Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1869-07-20
THE LABOR QUESTION.

This question is now exciting great atten>
6on throughout the South and measures are
being taken for the introduction of Chinese
laborers, to take the place of the negroes,
who, since their liberation from slavery have
become utterly unreliable as q laboring class
In discussing the strong probabilities of the
importation of Chinese in large numbers, the
Baltimore Statesman says that an influx OF
such population would be an advantage to
both whites and blacks. 1t would supply the
former with intelligent and systematic labor,
and it would give the latter leisure to devote
themselves exclusively to liberty, the pursuits
of happiness, and the affairs of the nation.
Not one Chinaman in thousand would ex-
change the products of day of industry for
a day Of political junketing SO that Sambo
will have all to himself, and nothing else to do,
There could be no objection to the ir.,mi-
grafton of the Chinese on the score of homo.
genousness. We have alrea2y here all ma,
ticns-Scotrh, Irish, GerpaaAs. Scandinavians,
Spaniards, Frenchmsn- which make up the
bulk Of our populatio;i and although largely
In the majority Of the original stock, have
been fused mo it SO completely that if any
thing, they are more American than the
Americans. They seeyen lose, in course of
time, their physical recularities becoming
lank, irregular, shad, belied, and sabbatarian,
talking in the orthodox manner, through
their noses, and saying ~ guess" and "Wol
naow." The Eastern nations catch our GUS
toms and even our idiom very rapidly. The
Chinese are famous literal copyists, and we
have no fear that they will fail to assimiate
with the ideas and customs Of every section
to which they emigrate. In the South they
will be good Southerners, and in New Eng
land they will eat Goldfish and chowder, and
hold that Theodore Parker was second only
to Confucus. They will, perhaps, more read
lily amalgamate with New England than with
any other part of the country. They have
the same devotion to literature, SO called,
and the same habit of looking upon all the
rest of the world as outside berbarians.-
Their thrifty and economical ways would ex>
actly suit that penny >worshipping people,
Ex-senator Wade has lately testified, from
what he has seen of them in California, that
they would be of great service in manufac-
lures, which New England is so extensively
engaged in from woollens and cottons to wood
en- nutmegs and oaken hams, coming half dol
lars from chemical solution Of the silver
leaf tree, and raising chickens from egg plants.
The Chinese can work, however, in any ca
pacity, from factory hands to- milkmails, and
their thoroughness and nicely in this respect
would exactly suit the YANKEE diaries, where
they are said to skim their milk on the top,
and then turn it over and skim the bottom,
afterwards skim the Sides and then divide it
into ten parts, carefully skimmiDg each part.
The Chinese liberality is also about on a par
with that of the Yankee who, when called
upon for benevolent purposes, went to prom
Using that the first time he changed sixpsnce
he intended 10 do something for the orphan
asylum. The Chinese, too. had a "Great Re-
bellior," which lasted longer than ours, and,
for aught we know to the contrary, may be
going on yet They are valiant and warlike
race. like the Sons of the Pilgrims, preferring,
however, like them, to do their fighting by
attorney, but no wise reluctant to assist in
gouging and digembowelling an enemy af-
Ter ne Is uo"u. AS 10 lnelr reliSlon, IL Is
essentially the same with that of the prevail
ing Memmon worship, and they never permit
ideas of eternity to interfere with advance
ment in this life. As they are really modest
unassumng, unaggressive people, who go
about the world with such humility of aspect
that they look as if they were begging pardon
of every one they met for being in it, we hope
they will come in swarms to New England,
whose people need somebody to look up to
them, and are at present unable to cxtort
acknowledgement of superiority even from
groes. What with the enormous immigration
from East and West, and universal suffrage,
The close of this century is likely to behold
some curious changes, political and social, in
this country.