CHINESE LABOURERS.
No. 2.
244
PAPERS RELATIVE TO EMIGRATION OF
they are nevertheless willing to believe that, if cordially assisted by the countenance and influence of the Government functionaries at these settlements, it might become considerable.
That pending the communications with Her Majesty's Government relative to emigration from Africa, your memorialists have refrained from adverting to the practicability and advantage of employing labourers from India,—preferring to wait until the result of the experiment made in Guiana, which your Lordship has doubtless watched with interest, could be satisfactorily ascertained. The papers now before Parliament furnish unquestionable evidence of its complete success. By them it is clearly proved that all the allegations made against the removal and employment of these people, were quite unfounded. They appear to be perfectly suited to the climate, and, according to the report of Sheriff Whinfield of Berbice, "they have executed their work in a much more steady and satisfactory manner than the negro population." Besides enjoying throughout their sojourn in Guiana comforts to which they were strangers in India, they have been enabled to amass considerable wealth. The periods of their engagements having expired, a portion of them, in all 236, including some women and children, have taken advantages of the free passages provided for them, to visit their homes, carrying with them upwards of 25,000 dollars in money, besides other property. But, as Governor Light remarks in his Despatch to your Lordship, dated 15th May last, they one and all of those who embarked, expressed their intention of endeavouring to return with their families, satisfied that in the West Indies they can be better off than in their own country, and more free from oppression." This expression of their own feelings after embarkation, affords of course the most indubitable testimony, though it only confirms the opinion which Governor Light had previously given in his Despatch dated 15th December last, wherein he states, industry protected and amply rewarded, assure to the people of India the means of acquiring wealth here which they cannot readily obtain in their native land." The great expense of conveying labourers from the East to the West Indies, with the condition of providing the means of return, would deter your Memorialists from incurring so heavy a charge except to meet a case of the most urgent necessity, and it will always prevent the possibility of encouragement being given to an excessive or too rapid immigration. But such is the lamentable state of the principal West India colonies, that unless a considerable number of labourers be introduced without delay, very many more estates must be abandoned. In the struggle which has hitherto been maintained, numerous proprietors, who previous to emancipation derived large incomes from their estates, have been ruined,—execution as well as private forced sales, are daily taking place, and but for the adventitious circumstance of a great extent of West India property belonging, on being indebted, to persons in this country, who possess the means of supporting it, the aggregate production must have still further declined. Unprofitable cultivation cannot however be continued without an assurance of early relief. And this result must ensue unless such an accession to the working population be speedily obtained, as shall moderate the monopoly of employment now enjoyed by the former slaves, and induce a general disposition on their parts to give steady and effective labour on terms which the value of its produce will justify.
Under these circumstances, your Memorialists confidently hope that Her Majesty's Government will no longer refuse to concede to the West India colonies the same permission to procure labourers from India, which has been justly accorded to Mauritius, under arrangements similar to those that have been adopted in regard to that colony.
Your Memorialists therefore pray that all obstructions to emigration from Sierra Leone, as well of the liberated slaves as of the people who may come there from the adjacent countries, be forthwith removed; that the same facilities be extended to the other British settlements on the West Coast of Africa, and that emigration from the East to the West Indies be henceforth permitted, under such regulations as may be calculated to prevent abuse, and to secure the due protection and comfort of the emigrants.
(Signed) NEILL MALCOLM, Chairman.
No. 2,
Copy of a LETTER from ALEX. GRANT, Esq, to Lord STANLEY.
My Lord,
West India Committee Rooms, 60, St. James's-street, July 24, 1843.
SINCE I had the honour to transmit to your Lordship, on the 11th instant, a Memorial from the Standing Committee of West India planters and merchants, letters have been communicated to them from a Guiana proprietor, who has been visiting most of the British possessions in the East; and as they contain interesting intelligence relative to the state of labour in those countries, I beg leave to enclose extracts from the same for your Lordship's information.
By these communications it appears highly probable that, but for the prohibition imposed by the Order in Council of September, 1838, Chinese labourers might be there engaged on reasonable terms to proceed to the West Indies. Considering the well-known character of the Chinese people, the distance they would have to come
CHINESE LABOURERS TO THE WEST INDIES.
245
and the consequent necessity of entering previously into definite contracts for their own assurance and satisfaction, I submit that, even according to the views which suggested the prohibition in question, there can be no propriety in applying it to them; and I am desired by the Committee to express their hope that your Lordship will be induced, in addition to other arrangements for procuring labour to the Colonies, to extend the exception made in favour of the coloured people of North America, by the Order in Council of the 4th January last, to contracts that may be entered into with Chinese labourers at any of the British settlements to the eastward of the Ganges.
By the copies of agreements which accompany the extracts I have now the honour to transmit, your Lordship will observe that the people who have been engaged at Penang and Singapore to proceed to Mauritius, have undertaken to repay their passage thither out of their wages.
It appears to the Committee desirable, as they trust it will to your Lordship, that, as regards the West India Colonies, a bounty should be granted upon the introduction of Chinese labourers, provided the special contracts they may have made shall not exceed two years.
By this means parties here who are interested in the Colonies might be induced to make immediate arrangements for engaging and conveying a considerable number of these labourers, while they would, before embarkation, be assured of a free passage and of good employment from the moment of their arrival, without any deduction from their wages. On the other hand, the colony granting the bounty would be amply compensated by the contribution of their labour, and their open competition for employment at the end of a short period.
(Signed)
The Right Hon. Lord Stanley,
&c.
&c. &c.
I have, &c.
ALEX. GRANT, Chairman pro tem.
Enclosure in No. 2.
EXTRACT of a Letter, dated Calcutta, 12th May, 1843.
THE object I have in view in this letter is to draw your attention, and through you that of others, to the Chinese who yearly come down from Amoy to the Straits of Malacca, seeking employment. At Singapore, Malacca, and Prince of Wales Island, there are 100,000 Chinese, and these people are the labouring portion of the community. At Prince of Wales, Isle Penang, there are 2,000 acres of land cultivated exclusively by them, and during the heat of the day I have seen them cutting canes, digging canals, carrying canes, &c., and I can state, without hesitation, going through all the work as well as the best picked men (Creoles) would do. The climate is much the same as in British Guiana. The men are strong and powerful, and from infancy accustomed to toil; industrious and eager to acquire money. I have seen all classes of Coolies, and the different tribes of Asia; but nowhere have I seen a people who would suit us and our purposes better. They are, however, more independent than the Coolies, and would, of course, have to be treated in every respect as an English labourer. One thousand have already been shipped to the Mauritius, and answer well. These people come down in the junks in January; they are all about the age of 18 to 30. I have written Mr. Anderson and sent him copies of agreements made with them. Any number may be had, and you may easily pick the number you require. Messrs. Barclay Brothers, of London, engaged Messrs. Brown and Co., of Prince of Wales Island, and Spottiswoode and Connolly, of Singapore, to ship them to their agents at Mauritius. They live on rice and salt fish, and as this is to be had low on the spot, and freights are low, I think they might be landed in Guiana at 10l. to 12l. per head.
EXTRACT of Letter, dated Calcutta, May 8, 1843.
"I AM now desirous of speaking about Chinese labour. From China every year, from 6000 to 8000 men leave for the Straits, seeking labour, and all men from 18 to 24, well made, robust, and active, inured to field labour, and able to work during the heat of the day, in fact, they are equal to our best Creole field labourers; they are eager for gain, and will do anything for money; they are quiet and very intelligent for their class, and not lazy. They value money, are shrewd; and I do think that no class of men can be better adapted to our wants than they are. I have been among them, seen them at work in the cane-fields, cutting and trashing canes, and banking. I have seen them clearing land, digging canals, and no man on Providence could have worked better than this gang of 50 Chinese, and of the year's import. If emigrants are still desired, and if the Emigration chest is not empty, I do think that nowhere shall we find a class of labourers more fitted to our climate and our cultivation, and they are
CHINESE LABOURERS.
Encl in No. 2.
223
CHINESE LABOURERS.
No. 2.
244
PAPERS RELATIVE TO EMIGRATION OF
they are nevertheless willing to believe that, if cordially assisted by the countenance and influ- ence of the Government functionaries at these settlements, it might become considerable.
That pending the communications with Her Majesty's Government relative to emigration from Africa, your memorialists have refrained from adverting to the practicability and ad- vantage of employing labourers from India,-preferring to wait until the result of the expe:.ment made in Guiana, which your Lordship has doubtless watched with interest, could be satisfactorily ascertained. The papers now before Parliament furnish unquestionable evidence of its complete success. By them it is clearly proved that all the allegations made against the removal and employment of these people, were quite unfounded. They appear to be perfectly suited to the climate, and, according to the report of Sheriff Whinfield of Berbice, "they have executed their work in a much more steady and satisfactory manner than the negro population." Besides enjoying throughout their sojourn in Guiana comforts to which they were strangers in India, they have been enabled to amass considerable wealth. The periods of their engagements having expired, a portion of them, in all 236, including some women and children, have taken advantages of the free passages provided for them, to visit their homes, carrying with them upwards of 25,000 dollars in money, besides other property. But, as Governor Light remarks in his Despatch to your Lordship, dated 15th May last, they one and all of those who embarked, expressed their intention of endeavouring to return with their families, satisfied that in the West Indies they can be better off than in their own country, and more free from oppression." This expression of their own feelings after embarkation, affords of course the most indubitable testimony, though it only confirms the opinion which Governor Light had previously given in his Despatch dated 15th December last, wherein he states, industry protected and amply rewarded, assure to the people of India the means of acquiring wealth here which they cannot readily obtain in their native land." The great expense of conveying labourers from the East to the West Indies, with the condition of providing the means of return, would deter your Memorialists from incurring so heavy a charge except to meet a case of the most urgent necessity, and it will always prevent the possibility of encou- ragement being given to an excessive or too rapid immigration. But such is the lamentable state of the principal West India colonies, that unless a considerable number of labourers be introduced without delay, very many more estates must be abandoned. In the struggle which has hitherto been maintained, numerous proprietors, who previous to emancipation derived large incomes from their estates, have been ruined,-execution as well as private forced sales, are daily taking place, and but for the adventitious circumstance of a great extent of West India property belonging, on being indebted, to persons in this country, who possess the means of supporting it, the aggregate production must have still further declined. Unprofitable cultivation cannot however be continued without an assurance of early relief. And this result must ensue unless such an accession to the working population be speedily obtained, as shall moderate the monopoly of employment now enjoyed by the former slaves, and induce a general disposition on their parts to give steady and effective labour on terms which the value of its produce will justify.
Under these circumstances, your Memorialists confidently hope that Her Majesty's Government will no longer refuse to concede to the West India colonies the same permission to procure labourers from India, which has been justly accorded to Mauritius, under arrange- ments similar to those that have been adopted in regard to that colony.
Your Memorialists therefore pray that all obstructions to emigration from Sierra Leone, as well of the liberated slaves as of the people who may come there from the adjacent countries, be forthwith removed; that the same facilities be extended to the other British settlements on the West Coast of Africa, and that emigration from the East to the West Indies be henceforth permitted, under such regulations as may be calcu- lated to prevent abuse, and to secure the due protection and comfort of the emigrants.
(Signed) NEILL MALCOLM, Chairman.
No. 2,
Cory of a LETTER from ALEX. GRANT, Esq, to Lord STANLEY.
My Lord,
West India Committee Rooms, 60, St. James's-street, July 24, 1843. SINCE I had the honour to transmit to your Lordship, on the 11th instant, a Memorial from the Standing Committee of West India planters and merchants, letters have been communicated to them from a Guiana proprietor, who has been visiting most of the British possessions in the East; and as they contain interesting intelligence relative to the state of labour in those countries, I beg leave to enclose extracts from the same for your Lordship's information.
By these communications it appears highly probable that, but for the prohibition imposed by the Order in Council of September, 1838, Chinese labourers might be there engaged on reasonable terms to proceed to the West Indies. Considering the well-known character of the Chinese people, the distance they would have to come
CHINESE LABOURERS TO THE WEST INDIES.
245
and the consequent necessity of entering previously into definite contracts for their own assurance and satisfaction, I submit that, even according to the views which suggested the prohibition in question, there can be no propriety in applying it to them; and I am desired by the Committee to express their hope that your Lord- ship will be induced, in addition to other arrangements for procuring labour to the Colonies, to extend the exception made in favour of the coloured people of North America, by the Order in Council of the 4th January last, to contracts that may be entered into with Chinese labourers at any of the British settlements to the eastward of the Ganges.
By the copies of agreements which accompany the extracts I have now the honour to transmit, your Lordship will observe that the people who have been engaged at Penang and Sincapore to proceed to Mauritius, have undertaken to repay their passage thither out of their wages.
It appears to the Committee desirable, as they trust it will to your Lordship, that, as regards the West India Colonies, a bounty should be granted upon the introduction of Chinese labourers, provided the special contracts they may have made shall not exceed two years.
By this means parties here who are interested in the Colonies might be induced to make immediate arrangements for engaging and conveying a considerable number of these labourers, while they would, before embarkation, be assured of a free passage and of good employment from the moment of their arrival, without any deduction from their wages. On the other hand, the colony granting the bounty would be amply compensated by the contribution of their labour, and their open competition for employment at the end of a short period.
(Signed)
The Right Hon. Lord Stanley,
&c.
&c. &c.
I have, &c.
ALEX. GRANT, Chairman pro tem.
Enclosure in No. 2.
EXTRACT of a Letter, dated Calcutta, 12th May, 1843.
THE object I have in view in this letter is to draw your attention, and through you that of others, to the Chinese who yearly come down from Amoy to the Straits of Malacca, seeking employment. At Singapore, Malacca, and Prince of Wales Island, there are 100,000 Chinese, and these people are the labouring portion of the community. At Prince of Wales, Isle Pe nang, there are 2,000 acres of land cultivated exclusively by them, and during the heat of the day I have seen them cutting canes, digging canals, carrying canes, &c., and I can state, without hesitation, going through all the work as well as the best picked men (Creoles) would do. The climate is much the same as in British Guiana. The men are strong and powerful, and from infancy accustomed to toil; industrious and eager to acquire money. I have seen all classes of Coolies, and the different tribes of Asia; but nowhere have I seen a people who would suit us and our purposes better. They are, however, more independent than the Coolies, and would, of course, have to be treated in every respect as an English labourer. One thousand have already been shipped to the Mauritius, and answer well. These people come down in the junks in January; they are all about the age of 18 to 30. I have written Mr. Anderson and sent him copies of agreements made with them. Any number may be had, and you may easily pick the number you require. Messrs. Barclay Brothers, of London, engaged Messrs. Brown and Co., of Prince of Wales Island, and Spottiswoode and Connolly, of Singapore, to ship them to their agents at Mauritius. They live on rice and salt fish, and as this is to be had low on the spot, and freights are low, I think they might be landed in Guiana at 10%, to 127. per head.
EXTRACT of Letter, dated Calcutta, May 8, 1843.
"I AM now desirous of speaking about Chinese labour. From China every year, from 6000 to 8000 men leave for the Straits, seeking labour, and all men from 18 to 24, well made, robust, and active, inured to field labour, and able to work during the heat of the day, in fact, they are equal to our best Creole field labourers; they are eager for gain, and will do anything for money; they are quiet and very intelligent for their class, and not lazy. They value money, are shrewd; and I do think that no class of men can be better adapted to our wants than they are. I have been among them, seen them at work in the cane-fields, cutting and trashing canes, and banking. I have seen them clearing land, digging canals, and no man on Provi- dence could have worked better than this gang of 50 Chinese, and of the year's import. If emigrants are still desired, and if the Emigration chest is not empty, I do think that nowhere shall we find a class of labourers more fitted to our climate and our cultivation, and they are
CHINESE LABOURERS.
Encl in No. 2.
223
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