Speech #500003076

Mr. President. whatever doubts may have existed heretofore in any unprejudiced American mind in reference to the imperative necessity and absolute propriety of some plain. unambiguous. and positive provision. either by treaty or legislative enactment. whereby all Chinese persons of whatever citizenship. save and except perhaps government officials. should be forever excluded from entering this country. whether here formerly or not. should. by the history of Chinese affairs on the Pacific coast for the past three years. as well also as by the alarming increase of the arrivals of various classes of undesirable immigration at all our principal ports during the same period. be forever dissipated. African slavery was a curse from the beginning. a dark blot on the Constitution. a detested stainon our statutebook. a constantly threatenig cloud in our national firmament for a period of more than half a century. The speculative benefits it promised fed the cupidity and avarice of men.