Council Minutes, Perak, 9th Oct 1882
Present:
Regent
Resident
Acting Asst Resident (Capt Walker)
Raja Dris
Temenggong
Dato' Raja Mahkota
Kadzi
Capt Ah Kwee
Capt Ah Yam
3. The Resident lays before the H.H. Regent in Council a copy of Parliamentary paper on 'Slavery in the Protected Malay States'.
4. The Resident then lays upon the table and (at the request of the Regent) reads the essay on 'Slavery and Slave-indebtness', by Mr. W. E. Maxwell, lately Asst Resident, Perak, together with that officer's proposals for the abolition of the institution within three years.
6. The proposals of Mr. Maxwell and those submitted at previous meetings by various members were then fully discussed.
9. H.H. Regent and the other members concurred. The following resolutions were then formulated:
(i) On the 31st day of December, 1883, slavery and bond-indebtedness shall entirely cease and be absolutely abolished in the State of Perak, and all claims arising out of either condition shall be understood to have lapsed and to be irrecoverable.
(ii) The masters of the slave-debtors and slaves shall until the date fixed for the final abolition of slavery retain their rights to the services of their dependents except as hereinafter provided.
(iii) No owner of a slave or creditor of a male bond-slave-debtor shall be entitled to value his services for compensation under these regulations at more than $30, nor shall any Court to which appeal may be made have power to award a larger sum.
(iv) No female slave of bond-slave-debtor shall be valued for the purposes of this regulation at a price exceeding $60.
(v) Every slave or bondsman shall employ his time in his master's service and shall obey his master's orders (until entitled to manumission) in any legitimate employment. The value of such service, if continued until 31 st December, 1883, shall be fixed at half the amount settled at the total compensation to be made to the master in each case, or proportionately for shorter periods.
(vi) At the date assigned for the complete abolition of slvery - viz., 31st December, 1883 - the Government will pay to the master of the dependent as a free grant the amount necessary to complete the full compensation agreed upon or adjudged to be the value of the slave.
(vii) Any slave or debtor refusing or neglecting to obey the lawful orders of his master during the period preceding manumission may be taken to the nearest Court of competent jurisdiction, which after enquiry may direct the slave or bondsman to be employed on the public works of the State, and the wages earned by him (excepting so much as may be necessary for his maintenance) shall be paid to the master towards the half-compensation to which he is entitled under these regulations.
(viii) It shall be lawful for the slave or bond-ebtor, in order to enable himself to secure immediate freedom, to borrow at any time from the Government the whole amount of compensation adjudged or agreed to be paid in his case, on condition of his labouring on the public works of the State until he has repaid by deductions from his wages the proportion of his value payable to his master.
(ix) Female slaves and debtors will be entitled in like manner to a remission of half of the amount adjudged or agreed upon as full compensation in consideration of their continued good service with their masters during the interval between the passing of this order and the complete abolition of slavery. At the expiry of that period the remaining of the full compensation allowed will be paid to their masters as a free grant by the Government.
(x) The Chief Court in each district of the State shall have authority to decide all disputed cases as to the condition of individuals and to award the amount of compensation. The decision of the Court must be reported monthly to the Government and will be subject to revision or reversal by H.H. the Regent in Council.
The preceding resolutions are then carefully read over in Council and are unanimously agreed to.
No comments:
Post a Comment