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physically unfit. A very large proportion of these must have been 

 prospective employees of the Government, yet rather than introduce 

 people of this stamp, the authorities deliberately elected to incur 

 the penalty of Rs. i i-o-o on each coolie short of tbe 10,000 for 

 whom tickets had been guaranteed. Your Committee venture to 

 think that it would be a difficult matter to find a parallel in any 

 country for such a resolute determination to do the right thing, in 

 the face of serious pecuniary loss. 



(b) A Straits official was appointed Superintendent of the emi- 

 gration depot in Negapatam. This gentleman, Dr. FOSTON, who 

 has displayed the greatest energy since he assumed the reins of 

 office, thoroughly understands the Tamil coolie. His post is no 

 sinecure ; Negapatam has been the happy hunting ground of a class 

 of men, in the professional recruiters, who, whilst they have un- 

 doubtedly provided large numbers of coolies for this country, have 

 never the less earned for themselves the reputation of being un- 

 scrupulous to a degree in their methods; bribery and corruption 

 are rife amongst the subordinate native officials in the Madras 

 Presidency ; the police, the station masters, guards and porters on 

 the railway, the peons about the Courts and even in the depot itself, 

 boatmen, all have in the past levied blackmail upon the unfortunate 

 coolie, and the kanganies or recruiting agents who have been hardy 

 enough to brave the professionals on their own field. Such abuses 

 and many others Dr. FOSTON intends to remedy and it is with no 

 hesitating or uncertain hand that he has set about his task; nor is 

 his work confined to seeing that the coolie gets fairplay. He has 

 to completely reorganize the whole recruiting system ; the depot 

 accommodation has been practically doubled ; here the wreay and 

 footsore coolie may rest on arrival from his village before the time 

 arrives for him to go on board, his caste prejudices are understood 

 and respected and he is secure from outside interference. These 

 and many other matters claim and receive Dr. Foston'S attention 

 and your Committee, whilst realizing the great difficulties still be- 

 fore him, are satisfied that in every respect he is qualified to carry 

 to a successful conclusion the onerous and responsible undertaking 

 upon which he is engaged. 



(c) That the coolie, upon arrival here may be properly looked 

 after and in touch with a white man who knows his language and 

 understands his ways, the Government have appointed your late 

 Chairman, Mr. Thos. Heslof Hill to be Protector of Labour for 

 the Federated Malay States. Mr. HlLL has already been over to 

 India and has travelled through many of the coolie districts in the 

 Madras Presidency, thus thoroughly qualifying himself, by a per- 

 sonal visit to the coolies in their own homes, for his task of super- 

 vision over here, and of rendering it, as far as may be, possible for 

 his protegees to live under conditions which will be acceptable and 

 attractive to them in this country. Mr. HlLL when in India paid 

 special attention to many important matters, such as food supply, 

 hospitals, wages, additional travelling facilities and so forth, and 

 your Committee hope, w ith his recently acquired information, and 

 mature past experience, both with respect to coolies and their em- 



