The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1883-04-07
THE PACIFIC
SATURDAY.

Chinese passengers, has been n surprise TO
the community and awakens some serious
reflections. y supply Of labor Tor Planta-
ton work at "A moderate price Is certainly
one of the most pressing requirements OF
this country. There Is every reason to
believe that the wants Of our planters, in
this respect, may be met by this spontane-
Gus immigration. According to their own
expressed opinions, Chinese labor is decid-
edly i'm favor among our planters y ma
iority Of them did, we believe, not longago,
give the preference, all things being con-
sfdered, to this class Of labOTeTs, and
acknowledged that the Chinaman had
proved himself n useful plantation hand in
some or other Of the capacities in which lie
had been employed. An abundant supply
of Chinese Iaborers will therefore, from u
business point Of view, be acceptable to- AL
empIoyers-even to those whose actual
preference is for men of another race. On
the face Of things therefore it might be up
posed that the country should rejoice to see
this immigration 1t is apparently the
very thing that is needed to maintain the
~country's prosperity. While the Govern
ment has been with much trouble, and at
much expense, and at considerable inter
walls, bringing in Iaborers by hundreds, a
few Chinese spectators whip their men up
bv thousands and tumble them all in upon
us within a few weeks. Ought we not to
be exceedingly grateful to spectators?
There are, no doubt; some people here
we should not like to hazard a guess as to
how many-who will, in their own minds,
answer his question in the Affirmative.
There are but few who will do so out
spokenly. Our planters are as a rule afraid
to be thought DESTROYS of increasing the
already large Chinese population of the
isIands by inducing more labOrers OF that
race to come here This is not because of
any dislike TO the race-that is a sentiment
which can be readily got over when the in
terest of n mans pocket clashes with it, 1t
is an anxious feeling as to what they will
think of it in America, that restrained our
planters from openly advocating the impor-
tation of Chinese Iaborers and from urging
the Government to undertake it as a ma
tfonaI scheme. How far those who are thus
afraid openly to avow their real sentiments
on the matter have secretly favored and
induced the immigration of which the adj
vance guard has just reached us, it is
impossible to tell and it would, no doubt,
be equally impossible to find out. Such an
immigration as we are now threatened with
could not have been planned and prepared
for in haste, or without the project being
well known to many persons here. Yet,
such has been the secTesy with which the
whole of the arrangements have been made
that the affair comes upon US with the sud-
denness of a thunderelap. From men who
can keep their own counsel in this way we
are not likely to learn anything about the
true iuwardness of this scheme, which, all
Mt once, and without warning, precipitates
some thousands of Chinese males upon the
community.
The sting and danger of the thing IS in
the word we rave italicised- We do not
want, and we cannot do with, a horde Of
male immigrants of any race, much less of
this nationality, of which we have already
such an excessive proportion of males IN
the community. Looked at from thisp point
OF view, this renewed Chinese immigration
is a depIorabIe thing, no matter how many
of our planters may be benefited by it.
We cannot, with any semblance of justice,
say to these men: You shall not land,
because YOU are all of one sex" The right
to send them all back again to whence they
came, or to whatever place, other than this,
they choose to go, no doubt belongs to us
as an independent nation. But when we
K NV that by our own ~inaction we have
left it to be inferred that there was no him
drance to anyOne's landing and staying
here who did not behave himself unseemly,
or bring disease with him, how can we sud
denly invoke the dormant right to set up
such hindranee? This tide of immigration
has set i'm upon us, aud we cannot honestly
lift a hand to stay it. 1t is high time, how
ever, that some warning were put forth
that we will no longer allow swarms of
males to enter this country unaccompanied
by their women folk.
There is a further grave question to face
I'm connection with this affair. How far
are we justified in allowing any more
Chinese, except the wives of men already
here. to come into the country? Evidently,
thew are ready to come and fill up every
available space in which a living can be
earned. Is his a desirable thing? And if
not. have we got the pluck to stop it?
There are very few persons in this commu-
nitv. outside of the Chinese themselves, who
will venture to say that they see no objec-
tion to this influx of Chinese. The almost
universal opinion of Hawaiians, and of the
other foreigners, is adverse to- it. And, to-
the cogent reasons for this opinion founded
on local circumstances, and the peculiaTi-
ties of the invading race, we must add that
other which we have already spoken of as
50 strong i'm its influence on our planters,
viz: "what will they think of it in
America ?"
Before passing from the consideration of
this subject it may be we'll to state briefly
the aetuaI facts Of the case. The immigra-
ton of Iaborers to these islands from Can
ton and Hongkong was stopped some time
ago by the respective governments of those
places. No notice has appeared in the pub
lie prints in China, or elsewhere, that this
embargo has been taken off, neither (as we
learn from inquiry has the Government of
this country had any intimation of such a
change of policy. Entirely unexpectedly
the steamer Glenelg puts in an appearance
with $50 Chinese on board, almost wholly
drnwn from the Province of Canton. but