Speech #470036835

Notwithstanding the fact on their first arrival they take advantage of our Sundayschools. and of all the avenues opened to them by the Christian people of that coast. they do so for the sole purpose of becoming familiar with our language so that they may trade and traffic and amass sufficient money to enable them to return to China. When they attain some proficiency in our language they immediately abandon the Christian churches and the Christian religion. and turn their knowledge thus attained to worldly accounts. It is sworn in this testimony. and not denied. that the class of men whose immigration this bill seeks to restrict have in no instance that can be found been converted to Christianity. so that the most devoted friend of Chinese immigration can say that the person was a converted Christian. I make the challenge openly for any gentleman to find one instance in this whole volume where one of that class of persons denominated 11coolies "-which means the lower class of day laborershas been converted to Christianity. although they have been with our people ever since 1850 1 believe. Upon this point I submit some small part of the testimony which I have gathered in my researches. I read now from the examination of Mr. King. on page 115. The testimony I am about to read was given under crossexamination . and I will state to those who have not had occasion to examine this volume that on the Pacific coast an organization known as the "Six Chinese Companies" are engaged in procuring the lower class of Chinese laborers. known as coolies. to sell themselves in China into a sort of slavery. and transporting them to this country. where the amount which was necessary to pay the sum named in their contract made in China is worked out by them as slaves. for I can use no other term that sufficiently describes it.