The Nelson Evening Mail. THURSDAY, AUGUST 17, 1871.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VI, Issue 194, 17 August 1871, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. THURSDAY, AUGUST 17, 1871.

The swarms of Chinese that have of late poured iuto the province of Otago have attracted the attention of the press in the southern portion of the colony, and their advent is cot hailed wiLh unmixed satisfaction, as will be gathered from the following extracts from Otago papers. The Southland News thus comments upon it : — " There is no time to lose in deliberation; the Chinese have be^uu to move liitherward, and are likely soon to | pour in by thousands to occupy the mining districts, and, as the experience of [ America has shown, to compete in many branches of industry with the European settlers. According to the Loudon Spectator, selfishness 'is the main strength of the cry against the cheap lubor of the Chinese.' So it is ; hut is it an unjustiQable selfishness ? Have the colonists no right to oppose the incursion of foreigners who will undermine the very foundations of society by mnking the maintenance of many laborers' families an impossible task ? The philanthrophy that would coucede equal rights to all comers may seem beautiful in theory, but in practice there appears but too much reason to fear that it may lead to fatal results." The Cromwell Argus . has also taken alarm at the large proportions, the immigration from China has assumed. It sa y g : — " We do not wish to be alarmists but we cannot help giving expression to our opinion that very serious consequences will result from this swamping of our goldfields by these Mongolian hordes." The Tuape/ta Times, on the osher hand, takes an entirely different view of the matter, and writes as follows : — " So far as our experience of the Tuapeka district is concerned, we do not think the Chinamen have done harm. On the contrary, they have unearthed the golden treasure from ground that the European miner would not have touched for vnauy years hence. They have shown an amount of energy and organisation which we would like to see copied by our own countrymen. They have in the Tuapeka district given as much us £180 for a ten-acre leasehold paddock in order to extract the gold from it. One of our storekeepers informed, us the other day that he calculates every Chinaman who passed through Lawrence was as good as £2 in hi 3 pocket. These are a few of the benefits conferred upon the country by the Chinese, not to speak of the indirect taxation they sharo alike with the European, and the capitation money they will represent in the respective provinces under the Government Financial Scheme." The foregoing extracts may very fairly be taken as representing the two sides of the question from a commercial point of view, and, as will have been seen, the conclusions arrived at are entirely opposite ones. If looked at in this light only, we are rather inclined to agree with the Tuapeka Times that Chinese immigration will not do much harm. It is well known that the members of that race are hardworking, industrious mcD, ready and willing to turn their hand to anything; that they make most successful miners, and really excellent servantsin any capacity whatever, It has been said of them by one who was well acquainted with, their,.. character .that " from, :djggiiig in, : a..mj&e, ,tG»cqoking $p omelette, and J Washing J a-sh!rf, G '4liey 'cat; make* eWflFto^do'Hnosti things by which 1

money can be gained. As a small number amongst a: European population >/the Chinese would be comparatively unobjecj tionable, and Very useful. Hop Chang would keep a laundry, Chi Hi go out as cook, and Cum Sicg officiate as a sort of maid. of all work. Supple and. patient, these yellow men, though but weak in frame, are eager for any kind of work; but they prefer (he employment of women to that of men, delighting in aa engagement to wash clothes, to nurse babies, and to wait on guests." So far then, a limited number of Chinese scattered through the colony would prove rather an acquisition than otherwise, but the matter assumes a more serious aspect when they make their appearance in hundreds and thousands, and it then becomes necessary to look at it in all its phases; not to view it in a mere money light, but to see how it may affect our social and political life. With regard to the first of these, it is well known that a shipload of Chinese consists solely of mcD, and it needs no argument to show that, when a country is inundated by a distinct class of human beings, of one sex, who, so long as they continue to live there, remain, either from choice or compulsion, in a completely isolated state, immorality of the grossest and most objectionable description must of necessity prevail to such an extent that no civilised people cau view it without horror and dismay. Besides this, there are numerous objections to the Chinamen even wheu placed in the most favorable of circumstances.' Australian experience of his character has shown that petty theft and larceny possess irresistible attractious for him, that he is an adept at cheating in its most refined intricate branches, and that he is not averse to occasionally turning his hand to a little mild murder in the shape of infanticide. KnowiDg all this beforehand, we should, on moral aud social grounds, hesitate to encourage the immigration of any large number of- these Celestials. Politically too, we see danger ahead if ISTew Zealand is to be overrun by these men. Johu Chinaman, if we are to believe Mr. Bret Harte, who evidently knows something of his character, is no fool, and he will not be slow in observing the great advantage that would accrue to him by having a share in the Government of the country. We may, therefore, expect in the course of time to find the electoral rolls teeming with Sing Songs, Chop Chows, and numerous other names of an equally euphonious nature, the consequence possibly being that the curious medley of Europeans and Maoris that is now to be found in our legislative chamber will assume a still moro motley hue by the addition to its number, of the yellowskinned " Chinee." It would scarcely be acceptable to a British people that the Government of the day should owe its position to the combined action of a " cave " composed of Maoris and Chinamen, but we may live to c see the day when such an event will occur, unless some meaDS are adopted for at least checking, if not stopping entirely, the tide of immigration that has set in from China. The matter will no doubt be brought before the Assembly, and we hope to, find it earnestly and thoroughly;discussed by the representatives of the people. ;• ,

Perseverance Company:.— - The office of Mr. Mabin,! the Legal Manager of the abo^e Company, was fairly rushed this mqrmngl bjr smilingrflhareEolders desirous of bbtafning a*glimplse of the very attractive looking cakes of gold brought over by (he Lady Barkly this morning, the total , weight of which is 3000z5., the produce of 250 tons of quartz. We should like to see the excitement renewed at intervals of not more than a fortnight. Fatal Accident at Inangaht/a. — While two men were engaged on Thursday last in putting in a blast in a tunuel at Anderson's reef, the powder, by some accident, exploded, killing one of them, and blinding the other. Mr. Brown, oue of the party to whom the claim belongs, volunteered to take the wounded man down the river to the Hospital at Westport, but in passing over one of the falls, the canoe, in which they were, upset, and Brown was quickly lost sight of aud drowned, while the blinded man, although wrapped up in blankets and heavy clothing, reached the shore in safety. Football. — We learn that a letter has been received from the Secretary of the Wellington . Football Club in which he states that they are unable to get together a team to come over to Nelson while the Assembly is in session, but they hope to pay our town a visit about the beginning of the summer. At the same time they express an earnest wish that the Nelsonians should pay a visit to the Empire City during the session, and play a friendly game. Our players, it is said, contemplate accepting the challenge, should a sufficient number be able to go over in about a month's time. As a preparatory game, au alphabetical match will be played in the Botanical Gardens on Saturday afternoon. We ( Marlborough Express) regret to hear that the Eev. Mr. Sherriffe met with au accident on Monday morning last. It appears that he was doing something in the hay-loft, when he slipped down the trap-door to the floor beneath, where he lay for a short time iusensible, having sustained a slight concussion of the brain. We learn that he has considerably recovered, and will be well enough to conduct service on Sunday.