222 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[October i, 1883. 



though it no ilouljt is in theory, ami necessary tliough 

 ti may lie.ailils greatly to the expense the diltieulties of 

 recniiting. It is also very generally stated that the 

 local European Government officials do not look on 

 the departure of their ryots, who contribute to the 

 local revenue, and on whom the prosperity of the dis- 

 tinct dep nds, with a favourable eye ; and it appears 

 that very little help aud guidance can be obtained 

 from them. With the police and other native officials, 

 whose po^^"er in the case of native recruiters is ab- 

 solute, bribery is the only possible road to success. 



I met one planter in Assam who had lieen engaged 

 in recruiting labour personally, and who had, been 

 treated in the most shameful way in consequence. It 

 appears that he visited the labour districts, and tlirough 

 liis native suViordinates, succeeded in collecting and 

 forwarding the recpiired labour ; in doing this it is 

 to be presumed that he hurt the susceptibil- 

 ities of some native official : for, a short tune 

 after he anived at the estate a warrant for his 

 arrest, signed by a Em'opeau magistrate at the place 

 at which he had been staying, and gi-auted at the in- 

 stance of a native headman, arrived at the estate, and 

 he was talien back all the way to Bengal. The charge 

 ■was one of having wrougfidly induced a certain labom-er 

 a woman whoseav name was mentioned, to leave the 

 disstrict against her will. A lawyer from Calcutta was 



engaged to defend Mr. B , and witnesses taken from 



the Assam garden to Bengal, The case was then proved 

 to I'C an utterly false aud frivolous one, without the 

 smallest foundatiou, and it w.as shown that the magis- 

 tiMte had gi-anted a wairant of arrest for a European 

 planter at many hundreds of mUes distance, on the 

 mere statement of a petty native headman, imsupported 

 by any trustworthy evidence. The expenses of the case 

 amounted to K3.000, which the est.ate had to pay, and 

 mo rech-ess was obtained beyond a severe reprimand to 

 the otficial in question from Government. This case 

 gi'eatly excited public attention at the time, and is evid- 

 ence of the unfriendly spiiit which is said to be shown 

 by the local otEeial mhid to the recruiting of labour. 



The cost of importing Bengali labom-, gi-eatly increased 

 as it is by the local expenses, is a very serious item 

 in the estimate for tea plantuig and cultivation. The 

 amount per head varies in dillerent localities, hut ranges 

 between R50 aud RlOO, in most cases closely approach- 

 ing the latter iigtu'e, aud the whole of it um'ecoverable. 

 Even at this cost, however, it is impossible, in most 

 ca es, for gardens to keej) themselves fully suppUed 

 with labom-, short-haudedness being a frequent cause of 

 loss of crop and neglect of proper cultivation. On the 

 expiry of the term tor which the labom'er has engaged, 

 generally Ihi-ee years, it is the custom to give a "bonus" 

 of E"20 or so to retain his services for a further period. 

 This system has at times led to much ill-feeling and 

 loss, the crimping of time-expu-ed labourers having once 

 been common. A proper uuderstaudiug on the subject 

 has now been come to in most parts, aud crimping, 

 or "inslaving" as it is termed in India, is comparat- 

 ively rai'e. 



The outbreak of an epidemic, or an abnormally un- 

 healthy season, leading to a large perceutage of deaths 

 amongst the coolies, means a veiy serious du'ect pec- 

 uniary loss to the garden beyond what arises from 

 neglected cultivatiuu. All these points, the um'cliaWe 

 character of local labour, the dilMculty aud expense of 

 importing Bengalis, and the serious loss that au epi- 

 demic causes to a garden, make the labom' suj)ply, 

 though apparently cheaper, hi reality dearer and less 

 satisfactory than that of Ceylon. 



We are constantly complaiuuig in Ceylon about 

 the forms which we are requhed to keep in connec- 

 tion witli the medical care of coolies ; having seen 

 wliat the Indian ( lovernment i cquire of Assam planters 

 in this respect, I cannot but tuink that we are com- 

 paratively easily treated. 



I have Ijcfoi'e mc at the pi'csent moment a copy 

 of the various forms which liave to be kept on the 

 estates, and duplicates of which have to be for- 

 warded to Government. They are nineteen in num- 

 ber ! ! A separate register of imported, local, and 

 free labourers. A i-egister of deaths of contract la- 

 bourers, adult free laljourers, children umler IG, adults 

 living in the lines not on contract, children of all 

 females living in the lines whether on contract or 

 not, and so on, all separate and distmct. Then re- 

 gisters of sick, of vaccination, and of desertion ; a 

 daily attendance roll. The monthly return of births 

 and deaths has (!') columns, and there are also half- 

 yearly returns. In fact, returns of labourers are in 

 their infancy in Ceylon. To appreciate the high 

 pitch of development to w liich redtape can be brought 

 Assam must be visited. 



Every garden has to keep a native doctor of some 

 kind to at'end to the coolies, and groups of gardens 

 in small districts support a European medical man 

 among them : in fact, the cost of medical attendance 

 on coolies is decidedly heavier in Assam than in 

 Ceylon. 



One of tlie chief grievances which planters liave 

 against the present labour laws, aud the method in 

 which thc3' arc enforced, is the great amount of Gov- 

 ernment interference in all matters between master 

 and laliourer. It is tlie duty of the Commissioner to 

 visit all the gardens in his district, muster the coolies, 

 and make enquiries as to whether they have been 

 paid to date, what their pay is, what tasks they 

 have to perform, what amount of sickness there has 

 been amongst tliem : in fact, to hear aud enquire 

 into any complaints they may have to make. 



Of course, when tlie Commissioner is a sensible 

 man he does his work in such a way as to discourage 

 frivolous complaints on the part of coolies, but the 

 immense power with which he is invested might 

 cause incalculable harm in the hands of an incom- 

 petent crochetty man. Amongst other things, the 

 Commissioner has the power to cancel all cooly agree- 

 ments, and stop cultivation in a garden under ceitain 

 circumstances, one of which is a death-rate over seven 

 per cent (epidemics apart), another the coolies' pay 

 being in arrears. When I mentioned that in Ceylon 

 it was usual to have several months' pay in hand, 

 aud that the coolies preferred getting two or three 

 months' paj' at one time, whilst in some cases financial 

 causes have left them unpaid for a year and over, 

 the statement was received almost with incredulity, 

 and I was told that in Assam such a thing was im- 

 possil>le. The system of paying coolies, and of keep- 

 ing their accounts, is quite different to oui's, and 

 very much simpler in the case of local labour. The 

 Sirdar's name is alone entered in the accounts, and 

 against it the total number of coolies who have 

 worked during the month at R3, R4, or R5, 

 as the case may be, aud the total sum so arrived 

 at is paid into his hand for distribution. Strange to 

 say, the coolies prefer this system to any other, and 

 attempts to deal with then, direct have failed. Im- 

 ported labourers are dilTerently treated, and more 

 according to tlie Ceylou sy.stem. 



Extia plucking is always paid for in easli on the spot, 

 at a very iidr rate, generally one pice (J anuu) per lb. 

 of leaf, the task being ordinary 16 lb. for men and 

 14 11). for women ; some of the latter of course 

 making considerable sums during the season in this 

 way. The task ie in fact very much the same that 

 ie usually got in Ceylon, though, of course, it is al- 

 ways varied in accordance with the size aud abund- 

 ance of the flush. The field cultivation is generally 

 carried on by the local labourer.-*, it being a style of 

 work to which they are accustomed, and requiring 

 less skill and practice than plucking and niauufaeture 

 wliich works arc mostly performed by the more per 



