276 



to obtain regarding the number of desertions from estates 

 in the State of Selangor during 1908. 



The number of coolies on the estates during the year 

 was 28,313 and the number of desertions was 6,114 or 

 rather over 21% of the total. When it was remembered 

 that Selangor was probably the most popular State in the 

 Federation with the Tamil cooly he considered that this 

 state of things was little less than scandalous and called for 

 searching enquiry as to its cause. 



His views as regards the immigration cess were well 

 known, and the results of the first year's working were 

 quite satisfactory, though the total number of arrivals was 

 less than in 1907, but it must be remembered that a great 

 many estates reduced their labour force during 1908, thus 

 freeing labour for other estates that were not so well off, 

 and in addition they stopped all recruiting for a time. The 

 coolies recruited under licenses issued in 1909 were landed 

 on estates free of all debt, and this, though no doubt excel- 

 lent in theory, would, he has very much afraid, prove the 

 reverse in practice. He firmly believed that the result 

 would be to put the coolies more into the hands of their 

 kanganies and headmen. In the past their debts were col- 

 lected through the check-rolls by the superintendents with 

 no charges for interest: now their debts would be private 

 transactions between the coolies and the kanganies, and the 

 result would be that the cooly would be swindled. He 

 would like to have seen all the surplus in the hands of the 

 Committee devoted towards free return passages to coolies 

 after a given period of service under one employer, and he 

 was convinced that if this was ever done one of their main 

 grievances, namely bolting, would right itself. 



A satisfactory arrangement had, he was glad to say, 

 been arrived at between Government and a delegate ap- 

 pointed by the R. G. R. in the matter of the Kapar drainage 

 assessment, which during the year was the subject of such 

 discussion and correspondence with Government. Some 

 estates had been rather hardly dealt with, far more so in 

 tact than was ever contemplated when the matter was under 

 discussion between Government and the local represen- 

 tatives of those interested. 



The feeling was growing that representation at Asso- 

 ciation meetings should be more general, and the consider- 

 ation of the advisability of reconstituting the Association 

 would probably require a good deal of attention from their 

 new chairman and delegates during the year. The general 

 prospects ahead of them in rubber appeared to be thorough- 



