54 
Mi. Cumming remarks that one of the propositions before the 
Meeting was that made by him to the effect, that a labour clause be 
inserted in all new agricultural grants. As the measure now proposed 
by Mr. Mansergh, really aimed at the same object, he would withdraw 
his original proposal in favour of the one now before them. The latter 
was a matter of the gravest import and one that should not be lightly 
rushed through very careful deliberation, ensuing a perfect unanimity 
on their part. It seemed to him therefore essential that the whole mat- 
ter be discussed very thoroughly by all their constituent Associations 
and he was in favour of their appointing a Sub-Committee, who would 
go thoroughly into the question and report to them. It was however 
desirable that they got the sense of the Meeting, so as to enable the 
planting members on the Immigration Committee to represent 
adequately the views of the P. A. M. at the forthcoming Meeting of 
the Immigration Committee. 
Mr. Skinner remarks that he has listened to Mr. Mansergh’s letter 
carefully, and is quite at one with him in thinking it very urgent that 
steps should be taken to recompense the bona-fide recruiter at the 
expense of those who obtained their Tamil labour locally He did 
not however think that a differential scheme, that is to say, a tax of $20 
per head on locally engaged coolies, and also the normal assessment, 
would be workable. However honest an employer may be, it is 
expecting too much, and it is almost impossible for him to keep trace 
in his check-roll of the locally engaged cooly, and the cooly recruited 
from India. If this is the case with the honest employer, just imagine 
what scope there would be for an unscrupulous man, employing locally 
engaged coolies, to make inaccurate returns. It would require 
enormous machinery to work Mr. Mansergh’s plan, and even then, he 
doubted if satisfactory results would be achieved. 
He would like to draw their attention to the following points:— 
1. Firstly, the advisability of increasing the staff of inspectors of 
the Indian Immigration Fund, whose duties are to patrol the country 
and prevent evasions of the present enactment. These inspectors 
should be provided with motor-bicycles, to enable them to do their 
work with greater rapidity. 
2. The existing maximum assessment of $5 per head had proved 
insufficient to cover the expenses of the large influx of labour during 
the present year, and the Indian Immigration Committee had been 
obliged to stop giving recruiting rebates to the importers of Tamil 
coolies, for the third and fourth quarters of 1910. 
3. In view of the large area which had been and was to be opened, 
it was absolutely essential that every encouragement should be given 
to recruiting, especially to kangany recruiting. This could only be 
done by giving encouragement to the older estates, who during many 
years had built kangany recruiting system, and had spent large-sums 
of money on recruiting coolies. 
