DEAE RICF. 
not go on long ; he would certainly soon get the 
^‘sack,” and not only this, but be held responsible, 
and probably made to pay up the money for which he 
could not account. In the later times, the writer has 
had some painful personal experiences of tbi? — accounts 
would not balance as they ought, and it was always 
on the wrong side. V\ hen th* y were w rong, there was 
always a deficiency. Of course it was paid out, but how 
was it done? Who got it? There’s the rub. It is no 
use thinking over it; the accounts must go in, so the 
superintendent charges himself with the deficiency. It 
is wonderful how a few cases of this sort of thing sharpen 
one up— a good remedy for which is, to make a rule 
never to pay away a single coin, without marking it 
down at once. Don’t s^y, or think, ^S)h, I’ll mark 
it down at n^ght,” but do it at once, before shutting 
up the money-box, and for this purpose have a sort of 
scroll cash-book Ijing along with the money in your 
box ; when any of the latter is required, t ike them both 
out together. As you pay «'ut, mark down, and then 
in the evening, or at any subsequent period, en^er from 
the scroll book into the regular cash one. By this system, 
it is impossible to ios*^ money, if you make an inviol- 
able rule, however great the urgency or hurry, never to 
shut your cash-book, without noting down the money 
you have paid out. The price of rice issued, as yeirs 
rolled on, gradually crept up to 7/ and 8/, the wonder- 
ful feature in the case being that, the higher the prices 
were, the more persistent were the coolie^ in demand- 
ing a full supply; they could not do with half or three- 
quarter bushels now. They w^ uld take two bushels if 
you g we it them. If the r/ce issue day was Saturday, 
and there happened to be five SatvirrLiys in a month, 
we u«ed to have great disputes, in Iryirtg to explain that 
they were not en itled to receive five quar ers of a 
bushel in a month, and the matter was ge 'craily ar- 
ranged by letting them have an advance of rice to next 
month's account. The reasons for the increase l con- 
sumption or demand for rice now on the part of the 
coolie are not far to seek. The m'^n work bette^*, eat 
better, and require more food. If they do no , i ice is 
just as good as cash ; they can always dispose of it, or 
exchange it for i.ther commodities. A curions sy stem 
used to be in use, called ihe keeping of rice ; at every 
rice issue one or two measures were set aside nut of 
each man’s siipp’y. So that, say, a gang of twenty by 
this means would realize a spare bushel, it was sold, and 
the cash proceeds handed over to No i in the gang. 
This process was adopted every week, on every rice 
issue day, until twenty weeks elapsed, and the whole 
gang had been gone over, when it was again recom- 
