Wa K formerly a member of the y to the United States, Chinese Embassy Spain and Peru, writes as follows on the Chinese emigration question. This letter has a prominent place in the Huw Pao of Ast April:
What is the cause of the opposition to the Chinese in the United States? I reply, the Irish. The Irish are natives of one ut the British Isles, they 4 i and idle, and generally very poor. there was a great demand for labour to open the new country, the Irish flowed to America as water seeks " lower level; they neither traded nor tilled the earth for themselves, but lived by hiring out their Inbour to employers. They found Chinese already on the ground and as Chinese la-hour was cheap, and Irish dear, Chinese labourers mild and tractable, and Trish la-hourers independent and unmanageable, the capitalists and rich people of America preferred to engage the Chinese to work for them, The Irish labourers observing that the Chinese were earning a living and enriching themselves to a certain extent, while they themselves, arriving in ever increasing numbers, found it hard to feed and clothe themselves, proceeded from envy and dislike to open violence, and robbery and murder of Chinese began to be quite frequent.
The reasons why, as is often stated, Chinese cannot become attached to America are the following. Irish immigrants to that country become citizens of it, while Chinese rewarn under the Chinese flag, The Southern party of America have a strong sympathy with the Irish, and the-Chinese labourers moreover by the mere fact of fur Northern employers earn the hatred of this powerful Southern friction.
Ju 1881 I was with our Minister Cheng at Washington, when the laws against Chinese immigration were just commencing. Their first originater was a Southern statesmen, named Beecher(), and at first, although he had obtained adherents very rapidly, there were still many opposed to his view Our Minister Cheng spoke both officially and unofficially on the subject, losing no opportunity of laying his views before Amertean statesmen and others. General Hancock of New York, a man of grent justice and integrity, was opposed to the prevention of Chinese immigration, and our minister made great efforts to secure him asa friend in the camp, judging that he would prove a valuable auxiliary in silencing the opposing voices of the anti-Chinese party at Washington, At this time, by the Minis ter's directions, I brought out my Dialogue on the Chinese Emigration Question, with its twelve difficulties and our proposed solution; showing that Chinese immigration did them no harm. at all, while its prohibition would cause great harm tous. The Minister Cheng approved of my observations and often adduced them in argument, continuing strenuously to support our eattse. Th President was then a Northerner, in his heart by no means opposed to Chinese immigration, but unable to declare his real opinions publicly. There were many debates on the subject in Congress without conclusion being arrived at, but what was now proposed was no longer the total prohibition of Chinese immigration, as at first, but its restriction.
Restriction meant that the Chinese residents in America were not to be expelled, and might visit China and return to the States, but that their number was not to be increased from China. When this was agreed to, Minister Cheng went to Peru; but the following year was attacked by paralysis, and returned to the States for medical treatment. I remained in Peru, Back again at Washington, our Minister took up the claims of our peuple who had een attacked. or murdered, in California, with ardour; but just about that time a Southerner became President, and the total exclusionist party became very powerful again. mit was now laid for us to swallow; a great increase in the indemnity if we could agree to total prohibition of Chinese immigration. Our Envoy repulsed this bait, and the question of the indemnity hung on unsettled while the time drew nigh for the Envoy's return to China, Our opponents now tonk advantage of the weakening of our position caused by the advent of a new representative, to hold out the bait again. The Imperial Government, however, whose piercing vision reaches to tens of thousands of Li irom Peking, com-iterated its poor subjects so far away in a forciyn land, and finally refused to consent to what was asked of us; but the U.S. Govermnent proclaimed the total prohibition as law, without our consent, la a way
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.