Ka Nupepa Kuokoa, Volume VII, Number 39, 26 September 1868 — English Column. The Coolie Question. [ARTICLE]

English Column.

The Coolie Question.

i Tbe '-{laame*" seems wiilii»g to drop the , discassion of tbe eoolie qtiestion ami for ooee , at !<>ast it bas *hovrn remarkable discrettoo ; «rhkh its correspondents wo*ld do well to emulale, Tbe mafter w ooe whieh. the ■ deeper it is probed, tbe worse it appears. Not baring beeo discussed, but one side was appareot to tbe eommanity; and in our opi-. ' nion the puWie aod Ihe government wtll, «f- j i ter sol>er seeond thought, acknowledge the : systern as demoralizing. We wish to plaee before the puWn: some facts whieh wifl show that it has iuany of the features of slavery. In South Carolina. in ticnes past, slares were defined as follows: " Sla?es shatl be held, taken, reputed, and : adjudged in law, to be ehaUeh personal io j Ihe hands of their ownersand possessors and I their executors, adiuii^atmtor9 t and assigns, f to all intents % constructions, aad purpoOfe, what soever." Sobstitute cdlf€s w for " slaves,'* and in what does the eoolie ditfer while under contract? in our lastarticle we ; stated that a system of indeutured or coven- s anted servants preceded the slave ?ystem of America, and we assertthatthesarne system was udopted in the British West Indies after the emaneipaiion of the slaves. The planters, finding that pub|.c opinion wus, against slavery, aud tnat emdncipation inust follow, initiated a new system with the sanction of a British "Orderin Councel." We quote the fullo\ving froin a work b«*fore us: " Under pretence that hands were wanted to cultivate their estattr<, the Demerar.i | planters had obtuined pi'rmission tu import whnt they tenned, with a dolicacy borrowed from the vocabulury of the African Slave Trade, *lubourers' froin Asia andfroin Africa east ol the Capc, and to make them Imleni tured Apprcnticcs for a terin of \*ears. M j Thus it seems that the "Coolie'' system |is nothing new; that it is inere]y au old system under a new name, Avarice nml cupidity led the early Virginia planters, from a system of 4, covenanted servants M to the terrilble system of slavery, the greed for | g.iin so entirely prossessed the settlers that no voice was raised against it. The Demerara planters, feeling the force jof u publie opinion whieh had been gatherj ing strength for years, yielded slavery but 1 cunningly devised a systein of "Indentured Labortrs." Latterly tlie wants of the Spanish West lndies and Peru, led to ihe establishment of the "eoolie systeju, M au«l we regret to say that this government has in two instances shown evidences of sympatiiy vvafī th« trafby suoy Ihins dnven io seek our shores for aid. Instead of holill y taking the stand that under the Cunstitution of this kingdom, no right of proI perty in man was recogmzed, tl»ey assisted j the owners of the coolies to keep thein in Jdurance by the aid of ihe military or poliee | force of the kiugdoui. Now this guverni ment is known as a party in traffic. We I woukl not have the libel go abroad that the ; proprietors of our sugar fstates are (,sl:ive- ; drivers," or that they are otherthan huinnne i to their laborers, nor are we willing toaccept | the argument that the eoolie is better oft', |and consequently happiei', than in hisnative | land, believing with Bishop Wurburion ( i" wlio shall pretend to judge of another man s happiness; that staie whieh eaeh man | under the guidance of his Maker lorms for j himself, and not ona man for another? To ■ know whnt constitutes mine t>r your Imppiness is the sole prerogative of him who j created us, and cast us in so vurious and ! diflerent woukk" lf thesystem is to be recog- ! ni2ed and atlowed, who is to say when I abuses equal to those known to exist on the : Chinchas may not creep in ? The on)y ; eheek whieh is practicable is to uiake the laiborer free; self-interest wiil prompt the em- ; ployer to pursue s«ich a course as to retain his services. | lt has seemed stn»nge to us, and perhaps to others, why so iuany H«waiians should j be willmg to delv*e iu the guano deposits on ! the barren isiands on and near the tquator, |or risk exposure to the rigors of an Arctic cruise. Are uot the planters aud govern- ' ment responsibte in a mensure for this state ;ofaflairs? Some of the reasons we have < heard given are thnt the planters are unwilU . ing to give a native p*r month what a eooilies hire actually amounts to; that when engaged on a plantation the too liberal interj pretation of the law of Master and servants | raakes the term for whieh a native contracts j to \vork of doubtfu{ duratton; ihe bond mav stipu(ate for six months' Übor while the na* ; tive may remain on the plantation for a year |or even two years; ihat ihe loeal majistrate > ! may be too willing to listen tothecomplaints of Havvaiians and thus, as some have said, . render the native too independent for good | help. We have beard the retnark make by | a party wbo had vvorked Hawaiians aod Coo> lies that a deviation from the strict letter of | the law would cause a native to threaten a at law, while the eooiie, ignorant of his | r ghts, would sufler quietly; and (br this rea- S | son, he preferred eoolie bbor. We admit j the laboi question presents many eomplieations, soine of whieh threaten to prove seri- = oui, and that the pianters bave mueh to annojr tbem, but we do net be!ieve cootinuance of the eoolie system will provc"a panaeea fur the evils whieh cxn4. ;