CO129-082 - Sir Robinson - 1861 [8-12] — Page 267

اه

3.

were inveigled

mn

board

a

Loreha (No15)

getting

онт

by various exenses ; that on

board they were.

put

below and afterwards

transhipped to the "Ville d'ager lying

in the Bay Can - cha wan.

-

A Mr. Pastow who acts the.

part of agent

avows in the most positive

manner that the Coolies were not - Kidnapped; but although the statements of the Chinese must be received with great cantion, still the men's stories

Nature

though all of a different agree so nearly in substance as to lead to the

belief that there had originally been taken without their free emsent, but-

after getting

their case

to the ship and seeing hopeless, they appear to

C

264

have resigned themselves to their fate

and signed the Contracts willingly

enough; some stated that these Contracts had been explained to them, others again said no; they denied having

received

money but admitted that the men-

were

e paid

who took them to the Sorcha various sums; the Agent informed as

that they had all of them received but had spent it,-

Money

spent it, I am

inclined to disbelieve this statement

of Mr. Pastais as

they were all

apparently without a cash and my Knowledge

that

our own West Indian

Imigrants reserve their money for gambling purposes.

Two of the Coolies had been