THE LABOUR-SUPPLY 53 



change, and the construction of railways, irrigation 

 reservoirs and canals, and other public works, has 

 created a certain local demand for labour, and raised 

 serious obstacles in the way of obtaining recruits freely 

 for the rubber industry.* 



To insure a supply of labourers, it is customary for 

 the owners of large properties to send agents to Ceara 

 to engage the men required, and for the less important 

 employers to pay a commission to a resident agent to 

 contract for the number needed. In both cases sub- 

 stantial advances are exacted by the labourers on the 

 pretence of providing for their families during their 

 absence, or to pay off outstanding indebtedness before 

 their departure. After enlistment the men are em- 

 barked on board an ocean steamer for transport to 

 Para or Manaos; they are carried as third-class pas- 

 sengers at the expense of the employer. On arrival at 

 Para or Manaos the immigrants are landed, and lodged 

 and fed by the employers until transport on a river 

 steamer is available to carry them to their final destina- 

 tion ; on these river boats they are given deck passages. 

 The journey from the date of embarkation at Ceara to 

 the time of landing at a property situated on the Upper 

 Purus or Jurua frequently occupies from four to five 

 weeks, and the aggregate average out-of-pocket ex- 

 penses for passages, advances, and maintenance, is never 

 less than 20 per head. All this expenditure is recover- 

 able from the labourer, with the result that he begins 

 \vork with a heavy indebtedness to his employer. For 

 the employer the position is equally unsatisfactory ; for 

 he has very little real hold over the men, and practically 



* Quite recently revolutionary outbreaks in Ceara have caused 

 the suspension of all public works. 



