lU THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [Sept. 1, 1903. 
to be fed, the Natal recruiters, tried to prevent 
them from going on, and in not a few cases 
succeeded. 
As to raising the standing rates of pay, How 
many estates pay their coolies according to stand- 
ing rates in their district ? It would puzzle some 
to say what the standing rates are. 
Have we not pluckers earning from 50 to 75 cts. 
and even more per day in busy crop time? Do all 
pay alike per lb of leaf ? Have we not factory 
coolies from 33 to 50 cents per day ? and some 
estates paying field workers 33 to 37 cents with 
4 to 6 cents head money on all coolies. Where 
does the standard come in ? In certain districts 
the rale is supposed to be much higher than iu 
other districts. How about P W D,, and rates 
of pay to road coolies, do coolies complain of the 
inequality ? There are reasons for the various 
rates, and coolies must realise the fact. 
In reply to the second objection,' let me refer to 
the following paragraph of that most valuable 
letter of Mr E V Carey published in the local press 
last month : — " During the last four years some 
300 coolies have been imported direct from the 
Coast and the advance account at the end of 
March stood at ft76'10ets with a force of 
191 Tamil coolies each of whom has had to pay 
off from $16 to $20 for in the case of free labour 
all Coast advances are recovered from the coolies." 
This may not be our experience at the end of 
two years, but it is worthy of a trial. 
During the past 30 years I have on pay day 
always assisted to recover debts due by coolies 
to their kanganies. If any complaints are raised 
at pay-ialile, the cooly, as a rule, gets his pay and 
deals with the kangany himself. The result of this 
system is that a record of the amounts recovered 
as kept in the check-roll, and a large number of 
the coolies soon wipe off their debts, and but for 
their agreeing to become security for money paid 
to, or on account of their friends, their debts would 
be nil. 
We may not be legally entitled to recover aebts 
in this way, but the system of recoveiing at the 
pay-table has the full consent of the coolies. 
The weak point of the individual indel)tednes8 
is touched on by the Chairman, viz : — " That long 
before you would be able to recover these expen- 
ses from coolies some might die, others desert 
or give notice and leave, and not having a res- 
ponsible kangany their debts would be irrecover- 
able.'' Those rit'ks must be run, the notice and 
leaving coolies can do so now, and we have even 
heard of kanganies doing likewise. Our two-cent 
fund which has not to be drawn upon by a cooly 
until his debts are paid and his two years' service 
completed some of it may become available to go 
against loss by bolters or death. 
Should the Ceylon planters adopt the recom> 
mendation of the Sub-Committee of the Planters' 
AssociatioD and establish an Agency in the new 
districts, the agent can extend the term of service 
should he find that coolies flock to his standard 
and are eager to be drafted to Ceylon. 
At the end of their two years' service, when 
they become entitled to 2 cents per day. for every 
day they have worked and their train fare paid 
back to the Railway Station»nearest their village, 
the probability is they may not want to return, 
but wish to send over money to bring over their 
firiends, so that the scuder of the niQiaey may 
become a kangany on the same lines as the 
kanganies from the older districts. 
If the right class of coolies are brought 
from the new districts, men with wives 
and families, the chances are, after they get 
used to the climate (which is very differ- 
ence from theirs) they come to stay ; but if 
the coolies recruited are the scum of the town.*, men 
who dou'c work in their own country, they will 
be loafers whom tlie recruiting Agent can get any 
number of willing to take his money and go to 
Ceylon. The employer of such will find them of 
so little use, that when they bolt as they are 
almost sure to do, he may not care to spend 
money in having them apprehended, and put iu 
jail, but if he does it will have good effect on the 
others who may have intended to change their 
abode or return to their country without squaring 
accounts. Like other new coolies Telugus have 
to be tau>":;ht their work ; but they are quiet, able 
and willing workers at what they can do, and 
compare favourably with the Tamils. 
If it be admitted that estates have not sufficient 
coolies, that they are unable to get their require- 
ments from the older districts, and that recruit- 
ing in new districts is i)Ossible, and desirable, 
why should the consideration of the proposed 
Agency, reconmiended by the Commissioners be 
allowed to drop ? Surely not because the first lot 
of coolies have been engaged at a slightly higher 
average rate of pay, all risks included, than has 
been ruling ? Cannot this be considered by a meet- 
ing of Plaoiers who support the idea of recruit- 
ing labou J from new districts ? 
Bringing over a few coolies as a first venture 
need nor prevent others being brought to Ceylon 
on, perhap.s, more favourahle terms, but to attempt 
reciuiling without a suitable Agency, will, in my 
opinion be found a very expensive method of add- 
ing to one's labour force. This letter is already 
too long or I might givemy reasonsfor this opinion. 
—Yours faithfully, JAMES WESTLAND. 
SOME NOTES ON A TRIP IN THE COOLY 
DISTRICTS OF SOUTH INDIA. 
Left Colombo on the evening of 8th May, andi . 
after a pleasant passage in ss. " Africa ", arrived at 
Tutioorin at 9 a.m. next day. 
Entrained at once for Madras — 22 honrs' run by 
express. The country from Tuticorin to Madnra is 
absolutely flat and all under cultivation, generally 
cotton or other dry crop in the south. When the 
Petiaar water is reached, this is replaced by wet crops, 
rice, tobacco, betel, etc. As far as the eye could reach 
saw one vast rice field broken at intervals by villages 
and clumps of palmyras. All this part of the country 
was rejoicing at the late harvest. Seldom has one been 
so abundant and never has labour been ao scarce to 
reap it. The land owners complained that up to 30 
years ago ratea were paid to their cooliea which have 
obtained since there were records in South India. Since 
Cejlon, the Straits, Natal and others have offered the 
cooiy such inducements to emigrate, wages bare been 
steadily rising and they are now double what they 
were a generation ago. 
Was told that the land holders look npon the coolies 
on their properties as assets or live-stock, much as we 
regard cattle and horses. The property may change 
bands, but the cooly never leaves the soil and ia 
practically as much a fixture as the building on it. 
The more valuable estates, along river banks and 
under tanks, are of fabulous value. Land has, in some 
cases, changed owners recently at over 112,000 t9 
j:i3,000 per iiore. 
