THE MALAY PENINSULA 



207 



wage was reasonable if it had not been for the heavy 

 percentage of desertions, frequently amounting to 25 

 per cent, of the total force. The tin-mining industry 

 attracted these men so strongly that they were unable 

 to resist the temptation of breaking their contract for 

 agricultural labour in order to take their chance in the 

 mining districts. In this respect conditions have 

 become so unsatisfactory of late years that this class of 

 indentured labour was prohibited in 1913. 



The Chinese labourers now employed on estates are 

 free from any form of indenture. They are a most 

 valuable addition to the labour force ; but they demand 

 high wages, and in some cases are paid as much as 

 90 cents a head per day. They do better work on con- 

 tract than for a daily wage, and in this manner are 

 employed, with most satisfactory results, on many estates 

 for tapping, weeding, and all other labour which can be 

 contracted out on reasonable terms. 



According to the last census, taken on March 10, 

 191 1, the total population of the Malay Peninsula was 

 2,649,970, divided as follows : 



The indentured Javanese are the only estate labourers 

 receiving fixed remuneration under contract. The 

 former are paid at the rate of 25 cents a day for men, 



