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CHAPTER XX, 
With free recruitment, this stage will lose much of its importance, and we 
believe that the responsibility can be adequately discharged by district 
officials. Attention will have to be directed mainly to the second and 
third stages, namely, during the journey and after the emigrant’s arrival on 
the garden. From the point of view of recruiting, the third stage is the 
most important one, for irregularities generally come to light after the 
emigrant has left the recruiting area and it becomes necessary to trace 
him in Assam. By this time he has passed beyond the reach alike of the 
Government of the recruiting province, its district staff and the Assam 
Labour Board ; and the only authorities to whom recourse can be had are 
the administrative authorities in Assam. These are burdened with 
other duties and have inadequate powers, and in practice the attempt to 
deal with a recruiting offence after the recruit has left his province is 
attended by delay and is not always successful. - The second stage is 
also important, for it is advisable to exercise some closer supervision over 
the transit of the emigrant in order to prevent the regular emigrant being 
sent otherwise than by the licensed depéts. 
Protector of Immigrants. 
What is wanted is an effective authority working mainly in 
Assam and definitely charged with responsibility for the emigrant 
during his journey and after his arrival, and entrusted with adequate 
powers to protect his interests. In other words, we desire to see 
not two authorities covering much the same ground, but two comple- 
mentary authorities, securing the protection of the emigrant in different 
areas. We recommend the appointment by the Government of India 
of an officer in Assam who will look after the interests of emigrants who 
have not yet decided to make Assam their permanent home. He would 
be required to keep in touch with the recruiting provinces and would have 
the right at all reasonable times, with or without notice, to enter any 
garden in order to inspect the condition of the workers from other pro- 
vinces, and of their housing accommodation, ete. He should also have 
the right to talk to them either in public or in private, and any person 
hinderipg or molesting him in the discharge of his duties should be liable 
to be dealt with as for a summary offence. It would be the duty of 
the Protector to bring cases of wrongful recruitment to the notice of 
the provincial Government concerned and to advise on all matters con- 
nected with the migration of labour to Assam. The Protector should 
also be entrusted with responsibility for the emigrant during the journey 
and should be in a position to take up the prosecution of persons for- 
warding emigrants otherwise than in accordance with the Act and of 
ensuring that the emigrant is cognisant of his rights under the law before 
he reaches the garden. The statute regulating recruitment should 
give the Government of India power to make rules for the protection 
of the emigrant during transit, and the Protector would be responsible 
for the administration of these rules and for advising the Government 
of India on matters arising out of their operation. We would add here 
that what. we saw of the arrangements for the emigrant on the journey 
reflects credit on the Association principally responsible for them.