618 



ever, could not see that, as every employer would be compelled to 

 grant discharge tickets. There was one more point he wished to empha- 

 size, viz., that the rate of wages as previously paid would be inserted 

 in the tickets. This he had no doubt would greatly tend towards 

 reducing the price of labour all round, especially in States command- 

 ing higher wages than were usual in Selangor. 



The Hon. John Turner said that everybody agreed that local 

 recruiting was undesirable. The only question was, how to prevent it ? 

 He felt positive that a system of discharge tickets was emphatically 

 not feasible, not perhaps on account of the attitude of our own, as rather 

 of that which the Indian Government most likely would adopt. To 

 him it seemed that the present scheme of the Indian Immigration 

 Fund was the only real remedy. It might take some time for things 

 to right themselves, but right they would. Personally he sympathized 

 with the idea of levying even five times the poll-tax of imported coolies 

 on employers of locally-recruited labour ; that, however, was impossible 

 to do, and so was their scheme of discharge tickets. If an Indian 

 coolie was not given here the same freedom as that which he enjoyed 

 in India, the great probability was that the Indian Government would 

 stop emigration to the Malay Peninsula altogether. Was it wise to 

 court such a risk ; His advice was, leave well alone, and give the 

 working of the Indian Immigration Fund Ordinance a chance. 



Mr. Cummins informs the meeting that, if the system of discharge 

 tickets is adopted, he would withdraw item 8 on the Agenda, as the 

 one seemed to include the other. As for discharge tickets without 

 finger-prints, they were quite useless, as had been proved everywhere, 

 notably in Ceylon. Finger-prints were the only certain means of 

 identification. 



Mr. Cummins then read out the following extract from a private 

 letter which their Chairman (Mr. Power) had received from Mr. Conlay, 

 who was one of the greatest living authorities on this system : — 



" To make finger-print registration of coolies effective, two meas- 

 ures are necessary, 1, the taking of finger-prints of all coolies engaged 

 under advances ; and 2, the refusal of all employers of labour to engage 

 coolies locally unless they yield their prints. These latter prints would 

 in every case be examined in a central office in order to ascertain 

 whether the subject was already under advances to somebody else. 



" The taking of prints on estates could be taught to an intelligent 

 native in a few minutes. Government authority and Government 

 departmental co-operation would be required to enable this and make 

 it a success, otherwise estate coolies could abscond and get work in 

 the P. W. D. or Eailway Dept. 



" The cost would be very little over and above the cost of station- 

 ery and postage. Two or three trained clerks and a well-lighted 

 room in a central office would be all that would be required, but, as I 

 have said, the scheme to be effective must have Government co-opera- 

 tion and unanimity on the part of all employers of labour. 



"The organization would be a matter of extreme simplicity and 

 its effect infallible." 



As for the question of wages, that had been mentioned : it was 

 absurd to expect uniformity of wages as long as there was no unifor- 



