12 THE SOUTH AFRICAN INDIAN QUESTION
not benefit the emigrants as they will never, if the Government can possibly help it, be allowed to rise higher than the status of labourers. The fact is that they are being helped on to degradation,
Under suoh circumstances I humbly ask you to support our prayer to suspend emigration to Natal, unless the new law can be altered or repealed. You will naturally be anxious to know the treatment of the Indians while under indenture. Of course, that life can- not be bright under any circumstances ; bub I do not think their lot is worse than the lot of the Indians simi- larly placed in other parts of the world. At the same time they too certainly come in for a share of the tre- mendous colour prejudice. I can only briefly allude to the matter here and refer to the curious Green Pamphlet wherein it has been more fully discussed. There is a sad mortality from suicides on certain estates in Natal. It is very difficult for an indentured Indian to have his services transferred on the ground of ill-treatment. An indentured Indian after he becomes free is given a free pass. This he has to show whenever asked to do so. It is meant to detect desertion by the indentured Indians. The working of this system is a source of much irrita- tion to poor free Indians and often puts respectable Indians in a very unpleasant position. This law really would no give any trouble, but for the unreasonable prejudice A sympathetic Protector of Immigrants, preferably an Indian gentleman of high sbanding and knowing the Tamil, Telugu and Hindustani languages, would certainly mitigate the usual hardships of the indentured life. An Indian immigrant who loses his free pass is, as a rule, called upon to pay £3 sterling for
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