The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1869-11-20
THE PACIFIC
Commercial Advertiser.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 20.


The question Of Chinese immigration should
claim the attention Of every person interested in
the future OF this kingdom, and particularly in
the welfare Of the Hawaiian race. The question
rs IL is understood in the United States and the
one presented to vs. for consideration have an en-
tirely different bearing, for reasons which will be
apparent to any impartial, thinking mind. The
arguments urged in favor of Chinese immigration
into the United States are Of very little use to us
in n consideration Of the question, but to the
British and French West Indies, Mauritius, and
Bourbon, all islands whose chief product is sugar,
we may reasonably look for some hight upon the
subject. A perusal Of the b. Results of Emancipa-
ton, - by Augustin Cochin, u work for which the
French academy awarded its first prize. has as
sisted US very materially in arriving at the con-
clusion that the further importation of Chinese
into this kingdom is undesirable.
In the chapter on :. Labor and immigration "
we find much that applies directly to our present
condition In opening the subject, in its bearing
on the condition of the West India Colonies, the
author takes the ground that q n1ge immigra-
ton is earnestly solicited there is need OF new
laborers, it is said, because the old ones will no
longer work, because the abolition Of slavery has
been the abolition of labor" This was precisely
the ground taken here at the Planters Meeting,
with the exception of the cause why the old Ia
borers, negro slaves, will not work. For negro
slaves we substitute native Hawalians, who it is
said will not work because they are too independ-
ent. Again the author says:
ers OF immigrants in divers Countries, their transportation to
the colonies, and their eagageHsnt Gr q term Of years fr sEri-
CuTnrn M 1htAa Nos rgU - EAflX md nnWrg. N.f
"Can the Contract be made at the s,arting-poinf. with pre-
caution sufficient 10 insure e-ary the consent of the contract
Tag party In Offering smpb0yment 20 n numerous population,
eigns % thekiy- peop~d countries TO make war, take capdves,
and resort To inhuman measures in order 10 procure this adj
is not the transportation difficult TO watch over, difficult to
another means Of accomplishing their ends In disguise,
-h this spring Be inprStentty opened, viii tn. waters that
receive hborers, have ere long to mourn for having introduced
on the sod. in the midst q their families, an inferior, ignorant,
Thus, al the departure, during the voyage, and after the
preme importance. die .oIatsoa Of which make. Of The same
,sing a crime or a benehi, a poIlaiiOn OF a progress. a future Of
The question Of ha@igration thus touches. on the one side,
good order 10 the eooass1
Here we have a series OF questions which
be carefully considered, as they apply
with equal force here. Can the contracts be
made, at the starting point, with precautions
To insure clearly the consent Of the con-
tracting party?" This question has been dis
tinctly answered., in the negative, ut the recent
held in the interest OF the planters and
citizens IL was proved that a large majority
could neither read nor write, and had not signed
the document by which they were held. One
who was closely Questioned, showed that
he had been deceived, and We are informed that
many such instances have come To the knowledge
of other parties.
The Commissioner sent TO China TO select the
coolies Acknowledges that fraudulent substitu-
lions Of both men and women were made, despite
all his care and the precautions taken, and it is
~ easy to suppose that the substitutions were
forcibly made as otherwise. The Commissioner
acknowledge, what was before well known, that
It rs impossible for the European residents of
china to arrange for coolies, much less for a
stranger to undertake the task that il has to be
left To middle men, and who will undertake to
say that they are very particular rs to the means
so long as the end Is attained. The
moet ardent admirer of our coolie system will
hardly be prepared to say . that the consent of
the contracting party is clearly insured" We
are not willing to admit that the abuses which
exist on ships carrying coolies to South America
'S Ac1hA R~S ~ co4a fNoo<t5 OituEAuH Ollt
10 these islands, under the supervision Of the
Of Immigration, although we do not i'm
agine that the passage and its incidents have
been up to the expectation Of the immigrants.
The author styles the /" engagements .'Hrret"
Or hborer's passport, - forced services,--in q
word, what may be called provisional slavery"
II the contracts made with coolies taken 10 the
British and French Colonies, contracts which our
Commissioner says contain clauses az inserted
from motives OF humanity, - tend to g provisional
slavery" what shall we say of the contracts by
we hold coolies, from which the humane
have been omitted, for tie reason, as
given by our Commissioner, that they might "a be
found very irksome to the employers Of the
coolest" To our exceptional contracts we must
sdd the weight Of a penal enactment which
enforces the contract or lays violent hands upon
he person OF the coolie or aborer. If the labor
system Of the French and British cclonists, of
which the anthor complains, was styled a. provi-
sional slavery" what can be said of ours?
Upon the subject OF the coolic system in the
which provides for the return of the
,oolie at the expiration of his term Of service,
VI. Duyal nys: