Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1870-07-27

L
the bull by the tail that time, and it is
time they let 90 aad found the horns, if he
has any. Under a literal construction OF
the law, every American vessel carrying
Chinese to America is breaking law to
which severe penalty is attached. The
law not only prevents immigration, and
places ship owners in an equivocal situa-
ton, but it makes great many more slaves
out of American immigration than does
the never-kept contracts made with the
Spanish Colonies. American laws make
slaves of Cinnamon How can that be
Just wait until | can tell you, and am
sure that you will vote for the abolition OF
both the laws and the slaves. As the laws
of the United States declare any contract
made with Cinnamon here, void in the
LATED States, or would make the man a
a Il who e- --:.--z hs--s..----. q
~.4yas under contract, no man IN
ftca will advance to him the money for
6E- passage, and run the risk of losing his
pay and being imprisoned. So If the
Chinaman gets TO America at all he must
borrow the money here to take him over.
Not one in a thousand Of those who leave
the port of Hong Kong are worth such an
enormous sum as forty dollars. They get
the money here; and in nearly every case
give for security a bond on the persons Of
their families or friends. The Chinaman
gives his note to the ticket broker here,
who, in his poverty usually charges him
five times the first cost Of the ticket. The
broker takes a bond of the mandarin of
his district to secure the note. The man
DARN secures himself by taking a bond
from the aldermen of the coolies village,
and they receive the personal bonds given
by his relatives All these men charge a
fee for doing this, and it is added to the
cost of the ticket. In that way the China
man gets to California, bound through his
friends to pay into the California branch
of the brokers' establishment so much
money each month until the whole amount
is cancelled If he fails in one payment
be is to forfeit what he has paid. But as
he expects thirty or forty dollars a month,
he never thinks for a moment that he could
fail to pay it. But they do fail in great
many cases. Not as many last year as the
year before but large number even then.
Upon the protest of a note here the broker
sues the mandarin, and gets his pay on the
men and they pay. After which, with all
the costs of fees and collections added, the
aldermen present the note to the family
who have become responsible for the debt.
What can they do? They have no money
and no property. All they can do is TO
deliver their families up to be sold for debt
according to Chinese law. And here is
where the American law makes slaves.
saw the sale of family last week for debt,
where the husband and father was in Cal
ifornia and perhaps | cannot do better
than to tell you about it. There were five
~L.Il-~- 49, - -
had passed them three times in our chairs
during the day a. they stood beside the
road dressed in their holiday attire of
black The silence they observed when
ever any person passed, and their downcast
looks, created curiosity on our part to
know their business there. Arr Hung
Jour waiter) was called up and asked the
cause of this little parade. Why" said
he " the girls and perhaps the whole fam
lily are for sale" We stopped our chairs
and stepped out 10 have talk with them,
using Arr Hung as an interpreter The
mother was wrinkled and gray, and hung
her head, as if she we're afraid to look US
in the face. But the children, with the
exception of the Oldest girl, looked cheer
ful, and were quite pleased with their hOl-
iday attire. The oldest girl was sixteen
and the Oldest boy fifteen. So said the
gruff old broker who had the party in
charge, and who seemed quite anxious to
dispose of his wares. After great deal
of quizzing and evasive answers, the broker
told US that the husband and father was in
California, and had neglected to pay hi;
note given for his passage, and that his
family were now offered for sale to pay the
debt He hoped to be able to pay the debt
with the sale OF the two oldest girls, but a:
yet had received no offers. He said that
the family became security voluntarily
and he never knew of a case where they
did not voluntarily offer themselves for sale
if the note they secured was not paid In
reply to our questions he said that when q
customer bought child or person, the
purchaser was made at once the owner Of
the child, body and soul No Chinamar
would dispute the purchasers right to dc
whatsoever he pleased with the human
being he had paid for. The boys woulC
make good servants, he said, and in the
course of few years be worth fortun,
to the owner. The girls would make gooC
armers Tor nurses as they are called il
America.) He would show US their phys
ical beauty-would make them sing anC
play tricks if we thought of buying. Hov
much would we give ? The oldest girl h
would sell for four hundred dollars; tn
next one for two hundred, and the littl
six-year-old for fifty. The boys he coul,
not sell until the girls were disposed OF
We thought the price too high. The mar
, ket was glutted with salable girls, and b
must not think of getting over one hundre
, for the oldest and handsomest, while fo
, the little one he must not expect over te
, dollars. He sneered at that. and said tina
. Euglishmen always talked in that wa
> when they wanted to buy. While we wer
talking, a party Of blue-robed Chimes
! aristrocrats came up and began to inspeC
= the family. They opened the mouth {
the oldest girl-rapped on her white teet
, to see if they were sound-pulled open he
4 dress-thumped her ribs-laughed at he
g little feet-told her to show the whites {
}, her eyes-ordered her to sing, and to sho
n them the trinkets which the fond motht
o had given her as a parting gift All th
q while the salesman kept up a constar
d jabber in which we took no interest. Tin
d passing. we passed on, leaving the partit
t dlsputing about the price, and discussin
IS the probabilities of their running away
e taken to Hong Kong. After making OF
lie call, we returned the same way to ascerta
4 the result of the SALE Only the moth,
&c and the boys were left The debt W,
st only three hundred dollars, and fifty of
h remained unpaid. have been often to-
rs by residents iu China that the pareu
s. would as soon sell their children as a ca