employers or their agents, the majority of
these being shipped off, under escort as before to the Native
States of the Malay Peninsula or other neighboring countries, to
labour for a fixed term of years after which the coolie is free to
return to his native land or to seek such other employment as he
may see fit.
Such are the circumstances under which thousands of our fellow
beings are annually brought to the labour market at Singapore, and
it must be admitted that, to say the least of it, the system does
not seem worthy of Western nineteenth century civilization. At the
same time the extreme difficulty of controlling the 'depot and
broker system,' or even of providing an efficient substitute for
it, must be freely admitted. The system of Government contracts
and inspection of immigrants has already done something toward
ameliorating the condition of the coolie, and guarding him against
illegal detention after his arrival at Singapore or Penang. Much
more, however, remains to be done before the coolie trade will
cease to be a reproach to the Straits Settlements, and it is
doubtful whether any satisfactory reforms will be accomplished
until the Chinese Government is moved in the matter with a view to
checking the evil at the fountain head. Failing this, it would be
worth considering whether the system of "unpaid passengers" might
not advantageously be abolished, especially as this class of
immigrant represents only 11 per cent of the total immigration,
and more than one-third of the labor contracts last year were
voluntarily signed by "paid passengers." It seems probable that if
the "unpaid passenger" system were abolished, and the market thus
thrown open to free competition, a much larger number of "paid
passengers" would offer for contracts. But, even if this plan
should appear to involve too great a risk of diminishing the flo
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