Year: 1859

Mr. Streets bill, which we noticed yester-
day, is likely to call forth considerable dis
cussion at the hands of the press. The Alta
takes the following view of it:


Mr., Street. of Shasta has introduced bill
in the Assembly to prevent Chinese or Mon
golians from working the gold mines. The
bill provides that no person belonging to
either of these races shall, after certain
date, be allowed "to work. OF by any mining
process, abstract, or take gold from the cold
mines in this State" under penalty of fine
and imprisonment 1t was hoped that the
decision recently rendered by the Supreme
Court, declaring the law of 1858, prohibiting
the immigration Of Chinese, unconstitutional
would have the effect of putting stop to all
further absurd and lliberal legislation on this
subject but it seems that such is not to be
the case When will legislators learn to
raise their thoughts from the narrow sphere
in which they move, and view the questions
which may be submitted for their considera-
tion in broad, catholic and progressive
spirit. 1t is only six months since great and
important concessions have been wrung from
the Chinese government. 1t is only six
months since China has been opened to the
trade and travel of the civilized world 1t is
only six months since permission was given
to the great powers to send representatives
to Pekin and yet, though California, of all
other parts of the world, is calculated to en-
Joy the greatest benefits from these great and
important political changes, we find one of
our legislators introducing bill in the AS
sembly which has for its object the expulsion
Of the Chinese from the mines, and the estab-
lishment of policy which, for illiberality
and exclusiveness, can find no parallel any
where but among semicivilized Oriental ma
tons. What does Mr.. Street propose to do
with the Chinese? There are at least 4O, 900
of them in the State-where is he going to
drive them to?


The immediate effect of such bill would
be to precipitate the whole of them on the
cities, to die of starvation. The bill provides
that on and after a certain date "no person or
persons of the Chinese or Mongolian races
shall work, or, by any mining process, alb
stract or take gold from the gold
mines of this State" The only construc-
tion which can be placed on this section, is
that they shall neither work in the mines for
their own benefit nor for others, and the
effect, of course, would be to drive them all
from the interior How would the represen-
tatlves from the mining districts feel ifa
member from San Francisco should introduce





in the business of washing shirts, or fishing
in the bay for crabs and small fryH What
owl of indignation would be raised What
choice epi!hets would be applied to San
Francisco and San Franciseans2 But such
bill would not differ in principle from that
of which Mr.. Street is the reputed author
Mining is the chief avocation of the hinese
in the interior, Just as washing dirty clothes
and catching fish constitute their chief en-
ployment in the cities Excluding the Chi
nese from the mines would be thousand
times more Objectionable than the placing of
prohibition upon their further immigration,
for the latter would only prevent an increase
in their numbers, while the former would
deprive those who are here, or who may
hereafter come here, of all means of employ
ment If Mr. Streets proposition should be
received with favor in Sacramento, we shall
not be in the least surprised if all the sump-
tuary laws, blue laws and Legislative absur-
dities generally, that ever disgraced any
nation or people, should be re6nacted by the
Legislature of California.