Selfpreservation is the first law of nations as well as of nature. and we used it. As I said. the Chinese question is not new. we have hadit here very often. and proceeding somewhat to the second branch. I lay down this principle. that so far as my vote is concerned I will not admit a man to immigration to this countrythat I am not willing to place on the basis of a citizen. Let me repeat that. We ought not to admit in this country of universal suffrage the immigration of a great people. great in numbers. whom we ourselves declare are utterly unfit to become citizens. What do we say on that point? In the Senate of the United States on the 4th day of July. 1870. a patriotic day. we were amending the naturalization laws. We had made all the negroes of the United States voters practically. at least we had said they should not be deprived of suffrage by reason of race or color. We had admitted them all. and we then amended the naturalization laws so that the entleman from Africa himself could become a citizen of the United tates. and an immigrant from Africa tomorrow. from the coast of Guinea or Suegambia. can be naturalized and made an American citizen. Then Senator Trumbull moved to add: Or persons born in the Chinese empire. He said: I have offered this amendment so as to bring the distinct question before the Senate whether they will vote to naturalize persons from Africa and vate to refuse to naturalize those who come from China. I ask fortheyeas and nays onmy amendment. The yeas and nays were as follows on the question of whether we -would ever admit a Chinaman to become an American citizen.
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