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Q-They have been spoiled by too good treatment in the Colony. Is that so? A. If you don't treat them as Chinese they will be vagabonds.
Q.--Can you tell us any difference in wages between ten years ago and the pre- sent time?
A.--When I came to China, Dr. Murray, the Colonial Surgeon-Mr. Wilcox will also be able to tell you; he is an old resident- was content with two coolies. Four coolies then were very rare. I paid for years ten dollars for the two, five dollars each, and then it went up to six, then seven and up to eight and now nine. I was paying eight dollars for my old coolies and now I am willing to pay nine, but they ask me for ten dollars. It would spoil them to give them so much, and now they ask from what hour to what hour you will be likely to want their services. I don't go very often to the theatre or to dinner parties but I may require the chair coolies in the evening sometimes, may be it might be to send for the doctor or something pressing of that sort and the coolies are not to be found. They don't stop in the house.
Q. How do you think this general difficulty of unwillingness to serve and wanting to make special terms can be overcome?
now.
A.--That is a matter of legislation, Sir.
Q. What we want is your views. on the subject.
What do you think?
A.--All kinds of domestic servants, cooks, boys, etc., all fight shy of hard work There are some coolies who came to my employ and they would not work on Sundays. They say "To-day Sunday, no can makee pidgin." My coolies used to wash floors and clean windows until the last two or three years when we have bad great difficulty.
Q-Have you heard anything of a guild or association to which private chair and ricksha coolies belong?
A. They have a guild, Sir.
Q. Do you know where it is situated ?
A.-There are a good many of them, chiefly in Aberdeen Street and about Queen's College and in Pottinger Street and Gage Street.
Q.--But we are talking about special guilds. Do you know anything of them? A. Well, I don't know, but there are several guilds.
Q.-You suspect there are. Do the Parsee community lodge their coolies?
A.-Some of them do. I lodge my coolies and know other Parsees who do the same -Mr. Mody, for instance.
Q-Do you know any who do not lodge them?
A. Yes, there are several.
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Q.-Do they pay them less wages because they do not lodge them?
A.-No.
Q-Does the fact of a private coolie having lodgings provided for him by his master lessen the wages he will receive?
A.--No, it makes no difference at all because they can get a bunk outside for the matter of thirty cents.
The Chairman. They used to be able to do that.
Witness. -I should think about half-a-dollar or sixty cents now per bunk. It depends upon the locality. In East Point or West Point they would probably only pay from thirty cents to forty cents.
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