Year: 1870

Siimulants.


One of the most difficult and important
public questions that any country was ever
called upon to deal with, is that which is be-
ginning to present itself to the government
and people of the United States, in the shape
of Chinese immigration, or coolie Importation,
as it is sometimes called. Political dema-
gogues will treat it from one point of view;
manufacturing and railroad companies and all
vino employ laborers on large scale will look
upon it as a remedy from the evils Of trade
combinations and strikes; the industrial
classes will regard it as direct attack upon
their means of subsistence, and Christian
moralists will see danger to the religion and
morality of the people in this insweeping
wave of Cinnamon, who care nothing for
politics, little for religion or morality, but
who are patient, Industrious and thrifty, and
seek only employment and its rewards.


For some ten or fifteen years past we have
had Cinnamon on the Pacific coast, first as
adventurous miners, and afterwards as rail-
road laborers, agriculturists, factory hands
and domestic servants. Since the opening
of the Pacific Railroad they have commenced
to spread eastward and southwark, until now
they are found displacing the negroes on
Louisiana and Texas plantations, the Sons of
St. Crispin in Massachusetts shoe factories
and the ruddy daughters OF the green island
in New Jersey laundries. We may soon look
to see them building our ships and houses,
digging our canals, driving our city railroad
cars and occupying every department of labor
where they can be made available as cheap
workmen and as an assurance to capital
against trade combinations and strikes.


1t will thus be seen that the Chinese ques-
ton interests all classes of the community
and every grade of society, from the highest
to the lowest, because there is absolutely no
limit to the supply of Oriental laborers, except
the capacity Of ships and railroads to trans
port them. The constantly occurring Difficult
ties between employers and employed are
stimulating, and will continue to stimulate,
capitalists to resort to China for laborers that
will be more tractable and easily managed
and the inducements held out by agents in
China will swell the flood of immigration from





ubiquitous throughout the United States as
the natives Of Germany or Ireland Whether
this will prove blessing or curse to the
country, or whether it will prove to be little
of both, it will be for time and experience to
determine. In the meantime it is well to
learn all that we can Of the habits, tastes and
dispositions Of a people that is TO form such
an important element Of our population. With
that view we give to- day an extended analysis
OF a book about to be issued on China and the
Chinese, and which embodies the observations
made and information acquired by practical
| American who has recently returned from that
| part of the world. 1t will be found to present
an accurate and highly interesting picture Of
the average Chinaman of the emgrating class,
| of his social habits, his religious and moral
| ideas, his tastes and dispositions, and of the
| motives which induce him to seek employ
ment and comparative wealth in the United
States. II also shows the origin and develop
ment Of the coolie trade or emigration, and
furnishes statistical information of the extent
to which that trade is growing, the opinion of
the author being tina. it will go on doubling
itself every year. AS we have said, the subject
is most important one, and the extracts
which we give from the book referred to will
throw much light upon it.


A BAD SIGN.-They had thirteen deaths
from yellow fever in New Orleans on Monday
last. We fear that the city is getting dirty
again and that it wants another such over
hauling as that which General Butler gave il
during the war. He gave it cleaning which,
followed up from year to year, kept out the
yellow fever as an epidemic for seven years,
Cleanliness Of all things and of all places Is