The Albany register. [volume] (Albany, Or.) 1868-18??, 1869-10-23
Chinese Policy Against the Chimes.

columns to-day. 1t has the merit, at
least, of being simple, clear and decisive.
He says: g Shut the Chinese out alto
gether. Let no Mongolians set foot ever
again on the soil of America. He not
merely says this; he argues it, a priort
posteriori, on first principles, on last prin
ciples, every way. His letter is bold,
frank, and, in its way, able 1t undoubt-
edly sums up and expresses the views
held by large number of persons. 1t
puts forward these views with fearless
and naked simplicity. Arguments which
another man would hide or disguise, lest
they should be thought to have their
fountain and origin in class selfshness,
Roland" " proclaims aloud as the off
spring of justice and eternal right. He
has all the courage of his prototype of
Roncessvales. We have, therefore given
him full opportunity of expressing
his opinions and maintaining them and
it is our duty to reply to them, and to
convince him, if we can, that he is wholly
in the wrong.
"Roland" rests his argument for the
Chinese policy which he advocates-the
building of a wall of prohibitive legisla-
tion round the country to shut out the
ngolians-namely on two grounds
First, that "the labor of country be-
longs to the laborers Of that country ;"
and that the laborers have right to in
vite whom they please, as sharers in that
labor; and next that the immi grafton of
the Chinese will prove the ruin Of our
laborers. Hence, it follows that the la
borers of America have right to de-
mand that Congress shall pass a measure
amounting to the absolute Introduction of
the importation of Chinese. Now we
join issue distinctly and directly with
our correspondent on both his main posi-
tions.
To begin with. we utterly deny that
the underlined class of beings whom ''Ro-
land calls ''the laborers" have or ever
could have any such right as he claims
for them. Why deny that majority Of
the population has any such right. If
he likes, we will go step further, and
emphatically say that the whole popula-
ton of the United States-every man,
woman, and child Of them, from Presi-
dent Grant down to the little bootblack
, on Broadway-have no such right, and
; never could have it. Of course, the ma
! jority could do anything. Majorities
can do foolish and wrong things. if they
> please; but they have no right to do
! them. No man has right to say Il
D and my friends alone shall cultivate this
> whole field of labor His right to cx-
clude nybody from the field can only be
founded on his capacity to do the work
better. We deny that any Congress or
other legislative body has right to sac
ri6ce the general interests of liberty and
civilization to the supposed interest OF
any class of persons whatever. So much
for '.Roland's" assumed right of laborers
There is no such right: inherent or fun
fdamental. He must show cause for his
proposed exclusion, prove tina. it is justi
; fable and necessary, just as he would fol
: any other novelty in Legislation. So We
get rid of his first proposition, and neec
not trouble ourselves any more about hi.
v imaginary right of the laborer.
It Who are 1.-The laborers" in the United
It States? Does "Roland" mean simply al
e those who work with their hands and no
e body else? The distinction is clea
n enough in most European countries; 70
e in some the laborer is shut off by dis
e tinct legislation, in others, even In Eng
land, till the other day, he was, and t
some extent he still is, practically distin
7s guished from other classes by politica
" disability. But here the distinction
Is seems both unwise and positively unreal
Of Assume, however, that people who d
lie manual labor are meant. Why is it wis
le and just for these to demand specis
Ia rights of exclusiveness which no othe
class would be listened too in demand
,e ing? Suppose we, the writer's, were t
~ insist that none but American book
- should be read, that none but nativ
Americans should be allowed to write fe
H. our newspapers, what arrogant blocl
heads ''Roland" would think US. Ane
:, if we were really to demand legislativ
!. measure tending that way, how sternl
=. and rightfully he and all sensible person
would say, "My good fellows, VIII;
of America wants, first of all, is good reae
RS ing and writing. If your class interes
,el stand in the way, then we must pus
them aside. The nation is not to /
% starved and stunted mentally to oblis
.ts you. Stand out of our sunshine" Th
We same would be said to any other class
to lawyers and doctors, to priess an
y 4