ehensible, both petitioned and sent
deputations to the Governor, offering guarantees for the, if possible,
more secure celebration of the Hosein, and praying His Excellency to
cancel the prohibition as to the use of the roads, inasmuch as it
interfered with the essential part of their religious rite, which was
the "drowning," or casting into [105] the sea, of the pagodas. Having
utterly failed in their efforts with the Governor, the coolies resolved
to carry out their religious duty according to prescriptive forms,
accepting, at the same time, the responsibility in the way of fine or
imprisonment which they would thus inevitably incur. A rumour was also
current at the time that, pursuant to this resolution, the head men of
the various plantations had authorized a general subscription amongst
their countrymen, for meeting the contingency of fines in the police
courts. All these things were the current talk of the population of
San Fernando, in which town the leading immigrants, free as well as
indentured, had begun to raise funds for this purpose.

All that the public, therefore, expected would have resulted from the
intended infringement of the Proclamation was an enormous influx of
money in the shape of fines into the Colonial Treasury; as no one
doubted the extreme facility which existed for ascertaining exactly, in
the case of persons registered and indentured to specific plantations,
the names and abodes of at least the chief offenders against the
proclamation. Accordingly, on the [106] occurrence of the bloody
catastrophe related above, every one felt that the mere persistence in
marching all unarmed towards the town, without actually attempting to
force their way into it, was exorbitantly visited upon the coolies by a
violent death or a life-long mutilation. This sentiment few were at
any pains to conceal; but as the poorer and more ignorant classes can
be handled with greater impunity than those who are intelligent and
have the means of self-defence, Mr. Justice Child, the very day after
the tragedy, and without waiting for the pro forma official inquiry
into the tragedy in which he bore so conspicuous a part, actually
caused to be arrested, sat to try and sent to hard labour, persons whom
the police, in obedience to his positive injunctions, had reported to
him as having condemned the shooting down of the immigrants! Those who
were arrested and thus summarily punished had, of course, no means of
self-prote