The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1882-01-13
Senator MiIler's Chinese Bill.

WASHINGTON, January At Is learned
from private letters received here that one
of the main objections urged against Senator
Miller's Chinese bill by members of the San
Francisco Trades Assembly is that it pro-
poses to permit the Chinese now in this
country TO remain here, and to return to the
United States if they SO desire after they
leave the land aud reside temporarily else
where. The bill provides that all Chinese
who were residents of the United States on
the 10Th day of last July, when the treaty
was ratified, shall have the right to 60 and
come at their pleasure IL they are properly
registered and furnished with specified GER
tifcates from our collectors of customs, but
granting this exemption from Its proprietary
clause, the bill simply conforms to the ex-
press stipulations of the treaty, and II is per-
fectly clear, therefore, that this objection is
made either In ignorance or defiance of the
treaty provisions under which every bill for
the restriction of Chinese immigration must
necessarily be framed. IL Is stated Miller
remarks with reference to other and more
intelligent criticisms of his m. asure and also
its method of determining what individual
Chinese are entitled TO- yfdm's-.~-. as mer-
chants, travellers. or members of other ex.
eme.taa .i..s, that while he will be very glad
to receive suggestions he does not yet SEE
how any better system can be devised than
that which his bill proposes. After speaking
of the very marked division of classes in
China and the low estimate in which the la
boring class Is there held by all those who
are socially above it, and especially by the
governing class, he calls attention to the fact
that bis bill provides that no Chinese subject
shall be allowed to enter our jurisdiction
without an Individual certificate to be spe-
cially obtained in each case from the Chinese
government, fully identifying the holder and
setting forth infinitely that he belongs to q
cert ain one of the exempted classes. The
certificate will not be accepted, however, as
sufficient permission for the Chinese to land
In the United States, unless its genuineness
and the truth of the facts therein stated and
identity of persons named shall be attested
after due examination Of witnesses or other
wise by our consul at the port of departure.
Moreover, If any Chinaman gains admssio
TO the United States by false or fraudulent
certificate, he is to be expelled, and all per-
sons aiding or abetting his entry are subject
TO heavy fine and Imprisonment. Now Mil
Ter believes that these very provisions which
have been most criticized are in fact the
strongest features of the bill. In the first
place il is to be noted that each permission
and certificate must be obtained from the
Imperial Government, the term Chinese Gov
ernment being purposely employed in order
to make the certificate to issue from foreign
office like an American passport which can
be obtained only from the State Department
at Washington, and in view Of the difficulty
and expense of gaining access to or attention
from the Pekin authorities, 1t is believed
that very few Chinese of the better class,
and probably no coolies whatever, will be
able TO obtain the prescribed permission.
The Senator also remarks in this connection
that the Chinese government In all such
cases will be put upon its honor to see that
no certificate Is issued to any one who does
not belong to one of the exempted classes,
and this may properly be considered an addi-
tional guard. He calls attention in the next
place to the absolute veto power which the
bill confers upon our consuls in regard TO
these certificates of the Chinese government
and says In reply to the suggestion of the
.l~sa rF thie that IN
is evident some such responsibility must be
placed upon some class of officers, and If The
consuls do not perform their duty they can
most readily be removed by instantaneous re-
call, or kept In check by the simple methods
of supervisory inspection.