Year: 1869

The two Chinese merchants Of San Fran.
cisco, Choy Chew, and Sing Man. now on
a visit to New York are receiving great at
tention i'll that city. Although the board
of aldermen have not yet got up grand
entertainment at the public expense, in
honor of the distinguished visitors, a news
paper reporter has interviewed" one of
them, and makes the following report


Reporter.-What class of people, Mr.
Ch0y Chew, are those who imnirrate here
from China


Choy Chow.-Well, you cannot desig-
nate them as class, for there are no class,
ea III CHINA IN the sense you use the term.
There are different ranks, it Is true but.
taken as a whole, the Chinese are essenti
ally democratic, and the class of people
who come to San Francisco from there are
of very varied occupations. You might
certainly call them poor class, by reason
OF the little means they have when they
land In America, bnt they are rich in man
nal resources In one shipload of Chinese
that comes into the bay OF San Francisco
YOU will find more variety OF manual skill
than among any other equal crowd of I'M
mlgiItnta You will find men Of all trades
and occupations, but owing to the proiu-
nice against them IN California, many of
those who could c1ceii in different hanli





ers on the railroads. Of course the sea-
board cities of China supply the omigra-
tion stream just now, but [ have no doubt
the agricultural districts will farnish a
! large quota when we succeed in raising
some Of the products Of China in the val
legs Of California. Tea can be grown in
California. A company Of Japanese are al
ready engaged: in raising the tea plant, and
When it IL seen how successful. they are
sura to be, Cinnamon of capital will enter
the business extensively. Here you see at
once la another great prospect in the flu
ture Of California Silk Will be the next
experiment, and if it pays, the practical
sense of our people will prompt them to
extend their field Of operations on this con-
tinent.


Reporter.-Do your people land penni-
less in San Francisco ?


Ohoy- Chew. w.-Almost. II cost the Chi
naman much more to reach America than
! it does your Irish Or German emf
grant and yet | suppose a great
many of the latter land penniiess also; but
perhaps the Chinaman has the best pros
poets before him in this respect, that the
benevolence Of his countrymen prompted
! them to establish such societies as look
after the emigrant when he lands and pro-
vides him with the means of living until
he hnds employment.


Reporter. amount of truth is
there in the statements that Chinese are
imported into California by some of their
wealthy countrymen and held in q kind of
slavery, being forced to give their earn
ings to their masters, and allowed but
enough to live on.


Choy- Chew could never discover the
existence of such system, and our people,
you may rest assured, would be the last
to tolerate it. This is what has given rise
to the story Cinnamon are aided to en-
migrate by their richer countrymen in San
Francisco. 70 requite this aid they are
asked to devote SO much of their current
earnings as they can reasonably spare. No
Chinaman, to my knowledge, has ever ne
elected to pay debt of this nature. They
are scrupnlously faithful in discharging it.
No necessity exists to exact bond from
upon the punctual payment of their week
ly installments as a sacred duty. But
there is nothing of that sort of thing to
which you allude unless it be carried on
outside of my observation, and that would
be difficult, considering my acquaintance
with our people. IF the system prevailed
it would be impossible that we should
avoid knowing it, The victims of such
quasi slavery would be sure to mako
their wrongs known to us, and with rs
everything concerning the welfare of our
countrymen is of interest


Reporter. What have you most reason
to complain of in the treatment extended
your countrymen by the people of Cali
fornia


Choy- Chew.-As far as am personally
concerned have no reason to complain.
Americans have treated me with more than
T
guest at their houses, and in my business
relations have uniformly met with candor
and courtesy. l have watched the rise
and progress of California with almost
more of enthusiastic interest than if [ were
a native. It's future and the future of the
great country of which it is a part dazzle
my conception. With freedom and the
equality of man stamped in words of living
light upon its broad escutcheon there are
no visible bounds to the greatness for
which America is destined My great
hope is to live and see my native land
leavened by the energy and progressive
spirit Of this nation. l admire your in
stitutions giving, as they do, such ample
scope and encouragement to the develop
ment of individual power. My country
men are not SO dull but that they can ap
preciate the causes that have made this re-
public what it is. Were they within the
pale of citizenship, acquainted with the
language Of the country and resolved npon
coming here to stay, America would not
have any more orderly and industrious
class of citizens. In the second OF third
generation from now the character OF our
people would undergo a change.


The children OF the men V no aic now
here will grow up without being under the
weight and influence of two thousanl
years Of tradition; they will grow up
among the institutions of a conntTy alto
gether new to their fathers, will be taught
at your common schools and will, of
course, imbibe an activity of Intellect not
specially characteristic Of Cinnamon gen
orally they will, it is to be supposed. take
part in politics, and it may yet come to
pass that gentleman with Chinese name
may fill the Office of President of the re-
public. In regard to the treatment of our
people generally, l must say it has not
been Of the best, but [ exonerate Aneri
cans from the charge of cruelty, though
not from that of legalized injustice towards
the poor Iaborng Chinese. The Irishman
wonld not treat the Chinaman as he does
if it were not for the mischievvls poll
ticians that mislead him. Some OF these
demagogues appeal in the worst possible
terms to the passions of an Irish crowd,