HC Deb 24 March 1863 vol 169 cc1809-17
MR. CAVE,

on rising to move an Address on this subject, said, that as he had more than once called the attention of the House to this subject, he would state very briefly his reasons for again introducing it; and would beg permission before doing so to recapitulate, by way of preface, the transactions to which his Motion referred. It was well known that the French emancipated their slaves after the Revolution of 1818, and that the result in their colonies, as in ours, had been great difficulty in carrying on cultivation, in consequence of the dislike of the negroes to regular work. There were published annually in France expositions of the state of the empire, called Livres Jaunes, which, by a pardonable Hibernicism, had been termed French blue-books. Certain hon. Members, in perusing that portion of those books which related to the Colonial Department, might perhaps wonder that so profound a politician, as the French Emperor should set a high value on his colonies; but so it was. The Emperor anxiously desired the prosperity of his colonies; and seeing that the only way to make them to compete with slave countries was to give them abundance of labour, unlike our Government, which for years threw every obstacle in the way of our colonies obtaining labour, he made it an object of Imperial solicitude. The earliest results of his exertions were not happy; they were the so-called free emigration from Africa, the consequent difficulty with Portugal about the Charles et Georges, and the very natural desire of the Government of this country to put an end to so questionable and troublesome a system. The price paid to the French for giving up recruiting on the coast of Africa consisted of two treaties, one concluded in 1860, the other in 1861, by which France was permitted to draw-labourers from British India. He could not wonder that this concession appeared at first sight expedient, or at any rate the least of two evils. But it must be borne in mind that the Government of this country had wisely declared that the Indian emigrants were not capable of taking care of themselves. They had therefore laid down rules for the protection of these emigrants, and appointed officers to see that those rules were observed. With regard to our own colonies, trickery and concealment were impossible, and he had himself this Session induced the hon. Member for Honiton (Mr. Moffatt) to add to his annual Returns on the subject of immigration the number who returned each year to their own country and the amount of earnings they carried with them, so that the House might see at a glance the work- ing of the system. Could this be done in a foreign colony? The earliest and, he believed, the only French colony which had as yet taken advantage of the treaties was the island of Réunion or Bourbon, near Mauritius, which, having got so bad a name at Madras that no more emigrants could be obtained thence, gladly availed itself of the more distant labour-market of Calcutta. A British Consul had been stationed in Réunion to protect the immigrants and see that the stipulations of the treaty were duly observed. In consequence of certain rumours which had reached him, he asked the Under Secretary for Foreign Affairs last Session, on the Vote for this Consul's salary, what reports had been made by him of the condition of the coolies. The reply which he received was very unsatisfactory; he elicited no information about the state of the Indians in the island, but an admission that there had been great mortality at sea. This induced him to apply to a gentleman of high standing in Mauritius, wholly unconnected with sugar estates or planters, who had since paid a visit to Réunion and made inquiries for himself, and who entirely confirmed the reports of ill-treatment which had reached him. Without going into individual cases, he would merely mention two facts as indicative of the system pursued. The first was that coolies found in the road or elsewhere without a pass from their masters, and those against whom their masters had made a complaint of idleness, were carried off to the atéliers, in reality travaux forcés, where they were compelled to work as convicts; and the operation many of them were engaged in, while his informant was in the island, was standing up to their shoulders in the sea, passing along stones for the harbour now in course of construction at Réunion. The other fact was that many, who had been introduced by a company called the "Sociéte é Agricole," at so much a head, were pronounced not good agricultural labourers, and were induced on that account to accept a lower rate of wages than that promised in India. Now, he was not advocating the claim of our colonists to monopoly in the labour market of India, but he could not help asking what fair competition there could be between employers who fulfilled their contract to the letter and those who repudiated it. His informant concluded his letter in these words— The result to which I have come is that Coolie immigration to Réunion is a modified form of slavery, and ought to be given up, unless placed upon a better footing. Such were his reasons for placing this notice upon the paper early in the Session. Since then, in fact only last week, the mail from India brought an important corroboration of these statements. A debate had taken place in the Viceregal Council at Calcutta on this very question. It was on the 5th of last month. In the course of the discussion reference was made to the deceptions practised on the coolies by the recruiting agents, to the great mortality during the voyage, and the great mortality in the island. Mr. Ellis, one of the speakers, quoted from a newspaper published in Reunion, which complained "of the physical inability of the Indians to work in the sugar plantations," but added that "the demand for labour was so great that even such was eagerly taken up." Upon which Mr. Ellis remarked, "that he much feared the old slavery opinion, that it paid to use a man up with labour for which he was unfit, prevailed at Réunion." It was also stated that no less than 9,000 coolies had left India for this diminutive island of Réunion—a mere speck in the Indian Ocean—in little more than two years, and that a treaty had been entered into permitting the Danes to take coolies to Santa Cruz, in the West Indies. It was asked whether we intended to depopulate India. The hon. Member for Maidstone had recently expressed just indignation at the permission given to the French Emperor by the Viceroy of Egypt to take a black regiment to Mexico; but we had given the Emperor permission to deport whole tribes, if he pleased, to the notoriously deadly climate of Cayenne. The Treaty of 1861 could not be terminated before eighteen months after July, 1864, but the Governor General of India, by Article 26, had the power "to suspend emigration to any one or more of the French, colonies, in the event of his having reason to believe that proper measures have not been taken for the protection of emigrants." It might be objected that should such power be exercised the French could, under the same article, terminate the whole convention, and would probably resume the objectionable emigration from Africa. To this he replied, that if the French chose to disgrace themselves by reopening the slave trade, we should not be responsible for it; but we were re- sponsible for giving our deliberate sanction to what, if his information were correct, was the slavery of our own fellow subjects in India. He was brought therefore to this conclusion—either the information which he had received concurrently from various sources was wholly inaccurate, which he could scarcely believe; or the Consul, whose salary now appeared for the third time in the Estimates, and who was appointed specially to protect the immigrants, and report upon their condition, had utterly neglected his duty, which he could not believe, either; or there were documents in possession of Her Majesty's Government which ought to be communicated to the House, and upon which, in all probability, action ought to be taken. It was for these reasons that he ventured to move, pursuant to notice, an Address for Copy of any Communications from Her Majesty's Consul at Réunion, respecting the condition of natives of British India held to labour in that Island.

Motion made, and Question proposed, That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, that She will be graciously pleased to give directions that there be laid before this House, a Copy of any Communications from Her Majesty's Consul at Reunion, respecting the condition of natives of British India held to labour in that island.

MR. ARTHUR MILLS

seconded the Motion.

MR. LAYARD

said, he was willing to admit that the information which he communicated to the House last year on the subject of the condition of Indian Coolies in the Island of Réunion was not satisfactory, but the fault did not lie with him nor with the British Consul at Réunion, upon whose reports it was founded. The fact was, that upon the arrival of the ships from India the Consul had means of ascertaining what mortality had taken place on board; and when the Coolies were removed to the quarantine station appointed for their reception, he could keep his eye upon them and observe how they were treated. Once, however, they were distributed over the island, it was extremely difficult for him to keep them under his notice. Perhaps the hon. Gentleman was not aware that no fewer than 47,000 Indians had been taken to Réunion, a large number of them before the convention was concluded between the English and French Governments. These poor persons were so ignorant as very often to be imperfectly aware of how they got there, who were their masters, and what the remuneration for their labour was to be. It had been suggested that they should each have a livret, or little book provided for them, stating in whose employment they were, and other particulars, which might enable the Consul to interfere in their behalf when the necessity arose; but some difficulty had occurred through these books being liable to pass into the hands of persons who had no right to them. In his last report, however, the Consul, Mr. Hill, spoke much more favourably than before of the treatment of the Coolies, both on board ship and after they landed. He stated that he had been over the various places appointed by the French Government for their reception, and that everything which could be desired was done there to promote their comfort. On their arrival they were examined, and if they were found incapable of doing the kind of work they were supposed to be bound under their contract to do, they were placed in a rejected class, called rebutés, and then, as it were, thrown upon the public, their contracts being annulled, and no wages secured to them other than they could obtain by competition in the market. That was the vice of the system, but the fault did not lie at Réunion, but with the agents at Madras and Calcutta, who were so anxious to obtain labourers and to fill the ship, that they engaged those people without taking proper care to see that they were in suitable health and condition for their work. Thus, some of them were reduced to great misery. Each of the rejected immigrants, however, had the option of returning home, but the Consul stated the singular fact that only three had availed themselves of that privilege, and that they were all blind men. As far as the Consul and Her Majesty's Government were concerned, everything had been done that could be done to insure that these persons should be properly cared for. What the hon. Gentleman said was true as regarded those who refused to work being removed to atéliers for a certain time as a kind of punishment. This appeared to be the only means of punishment, and in many cases, no doubt, proved a great hardship. Of course, our Consul was bound to protect these British subjects if they applied to him for protection; but he could not, under the terms of the Convention, interfere unnecessarily. It would not, for many reasons, be advisable to lay the whole of the papers on the table; but he was ready to show them to his hon. Friend, and if there were any among them which his hon. Friend thought it important or expedient to submit to the House, he would have great pleasure in doing what he could to meet his wishes. Upon that understanding, he trusted the Motion would be withdrawn.

SIR MINTO FARQUHAR

said, he had supported his hon. Friend (Mr. Cave) on a former occasion, when he brought the question of the Treaty with France for the immigration of Coolies into Réunion before the House, and he was really surprised to find how truly prophetic the words spoken by his hon. Friend at the time had proved. He was glad to have the opportunity of now supporting him again. They all abominated everything approaching to the name of slavery, and after what had been stated there was every reason why they should specially consider the case of the Coolies sent to this French Colony, who were British subjects, and as such had every claim to their protection. They had all heard of a marriage de convenance, but this was the case of a traité de convenance, enabling the French Government to introduce a system which really amounted to slavery under another name. The Emperor had, it was true, given up the slave trade, but he was determined, that whatever the English might do, his colonies should not go out of cultivation for want of labourers; and when urged by the British not to procure them from Africa, he consented, on condition that England supplied him with coolies. It was upon this consideration that the British Government entered into the treaty with France; and there was established what was in reality, though not in name, slavery. Earl Russell, in the House of Commons at the time, himself expressed great doubts as to the policy of entering into this treaty; but, he added, the circumstances were so peculiar, that we might try the experiment, the object being, moreover, to prevent a renewal of the slave trade. He felt convinced that the greatest possible vigilance on the part of our Foreign Office was indispensable in this matter. Since the treaty 9,000 coolies had, as he had heard, been taken to Réunion. Having entered into such a treaty with France, the Danes now pressed us for coolies to be sent to Santa Cruz. A competition was thus springing up on the part of other countries for these labourers; and so anxious were the French to get them to Bourbon that they were not particular as to what class of coolies they belonged, but took the weak and infirm and obliged them to work beyond their strength. We never allowed a single coolie to be sent to a British colony without carefully looking after him, from the day he started till the day he arrived, and also during the whole period of his stay there, and indeed up to the time when he was again landed in India. It was only proper and honourable to us that the same protection should be extended over these persons sent to a foreign Colony, who, as the hon. Under Secretary said, were often ignorant and unable to take care of themselves. He earnestly trusted, that unless they were as well treated in the French as they were in the English colonies, Her Majesty's Government would refuse to renew the treaty.

SIR JAMES ELPHINSTONE

said, he thought there was a screw loose somewhere in that matter of the Bourbon immigration. The coolies, he must observe, who emigrated to Ceylon and the Mauritius were a perfectly intelligent people, and quite capable of understanding the nature of the bargain they were entering into. It was quite true that our own coolies were well taken care of, and well looked after, both on board ship and in the colonies. They were also, generally speaking, able-bodied men. But that was not the case with the coolies who were taken to Réunion, and if the cripples were cast adrift, as had been represented, our Government ought to take care that none but healthy immigrants were taken to Réunion, and that the same guarantees for their proper treatment while there should be obtained as existed in regard to the coolies in our own colonies. It was not usual for the French, as colonists, to oppress their labourers; but it would seem that a scandalous state of things prevailed at Réunion, though he was sure that a fair representation of any injurious treatment would insure a speedy remedy.

MR. HENRY SEYMOUR

said, he thought that if anything was done to check the immigration of Indians into the French colonies, it would be attended with great injury to the coolies themselves. He had always looked upon emigration from the over-peopled regions of the East as the real way of putting an end to the slavery and the slave trade; and he saw no difficulty in their ascertaining the actual condition of these labourers while living in French colonies. When the treaty was negotiated with France, the Government of that country proposed that the immigrants should be placed under the same regulations as those who were sent to English Colonies. Had that arrangement not been carried out? If it had, it was probable that the sufferings of the coolies had not been very great. The term of service in our own Colonies was five years, and the sum of money which each man brought home with him was a sufficient proof that the treaty worked well. Of these sums a Return was regularly made to our Government; and why should not similar Returns be made to our Foreign Office of the savings of the labourers in the French colonies? In that way it might be easily ascertained whether they were less prosperous than our own.

MR. CAVE

said, in reply, that he was quite aware that a large number of Madras coolies had been smuggled into Réunion, and had called attention to the fact in 1860; but his present Motion referred only to those who had been imported under 'treaty, he considered what had been stated by his hon. Friend (Mr. Layard) as the strongest condemnation that could be pronounced against the system. In acceding to his proposition, therefore, he must say, if they could not agree as to the papers to be produced, he should feel at perfect liberty on some future day to make another Motion on the subject.

Motion, by leave, withdrawn.