The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1869-07-22
G1eGntell1qRt1tr


poses to engage In the shipment o
Chinese laborers hither for service OF
the Southern, plantations f.. rn
whether the Chinese shall be al
lowed to come to this country as othe
foreigners come, as free men ant
women, Is one question, remarkI
the Post" whether they shall be i'm
ported in droves as slaves for g
term of years is quite another. II
prevent free Chinese coming hithel
just as English. Irish, German, Swedei
or Frenchmen come, will require al
act of Congress. But . law now OF
the statute book will, or ought to, pre-
vent the contamination Of the Koop
manschaap plansTrfor Infringing ovel
thousands of the most ignorant anC
brutal Chinese, the scum. OF the grea
Chinese cities, as bond. slaves" ."f
The Post then quotes the act OF Con-
:gress sof February 10. 1862, "To pro.
hibit the Coolie Trade" of which the
following is an abstract:
SRoTIoN Totally forbids every citizen
OF the United States, or foreign resident
coming here, acting for himself or any
other person, in any capacity whatever,
to "build, equip, load, or otherwise pre-.
pare any ship or vessel, or any steam
ship or steam vessel, registered, enroll.
ed or licensed in the United States, OF
any port within the same, for the pur-
pose Of procuring from China, or from
any.port or place therein, tor from any
other port or place, the inhabitants, or
subjects of China, known as coolies, Ito
be transported to any foreign country.
port or place whatever, to be disposed
of, or sold, or transferred. 1orsanyi term
.ofyeafs, or Eforjany time whatever, as
servants or apprentices, or to be held to
service or labor" Any ship or vessel
80 employed, directly or otherwise,
shall be forfeited and liable to be seiZ-
ed, prosecuted and condemned in any
of the circuit or district courts OF the
United States for the district where 1t
was seized, found or carried.
SECTION 2 makes such building, pre-
pairing, &C., of vessels, or aiding and
abetting the coolie trade in ,anYwise,
an +indictable offence, 5incufring the
penaltytof a.fine OF % 600 and impris-
onment not exceeding one year.
SECTION 8 makes the receiving and
transporting of Chinamen on any ves-
sci by citizens of the United States, for
suchs purposes, an indictable offence,
punishable as before With fine ana Inn
prisonrnent. - = -
SECTION 4,exempts from the operation
of the act ''anys free and voluntary em+
igration of any Chinese eubject,n but
REQUIRES forftheIpurpose aperntt from
a:consul or consular agent of the United
States, who must first be satisfied by
personal evidence of theafact. ~
~ SROIIoNi extends the provisions OF
other acts of Congress regulating pas
senger transit in merchant vessels to
all vessels owned by citizens of and
licensed in the United States, and ap-
plies the penalties and forfeitures Of
thfs act to them. ,l'"h = '."' t'i- -.E.
order Vesselsi iof the United States,
their masters and commanders, to ex-
anime all vessels referred to in the
previous sections, when they have rea~
BoR to believe that they are engaged in
the transportation of "coolfes, and in
case such vessels are violating the, pro-
of this act, they are to cause
the offending vessels to be conveyed to
any port or district of the United States
and delivered to the marshal of the
to be held and disposed ofpur-
Buant to the provisions of this act. =; :.
The Post says the business In which
Mr.. Koopmanschaapp proposesto engage
is forbidden by this! act; "the, ships in
which coolies were brought over would.
be forfeited; the principals in the illega1i
business and their agents would lay
liable to'fine and imprison-
ment?' I'VE are not sure of this. Koop-
,project-is not the coolie
trade as described n-this act. These
are mot to be "disposed Of, or
sold, or transferred for any iIterm'of
years. Or for any time whatever, as
or1ap entiees.. or TO be held to
labor."n We-suspect that is
what the Southern scheme aimB at and
what it would result IN virtually. But
the pretense is that these laborers are
to come,as "free and voluntary" emil
grants, and behiredsas other voluntary
are hired-not to be "servants
or apptentices,2 noF"aor held to seq
vice or 1abor.Y It might be Impossible
to shoSs what ~meansowere Employed
to ind bee this presumed voluntary emi-
grafton; hut the Memphis project is to
have It appear at least. that a fair busi-
ness arrangement Is made with the la
borera,and wages agreed on before they
leave China, and that this action is to
be voluntary fthrough91e, just as It
would be ifa similar arrangement were
effected In Ireland or3Gertndny. How
ever desiEsble it may, be, therefore, to
prevent the threatened deluge of igho.
rance and psganismIit seems to us the
act to prohibit the Cooliet trade does not
meet the case.
This movement t !" " inauuE1uRrated. E we
BeIis7eI not from any sincere wish,t to
have the beneft Of Chinese labor In the
South, but iromrtWo or rthree.uHly and
motIges in Southern
politicians. One is their hostility to the
enfranchised negro. and their up-
Willingness. to give him employment.
They al are determined ifthey can to drive
him opt9oE all epployments in the
South, sffice they can no longer have
his. labor Tor n6thihs3 Anothetis, for
political reasons to eomplicate the ques-
ton, of, ycitizepshipT under the 18th
Amendment. Then they want to have
IA subject ciass+ohs which BY reason Of
its ignorancevo or docility may be easily
and compIetelyaconttolle olled andA form
the mudails of soptHs { s6eiety. They
dc, not perhapsy consider as they ought.
the dangers that society will beck pnss
ed to when the negroes are driven, az
they propose from the soil and exclud-
ed from 4he employ 5ments In States
where they Constitute so large part OF
Ehe population 1t is a hazardous ex=
pertinent 5ora the Southern peopletto
drive their. negro population to anch