Speech #530009364

The bill reported by me early in the session from the Committee on Foreign Relations provided "That all laws now in force regulating the coming into this country of Chinese persons and persons of Chinese descent are hereby continued in force for a period of ten years from the passage of this act." That continues the Scott law. Even if that law should be repealed now. the injustice which was done to many of the Chinese who were out on certificates could not be remedied. The bill reported by the committee. and which was adopted as a substitute for the House bill. also provided in section 2: "That any Chinese person or person of Chinese descent. when convicted and adjudged under any of said laws to be not lawfully entitled to be or remain in the United States. shall be removed from the United States to China. unless he or they shall make it appear to the justice. judge. or commissioner before whom he or they are tried that he or they are subjects or citizens of some other country. in which case he or they shall be removed from the United States to such country." It tnen provided that if a tax or license is required of such Chinaman before he can enter such other country he shall be deported to China. The third section provided that a Chinese person arrested for being unlawfully in the country should have the affirmative to establish his right to remain. The only amendment of that section by the conference report is the insertion of the words "or the acts hereby extended." so that the first clause of section 3 will read: "Toat any Chinese person or person of Chinese descent arrested under the provisions of this act or the acts hereby extended." etc. That was an omission in the draft of the section. and it was very properly inserted. The fourth section provided that when a Chinese person. after being convicted and deported from this country. returned and was againconvicted. before he was again deported he should be punished by imprisonment for not exceeding six months. That has been amended so as to provide that any Chinese person who comes into this country in violation of the law may be punished not exceeding one year by imprisonment before he is deported. leaving it to the discretion of the court whether it shall be a month or a year. or a day or a year. The reason for that is that the punishment for a violation of the law by Chinese laborers seeking to enter now is very inadequate. It is simply that the Chinaman shall be deported from the country without cost to him. at the expense of the United States. and that he shall be taken back to China. There may be cases. undoubtedly have been cases. and would be cases if the law is not changed. in which a Chinese person simply crosses the line. comes into the United States from Canada for the purpose of being sent back to China at the expense of the United States. It will be seen that that Is a very inadequate penalty. and the committee of conference thought best to change the section so as to provide that a Chinese laborer might be imprisoned for the first violation.