BRITISH GUIANA—PETITION. (Hansard, 24 July 1857)

THE MARQUESS OF CLANRICARDE
presented a petition from British Guiana, praying for the removal of certain impediments to the importation of free labourers into that colony. The noble Marquess stated that this colony had an area of no less than 70,000 square miles, or 50,000,000 of acres, every one of which was of the greatest fertility, and as capable of producing tropical crops as any part of the world. It was a reproach to us that, instead of increasing, the amount of its production was diminished. The reason of which was the want of labour, and the petition which he now had the honour to present complained of certain restrictions and provisions which prevented the immigration of free labourers into that colony. He rested his support of the petition, the prayer of which was for a relaxation of these restrictions, upon two most important grounds—one, the importance and necessity of discouraging the slave trade; and the other, the advantages which would be derived by the colony and by the mother country, from the increase of free labour in Guiana. The question was, from what quarter was free labour to be obtained? At present the state of Africa, the transactions in which other countries were engaged there, and the discussions in which 350 Her Majesty's Government were engaged, rendered it impossible that we should seek to obtain free emigration from that country without indirectly encouraging the slave trade. This was fully recognized by the petitioners; but, at the same time, to say that it would always, or even for many years, be impossible to obtain a supply of labour from its overflow in Africa, would be to exclude that country from the benefit of one great element of civilization. During the great debates upon the slavery question the great argument for its abolition was that sugar and other commodities could be produced in the colonies more cheaply by free labour than by slave labour. He had heard with great regret the statement made by the noble and learned Lord (Lord Brougham) as to the imperfect success which had attended the struggles in which he and those with whom he was so honourably associated had been engaged to put an end to slavery. Despite their struggles, the slave trade was now far from being extinct. Within the last year it was carried on to a great extent, and until we showed that we could compete with it by means of an adequate supply of free labour, it would continue. To show how necessary it was that Parliament and the Government should be sincere and active in assisting the colonists in this matter, he would state that in 1831 the British West Indian colonies, then cultivated by slave labour, produced 205,000 tons of sugar. The Spanish colonies, Cuba, and Porto Rico, produced 110,000 tons. In the year 1856 the British West Indies produced only 140,000 tons of sugar, showing a diminution of 60,000 tons, notwithstanding the increase of population, and of the requirements of this country; while, on the other hand, the Spanish colonies, so far as could be ascertained, produced 450,000 tons, showing an increase in the production of that slave country of 350,000. Thus while the quantity of sugar produced by slave labour in 1831 was only 315,000 tons, in 1856 it was 450,000. At present no cotton was produced in British Guiana, while the quantity of coffee had diminished to something under 100,000 lbs.—little more than one-third of the quantity formerly exported. This showed that if it was really wished that our colonies should contend with the slave countries they ought to be allowed liberty to procure labour, and also assistance in obtaining it. Out of 50,000,000 acres of probably as fertile land as any in the world, there were at 351 present under cultivation only about 60,000 acres. The necessity for labour was therefore apparent, and it was worthy of remark that the labourers there not only got good wages, but rapidly accumulated fortunes. Not a ship sailed back with them to India, according to the terms of the contract, which did not also carry several thousand pounds of their earnings. They had also an opportunity of acquiring real property, and in one parish alone he believed that 50,000 acres were possessed by persons who came out there to work for hire. But more labour was required, and in his opinion it was to be had. Setting Africa out of the question, India and China formed two great sources whence immigrants might be derived. The only emigration from India, however, was carried on by Government agents, and this arrangement was most unsatisfactory, because it was impossible that those persons should possess the same judgment in selecting the proper emigrants, and should be animated by the same zeal as the colonists themselves, or such agents as they might appoint, and the restrictions they imposed were most absurd and oppressive. The most absurd regulation was, that at Calcutta the Government agent would not allow more than 350 coolies to embark in any ship, no matter what was its tonnage and capacity. This regulation appeared so monstrous that he could with difficulty believe it, and he was astonished, therefore, to find his right hon. Friend (Mr. Labouchere) not only admitting the practice, but justifying it on the ground that it would be cheaper for the colony to use small vessels than large ones. Then the only Government agents were at Calcutta and Madras, though he believed one was shortly to be stationed at Bombay. But, in addition to the facilities offered in India for obtaining labour, the petitioners directed their attention to China. It seemed to him quite wonderful that the Government should have thought it necessary to prohibit the importation of coolies from China. This step was taken, it was said, in consequence of a report from Sir John Bowring putting forward the objections entertained by the Chinese to the emigration of their women. He (the Marquess of Clanricarde) however, had some doubts how far these objections really existed. They all knew the state of the lower classes in China and the condition of their women, and was it possible to believe that the poorer class of women could not be induced to emigrate 352 without fraud or violence, when they lived in the state which had so often been described, and had their female children drowned like puppies before their eyes? Under such circumstances, could it be supposed that the Chinese women were so happy that by violence or fraud alone could you induce them to emigrate? The importation of Chinese into the British West Indies ceased, he believed, in 1854. Up to that time only 2,107 were introduced, who were found to be most industrious labourers; while in Cuba, where there were slaves, and the slave trade to keep up the supply, 7,700 Chinese had been imported. Not only had this been the case, but in the first three quarters of 1856, 4,485 Chinese were shipped for Cuba, and 3,879 were landed there. He did think the condition of these colonies required their Lordships' serious consideration. It was impossible to doubt that the fertile lands which composed them would one day be of the greatest value to this country. We were at present endeavouring to introduce the cultivation of cotton into some of our own possessions, in order that they might compete with the slave-grown cotton of the United States. Well, cotton to any extent could be grown in Guiana if labour could only be found, as he believed it might, without at the same time introducing slavery in disguise. He now, in conclusion, begged leave to lay this petition on the table, recommending it to the attention of their Lordships and of the Government.

§ EARL GRANVILLE
said, the Government were fully alive to the importance of furnishing an adequate supply of labour to these colonies, and the only restrictions they were desirous to impose were such as they thought themselves bound to lay down for the protection of the coolies. They were determined not to encourage anything like slavery in the colonies; they were determined also not to allow in the traffic of coolies any approach to the horrors of the middle passage; and lastly, they were determined to provide for the return of those persons to India after they had fulfilled their engagements. Many of the regulations which appeared to be vexatious were absolutely necessary for the protection of these labourers. It was indispensably necessary, for instance, that they should be employed through the medium of a Government agent, for otherwise great disturbances might be occasioned in the country from which they 353 emigrated, and there might be a chance of reviving the slave trade. In China, where there were no agents, "crimping" had been carried on to such an extent, that it resembled the worst features of the slave trade, and riots were frequently occasioned by the attempts made to carry away Chinese labourers to our colonies. The noble Marquess must admit that these things ought to be avoided. He believed that by the laws of China not only women but men were prohibited from emigrating; and although, no doubt, there was a great laxity in enforcing the law as regarded males, he believed the prejudice against female emigration continued to exist. Lord Elgin had undertaken to inquire into the matter, and see whether any mode could be adopted by which Chinese labourers could be supplied to our colonies. While Her Majesty's Government were convinced of the absolute necessity of imposing some restrictions on the importation of these labourers into our colonies, they, at the same time, had every desire to encourage the importation of free labour into them, in order that their great natural resources might be developed as much as possible.

LORD BROUGHAM
said, nothing could be more distinct or candid than the statement of the noble Earl. His object was a very important one, and he must admit that Her Majesty's Government were desirous of introducing into our colonies as much free labour as was required to meet the wants and complaints of the petitioners and those who were in a similar position. But the great difficulty was how to do that, as his noble Friend the President of the Council had said, without risking a renewal of the slave trade, of internal wars in the countries from which these labourers might be taken, of frauds and violence, the horrors of the middle passage, and, in fact, all the evils attendant upon that trade. The intervention of the agents complained of by the petitioners was absolutely necessary to prevent those abuses to which he had adverted a few evenings ago in submitting a Motion on the subject of the slave trade. In fact, even in England, it was found necessary to require, under the severest penalties, that a Government agent should be informed of every emigrant put on board for the purpose of being conveyed to Canada, Nova Scotia, or elsewhere. How much more important, then, was it that similar regulations should be exacted with regard to Indian and Chinese labourers? Persons 354 who had fully examined this subject were of opinion that the existing regulations should not be relaxed in the slightest degree.