RUBBER PLANTING 125 



Where recourse is had to immigrant coolies, the cost 

 of their introduction must be paid by the estate, and in 

 addition some advance is usually made, which may or 

 may not be wholly recoverable from the labourers' 

 wages within a certain number of years. In recent 

 years, owing to the competition for labour, the system 

 of advances in Ceylon has given rise to much abuse, 

 and a state of affairs has arisen which is entirely 

 opposed to the best interests of employer and employed 

 alike. 



The rates of wages paid to immigrant coolies, 

 although sufficient to attract large numbers to leave 

 their native country, are not very high according to 

 western ideas. A good worker on a Ceylon rubber 

 estate may earn from 50 to 60 cents a day (& to lod.) 

 and in the Malay States rather more. The governments 

 of these countries have recently introduced legislation 

 to protect the interests and welfare of the labourers, and 

 increased attention is paid to their comforts and sanita- 

 tion, whilst hospitals and schools are now being provided 

 in all districts. 



Other Expenses. 



In addition to the work already described, some of 

 the other items of expenditure involved in opening up 

 an estate may here be briefly enumerated. In the first 

 place, there are the salaries of the Superintendent and 

 his assistants, and the wages of native overseers, 

 watchers and guards. Houses must be provided for 



