BURMA AND INDIA. 431

recruitment. It involved the institution of a recruiting bureau to be
managed by the three large firms which control the bulk of the rice mill
labour in Rangoon. The basis of the proposal was that the miller should
deal directly with the gang maistry and should engage him through the
bureau. It was suggested that the payment of advances was unneces-
sary. In response to our invitation, the three firms in question furnished
us with their views on this scheme. Briefly, they contest the view that
the labour required by the rice mills could be met by local recruitment
and stated that it did not appear possible to obtain sufficient labour
without giving advances. Their general conclusion may be summed up
in the words “ On the whole, the system works well and it is difficult to
see how it can be improved ”. They regard the idea of a labour bureau
started by the firms as quite impracticable. Such evidence as we were
able to secure does not warrant any definite conclusions regarding the
most suitable method of recruitment, but we are quite clear that,
however well the present system may appear to work from the point
of view of the employer, it is unsatisfactory from the point of view of
labour. If the proposals made elsewhere become operative and ad-
vances for recruiting purposes are made irrecoverable, one objection
to the system will be substantially minimised, but others will remain.
The labour is specially brought over for a season, which may be
less than six months and is seldom more than eight. Even during this
season, employment may not be continuous. But there is no assurance
that other work will be available, nor is any allowance regularly paid
when work cannot be provided, nor is repatriation guaranteed.” The
result is that, after the season is over, labour may be sent to swell the
aumbers competing for other employment. We consider it unreasonable
that labour should be assisted to emigrate by any industry in such cir-
cumstances. If, therefore, this or any other industry finds it necessary
to recruit in India, it must be prepared to repatriate the recruited worker
a8 soon as it ceases to pay him his normal wages and so to secure that
the workers it brings are not left in a foreign country without the means
of subsistence after a short period. We return later to the question of
the control over emigration, with which this is bound up.
Competition from Burmans.

In addition to the difficulties arising from indirect employment
and fluctuations in demand, a third factor is assuming increasing signi-
cance. This is the tendency for the Burmans to claim work which has
hitherto been carried on by Indians. The Burman has little liking for
monotonous unskilled work, and, until recently, he has had more attract-
ive alternatives. For many years after the annexation of Upper Burma,
there was little difficulty in securing fresh land for cultivation at a low
cost, and the land offered a more pleasant and prosperous life than em-
ployment in the towns. The large expansion of agriculture led to an
expansion of industry, and both were made possible by an increasing
supply of Indian labour. The Burman was able to maintain a much
higher standard of living than is general in any Indian province, while the
harder and more monotonous work was left to Indians, who. if they did not