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mity in the rates of living. All speakers had spoken of an intention 

 of flooding the country with labour. What did that mean, but that 

 there would be a surplus of labour available for local recruiting? Is 

 that surplus not going to be permitted to take on engagements ? 



In reply to a question put to him by Mr. Knight. 



The Hon. John Turner explains the system prevailing in Demarara 

 20 years ago. The chief difference was that all labour there was 

 indentured and that the tickets were issued by Government. 



Mr. Macfadyen considered that it would come to the same thing, 

 if here every free coolie on landing received a similar ticket. 



Mr. Irving believed that the discharge ticket system had been 

 proved ft failure, and he would like to see it eliminated altogether. 

 All they wanted was registration. As for the gentlemen who advocated 

 trebling the labour cess for locally-recruited coolies, they did not seem 

 to realize that there was already a distinct surplus of labour in some 

 districts. Why make it impossible for these lawfully discharged coolies 

 to seek re-employment in another and less fortunate district ? Eegistration 

 was necessary and could only be done by a system of finger prints. After 

 all it was their own money really, and he therefore thought that they 

 should have a voice in saying how it should be spent; provided, of course, 

 that there was going to be a surplus of the Indian Immigration 

 Fund. 



Mr. Darby thought that the ultimate effects of the Indian Immi- 

 gration Fund Enactment were still years off, and they wanted some 

 remedy now and at once. Mr. Irving's objection could be met by an 

 arrangement with the Indian Immigration Dept. The grievance was 

 of old-established estates losing specially trained coolies. The sugges- 

 tions now before them contained a small registration fee, payable by 

 an employer taking on locally-recruited coolies. Surely this was only 

 fair, as it would make people pay something for the advantage of ob- 

 taining acclimatized coolies. 



Mr. Boyd was inclined to agree with Mr. Darby. They taught 

 the coolie his work, and when he knew it, he was induced to go to 

 another estate. This was, he supposed, called local recruiting. He 

 called it crimping, and it ought to be stopped. 



Mr. Cummins emphatically protested against the imputation, afc 

 least as far as Negri Sembilan was concerned. 



Mr. Macfadyen says it seemed agreed that without finger-prints 

 the whole system would be useless. At the same time a system of 

 finger-prints seemed exactly the kind of restriction the Indian Govern- 

 ment would object to. They were on the horns of a dilemma, and he 

 failed to see how anything could be done for the time being. 



Mr. Baker is strongly against a policy of inactivity. There was noth- 

 ing like trying. Let them put their views before Government : if they 

 ewre adopted, well and good ; if not, they had not lost anything. He took 

 the£ s. d.view and thought that the Government, having charged them 

 heavily in order to import coolies, should at least help hem to keep 

 those coolies. 



