BURMA AND INDIA. 49% 
often residents of the same or a neighbouring village. Advances are paid to them, 
about Rs. 25 being the usual amount, but as much as Rs. 100 may be paid if the 
recruit has a little property. With this advance the recruit may pay off any small 
debt outstanding ; he also leaves a certain amount with his family to cover their 
maintenance charges for some weeks. The recruits are then brought to Rangoon by 
the sub-maistries or their agents, who bear all the expenses for the journey. On 
arrival in the mill the recruits are usually made to sign their names or give their 
thumb impressions on a printed form of agreement or on a piece of blank paper. 
The amount is afterwards entered by the maisiries. Sometimes they are made to 
sign promissory notes for sums never lessthan the total amount spent on them.” 
As regards the means by which the rest of the immigrants are enabled 
to come, the evidence is far.from clear. At least one of the shipping 
companies maintains recruiters in the Coromandel Districts to recruit 
and assist deck passengers’; but this is essentially an advertising 
campaign, and not the equivalent of recruitment. The great major- 
ity of immigrants” receive no direct assistance from employers in 
Burma. Probably a large number are financed by relations already in 
Burma or by borrowing in India. Many who have been in Burma are no 
doubt able to meet the cost of the return journey from savings, and there 
are, especially outside Rangoon, a number of Indian workers who take 
holidays to India at intervals. But there are no figures to show what 
proportion of the immigrant labour represents workers returning to 
Burma. 
Protector of Immigrants. 
The immigration and emigration between India and Burma is 
entirely uncontrolled. The Labour Statistics Officer holds, among other 
appointments, that of Protector of Immigrants and Emigrants. The 
Government of India, with whom the appointment lies, defray a small 
portion of his total pay and also provide an Assistant Protector, 
who is an officer from India. The protection which either of these officers 
affords to immigrants is slight, and indeed they appear to have little 
orno authority in the matter. The Protector informed us that he 
had no statutory powers, except with regard to issuing certificates for 
skilled emigrants*, and that he had no responsibility for an emigrant once 
he had left the jetty and no concern with recruitment in India. The 
appointment apparently arose out of a temporary situation connected 
with the overcrowding of deck passengers ; but, even if there was over- 
crowding, the Protector apparently could only report the matter to the 
Port Officer. The Assistant Protector is present at the arrival of ships 
bringing emigrants, but we doubt if the majority of those arriving are 
aware of his existence. Apparently no one is responsible for the welfare 
or protection of immigrants after they have actually landed. Many 
immigrants no doubt need protection, and the Protector should be placed 
in a position to give them effective assistance. For this purpose we re- 
commend that the Protector should be an officer who, working in co- 
operation with the Government of Burma but holding no appointment 
under that Government, should be solely responsible to the Government of 
India. The appointment might be a whole-time one, in which case 
it would be unnecessary to retain the post of Assistant Protector. He 
- * We understand that this refers to the emigration of skilled workers from Burma 
to foreign countries.