July t, 1893.] THE TROPICAL AGklCULTURISf . 
^3 
THE INDIAN TEA ASSOCIATION. 
At the annual nieeting o£ this Assooiation held in 
Calcutta at the end of last month n very comprehen- 
sive report of the work done during the past year by 
the Committee was submitted. It appears that 
a satisfaotory agreement has been made for the 
conveyance of goods to and from Assam and 
Caohar, and it is hoped that the steamer companies 
may see their way to running feeder steamers up 
the smaller streams. The question of ocean 
freights seems to have occasioned a good deal 
of heart-burniog, the main question upon which 
there were divergent views being that of rebate, 
but efforts are being made to bring about a eixtie- 
faotory settlement. Investigations had been made 
into the cultivation and manufacture of tea from 
a scientific point of view and a report giving the 
results will shortly be published. Another very 
important matter was the drawing up of rules 
for the sanitary care of coolies under the 
Emigrants Health Act. The planting community 
represented by the Assooiation are to be congratu- 
lated on the position it has now attained by the 
appointment of the Hon. J. Buckingham to the 
Legislative Council of the Viceroy. A proposal 
hid been made by the Assam Government to 
considerably enhance the rents, but the opposition 
which it culled forth has resulted in a substantial 
reduction being made in the proposed rates. After 
referring to what was being done in connection with 
the Chicago Exhibition, the President (Mr. J. N. 
Stuart) alluded to a subject upon whioh other 
speakers also expressed themselves very strongly, 
namely the urgent need for steps being taken for the 
protection of life and property in the districts of 
Caohar and Sylbet which during the past twelve- 
months have been the soene of a large number of 
daooities and murders, and we sinoerely hope that 
the joint representation to be it,ade to Govern' 
ment by the Assooiation and the Bengal Chamber 
of Commeree will result in the adoption of 
effective measures to put down the lawlessness 
complained of. 
SUPERIiXTENDENTS OF CEYLON TEA 
ESTATES AND THEIR SALARIES. 
We call attention as in duty bound, to the 
letter of " Superintendent " "(on page 43) in 
which he points out that a principal cause — low 
exchange — which is proving so beneficial to 
estate proprietors, is very much the reverse of 
advantageous to their European employees. Im- 
mediately preceding this letter, there appears a 
short illustration from " Nemo " of what ex- 
change means to the owner of a Ceylon planta- 
tion at the present time ; and there can be no 
doubt that due consideration should be shown 
to the men whose care in oversight and good 
management conduce so largely to the profit 
on really paying properties. The Ceylon Tea 
Plantations Company Directors have acted 
prudently as well as generously in the arrange- 
ment made by them with their Superintendeots, 
and we believe there are several other Planta- 
tions Companies as well as many individual 
proprietors who are equally considerate and 
liberal. They are indeed wise in their gene- 
ration who, as proprietors and especially 
absent proprietors, endeavour to establish an 
identity of interest between themselves and 
their Superintendents in the case of all plan- 
tations worked with a margin on the right 
side. Ttiia caa be done either by the grant 
6 
of privileges as to exchange, sick or holiday 
leave and reduced passage fare after a certain 
period of service, such as certain Plan- 
tation Companies allow — or by an allowance 
of a certain percentage — from 2^ to 6 per 
cent is we believe the general ratio — on 
the clear profits of the property under their 
care. It will be allowed, we suppose by 
"Superintendent" that all these privileges as 
well as half-salary in sterling would be too 
much to claim or expect, and therein will 
lie the difficulty of laying down any general 
rule such as it is proposed that the Branch 
Associations should be asked to recommend. 
In the first place, all Superintendents who 
are satisfied with their positions under Plant- 
ation Company terms, or otherwise, would 
scarcely join in the request; and in the second, 
all managers who share in profits would beg 
to be excused. This would make it very 
awkward in a general or even district meet- 
ing to bring on such a proposal, for the 
supporters would scarcely care to be noted 
as " discontented " either by Colombo Agents 
or home proprietors. It seems to us, therefore, 
that only by discussmg the matter in the 
way we do today and so bringing it under the 
notice of all right-minded owners of profit- 
yielding plantations, can practical benefit ensue. 
We lay stress on " profit-yielding," because 
we have known cases of grumblers among 
Superintendents or Assistants on accoaut of 
low salaries, although it was notorious that 
they and the coolies alone derived any benefit 
from the estate, while the poor proprietor 
either got nothing or foand the balance increas- 
ing against him year after year. We fear there 
must be cases even now where the margin is 
narrow enough and therefore it will not do 
to condemn indiscriminately even in the case 
of " Sinne Durai's " or "Assistants" who 
draw less than the old-fashioned E83-34 a 
month. The law of supply and demand must 
be held answerable for a great deal : for, 
we know of cases where proprietors or big 
managers have said to an unfortunate applicant 
for a berth, — " I have really no place 
properly available ; but since you are so press- 
ing, I can make some work for you at so 
much a month, as a help, until you 
find a suitable vacancy elsewhere." Now in 
such a case, are we to condemn the employer 
who pays a very low salary very much as 
an act of charity ? Indiscriminate criticism 
must, in such a discussion as the present, 
be carefully avoided. " Superintendent '' 
and all who sympathise with him will 
find it by far the better way to dis- 
cuss through the press in an amicable, 
practical way — as indeed our today's cor- 
respondent does — the state of the case and 
the remedy they would like to see applied 
without invoking either District or Parent 
Association. For our own part, we would, 
in the first instance, press on the attention of 
Directors of all local Plantation Companies 
t aming a dividend of 10 per cent and upwards, 
the wisdom and advantage of placing their 
Superintendents on equally good terms with 
those of the premier Company specified by 
out correspondent; and in the second, we 
