The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1881-12-31
Chinese Immigration.

United states Minister to China.
In tits book, lately issued from the press, Mr..
Seward deals with the social and economical feat
urrs. Of Chinese immigration, so far as II touches
the interest Of the United States. bis views will
certainly not be acceptable 10 the people of the Pa
clnc slope, for he does not fear a vast invasion OF
Chlhese. IN lHe other naHd He otl4lSs up M
proofs TO show that they have been OF great bene-
fit TO California. he cites the railroad building,
the agricultural operations, the manufacturing
business as having been made possible only with
this labor.
sharp competition from the Eastern States has
been met only by the cheap wages of these people,
and much of the prosperity of the State is due to
IT. No one really denies this. No reasonable man
disputes it. It is the future which troubles the
thoughtful. Every man on the Western slope asks
himself the question, when shall l be driven out OF
my occupation by these skllltul, industrious
Mr.. Seward answers IL z most comfortable way.
He insists first that the Chinese are "hewers Of
wood and drawers of water" He believes that
when brought In sharp conflict with the white race,
they will fail In maintaining themselves. de cites
the opinions of many persons on this point. he
believes that If the Chinese remain long IN any
country, they will contract expensive habits, and
refuse to work for low wages. He believes their
! morals are quite equal to other peoples morals.
The complaint that they refuse to assimilate with
! Americans, he meets by saying that the Americans
refuse to let them. Our own experience here is,
that they 'assimilate so rapidly, that the natives
find themselves deprived of wives, and the young
women going to the Chinese in preference. MIR.
Seward rather intimates that John Chlnaman Will
not hesitate TO marry American women, if they
will only consent. Many pages of the book are
! devoted TO the subject OF CnlneSe ONefuO"s ne
insists that they are not an emlgratlng race II
they were, he says they would have overrun Colea,
Lew Chew, Anam, Siam and Burmah. They DO
not even swamp Formosa. Interior races, MI:
Seward claims, never move into the territory or
superior races, with the idea of settlement The
possessions of the Netherlands in the Malay Archi-
pelago, he says. are not far distant from China.
They are therefore very accessible TO the Chinese.
The Chinese are described as uniformly far suPe-
rior to the natives, intellectually and physically.
They are enabled to buy lands. In 1856, eighty per
cent. of the lands belonging to private individuals,
were in the hands of Europeans, and eighteen per
cent. Chinese owned" There are not over lUO,OOO
Chinese in Java. In Singapore, IN 1871, there were
97,lll people. OF these, the Chinese numbered
54,572. This indicates, Mr.. Seward thinks, a re-
luctance on the part of the Chinese to emigrate.
His comparison between the Malays and Chlnese
is not very comforting TO those who believe In the
divine mission of the Malays TO re-people this
Kingdom. Nine tenths of the traders now IN
Singapore are Chinese he adds. AS only a few
hundred thousand, from the several hundred mill
ions of Chinese have emlgrated, II IS a correct III
ference. Mr.. Seward says, that they are not an
emigrating people, and America has little to fear
from them, while Mr.. Stewards arguments may be
comforting to Americans, it can hardly be pleas
ant to us. If, as he thinks, the Chinese Will at
tempt 70 crowd in upon the inferior races only, We
may have something to fear. Inc rapid way II
which they are supplanting the HawaIlans IN rice
culture and taro planting, shows that their VIC
tories of peace" are by no means trultleSs. Mr.
Stewards book Is full of interesting STATISTICS, bu'
the literary execution is + faulty. The style is loose
and wordy. 1t gives, however, a presentation o.
the case, which will be interesting to those who are
concerned in this subject. The Chinese question
with us is "A different affair. If 100000 of sturdy
Americans are startled at the advent of 10000
Cinnamon, it might be supposed that the 800
over the coming of 1900 Cinnamon. That they ar
not so, may be owing to the fact that they are Ut
terly careless of the future of the country, or fee
themselves perfectly able to cope with the question
1t may be as well to notice this aspect OF the case
that if we do not settle these domestic natter
hold the mastery or we can yield it. Which shal
, we choose !