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(3) The garden managers, though they keep a register for deaths
among working coolies and are stated to report these to
their agents in Calcutta, have generally the idea that,
in the case of deaths among those not in the actual labour
force, registration is not very important. As the majority
of deaths occur among young children and adults who
by reason of long sickness have very frequently ceased to
appear upon the labour roll, and have practically been lost
sight of as members of the population, there is introduced
a very serious source of error.
(4) The returns to the thana are frequently not prepared by
the chaukidars themselves, the usual practice being for
the garden clerk or 'doctor babu' to write them up in the
chaukidar's book.
(5) Under the present system it is a matter of pure chance
whether the clerk or 'doctor babu' are even informed
of a death or birth, there is, moreover, no check upon their
figures, and there is no reason to believe that they are made
to consider it an important matter to give complete or
accurate returns.
(6) It is the aim of some 'doctor babus' to report as few deaths
as possible.
The general carelessness and want of method displayed is parti-
cularly evident in the birth returns and is exemplified in a statement
that was made to us on one occasion, that from one garden no birth
return was submitted to the thana for two years. It is probable for
reasons such as have been pointed out that the registration of vital
occurrences on tea gardens in the Duars is much less accurate even
than that obtaining in villages where chaukidars or headmen are res-
ponsible.
ACTUAL DETERMINATION OF MORTALITY.
Since statistics compiled under the present system have no
value, we endeavoured to arrive at an approximate idea of the death-
rate in the Duars by actual observation.