216 REPORT — 1872. 



been entered upon, owing" to tlie introduction of the Coolies. Trinidad, "whicli 

 formerly stood low among her neighbours in point of enterprise and wealth, had 

 doubled the area of cultivation and the amount of produce ; the value of estates in 

 Jamaica had in some cases already doubled since the Coolies, four years ago, began 

 again to come after a six years' prohibition. It would be asked if it was possible 

 that the resvdts of the introduction of Africans during the time of the slave-trade 

 could be matched by the immigration of Asiatic volunteers brought from a greater 

 distance by government ships, under a system liable to be stopped at the first outcry 

 of philanthropists, and so closely guarded that, as we learnt from the last Report 

 of the Emigi'ation Comniissiouers, the mortality during the Middle Passage had been 

 reduced to below 20 in the 1000, a better rate than that obtained in many parts of 

 England. Since 184.3, however, 137,.57o East Indians, 16,2222Chinese, altogether 

 1.53,797 of these immigrants, had arrived in the West Indies, Guiana and Trinidad 

 between them taking nearly all the Chinese and 8Q per cent, of the Indians. The 

 average was 5000 every year during this period of thirty years ; but for fourteen 

 years of that time the immigration was very imperfectly developed, and occasionally 

 even stopped. Since 1856 the average had been upwards of 7500 per annum, aud 

 during the last five years, in which no Chinese had come, the average arrival of 

 Indians had been 78G2 ; and there were no signs that there would be any falling 

 ott' in the number so long as the laws of supply and demand were allowed to 

 operate without interference. But this immigration was in its principle a tem- 

 poraiy sojourn, not a permanent transference of home. A return passage was pro- 

 vided gratis for all East-Indian immigrants who had resided ten years in the 

 colony, and served one five years' .indenture ; and the Chinese, although their 

 return passage was not paid, were free to go at the end of ten years, and they were 

 notoriously given to returning to their homes from other places. These facts, how- 

 ever, were of less importance than they might at first seem. At the present time 

 less than 15,000 out of 1.37,000 Indians had claimed a return passage, while the 

 number of them who had already spent ten years in the colony must amount by this 

 time to 40,000 at least. The diminution in the number of applications for a 

 return passage in the last year or two was traceable to the opening of Cro^Ti lands 

 and the ofier of allotments to coolies in exchange for their right of return. Thus, 

 in Trinidad, 285 time-expired immigTants had already received allotments, and 

 96 others had purchased 910 acres at a stipulated price. The consequent saving 

 to the colony already exceeded £4000. The lead of Trinidad was to be followed 

 shortly by Guiana and Jamaica. It was worthy of remark that the planters, who 

 originally opposed the scheme, fearing lest the coolies, like the negroes, should 

 withdraw from plantation labour, now desired to have coolie villages in their 

 neighboui-hood, finding that the free labourers so settled were glad to work for 

 them. It was not yet possible to .answer the question of the increase of the 

 Asiatic population by statistics. The mortality for the first ten years was 

 frightful : the Commissioners lately in Guiana estimated that it reached 10 per 

 cent, per annum. In 1851 one third of the whole number introduced within six 

 years were already dead. The improved regulations of the passage, however, and 

 the very gi-eat efforts of the planters and Colonial Governments, had brought down 

 the mortality to a mere fraction of the former death-rate. lu Guiana and Trinidad 

 it fluctuated between 3 and 4 per cent. An important Government department 

 was charged with the supervision of all matters in which the interests of the 

 coolies were affected. A special labour law, on which great pains h.ad been spent, 

 was administered by stipendiary magistrates, in order to secure them wonj at 

 fair wages. Medical aid was provided gratuitously, and no estate was without its 

 hospital. After twenty years of this improved aud still improving system, we 

 found in Guiana that, of a population of 200,000, one fourth, or 49,000, were 

 immigrants from Asia, while GOOO more were children of those immigrants, called 

 Creole coolies in the colony. In Trinidad, of a population of 110,000, there were 

 24,500 immigrants and 5500 Creole coolies, making 30,000 in all. The female sex 

 was as yet sadly deficient in numbers. The Colonial Office insisted on a minunvm 

 of 40 to every 100 males who were recruited, aud would increase the propoition 

 but for the extreme difiicultj^ of making up the quota without resorting to women 

 of a character likely to neutralize all the benefits intended by their introduction. 



