Sessional_Paper_1901 — Page 859

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Mr. Wilcox. When you speak of guilds, you speak of coolie lodging-houses? A. Yes, lodging-houses where they meet and conspire together.

Q.-The Ordinance terms guilds as bodies of persons banded together, with rules

and so on?

A.-They are regulated, and they will make a combination. Suppose you prose- cute one of their number, they will sen d runners round to the coolies to tell them to keep away from you.

Q-You firmly believe that there are combinations among them to boycott em- ployers?

A. Yes.

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Q.-With coolies as well as with boys and other servants?

A.--With coolies there is a strong combination.

Q.-Of course we are not referring to coolies only, but there are some other occu- pations?

A. Oh, they are all alike.

The Chairman.-Have you any experience of Bombay?

A. Yes.

Q. Are there rickshas there ?

A.--No, but they have them in Colombo.

Q.-Take the case of rickshas there?

A. I have only been a short time there with the steamer. In Singapore, there are several thousands of rickshas.

Q.-Do you think that the rates of public vehicles here are too high? There is

no ricksha fare under five cents and no chair fare under teu cents.

A. The public ricksha fare is not any way too much according to the tariff.

M

Q.-You can get a quarter of an hour for five cents, but there is no five minutes' fare, no ten minutes' fare.

say

A.-I know Chinese women with children and some baskets get into a ricksha and

I will give you so much to take me to so and so", and they take it.

Mr. Badeley. They go very slow though.

The Chairman.Do you think that, if we had tickets like they have in Shanghai, that they would do good?

A. I have no experience of Shanghai.

Mr. Wilcox.-Do you think the attraction of a public licensed chair and ricksha has a tendency to draw coolies away from private employ ?

A.-I quite agree

with you

there.

Q. Do you think the licensed coolies make higher money?

A.-Well, they earn higher pay. I can assure you that there are certain chair and ricksha coolies, say, with a position like that at Jardine's Office or the Hotel Bar, make a good thing of it. Supposing you or I wanted a chair they would say "Have got master."

If there was a chance of a gentleman in the bar, or a captain in Jardine's, they would not take you. If a drunken sailor came up they would take him up. So at the Grill Rooms and the same with Butterfield and Swire's Office, and they have a chance of robbing these people.