( 24 ) 
Committee to consider the question of the importation 
of Chinese labour, its scope to be limited to the States 
of Negri Sembilan and Johore and the Settlement of 
Malacca. It was’ from the two States and Settlement 
named that the demand for a scheme to control Chinese 
labour immigration had mainly come and it was felt 
that while there was little likelihood of reaching any 
agreement upon a scheme over a more extended area 
there was at least a chance that a limited scheme might 
succeed. The Committee has been constituted with 
the Controller of Labour as Chairman but has not 
as yet formulated any definite scheme and, as far as 
present requirements are' concerned, the need does not 
seem to be pressing. 
29. Generally the position with regard to the 
supply of labour may be viewed with some satisfaction. 
While there is practically no unemployment the supply 
is ample for the existing demand. 
More economical methods of working and the 
introduction of labour saving devices both in rubber 
planting and in tin mining have resulted in a great 
reduction in the number of labourers employed by 
these industries. 
In 1913 the total labour force employed in mining 
in the Federated! Malay States was 225,405 having 
risen fairly steadily from 150,000 in 1900. 
In 1922 the total number of labourers on mines 
was 82,195 of whom 76,449 were Chinese. A similar, 
though not so extensive, reduction has been effected 
more recently in Estate labour. 
At the end of 1919 the labour force on estates in 
the Federated Malay States from which returns were 
collected by the Labour Department was 237,134 of 
