FIJI BETTER

Grey River Argus, 23 April 1925, Page 8

FIJI BETTER

WITHOUT INDENTURED LABOUR. Mr McMillan, secretary of the Y.M.f .A., In Fiji, stated recently that since indentured labour was abolished m Fiji the conditions among the Indians have, improved greatly. Manv of them are now free agriculturists. During the 45 years of Indentured, labour 1 in Fiji the Indians there passed through a dark experience. The harsh treatment and undesirable housing accommodation produced assaults, crime and moral chaos. Before the war »3 per cent of Indian workers were continually being subjected to fines and punishment. “Whereas the proportion of suicides in the United Provinces of India, from which most of these people comp, is 65 per million, under the ’inden(uri'G labour system In Fiji so miserable wn< Dip life that the proportion rose to 926 million.” Yet thorp w(-'< professing <’hri-.ti.im, loud in lion- declaration of loy.abv to the teaching of tlm Master, wlio, > n tin* l‘;i i lia men! of the Dominion, in tho Press, .and on the platform, and even in the pulpit, uphold tho vile system of indentured labour when it was applied to Samoa, where, although the results were not so horrible as in Fiji, it ■would have inevitably produced similar moral and physical results. To the Labour Party belongs the credit of fighting the evil practically single-handed. The outlook in regard, to the health of the Indians in Fiji is much brighter than that of tho native peopU of India generally, although there is groat room for improvement yet, particularly in regard to maternity care and child welfare work. The VTifaut mortality is very high, largely to the ignorance of the young mothers. Work similar to that of the Plunkof 'Society was greatly needed in Fiji. In some parts of Calcutta 675 out of every 1000 children born die within the first year. The. 1 education facilities are deplorable. Although tho Indians have been in the colons’ for nearh’ half a century, there cxis to-day but one primary school with about fifty boys in attendance, while there are 14,000 Indian hoys and girls between five and fifteen years of age. Of these some 1400 hoys and girls attend various mission schools, which the Indians have established, toEvards which the Government makes a small grant in aid, but in respect to which it has no system of supervision inspec'tio'sn or examination. (i& >io one in the Fiji Department of Education with the requisite knowledge of Hindustani. A careful system of education is urgently needed. Such a system should include instruction in :igri culture.