The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1882-07-08
How the Chinese get Wives in Foreign
Lands.

The Sydney Noyning Herald has the
following on certain curious revelations
as to ways that are dark which have
recently been made in New South Wales:
4" Two or three authenticated com
munications which we have published
recently reveal a state of affairs in con
nectiOn with Chinese marriages in these
colonies which should not be permitted
to escape public notice In one of these
communications the writer Mr. J. c.
Kirby, mentions several instances which
came under his notice of Cinnamon pur-
chasing European girls as wives, and
adds: had many Chinese under my
observation for years and / believe that
they often purchase in this way An
other correspondent Mr.. W. L. Lisson.
expresses his cOnvic tion that Mr.. Kirby's
statements are correct in every particu-
lar, and also states that he has known
several instances. both in this colony
and in Victoria, in which European par
ents have bartered their daughters TO
Chinese merchants and other Chinese !
for certain sums Of money, the girl be- /
ing, in each case, an unwilling party, |
and the result an unhappy marriage |
Quite recently the alleged shooting of a /
Chinese stOrekeeper by his European
wife was said by the wife to have been
t.
The testimony of the members of the
police force who have had experience in
Chinese localities, both in the city and
country, Is to the effect that the pur-
chasing system Is very general, and that
by the Chinese themselves it is regarded
as a matter of course, being merely a
perpetuatiOn of the comm on custom of
their own country. 1t is iIconceivable,
however, that the authorities here will
tolerate the existence of such Il custom
among our own population. 1t would be
a terrible blot upon our civilization tina
barter in flesh and blood should be pS1
mitted unchecked, and that the sar StJ
and civil rite of marriage should
avOwedly reduced to the level of
mereial bargain, even amongst linn,
section of the community. The lawhOlS
CARDS marriage as such Il serious under
taking that the parties cannot, even of
their own accord, be disunited, and the
greatest obstacles are placed Isl the way
% CisseSe -Wha would wish TO throw off
the bonds of SS.H0ck y young girl
welded to a Chinaman - doomed to be
his wife and his property for life, for
(subiect 10 the usual forms of divOrce) no
power on earth can annul the bargain if I
the husband chooses to insist upon it,
and thus il l.. we are assured. that many
Of the wives of Cinnamon rapidly sink
into much lower moral depth than
hat which they entered by their mer-
nary marriages. Perhaps one effec-
VI method Of check would be an enact
ment that would make parents punish
able for the forced marriages of young
girls under age, especially where
the object has been To make money out
of such contracts. The Chinese and de
praved and avariciOus parents of Euro
pean girls would know then that the
bargain would be an insecure one. The
subject Is one that closely affects the
social condition of a section of the COM
munity and merits the attention of the
authorities both Of Church and State
The suggestion TO make punishable
any coercion into marriage by parents
Of girls under age might have a far
wider effect than the prevention of sales
of girls to Chinese. Advanced thinkers
have brought forward during the last
century many propositions for revolu-
tionising social customs, but this is per-
haps one of the boldest and furthest
reaching of any that has been put forth.