§ MR. ALEXANDER M'ARTHURasked the Secretary of State for the 1851 Colonies, Whether it is true that a large number of indentured Coolies, employed on a bankrupt estate in the Mauritius, have been improperly conveyed to Brazil; and, if so, what steps Her Majesty's Government took to secure the return of those labourers to the colony?
§ SIR MICHAEL HICKS-BEACHTwo years ago the representatives of a Brazilian estate recruited between 100 and 200 time-expired Coolies in Mauritius for service in Brazil, and conveyed them to Brazil. These Coolies were free agents, and there was nothing at the time to prevent their emigration from Mauritius to Brazil. But a law has since been passed to prevent the emigration of Coolies from Mauritius to countries to which, like Brazil, direct emigration from India has not been permitted. The term of service was for three years, with due stipulations as to wages, rations, and free return passage to Mauritius. In the meantime the Brazilian estate became bankrupt, and through the intervention of Her Majesty's Representative in Brazil the Coolies have been sent back to Mauritius at the charge of the bankrupt estate. It was ascertained that the Coolies had no ground of complaint for their treatment on the estate.