206 THE RUBBER INDUSTRY 



After having explained the above-mentioned to the 

 contractors on the other side and to the contractors on 

 the one side in their own language, and after they have 

 agreed to the above-mentioned, and the contractors on 

 the one side have declared that the above conditions 

 are well known to them and that they accept these 

 conditions, the advance of f. 2.50 for the unmarried 

 and f. 5 for the married was paid in my presence, while 

 another f. 2.50 to the unmarried and f. 5 to the married 

 shall be paid before embarkation, and the remaining 

 f. 10 per head at Singapore, in presence of the Dutch 

 Consul, to which they agreed. 



The Recruiting Commissioner 



SAMARANG, 19 . 



Malays do not constitute a large section of the estate 

 labour. They do excellent work in felling timber and 

 opening up land on contract, but care little for the 

 steady drudgery of day-to-day work throughout the 

 year. They are not very numerous in the planting 

 districts, except in Kelantan, where the development of 

 the rubber industry is only beginning, and there they 

 are employed to a considerable extent. 



Next to the Tamils the most important factor in the 

 labour question is the Chinese element. The class 

 known as the Singkeh was indentured for one year, and 

 agreed to perform 300 days' work. The men received 

 only 8 cents per day as pay, but were provided with rations 

 and other articles costing 20 cents per day. The cost 

 of recruiting these men and bringing them to the 

 estates was approximately 60 dollars per head. Notwith- 

 standing this high charge, the average cost for the day's 



