The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1879-02-19
The Chinese Bill.
The COlluquy Bet~een Senators Blaine
and Hamlin.

The Congressional Record brings the follow
ing report of the discussion between Senators
Blaine and Hamln on the Chinese bill:
Mr.. Blaine-Mr. President, in the remarks
of the honorable Senator from Ohio (Mr. Mat
thsws) YESTERDAY, he intimated that the gov
ernmeut of ,he Uuited States had solicited the
last treaty with China now under consideration.
think that IS inst tue Few rse of the historic
fact. What is known as the Rsed treaty with
China had given to the merchants of thu Unit ted
States and to those who desired to trade with
China all the facilities they desred, and the
treaty known the Burlngsme treaty was
certainly asked in the most impressive manner
by Chinese embassy from our government.
rbe eminent gentleman who b I'd gone to China
as our minister had transferred his services to
the Chinese Empire, and he returned to as at
the head of a special embassy with great pres
tge from China, with very great number of
friends at home, and was able to do what per-
hsps no other man then living could have done
for Oh na Hs was generally spoken of dur ng
his life time ss q stnmpspeaker. He has been
ten years IN his grave, and | desire here and
now 10 referring 10 him to say that he was a
mad OF great address and great ability ,aDd that
he showed it in placing himself IN the position
he did in relation 10 the Chinese Empire
and Influencing US to do as we did as his re.
quest
The subject divides itself naturally into two
psrts, ole of form and one of great subs taDce.
The one of fo N is whether we may rghtf1lly
adopt this mode OF terminating the treaty, for
after all it relates to form The second aid
grsver question l. whether II is desirabl. to ex-
clude Cnlnese immigration from this country.
l maintain that the latter clause of that
trraty has been persistently violated from the
derstood at the time to have been penned spec
i4ilv b. Mr.. Seward:
"The high contracting parties therefore join in re-
probatDg any other hau an eDtir,ly voluntary emf
gratiJn tor these purposes
Nov, am 90 d b7 hose no are much more
familiar WI b this subject than am that there
Is potce at the State Department that Coins
ever complied with that provision to make q
law; aud suppose that when nation IN a
treaty agrees TO make q law 1t agrees TO enforce
it. The treaty stands broken aud detied by
China from the hour it was made until this
time. 1t never has been Complied with. We
lad to lesisls,e against IT,: We legislated
against it in the Cody las The Chinese were
SO fl .grsbtly and so palD4bly violating it that
statutes Of the Uuited States were enacted to
It has gone on, prob y not so grossly since
those laws re ga seo ~ before, but in effect
The same. So hat all the point the Senator
makes about our Panic faith in attempting to
break this treaty is answered by the fact that
the treaty has beer broken by the other power
continuously.
am told by those who are familiar with the
commercial affairs of the Pacific side that per-
sou can be 81 mt from any of the great Chinese
ports to San FRANCISCO for something over $50.
| suppose iu an emIgrant train over the Pacific
railroad from OnahA, not to speak of the ex-
pense of reach ng Omaha, but from that PUNT
slone, it woulu cot $50 per head, and that
would be cheap railtoad fare as things go 10
this country. So that 10 point Of practicable
i,y-ln point of getting tbere-ths Cbin4man
to-day has an advantage over an American la
bOrer in any part o! the coun ry, except In the
Case Of those who are already on the Pacific
coast.
Ought we to exclude them? The question
lies in my mind thus: either the Angio-saxon
race Will possess the Pacific slope or the
Mongolians will possess it They are them
selves to-day establishing steamship lines; they
are themselves to day providing the means of
transportation; and when gentlemen say that
we ad init i'm MIGRANTS from all other countries,
where do YOU find the sghte parallel? Aud
10 a Republic especiails, 10 any government
tbat maintains itself, the unit of order and of
administration is IN the family. The iDmi
grants that cone to US from all portions of the
Brit SO Isles, from Germany, from wedeD,
from Norway, from Denmark, from France,
from Spaio, from Italy, come here with the
idea of the family are much engraveu on their
minds aud in their customs and in their habits
as we nave 1t. Tie Asiatic cannot go on with
our population and make HOMOGENEOUS
element The idea of compsring European
immigration with an Immigration that has no
regard to family, that does not recognize the
relation of husband and wife, that does Dot OBJ
serve the tie of parent and child, and does not
have in the slightest degree the enn0bling
and the civiliziog Influences of the hearth
-tone aud the fireside! Why when gentlemen
talK loosely about emigration from European
States as coptrssIed W tn that, they Certainly
are forgetting history aud forgetting them
selves.
NV honorable colleague [Nr. II .mliu] and
F., hr Senator from Wisconsin Mr.. How. voted
tn at the Chius sman ought Lot to be a citizen of
this couutry, voted that he ought not to become
voter 10 this country: think the Chnsman
iu California, if be is 10 be forced upon as 10
great numbers, would be SAFER rs voter,
dan gerous as that would be, than as political
pasiah
Mr. Howe-Why not apply that remedy?
Mr. Bane-I am talking about u choice Of
evils.
TO be answered # there is-wbo is willing to
+sy that under the operation of the Burliogsme
treaty as it is now running, u the Cal nese
come iu and occupy the three Pacific States to
he exclusion of the whites, tbey have the
right to do t under this government; or rather
hat We would be right 10 permitting them to
dou? l will repeat nv question: Should we
br justified sitting i'll bere IN The adm,nistra-
ZION of this government and perm'tting the
treaty and the il immigration which II allows to
go forward until those three Staes should bs
overriddeu by that population? That is what
ask every Senator.
Mr. H4mhn-lf my colleague wants an
answer, will give hum one for myself.
Mr.. B B'sipe-I do.
Mr. Hamlin-When the sky falls we shall
catch larks. That is an old adage. The
statistics will show that in the last thirty
years the immigration hence from China has
K eeded a little four thousaod year.
Mr.. Blaine-Still my honorable colleague is
evadIDe the question, not answering it,
Mr.. Hamlla-l aD not going to evade 1t. 1
4 OF uea atiOn shall ariaa. and Il
will state to my coll sague how would meet 1t
when it shall arise. 1t has not arisen now.
When the time shall come that become satis-
fed that the population OF Cnina VIII overrun
our country, aud there sh al be danger Or I'M
minent peril from that immigration, will join
with my colleague 10 sOrOgatiug all treaties
with them; not one single little paragraph OF
treaty, while We ask them to MAINTAIN " 1n1ts
integrity for all the commercial advantages
that that treaty bsstows upon as and all the
protection that that treaty gives US to the
right of trial by jury under our own laws. |
Will not meet It by al attemOt to abrogate q
treaty upon q little point while we are the
ornefcisres in the great and substantial
points. l am as ind II 7reut TO all the danger
hat shall come away down into the stilluess OF
ages from the immigration Of the Chinese.
Treat them, 1 will not say Ike psgans, because
Coufucius would shame us If We go to MS
counsei-treat them Ike Christians, and they
will become good A nerican citiz5ns. lap
plause 10 the galleries,
Mr. Blaine-I do not justify the brutality OF
the ,restnsut OF those Coinese WOO are n-re'
,t is greatly to be regretted; 1t is greatly to os
co ude % ned; but you must deal with th'ng gs ss
YOU fiud them. If you foresee conflict upon
that coast by reason of an immieraton that
calls for the interpcsition OF the military,
thiuk it is good deal cheaper aud more direct
way to avoid the trouble By preventing the i'm
migration
| have heard good deal about their cheap
LABOR You cannot have the wealthy classes 10
a republic where suffrage is universal, legislate
10 what is called the interest Of cneaO labor.
Labor should not oe cheap aud it should DOT %
dear; it should have its share and ", ii have Us
share. There is not la0crer 90 the Pacnc
coast today, [ say that to my honorable co.,
ieague-whose whole life has been CONSISTENT
AMI uniform in defence and advocacy Of the
laboring classes there is not laborlOg man
ou the Pacific cos-t today who does not 11el
wou udpd and grieved and crushed by the com
petition that comes FROM this source. When
sou tell me that the ChioamAn driving out the
fres American ,aborer ouly proves the SUPERIOR
ity of the ChinamaD, L ask you, did the
african slave labor driving out tht free white
labor from South prove the superiority OF slave
labor? The condiCiots are not uDl ke; the
o.reliel is not complete and yet it Is pa ellrl.
IL il seville labor; it ia labor that COMES here
under mortgage. 1t is labor that comes here
60 subsist on what the American labor cannot