Peuniary Loss sustained by Native Labourers. 209 
This is a point which has'been comparatively little noticed, the 
atgention of the public having been entirely engrossed by the 
more glaring evils connected with the procuring of the natives. 
_I question very much, however, whether the former is not as 
important as the latter, inasmuch as the latter may possibly be 
suppressed by the vigorous execution of the laws in force for 
that purpose, while the former would exist, even though the 
whole business was carried on in a lawful way. 
I believe that the benefits arising from this labour traffic are 
entirely confined to the procurers and employers of the labour, 
while the labourers themselves lose in every way by the bargain 
—lose pecuniarily, bodily, mentally, spiritually. ‘ 
Take the case of a native who is treated in a fair and lawful 
manner. He receives from 41 to #5 per annum for his 
three years’ service, with which, in the shape of various goods, 
he returns to his own island. I have before alluded to the pre- 
vailing custom among the islanders of giving away everything 
anyone asks for. Hence it nearly alwayshappens, that within a few 
hours after his arrival he distributes the most of his property to im- 
portunate friends, reserving some special articles, such as a musket 
and ammunition, for himself. A musket, ammunition, and an 
empty box frequently represent the three years’ work on the 
plantation. Then over and against these acquisitions he has to 
place the serious loss he sustains in his own island property ; 
he finds his plantations neglected, his pigs and fowls gone, and 
frequently his wives also: so that all the property he brought 
with him—even if he gave little or nothing away—would be 
swallowed up in restoring his plantations, rebuilding his hut, 
and buying pigs and fowls. 
But if the man who is treated honestly does not reap 
pecuniary benefit from his labour—which those acquainted 
with the customs of the New Hebrideans know to be the fact— 
of course those who do not receive proper payment must be 
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