IMMIGRATION ORDINANCE. 503 



exceeding five years, but such immigrant may, one month before the expiration 

 of each year of service, signify his wish to be transferred to some other em- 

 ployer. Form of assignment and transfer. It shall be competent to the 

 Agent General of Immigrants to assign any Chinese immigrant on his arrival 

 for a period not exceeding five years, according to the terms of any contract 

 into which he shall have entered before his arrival in the colony, provided 

 that one calendar month before the expiration of the first and every other 

 year of such period the immigrant may require the said agent to transfer 

 him to some other employer whom such immigrant may select for the 

 remainder of the said period, or on re-payment of all advances made to him 

 before his arrival in the colony and then remaining unpaid, and of 3 per 

 annum for every year wanting to complete five years' residence in this 

 colony to release him absolutely from his indentures, and give him a certi- 

 ficate of industrial residence : provided also that every such assignment 

 and transfer as aforesaid shall be made by indenture as near as may be in 

 the form contained in Schedule B, or such other form as may be approved 

 by the Governor, and such transfer shall be determinable at the request of 

 the immigrant in like manner as the original assignment. 



XIX. Periods for which Agent General of Immigrants may indenture. 

 Proviso. It shall be competent to the Agent General of Immigrants to 

 indenture any Indian immigrant who may have been introduced into this 

 colony before the 1st day of January of the year 1854, but who 

 on the expiration of any engagement to labour entered into by 

 such immigrant, and which may be subsisting and in force at the 

 passing of this Ordinance, shall not have completed an actual residence 

 of five years within this colony, for the periods following, that is to say, 

 where such immigrant on the expiration of such engagement shall not 

 have completed a residence of three years within this colony, such indenture 

 shall be for such term as shall be sufficient to make up three years from the 

 time of the arrival of such immigrant in this colony ; but where such immi- 

 grant shall at the expiration of such engagement have completed an actual 

 residence of three years or more, but less than five years within this colony, 

 then such indenture shall be for one year from the date of such indenture, or 

 such portion of a year as together with the time already elapsed since the 

 arrival of such immigrant within this colony shall not exceed the term of 

 five years from the day of such arrival : provided always that if any such 

 immigrant who may have completed an actual residence within this colony 

 of three years shall pay to such Agent General a sum equal to the aggregate 

 amount of five shillings sterling for every calendar month which at the time 

 of the passing of this Ordinance, or of the expiration of such engagement, if 

 any may be wanting to complete a residence of five years within this 

 colony, su'ch immigrant shall not be indentured, and shall be entitled to 

 receive from the Agent General of Immigrants a certificate of industrial 

 residence. 



XX. Term for which immigrants arriving in this colony after January 

 1854 may be indentured. Every Indian immigrant introduced into this 

 colony after the 1st day of January of the year 1854, shall be indentured 

 by the Agent General of Immigrants for the term of three years from the 

 day of his arrival in this colony. 



XXI. Immigrants under indenture for three years or under may, within 

 one calendar month before the expiration of such term, on payment of a certain 

 sum, demand a certificate of industrial residence, fyc. Every Indian immi- 

 grant who may be indentured as aforesaid for the term of three years, or for 

 any term sufficient to make up the term of three years as hereinbefore men- 

 tioned, and who shall have completed his service under such indenture, may 



