Los Angeles herald., 1892-11-28
SHALL WE SUBMIT TO DHFIANCEq

A few days since, taking a statement
in the up-country papers as true, that a
flock of three hundred Chinese had
registered, in spite of the Six Com
panies, we concluded that these were
the dUant-courriers of a general stampede
of Mongolians to comply with the law.
We now learn that there is much con-
Germ in Washington at the seeming de.
termination of the Chinese in the coun'
try not to register. This would seem to
cast doubt on the report from San Fran
cisco, and confirm our previous under
standing that the attitude of the Chinese
towards registration was in consonance
with the instructions issued by the Six
Companies.
The Geary bill requires that ali
Chinese in the United States shall
register at certain date. The time is
rapidly approaching when the limita-
tion will expire and the law will be in
full force. The alternative of the law is
that those Chinese who come under its
operation and are not registered shall be
sent back to China. The authorities at
Washington are perplexed at the magni-
tude OF the job they will have on their
hands if the Chinese generally preserve
their present attitude and refuse to
register.
1t is believed that the Chinese gov
ernment is in some way behind this
general attitude of its subjects in this
country, and that Ii Hung Chang hopes
by diplomacy to nullify an act of con-
gress. OF course such q thing is impos-
sible, and we shall see upon the meet
ing of congress whether there is the
slightest chance that the law will be
modified as the Six Companies hope it
will be.
The defiant attitude of the Chinese
towards this law will be apt to make
the people of the United States unit
for its enforcement. If this is followed
by an attempt of the Chinese govern
ment to interfere with our right to leg
islate upon this subject there will arise
a still stronger sentiment in favor of it's
enforcement than would perhaps exist
without such interference. Nothing is
better established in the law of nations
than that every country has the right
to admit or exclude, as it sees fit, any
or all aliens. 1t has also the right to
determine conditions, in permitting any
class of aliens to live within it's borders,
hxyrv t,,n
violation OF any of it's laws. We have
seen that the Chinese exclusion act has
been systematically violated, and that
Chinese have been gmuggled into the
country from every point. To make the
exclusion law as complete in its oper-
alton as possible, we have been forced
to require those in the country, and who
have right to live in it, to identify
themselves by registration.
We have certainly the right to pro-
tect ourselves from the smuggling into
the country Of excluded aliens by whole
sale as has been the case. 1t is i'm
practicable to establish complete pa
troll of our two land boundaries, reach
ing a distance OF several thousand miles,
and it is impossible to close every blight,
inlet and bay along our coasts to the
successful smuggling OF derelict Asiatics
into the country. In order, therefore, to
prevent systematic and continued viola
tion of law in existence the Geary bill
became a necessary measure of legisla-
tion. We did not ask China for leave to
pass it; we shall not care whether she
likes its enforcement or not.
The registration of Chinese is q regu-
lation that is no more onerous upon
them than the passport system in
Europe is upon visiting foreigners. 1t
is regulation found necessary to en-
force law which every government has
the right to enact.
If the great bulk of the Chinese in
this country refuse to register they must
be ready to accept the alternative of de-
portation to their own country. 1t will
perhaps be big job to send all the re-
calcitrant Mongolans back to China,
bat it would be far better to do go than
for our country to confess its weakness
by permitting its laws to be openly de.
fed?
If 1T be true that Mr.. Blaine ia really