CO129-250 - Acting Governor Barker - 1891 [6-8] — Page 786

8

Lockhart furnished

7.

me.

Your Lordship will

observe that in this report

(which may

may be largely

relied on as the result

of

the

careful enquiry among Chinese themselves) the -

of coolies engaged

number

on board

on working cargo the vessels affected by the law and handling it in store, is set down at 20,000,

of whom 10,000 are

permanently

employed and paid by the

month

781

month, the remaining half being paid by the job.

It is further stated

that the whole number -

no other kind.

of

perform work, and that they do not find employment

every day It is difficult to ~

understand, therefore, how

employers could with justice

reduce the

the

wages of coolies who are paid by the

month, as the latter will

not