The state rights democrat. [volume] (Albany, Linn County, Oregon) 1865-1900, 1888-07-06
HARRlsoN's CHINESE RECORD.

10 cNpiain II away VIII DC ae fultle Ah tts ell
fort to explain It's own iugglery on the tariff
question
The record made by Mr.. Harrison AZ 4
meinber of the United States Senate upon
the question Of Chinese immigration be.
gins,aecordlng 10 the Congressional Record,
with the introduction BY the late Senator
]. i. Miller, during the first session of the
Forty Congress, of his original bill
restricting for twenty years the Immigra
tlon of Chinese laborers 20 the United
States. The bill,aiter being referred 10 the
committee on Foreign Relations, hy whom
d number of amendments were suggested,
came back in due time TO the Senate, y here
the amendments In question were consid
cred aerlatim.
On that offered by Senator Hoar.propos
Ing 10 admit ..skilled' Chinese laborcrs.the
vote stood ~ In favor and ~ against, ,Sena.
tor Harrison voting aye. fSee Congress.
sional Record, Vol i,part r,page I7I6.J
On Senator Hoar's amendment, providing
for the admission Of Chinese .sattlsans,n . the
vote stood 10 ayes and a noes, Harrison
voting aye. (Ibid, page i7f7l
On Senator Ingalls, motion 20 change
the proposed period OF restriction from
twenty TO ten years,the vote stood Ayes,
20 noes, II. Senator Harrison was alb.
aent,but Senator Maxey. with whom he was
palred, announced that,lt present, he would
have voted FAYE" Qbid.. page f7ss)
When the bill was finally passed, which
II did by vote Of ~ ayes To S noes, liar.
rison was again absent, and Senator Maxey,
again his "pair" announced that II pressed
he would have voted against the BILL Ibid,
page 1850
preei5snf A rthur ,,nts,ad tl,,. hstl aaa a.,
the effort made Ia the Senate 10 pass Ii
over the veto, which failed Tor want of
twothlrds majority, Senator Harrison's
vote was one of the ~ noes cast against -
ayes. Ubid, page s6I7.)
On the 18th OF April, 1852. House bill
sSo4,to restrain Chinese immigration, was
favoFably reported from the committee on
Foreign Relations by Senator Miller, the
gist of the bin iu question, az may be re-
fnembered, being about as follows:
Providing that, from and after the explE.
alton of ninety days after It's passage, the
coming OF the Chincae laborers 10 the
United States should be prohibited for a
period Of ten years that the master oiany
vessel knowingly landing any Chinese la
borer In violation Of the provisions Of the
bill should be guilty Of misdeineanor. pun
Ishablc by iine or imprisonment or both
that departing Chinese labcrers should be
registered BY the Collector OF Customs and
furnished with return certificates that any
person altering or substituting names on
such certificates, or forging the same, should
be deemed guilty OF misdemeanor and sub.
| jeeted 10 a fine not exceeding $1,000 or i'm.
prisonment for not longer than FIVE years
that neither state nor Federal courts should
admit Chinese TO citizenship, etc.
on Foreign Relations n great number of
amendments had been attached 10 Ii. The
majority Of these, being Of comparatively
little importance, were agreed 20 without
discussion, when the bill came again before
the Senate, sitting as q committee Of the
whole, bot others OF more moment were
stFennously objected To BY the California
Senators, Miller and Farley. The first OF
these was proposition 10 strike out Section
u Of the bill, which forbade any state or
Federal Court admitting Chinese TO sitizen.
shIp,and repealed all laws In conflict there.
with.
II hope" said Mr.. Farley, athat the
amendment will not be adopted. At the
/ time Il was put In the first bin know some
distinguished Senators took the ground
that there was no necessity for the proyI.
sion, because the statute already provided
for Il. But Notwithstanding that statute,
the courts have gone on naturaiizing Chi
ncse.s
The amendment was rejected In accord.
anee with Mr.. FarIcy's wish by vote ol
3 ayes TO 20 noes. But among The twenty.
six who did this much toward defeating
one of the purposes of the bill was Senatol
Harrison.
The next amendment, which proposed
TO strike out Section { OF the bill, In which
IL was specified that the words "Chsnese
laboFerss should be construed 10 near
both skilled and unskilied laborers and Chi
nese employed In mining. was also object
ed TO By the friends OF the blli,sho claimed
that, without this amendment, all Chimes
iaborcrs could readily gain admission b,
simply claiming 10 be skilled artisans
Nevertheless, the opponents Of the bill
mustered sufficient strength tonadopt the
amendment by majority OF one yotc--zs
ayes TO IS nocs-and amorg those who as
sisted was Senator Harrison.
The Senate then agreed toali the amend
menis In gross, except that striking outths
Standardization clause, already rejected
and the other defining the term "Chinest
laborers," which Senator Morgan of Ala
bama reserved,a and again moved To reject
| supporting the motion In an eloquent
speech. Before a vote was taken, however
the Senate adjourned. (See Congressional
Record. vol. I3, part 4, pages 3so4 to 327e
inclusive.l
On tho following day, April 26, 1882, the
1 Senate resumed the consideration of the
bill lsec Congressional Rccord, 4 9Th session
vol. I3, part 4, page 33oS,) the pending
question being on concurring in the amend
ment made as In committee of the. whole
striking out the fifteenth section OF the bill
defining the meaning of"Chinese laborers.'
No action was taken, however, though there
was an earnest and lengthy discussion, In
which Senator Farley found himself com.
reilcd to defend the bill against the savage
assaults Of the Republican Senators Ed
munds, Dawes and ingalls,.
| Senator Edmunds Immediately offered
an amendment TO the clause providing
that "Chinese laborcrs" should mean per-
sons usually engaged In manual labor.T
also failed Of passage by vote OF IS noes
to ~ ayes, Senator Harrison's vote being,
OF course, among the latter
| Mr.. Edmunds then moved another
amendment, intended to defeat the purpose
of the Standardization clause, which also
failed Of adoption. Senator Harrison was
one of the sixteen who voted in favor of It,
against twenty-five negatives.
The bill was then passed by vote of 81
to IS, Harrison's vote being among the lat
ter. He also went out of his way to explain,
during the progress of the vote That If Sen
ator Sewell,who was absent, had been pres
eut,hc would have voted in the negative.
i