Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1879-02-25

''black death" that is now alarming the civil
lied world. When Mr.. Garrison says the
immigration of Englishmen, Irishmen.
Scotchmen, Frenchmen, Germans, and Sean
dinavians must be put on the same footing as
the Chinese Coolies, he confounds all distinc-
tons, and, Of course without intending ii, Ii
bells almost the entire white population whose
blood is inherited from the races he names.
All the immigration from Europe to-day as
Stimulates at once with its own blood on this
soil and to place the Chinese Coolies on the
same footing is 10 shut ones eyes TO all the
instincts of human nature and all the teach
ings of history.
Fourth Is il not inevitable that class of
men living in this degraded and filthy condi-
ton, and on the poorest of food. can work
for less than the American laborer is entitled
to receive for his daily toll Put the two
classes of labor side by side and the cheap
soryile labor pulls down the more manly toll
TO its level. The free white laborer never
could compete with the slave labor Of the
South. In the Chinaman the white laborer
finds only another form of servilc
competition--in some aspects more revolving
and corrupting than African slavery. Who
ever contends for the unrestricted immigration
of Chinese Coolies contends for that system
of toll which bights the prospects of the
white Notwithstanding him TO starvation
wages. killing his ambition by rendering his
struggle hopeless, and ending in Il ploddlng
and pitiable poverty. Nor is il Il truthful
answer to say that this danger is remote. Re
mote il may he for Mr.. Garrison. for Boston,
and for New England but it is instant and
pressing on the Pacific Slope. Already the
Chinese male adults on that coast are we'll
nigh as numerous as the white voters of Cali
fornia. and it is conceded that Chinese
emigrant can be placed in San Francisco for
one-half the amount required to transport
man from the Mississippi Valley to the Pa
cifc coast. and for one-thrd what it requires
for a New Yorker or New Highlander to reach
California or Oregon. The late Caleb Cush-
ing. who had carefully studied the Chinese
question ever since his mission to Picking in
1912, maintained that unless resisted by the
United States the first general famine in
China would he followed by an emigration to
California that would swamp the white race
observe that New England newspaper
especially regret that such Ignorance should
be shown in New England-says it is only "a
strip" on the Pacific that the Chinaman seeks
for a home. The Chinese are already scat
tered in three States and two adjacent Ter
ritories whose area is larger than the origi
nal thirteen colonies. California alone is
larger than New England, New York, Penn
syyania and Ohio and is capable of main
tanning vast population OF Anglo-Saxon
frcemen if we do not surrender it to Chinese
Coolies.
Fifth Before the same Committee of In
vestigation from whose report have already
quoted Mr.. Il. W. Jackson, a man of high
character, who has travelled extensively in the
East, testified that his strong belief was "that
if the Chinese felt that they were safe and had
firm footing in California they would come in
enormous numbers. because the population OF
China is practically inexhaustible." Such, in
deed is the unbroken testimony of all who are
entitled tn express an opinion. The decision of
Congress on this matter therefore becomes of
the very last importance. Had it been in IA
vor of Chinese immigration, with the encOur-
agement and protection which that would
have implied, II requires no vivid imagination
to foresee that the great slope between the
Sierras and the Pacific would become the en-
igrating ground for the Chinese Empire. So
that do not at all exaggerate when say that
on the adoption or rejection of the policy
passed upon by Congress. hangs the fate of
the Pacific Slope-whether its labor shall be
that of American freemen or servile Mongli-
ans. If Mr.. Garrisons thinks the interests of
his own countrymen, his own government.
and, in a still larger sense, the interests Of
humanity and civilization will be promoted
by giving up the Pacific to Mongolian labor,
| beg respectfully but firmly to differ from
him. There is no ground on which we are
bound tn receive them to our own detrment.
Charity is the first of Christian graces. But
Mr.. Garrison would not feel obliged to re-
ceive into his family person that would ply
sically contaminate or morally corrupt his
children. Aswith Il family so with nation;
the same instinct of selfpreservation exists, the
-. -
people, the same duty to exclude that which
is corrupting and dangerous to the republic
Sixth. The cutlery that we are violating
our treaty obligations is without any founda-
ton. The article on emigration in the treaty
has not been observed by China for single
hour since it was made. All the testimony
taken on that subiect-and it has been full
and copious-shows conclusivcly that the
entire emigration was ''under contract" that
the Coolies had been gathered together for ex-
port and gathered as agents in our Western
States would gather live stock for shipment.
A very competent witness in California,
speaking to this point says that
''On the arrival of the Chinese in Califor-
MIA they are consigned like hogs to the differ
ent Chinese companies their contracts are
vised, and the Cody commences to pay to the
companies fees to insure care if he is taken
sick and his return home dead or alive His
return is prevented until after his contract has
been entirely fulfilled. If he breaks his CON
tract the spies of the six companies hunt him
to prevent his returning to China by arrange
ments with the steamship company or their
agents in the steamship employ to prevent his
getting ticket. The agents of the steam
ship companies testified to this same fact If
ticket j. obtained for him by others he is
torcibly stopped on the day VI sailing by the
employees of the six companies, called high
binders who can always be seen guarding
the Coolies
Mr.. Joseph j. Ray, Philadelphia merchant,
long resident in China, and a close observer.
OF its emigration, says THAT 999-l000 of the
Chinese who have reached our shores were
not free agents in their coming. Files of the
Hong Kong newspapers from 1861 would sup
ply information regarding the 'barracoons' al
that port and when the system had become
too great Il scandal, their removal to Macao.
"a Portuguese colony forty miles distant, in
which 'baracoons' the Chinese, in every sense
prisoners, were retained until their shipment
to San Francisco, Callao, Havana &c. These.
called by courtesy emigrants, were collected
from within radius of two to three hundred
miles from Canton, and consisted of the alb
jectly poor, who, willingly or not, were sold
to obtain food for their familips mr. far ANN