Note 5 — Chapter XIV

Bad as all the above treatment appears, it is gladly accepted of by the miners; for the condition of the labouring agriculturists is much worse. The wages of the latter are lower, and they live almost exclusively on beans. This poverty must be chiefly owing to the feudal-like system on which the land is tilled. The landowner gives a small plot of ground to the labourer, for building and cultivating, and in return has his services (or that of a proxy) for every day of his life, without any wages. Until a father has a grown up son who can by his labour pay the rent, there is no one, except on chance days, to take care of the patch of ground. Hence extreme poverty is very common among the labouring classes in this country.