Speech #500101716

It will he very easy under these cooly contracts to bring in hundreds of thousands more if you do not check this cooly trade. it will be very easy for them to have ill these men under their control. and they will be able to sway. if the American people submit to it. the political destiny of the Pacific coast. lam no alarmist. but I propose to review this question calmly. We reviewed the position calmly and the question was discussed as thoroughly as any question ever was. and it was decided by the Republican party. That was the party that stood by to prevent the naturalization of Chinese. New England came to the rescue. Every Northern State and the whole Republican party. with a few exceptions. when this thing was explainedthat these Chinese were a lower race and that they would be dangerous to our civilizationdecided in 1870 that they should not be naturalized. Then what followed? Mr. Sargent in the House and the Senate and others offered several bills. some of which became laws. for the purpose of preventing the importation of coolies. I did the same thing. The bills were to prohibit the importation of coolies under these Chinese contracts. This was before any alarm was raised on the part of the people. before any political issue was formed upon it. but the Republicans in California. Oregon. and Nevada were opposed to this new slave traffic and labored to defeat it. The Burlingame treaty had been made. The Republican party of this country did not wish to violate that treaty. nor did the Democratic party. After the coming of Chinese was showh to be an unmixed and intolerable evil. bills were introduced by Republicans from the Pacific coast in both Houses to restrict Chinese immigration. The Republican party was reluctant to legislate in violation of the treaty. They did pass a law. however. for the purpose of restricting Chinese immigration. which President Hayes vetoed on the ground that it was in violation of treaty obligations. and that a new treaty was the proper remedy. The Republican party thet undertook to meet the evil in a legitimate. straightforward manner. They made a treaty in 1880 which was supposed to be ample to prevent further Chinese immigration. They again passed a bill to prohibit Chinese immigration in 1882. in pursuance of this treaty. which was vetoed by President Arthur for the reason that it violated the treaty. Another bill was immediately passed. which met the Presidents objections and became a law. The Chinese. however. evaded the law by various devices and were coming in more rapidly than before. literally invading the Pacific coast. and they continue to evade our laws up to this date.