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Q. Are you in favour of a law making registration of servants compulsory-pri- vate chair and ricksha coolies?
A. Yes, certainly. I should commence with the house-boy first.
The Chairman.-But that is not within the scope of our inquiry.
Witness. I should certainly be in favour.
Q. Why did the old law apparently drop into disuse?
A.--I don't think it was looked after very much and people came and took servants without registration tickets, and so it crept on till it really got into abeyance altogether.
Q.--Apparently it was mainly the fault of the European masters?
A.-I should say it was the fault of the Government a good deal in not looking after it more than they used to do. I don't think anybody cared very much about the Ordinance.
Q.-The Government did not take care to see that the section 27 which I quoted to you was carried into effect? Had that something to do with letting it drop into
disuse?
A. Yes.
Q. Do you remember how these certificates of registration were dealt with, whether they were passed on from man to man ?
A.-I expect there must have been something of that sort going on.
Q.--Had you any means of identifying your men? Was there any character given?
A.--You were not allowed, I believe, to endorse anything on the certificate; only through the Registrar General, so far as I remember.
Q.-Then there was nothing to show, when a man came to you with a "character ", whether it was given him by his previous master or lent to him by another servant ?
A. That is so. I think I remember a man getting into trouble for endorsing a bad character on a certificate.
Q.--Suppose Governinent were to introduce a Registration Ordinance, can you suggest to us any means by which it could be made effective?
A.-It would be a difficult thing I should say to know how to make it effective. They seem to object to photographing.
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Q. Do you think photography would be a good means?
A.-It would be a good means; the only means I should say.
Q.--And you would make it penal for a servant to transfer a certificate?
A.--Yes, of course; I think the community would fall in with it.
Q. Do you think the community would fall in with a suggestion of this kind,
viz. that if any master engaged an unregistered servant he (the master) should be liable to a penalty not exceeding, say, $25?
A. Yes, that would be the best thing to do.
Q. -It would be a good thing if we could get it.
and do you think the people would agree to it ?
You move about a good deal,
A.--Well, you will always find someone against it, but I mean if the community would agree to it and put up with a little inconvenience at first, they would, I think, fall in with it.
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