Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-01-20

iects, although it might favor their temporary
emigration for purposes of gain.
'sLITTLE JOKER" DETECTED.
Article 4th of the Chinese draft reads as
follows:
Article ". The lini atoms to be placed
upon the immigration of Chinese laborers
will be temporary in their nature. The num-
Der of Immigrants allowed by the regulations
will not be excessively small, nor the term of
years excessively long. Such regulations will
apply only to Chinese laborers at work for
and employed by American citizens. All
other classes may go and come to and from
the State of California, and their servants
and employees, whether accompanying them
or following them, shall not be included in
the limiting regulations.
This it will be seen, was shrewdly calcu-
lated by the Celestiais to open wide the door
for the immigration of their countrymen.
Our Commissioners detected the thttle
joker" and obtained its modification, as
shown in Article l of the accepted treaty.
MISTAKEN IDEA CORRECTED.
Articles and of the Chinese draft are
those which gave rise to the somewhat widely
diffused idea that any legislation by Congress
on treaty points must be submitted to the
approval of the Chinese authorities before
taking effect. They are as follows:
Article V. The Government of the United
States will prepare regulations in the spirit
of the foregoing articles and communicate
them to the Chinese Minister at Washington
for his consideration. If there are points in
such regulations which need modification,
they will be brought by the Chinese Minister
at Washington to the notice of the Secretary
of State and be adjusted. TIE Chinese For
eign Office may also bring such points
to the notice of the United
States Minister in Picking and adjust
them in concert with him to the end of
! securing mutual advantage and avoiding
injury to either party, and thereafter such
regulations will go iuto effect.
Article VII. After the two Governments
shall have agreed upon the terms of this
treaty, copies of the regulations to be put in
force under it will be prepared and signed
sealed and exchanged between the respective
Plenipotentiaries. They viii go into effect
only upon their ratification by the two Gov
ernments.
Article VI. is omitted, as it refers only to
the formality of exchanging copies of the
treaties, etc.
CHINESE PERTINACITY.
These modest propositions of the Chinese
Commissioners produced long and tedious
contest. The Chinese held strongly to the
position o.taken, and it was only when the
approach of winter threatened to cut off Gem
munication with the sea coast, and our Com
missioners announced their determination to
Iaava 1.,;tbo,+ covoIuJ;po +ba;, ,,-o,I- +Lo+
the Chinese finally receded on the accordance
of the provision named in the last article of
the treaty as concluded. This gives the
Chinese Minister the right to call the atten-
! ton of the Secretary Of State to any matter
of legislative enactment which he may think
bears hardly upon his countrymen, who will
consider the subject. In other words, the
Chinese authorities simply reserved the right
| to growl, and as that il natural and indie
| feasible right, the Commissioners concluded
that If it would do their opponents any
good to formally acknowledge it, by
all means give them that satisfaction.
1t will be seen, by comparing the
above quoted articles with the provisions of
the treaty as enacted. how widely apart were
the views of our own Commissioners and
those OF the Chinese Government. and from
this it may be inferred how difficult was the
work of harmouizing the conflicting interests
The main hold which our Commissioners had
upon the Chinese was the opium question
and the commercial treaty. That was ques.
ton of but little interest to US. bat of the
first Importance to them, and it was used as
a lever to move them to our desires.
Mr.. Swift dwelt strongly upon the fact
that the treaty, as finally concluded, was the
very greatest concession that could be OBJ.
tanned from China, and that to reject it
would be to place ourselves in a worse
position than before. Every point in
our favor had been made by hard fight
ing. He called attention particularly
to the fact that a treaty bears very much the
same relation to the regulations to be made
By virtue of it that Constitution does to the
statutes that it IS necessarily general in its
nature, and is designed simply to leave the
way clear for Congressional action. This
the present treaty does, and it is all it can or
should do It now rests with Congress t. de-
wise and put in force such regulations as
will carry out the wishes of the people. If
they fail to do that, it is not the fauls of the
treaty or those who negotiated it.