providing that a permit must be
obtained from government for every shipment of coolies, that all
contracts should terminate in five years, that a return passage should
be guaranteed, that the terms of his contract should be carefully
explained to each coolie, and that the emigrant ship should only carry
one coolie for every ton and a half of burden. Then as now the Indian
government watched the deportation of labour from their dominions with
jealous and anxious care, and when in 1838 it was found that upwards of
twenty-five thousand natives had, up to that year, gone from all parts
of India to Mauritius, the government became somewhat alarmed at the
dimensions which the traffic was assuming. Brougham and the anti-slavery
party denounced the trade as a revival of slavery, and the Bengal
government suspended it in order to investigate its alleged abuses. The
nature of these may be guessed when it is said that the inquiry
condemned the fraudulent methods of recruiting then in vogue, and the
brutal treatment which coolies often received from ship captains and
masters. In 1842 steps were taken formally to reopen the coolie trade
with Mauritius, and in 1844 emigration to the West Indies was sanctioned
by the Indian government. In 1847 Ceylon was separated from India, and
her labour supply was cut off; but this accident was soon remedied, the
Ceylon government adopting protective regulations for the coolies.

Modern regulations.

Emigration of coolies under contract to labour outside India is now
regulated by the Emigration Act of 1883 and the rules issued under its
provisions, the only exceptions being in respect of emigrants to Ceylon
and the Straits Settlements and adjoining states, or those engaged by
the British government for employment in east and central Africa. By
section 8 of this act natives of India are permitted to emigrate under
labour contracts only to such countries as have satisfied the government
of India that sufficient provision is made for the protection of the
emigrants. A country which is duly empowered under the act to receive
emigrants may appoint an agent, residing in India, who is responsible
for the due observance of the provisions of the law. These agents are
under the general supervision of the protector of emigrants. As
emigrants have to be recruited at great distances from the port of
embarkation, recruiters are appointed by the agents and licensed by the
protector. The conduct of these sub