32 Timehri. 



colony and who knows nothing of the precautions necessary during the 

 seasoning period requires some care during the first year. He should not 

 be exposed to drenching rains and should be watched by the doctor. It 

 may be safely stated that on the result of this his future comfort and 

 his value to the colony largely depend. To strike a fair balance between 

 cuddling and carelessness should be the aim, and this is very difficult. 

 Under slavery and the immigration system this could be done, but when 

 people cannot be coerced in any way and will not take advice, the posi- 

 tion is different. It may be true that " experience teaches," but sometimes 

 the seeds of disease and bad habits are very difficult to eradicate. 



There are advantages and disadvantages in free immigration. 

 The employer can choose his labourers and they can often find congenial 

 work. The great fault of the coolie system was the want of proper 

 selection. Townspeople who were often unacquainted with agricultural 

 work, could hardly be expected to labour in the field. In India some 

 families have carried on certain trades from time immemorial and are well- 

 fitted to them. It may be good sometimes to have a change but it must 

 not be too sudden or upset all ideas of fitness. A man will often do well 

 in the business for which he has been trained when he is a disastrous failure 

 in somethiug else. Immigration in other countries is regulated to pre- 

 vent undesirables and this must be the case here. An educated Brahmin 

 or a Sipahi is out of place on a sugar plantation. 



Families should always be preferred because single men are often 

 erratic and more inclined to look for jobs. The children must be fed 

 every day and the father must have regular work It is undoubtedly 

 more troublesome to look after a family than a single man, but the ultimate 

 result will be better for the planter and the community. 



Now we come to the greatest difficulty in any system of free 

 immigration ; labourers are required where no provision is made 

 for housing, feeding and medical attendance. It is evident that 

 new arrivals should be placed where some attention is paid to 

 comfort and convenience, and therefore much discrimination will be 

 required. At the same time if the restrictions are too great the 

 value of the labour supply will be reduced. It is evident that 

 a monopoly of labour for five years existed under the late system, 

 for only a capitalist could make the legal provisions for accommo- 

 dation If labour were entirely free to all, people could make arrange- 

 ments for themselves, but it would probably be necessary to have some 

 registration system like what we have for gold and balata. In no case, 

 however, should a new-comer be left without supervision during the first 

 year. What happened when immigrants were entirely free can be found 

 by anyone who studies the history of the colony. There is a picture in 

 the " Illustrated London News " of coolie beggars in Georgetown which 

 poiuts a moral, and we have the hospital records of the early forties as 

 painful lessons- 



