Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1885-12-24
THE NEW REsTRICTION BILL.

Congressman Morrow's new restriction
hill, just introduced in the House of Rep
resentativeS, at first reading appears to be
comprehensive enough to cover all the
breaks and mistakes and errors of the past,
in attempting to defeat the willy Chinese
in their successful evasion of the Restric-
ton Act. 1t provides, first, that Chinese
who leave and remain away two years
shall be deemed to have permanently de-
parted and their return certificates are TO
be cancelled. The period of restriction is
to be extended to twenty years In that
time we ought to be able to fairly test the
matter, and determine if we wish the non
assimilative class to remain away from Us,
or whether we will again open the doors
to them. So far as the ten-year law is
concerned it is now practically dead let
ter it is so full of loop-holes, and so given
over to the whim and caprice of depart
ments at Washington, and the neglect and
chicane of customs officials, that it is worth
very little further consideration. Besides
50 much of the ten-year period has elapsed,
that in what remains we cannot test the
matter of exclusion with any degree of
satisfaction whatever.
The Morrow bill provides for a very
complete and exhaustive system for the
registration of Chinese applicants who
desire preliminary certificates, and
finally, return certificates The meth
cd to be adopted for the iden-
tifcation of the applicants is very elab-
crate. 1t includes the furnishing by the
applicant of four photographs of him
self of given dimensions. Three of these
are to be unmounted That on cardboard
IS to be filed away in the office of the Col
iector of the Port, one of the others is to
be pasted in the book of registry in the
midst of the description of the physical
peculiarities of the Chinaman; another is
TO be attached to the preliminary certif-
cate, and the third to the return certificate.
When a Chinaman takes preliminary GER
tiheate, and offers to board a ship or other
means OF transport out of the country, he
must surrender the document, and will
then be entitled to receive, after he is on
board, a return certificate These docu-
ments are to be made very dissimilar as
to paper, color, print, etc. They are to be
printed in both English and Chinese, and
are non-transferable, under severe penal
ties, amounting to a possible fine of 81 900,
aud imprisonment for five years
If a Chinaman goes on board ship
about to depart and offers to again land,
he must surrender his certificate, and if
the ship departs without him the certif-
cate is TO be Cancelled. No return certif-
cate is to entitle the holder-the person
deseribed-to return after two wears from
the date of departure.
All the provisions of the Act thus far
cited apply only to laborers. We have
not discovered any designation in the bill,
of who shall be deemed laboring China
mana definition that might well have
been afiirmatiyely expressed. Other than
laborers who are Chinese, and desire to de-
part and return, are to receive certificates
under the same method of identification,
and are to register as in the first instance.
in order that their certificates may not be
used as covers under which to smuggie in
the restricted class There is a careful
provision regarding Chinese laborers in
transit. There is to be no landing of such
until their bona fde character as travellers
is established, and the Treasury Depart
ment Is to make regulations to achieve
this end. The most important of the pro-
visions of the bill is that making it I'M
lawful for any ship to carry to these shores
any more Chinese passengers than one for
each fifty tons register of such vessel, from
any foreign port whatever, and severe
penalties are provided for infraction of
this clause of the proposed law.
A supplemental bill provides that the
United States Courts may appoint
Commissioners, who are to have juris-
diction in all Chinese cases arising
out of the Restriction Act, or under
claims for freedom from restraint
under the law There is given the right
20 take up n case for review TO the United
States District or Circuit Court, and from
the Judgment of either of these, an appeal