0th Dec.
Tux importance of some of tive telegrams from Aimerican papers that we published yesterday may possibly have escaped observation. Under date London, 23rd November, it was stated that Lord Rosebery had complained to Peking of the refusal of Auchaos, or duty-free asses, to grain shipped to Peking by ritish vessels, while they were being granted to grain shipped by the China merchants' steamers.. As we mentioned at the time, the right to equal treatment was claimed under the American treaty and the favoured nation clause, the Chinese. government replying that the United, States had broken the treaty with China, and that therefore the right had. lapsed. Our contention was and still is, that when a nation having a treaty with China gains another xight-by means of the favoured native clause that right becomes by virtue of the clause practically a part of the first nation's original treaty, and can only be withdrawn as a consequence of some action on the part of the first nation. Lord Rosebery, however, seems -to have gone back to the treaty of 1856, or 1858, but under which article the right is claimed is not stated. 'l'bis, however, is not the point: to which we wish to draw attention this morning; it is the Contention of the Chinese that the much more important matter of the
United States by passing the recent Chinese Exclusion v ed their treaty with China so seriously, that it is to be regarded as no Jonger valid. The telegram dated Washington, 23rd Novewber, says that this contention had come as a surprise to the U.S. Depart ment of State, which had only heard amore or less' casually that the Chivesa government regarded the passage of the Exclusion Act as a violation of the treaty provisions, while as far as was known at the Department the treaty of 1880 between the United States and China is still in force. But, we learn, the Department. of State is greatly worried over the Geary Chinese Exclusion Act. That Act. requires that every Chinese in the United States shall, under penalty of deportation, register himself before the 1st of May next.. Not a single Chinese in the States has applied to register himself, and the "blanks" or forms which the Comnuissioner of Interval Revenue has had prepared for the law lie all unused on the shelf. "Some of the State Department believe," we are told, "that the word has come from some one high in authority in Chinese affairs to the Chinese Six Companies, and through them to the laundryman and other Chinese residents of the United States, fo resist the law, with the promise é¢kat immunity will be secured through diplomatic agents of the Chinese Government," The State Department people rho believe ¢éis are undoubtedly right. "Dhe word has gone forth from the: Six Companies to all the Chinese in the States that they are not to register, and as soon as.an.attempt is made. by, the US: government to.put the Geary Act in force, the Chinese government will be in a position to denounce the 1880 treaty with the United States. The first prosecution under the, Geary Act wil! be followed by an appeal to the Supreme Court on the question of the constitutionality of the Act... The Si Companies in San Francisco. made public last September a letter in which they gave the grounds on which their lawyers believed it to be uncoustitutional. ''heir_ reasoning. is con-vineing; but if the Supreme Court should be able to declare the act.constitutional, and it should be then carried out, the Chinese government. must denounce the treaty, for it is impossible that the Geary Act, can ce-exist with a treaty which' says. that "Chinese la-hourers who are now in the United States shall be allowed to go and come of their own free will and accord, and shall beaccordedall, the rights, privileges, immunities, and exemptions which are accorded tothecitizensandsubjectsof the most favoured nations." The Chinese government might have protested against the Act, and. threatened to denounce the treaty if the Act were, enforced, but it appears that they. thought it better to wait and see if the Act would be put. in force, and the persecution of the Chinese in the States begun accordingly; while the State Department must have known perfectly well that. this would probably be the result of passing b the Act. In fact, Senator Sherman and Representative. Hitt pointed out to Congress, when the Act was under discussion that it, was a plain violation of the existing treaty with China.
If it was the intention, as we understand it was, of the Peking government to act thus deliberately in the matter, their hand has been forced by Lord Rosebery's demands in the affair of the huchoos, ad they appear to have represented that they.consider the American treaty already invalid. If this is definitely understood, the Chinese vernment will no doubt declare its willingness to make another treaty with the United States, byt United States citizens in China must be somewhat anxious as to what their position here will be. The Chinese government may be trusted not to, treat Americans. in China as Chinese are, to be treated in the States, but Pekivg will probably not be disposed to, give Americas the same privileges, a3_it gives to citizens of countries that do not exclude Chinese. It is most probable, however, that the solution of the iffienlty will be found in the declaration of the Supreme Court that the Geary Act-is unconstitutional. If recourse to" the Supreme Court fails, there, should be some interesting developments at Peking next year, for if the Chinese goyermuent once begin to denounce or revise treaties, there is no predicting where they will stop;, aud_neither the United. States nor any nther Power seetas likely to go to war with China forthe integrity of the existing treaties, which the Chinese government may say were made, under peculiar circumstances, and' when they were not in, a position to appreciate what they were doing. It is not likely, however, that' our government will accept any reduction of the privileges we now possess, as. Great. Britain has done nothing that can be construed into a. violation of her treaties with China. cee
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.