Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1869-06-06
CHINESE LABORERS.

LIGHTNER, Esq, Il distinguished
Mining Engineer, of California, adj
dressed to a friend in this city. We
call attention to that portion of il
in which he remarks that the
six companys are able to turn Chinese
out by the thousand" The question
occurs to US can these Z" six companies
which are wealthy Chinese corpora
tions-be induced to locate at one OF
more of our seaport cities, or in Mem
phis, as a base of operations for the
South? New Orleans is but eighteen
days farther from Canton than San
Francisco. The idea Of Chi
nese immigration is beginning
to take a tangible form, and
| we trust that some move viii be made
in the matter before it is too late for
next season. VIII the seaports re-
spond? VIII the rice-growers and SUI
gar planters give this scheme the ear
nest consideration it deserves? 1t
will be noticed that Mr.. LIGHTNER
had but one foreman to seventy-fve
or one hundred hands, and found
them faithful, reliable and efficient.
What if all the plantations in the
South were manned by such people?
For such labOrers as are here
described no canvassing would
be required; five hundred thou
sand could find employment at
once in any one of the Southern
States. But we will not keep the read
er longer from Mr.. LIGHTNER's inter-
esting letter:
STOCKTON, CAL, May %, 1869.
Dear j. VI: I viii give you my ideas of
your present field of labor for so long a
term Of years, renders me unfit to draw
any comparison as TO labor employed in
the Valley of the Mississippi and that of
the Chinese. / can only compare the lat
ter with that of the ordinary unskilled
labor here, and therefore in handling the
subject Won must do up the comparison
yourself. During the past three years 1
have worked from seventy-ive to one
hundred Chinese, at the BOraX Lake and
sulphur mandatory in Lake county, and
all my observations there lead me to free
" say hat both the manufacturing of
borax and sulphur would have been a
total failure with any other kind of labor.
I had several kinds of labor to perform
with them; the first required them to be
over their knees in the soft alkaline mud
in which the crystals of bOraX is found.
The second was the employment of hands
on shore, firing up under the boiler, as
sorting the material, dissolving the borax
in particular solution varying in temper
allure and specific gravity, stringing the
tanks, selecting and packing the market
able crystals, marking and numbering the
boxes, etc. At the sulphur works the Ia
Dor consisted of mining and selecting the
ores, loading them in cars, charging the
r%etOrts, firing up in the furnace, refining
and packing the sulphur. | rave found
them as a class patient, honest, indus
triOus and intelligent, and, with the ex-
ception of the carpenters and blacksmiths
and one foreman, at the sulphur works,
the entire york was done by them. One
remarkable trait in their character con-
sists in this, that You have rarely to teach
them the same thing twice. Once having
shown them a method of working. and
they adhere TO it with an almost mechan-
ical perseverance. Even in the refining,
they become cOnverSant with the uses of
Inc "uNNEeLltltE ana thermometer the
time required for CryStaliZing, the quality
of the salts, etc. etc. I believe they
could be instructed into being the very
best Of sugar boilers, soap manufacturers,
and other trades in which constant watch
ingis required, and in which white men,
once acquiring what they conceive to be the
important part of 4 process, are apt TO
O~veryalue their services and strike accor-
dinghy.
Tho ,,-an-ae ,oi9 +L,,, ~ Il * I~olll J
per diem ten hours for working in the
mud and water, and in the sulphur re
filming; 81 20 gold for ordinary shore and
mining wOrE-hOuSe rent free, fuel free, !
they boarding themselves. This they
were content to do. Their grand staples,
rice at eight cents per pound, pork eleven
cents per pound, tea seyenty-five cents
per pound, were furnished and deducted
from their months paw.
They bring TO this country a few nation !
al prejudices, principally jealousy Of one
party Of different section; politics or re- /
ligiOn, ! am satisfied, have nothing to do
with their difficulties. These are rarely !
carried 10 any extreme, and are developed
more in a stubborn dislike to work with
a rival party and a total want Of charity
or even pity for the troubles of any one
from their " Chinese locality. |
found il better when working one
hundred or so to have them Of two parties
exciting the II by the other. \ few
words from a white overseer will at n
time quell a disturbance. Let them have
separate quarters, and fields or parts of
work allotted to them, and there will be
difficulty in managing them.
They care but little for HOLIDAYS, andare I
supremacy Indifferent TO the elective fran
chise, whether at general or primary cleo
like a tOlerably bad article of whis-
ky, if cheap, drinking il entirely out of
working hours; and detest tolls and taxes
as fervently Is a Highlander. They are
all fond Of gambling, but it is the policy of
the OVerseer TO stop il, as one viii often !
gamble off months wages in advance, and
like ourselves hate paying for dead
They generally, when in large
ask for two OF three days in Feb
ruary New Years., and one or two DAYS
IN september full moon (gOod days) and
will work all the better for having these
holidays. They make but little show of
he little religion they have, and take no
to make prOselytes TO their belief, I
Ignoring the idea that an outsider can
3ver see their heaven under any circum-
stances.
Now, as to inducing any large portion
them to migrate to your district, il is
too much for 2 party here to ven
.ure il. An agent leaving this coast to
;anvass the older States for a market for
Alelf LABOR mas 200 much 10 learn, and too
'hort a time to learn it in. While there
ire here plenty Of men who are
with the method of getting any
number together for any mining or rail-
Dad contract; and while the six compa-
lies" are able to turn them out by the
thousands, il is another thing to ask them
o 90 so far away from the only line of
communication they have with their ma
i've home. The uncertainty of the eli
nate, and the people they have to 90
.mongst, the nature of the work thew are
o be employed at, the facilities for OBJ
their favorate food, riee-(and here
ct me say they have a poor opinion of
'~arolina "swamp seed" and would starve
n 1t, their small grained rice being much
and more farinaceous, land pork
fresh) viii for a long time, or until thew
re satisfied in these respects. prevent
hem from leaving here. Should a conn
any of men, in say Memphis or New Or
cans, raise a fund of $4,000, 1 believe
hat by sending ont a proper agent, who
rould be associated with some party here,
a whom the six companies have conf
they would be able to secure from
to 5000 men who would be willing to
nv the experiment. L assure you that ar
angements could be made for their pas
age overland, and to Memphis at not to {
xceed So TO 500 per head. This would {
q reDaid out of their wages, and the