indenture or transfer an immigrant to another plantation in case of his ill-usage by his employer. In all large districts a Resident Inspector of Immi- grants is stationed who is instructed to visit plantations once, at least, every six weeks.
If immigrants have a grievance, or need of his advice, they can and do apply to him freely. As Inspectors are obliged to prosecute and admonish employers, and are not allowed to accept his hospitality, it is not found in this Colony that their relations with employers are too friendly, or that they are apt to take the employers' view wholly.
(5) "They bind themselves to work during the period for the fixed wage, which is invariably lower than the wages paid to free labour."
NOTE.-In Fiji the difference in the rate of wages paid indentured immigrants and labourers engaged at similar work under other forms of agreement represents the cost incidental to introduction of an immigrant, and also the greater value of an experienced labourer.
(6) "They are placed under a special law, never explained to them before they leave the country, which imposes on them criminal liability for the most trivial breaches of the contract imprisonment with hard labour
They are liable to for negligence, careless-
ness, for even an impertinent word or gesture to the Manager or Overseer."
NOTE. I am unable to say what explanation of the penal con- ditions of indenture are given in India, but the Fiji Immigration Ordinance is printed in Hindu and Hindustani, and immigrants who can read are given a copy on arrival in depôt. These Ordinances can be purchased at any Court House.
It is not an offence under the Fiji Ordinance for an immigrant to use impertinent word or gesture to an Overseer, but for threatening or insulting words or gestures to a person in control of labour--a very different matter-a penalty of a fine or imprisonment can be imposed." It is absurd to characterise such language or behaviour as mere impertinence." The language used by immigrants commonly, when annoyed, among themselves is sometimes of the foulest and most insulting character, which no man of self-respect could endure without retaliation unless a prompt remedy was provided by law.
With a view to the prevention of breaches of the peace this pro- vision is, in my opinion, necessary; were action to be taken under the general law for such an offence, an immigrant might be unable to find sureties to keep the peace, and would have to be kept under confinement until brought before the Supreme Court, perhaps some three months later.
5. Mr. Gokhale (page 6) states that Colonies and prosper the number is small, &c.'
as regards those who settle down in the would not be difficult to controvert this assertion. Under their contract immigrants So far as Fiji is concerned, it
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