The Portland daily press., 1879-02-24

portuguese colony, Iorly miles distant in Wnlcu
barracoons' the Chinese, in every prisoners,
were retained until their shipment to San Francisco
Callao, Havana, sc. These called by courtesy emi.
grants were collected from within radius of two to
three hundred miles from Canton, and consisted o.
the abjectly poor who. willingly not, were sold 10
obtain food for their families or for gambling debts,
(the Chinese.as you are aware, beitg inveterate
gamblers) or the scaps graces of the country fleeing
to avoid punishment.
II is of course mere misuse OF terms to ca this
an .'entilely voluntary emigration" and yet none
other was permissible under The Burlingame T. eaty
Our government would be clearly justified 10 Is
regarding the treaty on the single ground that the
Chinese government had never respected its pro-
visions But without any reference to that, our
government possesses the right to aorogate the
treaty If it adjudges that its continuance is perni-
cious to the state" Indeed, the two pending pro-
nositions in the Senate differed not in regard to our
own right to abrogate the treaty. but simply as to
whether we should do it In July, 1879, by the ex-
erce Of cur power without further notice to China.
or whether we should do it in January, 1880, after
notifying China that we hal male up our minds to
do it. Nearly year ago Congress by jointresoluion
expressed its is,ontent with the existing Treaty.
and thus cleay gave notice the civilized world
if notice were needful-Of ne desire and intention OF
our people. ln the late action Of Congress The OPP
President to notify the emperor of China that
Chne;e immigration is unsatsf etory and psf me
treaty as we desired, then the President should
notify the Emperor that after January J. 1880, the
United States will treat the obnoxious stIpulati ms
az end Both PROPOSE 1ions-the bill that we
passed aud the substitute that we rejected
assumed alike the full tight to abrogate the Treaty
Whether it We're better Uo.abrOgate it after last
years joint resolution, or to inform the Emperor Oh
China directly that'if he would not consent to the
change 1--WE would make it any how" must be
Ieleg ited for decision the schools of taste and
etiquette The first proposition resting our clear
constitutional powSr seemed to me better mode OF
proceeding than TO ask the Emperor Of China to con-
sent to modification and informing him at The
same time thai, whether he consented not, we
would New Years day treat 1.-THE obnoxious
stipulation end" AS to the power of Congress
TO 40 just what has been done no one will entertain
doubt who examines the whole question:. An
admit able summary of the right add power is FUND
in an opon delivered by that eminent JuIist,
Benjamin r. Curtis, when he was judge OF the
1T cannot be admitted that the only method Of es-
cape from treaty is by the consent OF the other
party to IL or declaration OF war. 10 refuse to exc
cute treaty for reasons which approve themselves
to the conscientious judgment Of nation, mat
ter Of the utmost geavy but The poaoer to do so IS
prerogattve of Which no nation can be- deprived
Dttboat deeply affecting ats independence That the
Peep Of the UnIIed States have deprived their gov
ernment of this power do not Believe. Thai 1t must
Tesiae somewhere, and be appcabiet0 all cases am
convinced, and feel no dcbt that 1t belongs to Con.
gress."
Seuenth-A great de has been said about the dan
ger to our trade China should resort to some form
retaliation. The natural and pertinent retaliation is
to restrict American immigration to China Against
that we will enter no protest, and should have no
right to do SO. The talk aoout China closing her
ports to trade is made only by those who do not
understand the question. Last year the total
amount of exports to all Chinese pors outside of
Hong Kong was but $69200O. have called Hong
Kong Chinese port, but every child knows that it is
under Blush control, and if we were at war with
China today Hong Kong would be as open to us as
Liverpool. To speak of China Furnishing us by
pending trade is only the suggestion OF dense ignor-
ance We pay China immense balance in coin,
and probably we always shall do it. But if the trade
question had the importance which some have erron
eously attributed to it, would not seek its conlinu
aDCe by permitting vicious immigration OF CniGese
Coolies. Inc Bristol mer han cried out that com
merce would De Iu ned if England pei sisted 10 de-
stroyiug the slave trade. But history does Doe
record that England sacrificed her honor by yielding
To the cry.
Eighth-The attempt ma lie from different quarters
and with different motives to justify matreatment of
the negro ia the South on the ground that we
refuse to receive the Chinese is sgnally illogical II
the negro population Of this country, doniciled here
for two centuries, have no more tights under our
Government and no more ground for appeal to our
then allegiance and nationally and ''lhe flag are
worse than meaningless. observe that this dis
cussion is not in regard to the Chinese now On our
shores for they entitled to legal proteelionbut
in regard to the countless hordes who may come up
US If We leave the way open. The very class Of
gentlemen who make this argument the same
who refuse to permit the Chinese to be raturalized
and to acquire suffrage. In Republic, with suffrage
SO general, it is impossible 10 have with safely
a prescribed and disfranchise1 race. L maintain
that those who voted that The Chinese should not be
naluralized voted in effect that they ought not
come here.
Ninth-The enlightened religious sentiment OF the
Pacific coast views with pr oound alarm the tenden-
cy and effect Of unrestricted Chinese immigration.
The 'spastors and de egates OF the Congregational
churches of California year since expressed their
"conviction'' that sthe Buriusame Treaty ought to
be so modified By the General Government as to
restrict Chinese immigration " Rev. S. v Blakeslee,
editor of the oldest religious paper on the Pacific
coast, spoke thus in an off cial address:
Moreover, wealthy English and American CON.
panies have organized great moDey-makng plans
Tor bringing mill ns-it is true-even mill1ons-of
these Chinese mo our State aud into all parts of
the Union; and have sent out emissdrIes into China
induce the people, by every true and false story,
migrate here. Already tbco hundred and ffty
thousand have come of whom one hundred thousand
remain
The tendency of all this is tremendously toward
evil; toward vice and abomination; toward all op
posed to the true spirit of Amer cansm and is very
dangerous to our morality, to our stability, and to
our success as people and a;natiOn. Millions more
OF these Chinese must come if noe prevented by auy
legal, moral, moboclatic restraint, increasing
incaculably by numbers the evils alreaiy existing;
while spirit Of Race preiuaces and canship jealous
les and CONFLICT OF interests be developed,
tenling possible evil beyond all description.
In regard to the process OF converting and Chris.
tianizing this people, missionary who has been in
the field since 1919 testifes that one in thou
sand have even nominally protested change from
heathenism, and that of this small number nearly
one-half had been taught in missionary schools in
China. The same missionary says ''as they cone in
still larger mum )ers they will more efectualy support
each other in their national pecuarties and vices,
become still more confirmed in heather immoraies,
with an influence in every respect intellectually bad F"
Under what possible sense of duty any American
can feel that he promotes Christianity by the pro-
cess of handing California over to heathenism, is
more than am able to discover.
Tenth-Ths Chinese question connects itsslf init
mately and inseparably with the labor question.
Their immigration is enceu aged BY some opeolv, by
many secretly, because their labor is cheap. The
pertinent is dangerous one In republic where
the man who works, carries ballot in his hands, it
will not do for capitalized wealth to legisate for
che p labor. We do not want cheap labor; we do
not want dear labor We want labor at far rates;
at rates that shall give the aborer his fair share, and
Cdplldl IT'S Idr sutl6 Ii more Is SOuRuG Dy Capital
less will in the end be realized. There is not lab
ing man from the Pen0bscot to the Sacramento who
would not feel aggreyed, outraged, burdened,
crushed, by being forced intO competition with the
labor and wages of the Chinese Cody For one will
never consent by NY vote or my voice TO drive the
intelligent wOrkinemen of America TO that COMPETE
ton aod that degradation Mr.. Garrison spent the
best years of an honored life in courageous battle
for the free IOm and dignity of labor, and for lis
emancipation from tn aldom. trust he will not les
sen the gratitude which the worklngmen of Amer lea
owe him for his noble lead in the past by au effort
now to consgn them to the humiliation and the pow
erty inevitably resulting from the competition of Chi
nese coolies,
Years ago Mr.. Carlyle said to an American friend
You will have trouble in your country long as
you have lew people and much land; but when you
have much people and little land, your trials will
begin" No one connected in any manner with the
government of the Republic can view the situation
without grave concern At least nine large States of
the South are disturbed by race trouble, of which
man is yet wise enough to see the end; the CEN
ra and largest and weathiest OF our Territories is
seized by a polygamous population which fiaunts
defiance in the face of the General Government;
discomfort among unemployed thousands has already
manifested spirit of violence, and but recently ar
rested travel between the Atlantic and the Misss-
sippi by armed mobs which defied three States and
Lad uplr In Of