Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1879-07-25
An Important Decision.

ers aSainst the Guy OF portland, was\
a suit in equity for injunction, lately
disposed of in the United States Cir
cult Court. This may be consider
ed of some importance as test case.
In the opinion rendered by Judge
Deadly, the demurrer was sustained
and the restriction vacated. The
decision evidently rests upon two
fundamental propositions involved in
treaty duly entered into between
the United States and the Chinese
government. The text of these pro-
positions is as follows: First, "The
right to reside in foreign country
implies the right to labor there
for a living" and secondly, CA State
has no right to interfere with Or in
any way limit the operation of a
treaty of the United States" Now
according to the treaty in question,
the Chinese have right to reside
within the jurisdiction of the United
States and to ,bor here for a living.
This right is extended to the Chinese
race just as it is extended to the peo-
pie who come within our borders
from England or any of the coun-
tries of continental Europe. From
what has been said, then, it follows
that the law enacted mt the last ses- 4
sion of the Oregon Legislature is OF \
no force and becomes as a blank
upon the statute books. The object
of the bill, as originally introduced,
is to debar Chinese laborers from be.
ing employed upon the public works
of the State. In word, the law
contemplated the discouraging of
Chinese immigration to the State and
hence virtually disqualified them as
laborers in the public service. The
complainants, Baker g. Co., repre-
sent that they have taken a con-
tract to improve the streets of the
city of Portland, and that they will
be damaged in the sum of one thou.
sand dollars if restrained by the
Cooley Act from employing China
men to perform the work they have
obligated themselves to do.
Hence it will be seen by this sud-
den turn of events, that Oregon leg
islation is placed in q novel and pc.
culiar light, and one which will tax
high excellence of legal attainment
to reconcile with all the existing
facts and circumstances. We leave
it to those who have had more exs
perience in the intricacies of legisla]
ton to divine what the end will be.
But the difficulty as it crops out
on the Pacific coast, is not the whole
sum and substance of the vexed mat
ter. Senator Slater's bill in Con-
gress comes in point-blank hostility
with the first proposition as above
quoted, the gist of which appears,
on careful inspection, to be none
other than sort OF foregone con-
clusion in common law. If foreign
ers of any nationality whatever have
the right to live here, they bring
with them the implied right to gain
a livelihood. But if they are to be
restricted in one instance, who is to
say what or where shall be the last
restriction?
Our revolutionary fathers main
tanned that the right TO impose one
restriction implied the right to i'm
pose hundred restrictions. JUS
tice Field has decided that John
may keep his queue, even though
incarcerated for crime, and now, if
he is going to escape the clutches
of State legislation, it were far the
better way to make him citizen at
once.
FROM the accounts given in the
Portland papers. the " Printers Pic =.
bic" from that city to Vancouver, ~
last, must have been a
brilliant affair. The Erening Iele-
yram estimates that fully two thou
sand persons participated in the ex-