Speech #520046342

That does not at all conflict with what I have stated. I shall read some of the sections. When the bill came before the Committee on Foreign Relations it was fairly considered. and it was deemed best on the whole by that committee. without division of opinion. that instead of passing this very severe measure. some of the provisions of which might probably be tolerated and some of the provisions of which ought not to be as we thought inserted in any law of the United States. a better way to deal with this question would be to postpone action upon the bill practically and to provide for the continuance of the present regulations restricting Chinese immigration for a period of ten years. When the report was made it was assumed as a matter of course upon the face of the act of 1882 that the existing law would expire on the 6th of May. 1892. Afterwards. it is true. upon further examination of the law of 1884 and of the amendments that have been made to it there was an opinion prevailing with some Senators. with many Senators I may say. that the present restrictions on Chinese immigration would not expire until 1894. and therefore that there was no special hurry for action upon this matter. But I admit that if there is a doubt about this point. if the Senator from Oregon may be right that the act of 1884 does not extend the time for ten years after the passage of that act. we ought not. in the face of the possibility that the courts of the United States would take a different view of the law and construe the act of 1884 as simply a repetition of the law of 1882. that doubt ought not to be disregarded. If there is a fair doubt on that subjebt this or some measure in regard to continuing existing restrictions on Chinese immigration ought to pass. It was in that view that the Committee on Foreign Relations. adopting the ideas suggested by the Senator from Oregon. reported as a substitute for the House bill. a bill it had previouly agreed to. to extend the present laws. with some additional provisions. ten years from the 6th of May. 1892. The amendment suggested by the Committee on Foreign Relations is very short. and I will simply name its provision.