Year: 1859




Ep1roR NATIONAL DEMocaAr This being
considered vital question for our young
State, hold it the duty ofinteligent citizens
tu make it the object of some serious rehec-
tions.


Our Supreme Court having decided that
we cannot hinder the Chinese from coming to
this country, we are compelled to receive
them and to provide, to some degree at least
for their subsistence.


Allowing other foreigners TO work our
mines, it may, nay, must be unconstitutional
to drive the Chinese away from them. We
have however, 1 understand, the right to
tax foreign miners and may have the right
to impose still higher taxes on those we con-
slider Of a lower species of the human race,
and therefore not able to become American
citizens Admitting rights of this kind, can
see no difficulty in applying them to the
Chinese population For some time at least
such law may help fill the empty treasures
of some poor counties; but believe that the
Chinese will soon try to find more conven-
lent and lucrative occupation. This occupa-
ton we may offer them in our large quanti-
ties of uncultivated and unclaimed lands for
the raising of silk hemp, tobacco, cotton,
coffee, rice, sugar, tea, etc, and we may even
go so far as to free them during ten years
from oil taxes whatever, for the culture of
those partly foreign products exclusively.
They may find it suitable TO embark in en-
terprises of this or some other kind, and
thus soon leave mining, where their expenses
may be more in proportion to their wages.
These are things we may offer them as
equivalent for our imposing upon them with
higher mining tuxes, and SO then also act
more in accordance with our own republican
free institutions.


Having thus mentioned what we could do,
1 will now also try to say what believe we
should do. When last year the Fraser river
excitement took suddenly away from this
country a certain portion Of our mining pop
ulation, we, at least many of us, were less
sorry to see the Chinese still amongst us, as
we were anxious before or after that excite
ment, to get rid of them. Ifit is the Chinese
who carry our gold to Asia, or the French,
Germans, English and others to Europe, it
certainly makes no material difference to
American citizens. Miners as general
thing. mostly leave this country as soon as
they are in possession of a certain amount of
gold, and few of them, in proportion to the
large number amongst u.s. make California
their permanent home.


That our mines cannot be worked out
within perhaps hundred years from now ;
that to certain larger mining enterprises we
may soon usefully employ cheaper and less
intelligent hands, and that Chinese generally
are only in possession of and are satisfied with
our poorer dggings, canDot be denied by all
those acquainted with our mining localities
That California could easily contain a popu-
lation of over six millions of inhabitants and
by its actual number of about three hundred
thousand only, has certainly nothing to fear
from twenty thousand modest Chinese labor
ers, may be reasonably admitted that the
Chinese population can in 10 way hinder the
immigration of white people and that they
meanwhile are of great advantage not only
to our treasury, but also to our property
holders, steamboat and stage owners dray-
men, tealnsters, merchants, mechanics and
even stock owners and farmers cannot be seri-
ously denied and that these of our citizens
deserve not less the sympathy of our legisla-
tors as our should be-law abiding miners, may
be reasonably admitted. That the Chinese
may be considered an unenlightened nation
or even lower human species, may be the
ease, but that our own race, some centuries
ago. was also not sc very enlightened. may
be charitable, not entire to forget and that
intellectual writer's treat with little les
contempt the laborers and members of a
great empire to whom, at great expense and
pomp we send Ambassadors to beg for trea-
ties and commercial intercourse, may be at
least accordant with propriety. l will not
intrude any longer upon the columns of your
paper, and in concluding my remarks submit
them to the kind consideration of more com
petent judges. ". NJ.