71 



Kuala Lumpur, F. M. S. 



23rd October, 1908. 



No. 5172/1908. 



Sir, — I am directed by the Resident-General to acknowl- 

 edge the receipt of your letter of the 9th instant, com- 

 municating the views of the Planters' Association of Ma- 

 laya on the subject of the procedure which should be adopt- 

 ed to prevent coolies from absconding. 



2. I am to convey to you an expression of the Resi- 

 dent-General's regret that it does not seem possible to 

 adopt the resolutions put forward at the Meeting of the 

 Association on the 5th instant. 



3. I am to remind you that the passing of the Tamil 

 Immigration Fund Enactment has already had the desir- 

 able effect of charging those for whom the Immigrants work 

 with the cost of importing them in proportion to the amount 

 of work done and that amendments are in course of prep- 

 aration which will effect the same result with regard to 

 recruiting, and thus lessen the evil to which you allude. 



4. I am to point out that this country is dependent for 

 its labor on the attractions offered to immigrants and that 

 a system of registration such as that suggested would 

 greatly hamper the movements of labour and would be like- 

 ly to defeat its own ends by acting prejudicially on the sup- 

 ply of immigrants, to whom it would no doubt be obnoxious. 



I have etc., 

 (Sgd.) S. Mc Arthur, 



Ag. Federal Secretary. 



Mr. Parkinson considers that the Enactment, dealing 

 with the prevention of this offence, has become a dead letter 

 owing to lack of supervision on the part of the Department 

 charged with carrying out its provisions. If Government 

 would not help in any other way, they should make at least 

 a closer inspection possible by considerably increasing their 

 staff. 



Mr. Skinner understands that a new travelling inspect- 

 or had recently been appointed, and recommends giving the 

 Department a fair chance. 



Mr. Jarvis narrates a recent experience of his, when he 

 had to go to the Klang Office to look for some bolters, and 

 found that no entries had been made in the Register for 

 four months. Nobody could give him any information at 

 all and it was clear, that the Enactment was a dead letter. 



