physically unfit. A very large proportion of these must have been 
prospective employees of the Government, yet rather than introduce 
people of this stamp, the authorities deliberately elected to incur 
the penalty of Rs. i r-o-o on each coolie short of the 10,000 tor 
whom tickets had been guaranteed. Your Committee venture to 
think that it would be a difficult matter to find a parallel in any 
country for such a resolute deterrhination to do the right thing, in 
the face of serious pecuniary loss. . 
(£) A Straits ..official was appointed Superintendent of the emi- 
gration depot in Negapatam. This gentleman, Dr. Foston, who 
has displayed the greatest energy since he assumed the reins ot 
office, thoroughly understands the Tamil coolie. His post is no 
sinecure ; Negapatam has been the happy hunting ground of a class 
of men, in the professional recruiters, who, whilst they have un- 
doubtedly ' provided large numbers of coolies for this country, have 
never the less earned for themselves the reputation of being un- 
scrupulous to a degree in their methods; bribery and corruption 
are rife amongst the subordinate native officials in the Madras 
Presidency ; the police, the station masters, guards and porters on 
the railway, the peons about the Courts and even in the depot itself, 
boatmen, all have in the past levied blackmail upon the unfortunate 
coolie, and the kanganies or recruiting agents who have been hardy 
enough to brave the professionals on their own field. Such abuses 
and many others Dr. FOSTON intends to remedy and it is with no 
hesitating or uncertain hand that he has set about his task ; nor is 
his vvork & con fined to seeing that the coolie gets fairplay. He has 
to completely reorganize the whole recruiting system ; the depot 
accommodation has been practically doubled ; here the wreay and 
footsore coolie may rest on arrival from his village before the time 
arrives for him to go on board, his caste prejudices are understood 
and respected and he is secure from outside interference. These 
and many other matters claim and receive Dr. FOSTON’S attention 
and your Committee, whilst realizing the great difficulties still be- 
fore him, are satisfied that in every respect he is qualified to carry 
to a successful conclusion the onerous and responsible undertaking 
upon which he is engaged. , 
U) That the coolie, upon arrival here may be properly looked 
after and in touch with a white man who knows his language and 
understands his ways, the Government have appointed your late 
Chairman, Mr. Thos. Heslop Hill to be Protector of Labour for 
the Federated Malay States. Mr. Hill has already been oyer to 
India and has travelled through many of the coolie districts in the 
Madras Presidency, thus thoroughly qualifying himself, by a per- 
sonal visit to the coolies in their own homes, for his task of super- 
vision over here, and of rendering it, as far as may be, possible for 
his protegees to live under conditions which will be acceptable and 
attractive to them in this country. Mr. Hill when in India paid 
special attention to many important matters, such as food supply, 
hospitals, wages, additional travelling facilities and so forth, and 
your Committee hope, with his recently acquired information, and 
mature past experience, both with respect to coolies and their em- 
