JSdible Products. 



118 



[February, 1912, 



these districts are paid what are very 

 large rates in comparison with Assam 

 and the Surma Valley. The history of 

 individual people will show that they 

 work considerably fewer days in the 

 month in the former than in the latter. 

 The constantly-rising rates in the free 

 districts instead of inducing the labour 

 to work more, only enables it to "sic" 

 more and it is indicative of the hopeless- 

 ness of the situation that no solution of 

 the difficulty has been found. It is 

 impossible for one garden to hold out 

 against the higher rates, as coolies are 

 naturally attracted to the gardens 

 paying them. The attraction, be it 

 noted, is not that the coolies can earn 

 more, but they can sit more, and this is 

 the crux of the whole position. A 

 garden to get its work done has to 

 support a horde of coolies, the bulk of 

 whom work only when the task is plea- 

 sant and the rate high. Combination 

 on the part of employers might help in 

 the circumstances, but it is feared that 

 matters as regards rates have now got 

 beyond control, and since no two gardens 

 are equally affected it is most difficult 

 of accomplishment, especially in view 

 of the general competition tor labour 

 which is severe. 



In Assam, as already stated, the posi- 

 tion is as yet comparatively easy, and 

 by keeping up a large force gardens are 

 enabled to work their land satisfactorily. 

 In the Surma Valley, however, the 

 effect of the Act has already begun to 

 dwindle, and tree labour conditions are 

 rapidly being established. At the in- 

 ception of these, comparative relief 

 as regards labour difficulties is the 

 first conclusion come to by planters. 

 While the relaxation of discipline which 

 it is found essential to make to re- 

 tain the labour on the garden is suc- 

 ceeded by a dropping daily working 

 muster, tne full virtue of ticca work as 

 against the old hazri system are dis- 

 covered and doubles become the order of 

 the day. It is found that coolies can 

 now be induced to turn out to extra 

 hoeing and extra pruning, and liberal 

 pice to the men bring them to the pluck- 

 ing field in the afternoon when their 

 own woik is done. 



This is the stage of comparative pro- 

 sperity through which the free districts 

 have already passed, and it is difficult to 

 believe, on the threshold of what would 

 appear to be a complete solution of the 

 labour difficulty that a district when 

 reaching this stage enters upon a certain 

 downward course. It is the last move 

 on the board and represents the calling 

 up of the reserves. For a time the cooly 

 from sheer habit turns out to work with 



fair regularity ; and, besides, his cupidity 

 is excited at the prospect of earning 

 money which was unattainable before. 

 Gradually, however, as he finds out that 

 he need not work unless he wishes to 

 and that money is easily come by, he 

 falls back to the Eastern habit of work- 

 ing only sufficient to provide himself 

 with the necessaries of life, These, as 

 has already been pointed out, are un- 

 fortunately few, and since what it took 

 25 days' work to secure heretofore can 

 now be secured in 15 days, the latter 

 represents his maximum month's work. 



At this point a garden endeavours to 

 keep up its working capacity increasing 

 the rate offered for piece work or by 

 decreasing the tasks, and as its neigh- 

 bours are in the same position as regards 

 labour the enhancement of rates is 

 general. Having once entered upon the 

 downward course it is practically im- 

 possible to stay the movement. The 

 coolies clamour for higher and higher 

 rates, and batches move from garden to 

 garden seeking increased wages, not 

 that they may earn more, but that they 

 may be able to idle more. Bach increase 

 in rates eventually brings about a 

 corresponding ability on the part of the 

 cooly to work less and yet live, on the 

 fat of the land. The result is not only 

 higher rates all round but a lower 

 standard of work, until, as may be found 

 in Sylhet already, a cooly expects to 

 earn a full hazri, hoeing, for two hours ' 

 work. 



The above is no exaggerated picture 

 of what is occurring now in Darjeeling, 

 the Terai and parts of the Dooars, and 

 what is history there is surely fore- 

 shadowed as regards the Surma Valley 

 and Assam. It will be admitted that 

 rates are rising everywhere, but un- 

 fortunately there is no tendency on the 

 other hand for the working capacity of 

 the cooly to rise in sympathy. The case 

 in a nutshell is the difficulty of including 

 the cooly set free from discipline to do a 

 full day's work tor a full day's wages, or 

 in other words to earn more than is 

 sufficient for his bare wants. We have 

 seen that to increase the rate of wage 

 has sooner or later the opposite effect, 

 and it now remains to search for some 

 means of inducing the coolies to work 

 more in the course of a month or a year. 



Any remedy which has for its found- 

 ation the attracting of coolies from one 

 garden to another comes, it is submitted, 

 under the category of rate-raising, for 

 two can always play at the game and 

 the result is eventually competition 

 which benefits no one but the cooly. 

 And as to the benefit to the cooly, if we 

 are to be guided either by economic or 

 altruistic principles, no planter who hag 



