migration of this multitude
of men and women, speaking many dialects of a language which is
wholly unknown to the officials of the British Government in the
Straits, with the exception of perhaps half a dozen persons, it
cannot be wondered at that many abuses arise, and the suspicion
has gained ground and is frequently given expression to, in the
public press and elsewhere, that many of the immigrants do not
come to Singapore of their free will. Moreover, it cannot be
denied that the circumstances under which the Chinese come to
Singapore and are forwarded to their destination lend colour to
this suspicion, so that it may fairly be inquired whether the
efforts made by the Government of the Straits Settlements to
control the Chinese coolie traffic and to prevent a secret form
of slavery have been attended with any success, or are at all
adequate to the requirements of the case.

The Annual Report for the year 1892 on the Chinese Protectorate in
the Straits Settlements which is the department charged with the
control of immigration, was published on the 5th of May, 1893, and
states that of the 122,029 Chinese deck passengers who arrived in
Singapore from China during the year, 111,164 were males, 6,867
women and 3,998 children. The circumstances under which the men
and the women are brought to Singapore are in many respects the
same, but inasmuch as a large number of the women and some of
the children are imported for immoral purposes, this part of the
subject will be dealt with separately. Turning then to the above
mentioned Report, we find as regards male immigration, that out of
the 111,164 who arrived in Singapore 23,647 proceeded direct to
Penang, and 1,798 to Malacca, Bangkok and Mauritius, leaving
85,719 remaining in Singapore, of whom 76,601 are classed as
'paid passengers,' and 9,118 as "unpaid passengers received into
depots." With the former class the Chinese Protectorate has
nothing more to do, unless they come to the Protector to sign a
Government labour contract with planters or other employers
of labor, but with the 'unpaid passengers' the case is very
different. These men are brought to the Straits to the number of
about 15,000 a year, under what is spoken of in the Report as
"the much objurgated depot and broker system," and the facts as
presented below will