Saturday press. [volume] (Honolulu, H.I.) 1880-1885, 1881-02-05

the truth be arrived at.
|
THE new Chinese Treaty with the United |
States has particular reference to two import !
ant subjects, viz; The immigration of Chinese,
and the opium traffic.
The Articles relating to immigration are |
decidedly vague, if not incomprehensibe, and
at least contradictory. Article gives to the
United States the power to regulate, limit or
suspend immigration, but "may not absolutely !
prohibit it. " This is relative to Chinese la
borers only, whereas by Art. III, teachers,
students, merchants or from curiosity, P) to-
gether with body and household servants, may
be allowed to 20 and come Of their own free
will and accord SC" A notable feature in
the letter clause is, that there is no limit to
the number of body servants who may ac-
company so-called merchant. Chinese
gentry as rule do not travel alone, and it is
a common practice for wealthy man to have
forty or fifty retainers. Should the prohibition
clause be put into force temporarily how easy
| for them to evade il by avaiing themselves Of
the latitude given in the following article; and
who is more ready or more capable of taking
an agreement than Chinaman.
| Furthermore, the Chinese immigrant is to be
"accorded all the rights, privileges, itnmuni-
! ties and exemptions which accorded to the
! citizens aud subjects of the most favored ma
! TONS From this it may naturally be inferred
| that the Chinese immigrant when in the United
States may travel wherever his will and plea
| aura may toka hin, and may buy land t;ll tba
soil, or establish himself in business in in any
part of the States. 1t is not on the other side.
citizen of the United States, as is the case
with all other nationalities who have treaties
with China, is allowed to trade at the open ports
oniV, which are about eighteen in number, and
on no account they reside, much less do
business elsewhere, excepting they be mis-
sionares. Even these gentry are frequently
subject to illusage and rough treatment when
they venture on new field, and rarely or ever
do they obtain redress for the ignominies and
hardships to which they and their families
frequently subjected.
Art in the commercial treaty is altogether
one-sided. 1t reads thus:
Article 1.-THE Governments of China and of
the United States mutually agree and undertake
that Chinese subjects shall not be permitted to
import opium in any of the ports of the United
States and citizens of the United States shall not
be permitted to import opium into any of the open
ports of China, or to transport from one open port
to any other open port or to bny and seH opium in
any of the open ports of China. This absolute
prohibition, which extends to vessels owned by
the citizens or subjects of either Power, to
foreign vessels employed by them. or to vessels
owned by the citizens subjects of either Power,
and employed by other persons for transportation
OF opium, shall be enforced by appropriate legsla
ton the part of China and the United States,
and the benefits of the favored claims in existing
treaties shall not be claimed by the citizens or
subjects of either Power against the provisions
of this article.
The italics are ours A Chinaman may not
import the drug into the United States. A
citizen of the United States may not import,
buy or sell opium in any of the open ports of
China. Our friend the Gazette is of the opin-
ion that this is intended " to establish prece
dent for inserting a like clause in all future
treaties Now this trade is almost entirely
in the hands of British merchants, who import
direct from India to Hongkong. There, the
drug is resold to any one who likes to pur-
chase it, Hongkong being free port. 1t is
then distributed over China and is used large
ly as an article of barter for tea and silk The
American houses have hitherto had their share
of the opium trade, and have no doubt bene-
fitted by it as we'll as their neighbors. Up to
1875 nine -tenths of the carrying trade on the
Yangtsze, the Mississippi of China, was done
under the American flag. At that time. the
China Merchants Company, finding themselves
: unable to wipe out the American flag by com
, petition, did so by purchase. The entire fee;
of the Shanghai Steam Navigation Company
consisting of about twenty large steamers
under the American flag, at that date passed
: into the hands of the Chinese for the sum OF
$2,7O0,O0O. A few years previously the Amer
leans had the entire monopoly Of the river
traffic between Hohgkong and Canton. In both
cases the best paying trade was the carriage
of opium. The Chinese themselves now rear
the benefit of the exorbitant freights charged
on the transit of opium, which by the way, is
about five times as much as on any other mer-
chandise, while the American is by the new
: treaty deferred from sharing in it in any shape
This places the American at q disadvantagt
with his English, French and German rivals
1t is extremely questionable whether the Brit
u ish Government will ever submit to a simla
grow and cultivate the poppy on their owl
soil. II they, 1.-THE Chinese) could produce al
= article equal in quality to the Indian drug
they would soon cease to buy the latter, ant
y consequently the importation would decrease
" " if it did not entirely stop. 1t is very signii
y cant that the words "buy or sell are not ap
: piled to the Chinese ON American soil. 1t i
u needless to point out how easily the China
man may get all the opium he requires whe
" in the States. Until the importation of opium
into the States is rendered contraband, thi
clause may be considered dead letter as ia
: as tue Chinaman is concerned. The inferenc
: to be drawn from the whole text of the nev
Treaty is that the Chinese have got all the,
y desired, whereas the Americans have lost tn
: liberty of carrying on legitimate and profit
able trade
., The question, how best to obtain additiona