Those who approach the question of the labor supply for the American colonies with an unprejudiced mind will see that there is nothing in the system I have described which is at variance with the principles of the American people. All that is required to make such a system a boon both to the employer and to the laborer is that the officials charged with the inspection of the system and the protection of the immigrants' interests should be intelligent, honest, and fearless in the discharge of their duties. FOOTNOTE: [12] To those who are interested in the subject of indentured labor in the tropics, the following statistics, compiled by me from official sources, may be of interest. The figures relate to British Guiana: Year. |Number of indentur'd laborers imported from India. | |Number of time-expired immigrants who returned to India. | | |Value in dollars of money and ornaments | | |carried back to India by returning immigrants. | | | |Number of East Indian depositors in the | | | |Gov't Savings Bank. | | | | |Total amount of their deposits, in | | | | |dollars. | | | | | |Number of planters convicted | | | | | |of offenses against | | | | | |immigrants. | | | | | | |Death rate per 1,000 among | | | | | | |indentured laborers. | | | | | | | |General death rate | | | | | | | |of the colony. ----+------+------+--------+------+--------+--+------+------------------- 1886| 4,796| 1,889| 111,775| 5,558| 425,956| 9| 27.40| 25.56 1887| 3,928| 1,420| 92,613| 5,821| 438,600| 4| 23.20| 32.41 1888| 2,771| 1,938| 95,074| 5,904| 457,886| 1| 19.73| 29.27 1889| 3,573| 2,042| 112,124| 6,802| 513,220| 1| 12.57| 28.13 1890| 3,432| 2,125| 142,611| 7,269| 558,734| 3| 20.40| 39.80 1891| 5,229| 2,151| 134,225| 6,398| 515,246| 2| 20.40| 37.00 1892| 5,241| 2,014| 97,529| 6,085| 527,203| 1| 25.20| 39.00 1893| 4,146| 1,848| 104,763| 6,179| 544,420| 1| 24.91| 35.00 1894| 9,585| 1,998| 113,308| 6,128| 529,161| 2| 24.22| 33.53 1895| 2,425| 2,071| 119,289| 4,950| 453,950| 1| 20.36| 29.58 1896| 2,408| 2,059| 76,470| 4,520| 434,759| 1| 16.50| 24.10 ----+------+------+--------+------+--------+--+------+------------------- PRINCIPLES OF TAXATION. BY THE LATE HON. DAVID A. WELLS. XX.--THE LAW OF THE DIFFUSION OF TAXES. PART II.