Speech #450035396

I move to strike out "HongKong." Mr. Chairman. in the debate on Monday the gentleman from California made the following remarks: I do notwish to Interruptthe gentleman. but Ifind frem a letterof the American consul at HongKong that he there charges anti receives a twodollar fee for each emigrant to the United States. Now. the statistics of the customhouse at San Francisco show that from one hundred and fifty to two hundred thousand Chinese have come to San Francisco within that time. At that rate he must have received fees amounting to nearly $400000. and I want to knew if any report has been made showing that those fees have been paid into the Treasury. I wish. in answer to that remark of the gentleman from California. to say that no consul has ever charged $2 on each emigrant. In 1862 the Congress of the United States passed a law requiring before any American vessel could take emigrants from China to this country theyshould receive a certificate from the consul that the emigration was voluntary in its character. The consul at HongKong. Mr. Isaac A. Allen. charged the sum of fifty cents for each emigrant and he ineluded in his certificate just as many emigrants as there might be on the vessel. lie put into his pocket the difference between what hereceived and $2 which he credited to the Government. Mr. T. H. Bailey. who was appointed to succeed him. when he arrived out there. wrote to the State Department and made it acquainted with the facts. He said it was impossible to discharge the duties of the office in that way and asked the privilege of employing new inspectors. one American and one Chinese. to examine these emigants to ascertain whether they were voluntary emigrants or were eing transported as ooles had been in times gone by. The State Department authorized this to be done. and since that time Mr. Bailey has charged the sum of twentyfive cents for each emigrant and has carried every single cent to the credit of the Government save what was necessary to pay the two inspectors. His accounts show that state of facts. Then again. instead of two hundred thousand Chinese the average is only from eight thousand to ten thousand a year since Mr. Bailey went there. He charges twentyfive cents for each emigrant and every dollar received has been put into the United States Treasury except. as I have already said. what has been necessary to pay the inspectors whom he was authorized to employ.