March t, 1898.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST 
63s 
a few kanganies might prefer to go to their ac- 
customed hunts, hut even these would soon recog- 
nise tlie advantages of the depot. It is an ob]'ection 
that may in my opinion be ignored iu eacli sase. 
(b.) As A Residence for Immigration 
Agent and Medical Staff or Bankers.— The 
fact that the report of the Committee supposes 
these officials to travel backwards and forwards 
from Tuticorin every day indicates that they 
would agree with me that this wayside station 
in a sun-baked desert, where the houses would 
be closely packed amongst a crowd of cooly lines, 
would not be acceptable for European residence. 
Assuming a Finance scheme to form part of the 
work, it is difficult to see how a banker travel- 
ling up and down with the silver necessary for 
the business would get through his work at all 
when 1,000 to 2,000 coolies were travelling during 
the limited time at his disposal. 
(c) A special train would be required to take 
off the coolies for embarkation. This is an addi- 
tional expense which must be paid for directly 
or indirectly. In the Hare Island proposal the 
rrdinary train is sufficient. 
{d) The coolies from Tuticorin Mould have to 
take their meals (previous to embarkation) at 
least two hours earlier than from Hare Island. 
As coolies do not feed on boardship, this is a 
point of importance. 
Co.MPARisoN of Tuticorin and Hare Island. 
—As regards (a) issolation and crimps ; (6) hy- 
gene ; (c) outbreak of cholera ; (ff) closing of 
the route ; (e) Ragama. 
(a.) It is urged against the Hare Island Scheme 
that the Madras Government will permit no compuls- 
ion either in the matter of preventing natives other 
than immigrant coolies from landing at Hare Island 
or in preventing the coolies from visiting the mainland. 
With regard to crimps it must be noted that these 
are said by Capt. Baker the Port Officer of Tuticorin, 
to be carefullyexcluded from the embarkation jetty 
there, so that the same practice miget be adopted at 
the Hare Island jetty. Crimps would, therefore, have 
to land on their own account in small boats, and would 
find difficult to pnrsuade coolies who were well 
fed and resting from a journey to take a 
four and half mile voyage back to the shore 
while any resort to ill-trt atment of the Kangan, 
or coolies which is the method so successfully in 
the Tuticorin bazaars, would be dealt with by 
the police under the immediate eye of the resi- 
dent agent. The crimp would have no right in 
the lines, and would have to return at night to 
Tuticorin. 
Tataparal— When so much stress is laid on 
the inability of the Madras Government to ex- 
ercise any interference in respect to an island 
separated by 4^ miles of sea from the mainland, 
it is as well to study the question of isolation 
at Tataparai. In this head Dr. Bawa states in 
Clause 7 of his report to the Ceylon Gov- 
ernme nt. “The chosen site cannot be looked 
eaupon as an isolated one, situated, as it is, with 
a large village population within a short distance 
of it.’* It is also the first station on the rails 
way ’out of Tuticorin. I see nothing to prevent 
the crimp from travelling by the same train as the 
agent. Banker and coolies returning from Ceylon 
and alighting at Tataparai to do his business, or, 
he can make Muniachi — the junction station of 
the Tinnevelly and main lines his head tquarters 
and travel down with the coolies from Madura. 
At night he can take them off into tire villages 
referred to by Dr. Bawa. 
(6.) Hygiene. — Under this most important head 
the two schemes can best compared by quoting 
Dr. Bawa’s report', CldlUse 8, on Tataparai. 
75 
“As to its sanitary aspects I am of opinion that 
tlie heavy black Cotton soil containing much organic 
matter and boggy, and sodden during the rains, 
would be an undesirable situation for the collec 
tion of a large number of uncleanly human beings. 
A situation with a poor sandy soil would be pre- 
ferable.” The first is a discription of Tataparai, 
the second of Hare Island. 
Water Supply at Tataparai- though as a rule 
sufficient; for drinking purposes, would, I should 
say, be quite inadequate for the ablution of the 
coolies, much less for the washing out of the 
lines. The advantages of Hare Island in this 
respect are too obvious to be worth going into. 
(c.) Outbreak of Cholera.— This expression 
appears to me misleading. It is well-known that 
cholera in an epidemic form is unknown in Southern 
India, but that, in times of famine as in 1876*7 
epidemic cholera, arising from vitiated water, is so 
rife as to incur the name of “ general out- 
break.” At such a time a certain percentage 
of coolies arriving either at Tataparai or Hare 
Island may be expected to develop disease con- 
tracted ^before they left their homes. Tata- 
parai, described as it is by Dr. Bawa with its 
organic soil, limited area and surrounding village 
population, would not appear to be favourably 
situated for coping with such a contingency. 
On the other hand the pure air, the facilities 
for washing out and disinfecting lines coolies 
and clothing render Hare Island an ideal situa- 
tion, while its area twenty times that of Tata- 
parai would admit of any number of coolies 
remaining under medical supervision till the 
period of incubation was over. The immediate 
segration of any chance cases that might so 
occur should be considered sufficient to practi- 
cally protect Colombo from all risk of infection 
even without quarantine rules. Steamer agents 
would, of course, only issue tickets to coolies 
going to Colombo who had satisfied the medical 
authorities at Hare Island. 
Closing of the Route. — It must be remem- 
bered that if this route were closed the circum- 
stances at Paumben, where the water is 
notoriously bad, would be no better and the 
general danger to our labour communication is 
impossible to over-estimate. In this respect 
Tataparai supplies a new danger to the route 
inasmuch as any general alarm of cholera there 
may induce the Tuticorin Municipality to bar 
arrivals from that place. At present it lies 
with the Ceylon Government to close the route 
which it is loth to do owing to the exigencies 
of the tea industry. I cannot therefore regard 
the Tataparai scheme as likely to be of ser- 
vice except during the existence of favourable 
conditions. 
Ragama— This depot has never been tested by 
cholera. In my opinion a depot at Hare Island 
would make Ragama quite unnecessary. 
HARCOURT SKRINE. 
Tea Plantation Companies, Limited, in 
Rupee Currency. — This compilation as a Sup- 
plement to that of Messrs. Gow, Wilson & 
Stanton of sterling Companies, has just left 
the printer’s hands. It includes altogether some 
50 Rupee Companies and about i'20 Estates 
belonging to such Companies. An index for 
each is given, so that not only each Company, 
but each estate can at once be referred to. The 
volume shoulil be very useful to bro.-ters, bankers, 
merchants, and all dealers in tea shares. 
