PLAGUE IN CEYLON.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 13352, 9 April 1914, Page 3

PLAGUE IN CEYLON.

CQOLIES LEAVING FOR. INDIA

FREMANTLE, March 20^ According to information received at Fremantle, the plague m Ceylon is assuming alarming dimensions. For the past few days there has been a regular crush at the ticket office of the Madura Company, Tamil. Coolies are practically fleeing the country, and the. plagud scare has decimated the chetty population, and also helped to reduce the laboring population to a small extent.

The head of one of the largest coal contracting firms m Colombo declared tnat owing to the present scare he had lost from 35 to . 50 per cent, of his coolies. Coolies were returning to Indi^ m their hundreds every day, both by sea and by the new land route. The position was becoming very serious as a result of the shortage of coolies, and m view, of the growing reluctance of those who still remain to leave their houses during night lor fear of being sitspected as contacts and taken to the segregation camp, the coaling of vessels by night m Colombo harbor is to be discontinued. Fortunately this is a slack season so far as the harbor is concerned, and it is very lucky it is so, for otherwise a state of chaos would have prevailed. Coolies who. are still working .are demanding exorbitant wages.