( 23 ) 
Practically all immigrants for Malaya come from 
South China from Kwang Tung, Kwang Sai and the 
Hokkien provinces and from the island of Hainan, 
Although the total volume of this immigration 
exceeds that from Southern India it includes compa- 
ratively few labourers directly recruited for estates. 
28. Long before the institution of the Immigra- 
tion Fund, the Straits Settlements Government had 
assisted immigration from India by the grant of a 
shipping subsidy and by opening a depot in Negapatam. 
The first shipping subsidy was given in 1887 and the 
depot was opened in 1890. » 
No such assistance has ever been given in the 
case of Chinese Immigration. 
In view of the success which has attended' the 
Indian Immigration system the possibility is naturally 
suggested of its extension to other forms of Immigrant 
Labour. 
The General Labour Committee which was formed 
by the Planters' Association of Malaya in 1920, 
appointed a Special Committee " to consider and re- 
commend means for increasing the number of Chinese 
Labourers in British Malaya.” 
The Report issued by this Committee contained 
an exhaustive account of the efforts made from the 
year 1910 onwards to place the recruitment of Chinese 
Labour on a more satisfactory footing'. It recom- 
mended the formation of a General Labour Board for 
the Malay Peninsula to regulate and control the 
recruiting of all classes of immigrant labour, i.e. 
Indian and Javanese as well as Chinese. While this 
.recommendation was not accepted the Governments 
concerned agreed to the formation of an Advisory 
