The Evening Mail WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE NEW ZEALAND AGRICULTURIST. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 1879.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 876, 5 February 1879, Page 2

The Evening Mail WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE NEW ZEALAND AGRICULTURIST. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 1879.

An exceedingly well-written pamphlet Iri!* reached us, purporting to bo tIW joint ,„•(>(luetion of three wetWcnown and uoalthy Chinese merchants, long resident in the chief city of the neighboring tJolony of Victoria. As a contribution to tho controversy raging with so much vehemence in the various CoUuwes at the (laiffunt time,. fcho publication of this hmckwri' it* most oppcatusw, and such of our c.(immunity as tUmiru to' form a jtwfc and impartial view of thfo *** ed question sWoutd carefully study th« littl® *orfc before iw. Not that they will find much that U either profound uv novel in the

cm* w ptrt by sach co»p<rt«Bt witness**, for tit* fact* are already «sffic£cntfy notorious i brrt amidat m> much senseless strife and popntar clamor, soch * brief, but navwrtnefass comprehensive statement of tfi« easts deserves mor» than » passing Iim»*««»- WJtheot committing ourselves, therefor*, to th* views so forcibly placed ' befote as by tMs triumvirate. to will «o- ----; dwnrov to> ttxamitM th« case from the «- 'clasivety Cbißese stand-point, divesting ; ourselves of alt party feeling as far ast is possible-, and leaving oar ceiwtet* ttr form their own conclusions. The pamphlet begins with a retrospect of the diplomatic action of th«> fUdtish- government culminating in the treaty of I**2. The Celestial Empire up to- this period wiw sacred soil, and the Children of the Sun were content that it should be s<->. By *' force of arm;*," howevpr, Km\t- Britain " extorted from the ♦ fovemmpnt of IVfe-in" a treaty tfvm-wing ' oppn certain of the Chinese ports to western commerce and Kwmpean civilisation. This and snbsoptent extensions of thp- treaty were not. only rtnsotieited by Chin;*., out wi'tp "forced" upon her, and those treaties, be it remembered, cuiiceded reciprocal rights to- the inhabitants ■of China. The British fJo-veroment. by the same instruments, conceded the right to the Chinese of free ingress and egress in common with other nations, to any part of ffer Majesty's dominions. Wo have thus the ease put trpon the bast* of a treaty obligation. Hence followed the emigration of Chinese tf> these colonies. ~TTiey had a perfect right to emigrate ! hither—a right which they maintain can only bo withdrawn by an act of gross repudiation which wowtd be a disgrace t« British diplomacy and an injustice to Chinas. VV«> do not wish to. lessen the force of such art overwhelming and unanswerable argument, but the pamphlet does not stop here. These Chinese merchants allege that our missionaries taught fcheru that " O'd had made of one hlooil alt nations of men," and simitar " beautiful precepts" from owr Holy Scriptures. They found, moreover, the same " beautiful precepts" taught by their own " Great Teachers " Confucius and 3lencins ; and tints reiving, not only upon the treaty obligations of Great Britain, but upon the moral teachings of her missionaries.the children of the Fl'oweryL-indwent forth-to aid the colonisation of the great continent of Australia, friendly treatment and even-handed! British protection being " sotemnty guaranteed*' by Her Britannic Majesty. But what followed? They altege that their countrymen were '"frugal, laborious, patient, docile, and persevering. " Some twenty-five years ago, however, much to their "disappointment, astonishment, and sorrow," the diggers on the ♦Hen.s GoldtkdiLs chased them from their claims, burnt down their tents, and cruelty beat and maltreated them. The pamphleteers enlarge upon the injustice of such barbarous treatment of their harmless countrymen,, and complain that " noatonement" was ever made for such obvious injustice and crnetty. We welt remember the Ruck-land riots—the astonishment and indignation of the press and people of Victoria--and exceedingly regret that the writer, or writers, of the pamphlet were etiher not better informed, or more disposed to do justice to the action, of the Victorian Guverutueut respecting this very deplorable page in the history of that Colony. It. should be remembered that the population of the goldrtetds was a, mixed one, and that at that early period hordes of Chinese, following up the discoveries of their move advenfcv.roiu feUo-.v-cdonists, crowding them- out,, and thus depriving them of the reward of their discoveries, was a provoking element in the ease. To allege that such a riot was a breach of treaty on the part of the Government, or a recantation of the "beautiful precepts" taught by our missionaries is hardly a failstatement of the case. The Government, so far from sanctioning, promptly put down- and punished such lawlessness. Chinese settlements were farmed. Chinese protectors appointed, and larger areas were granted to the discoverers of new gutdriehts— -measures which effectually removed the causes of sucha violent outbreak ; and it is neither just nor generous, after nearly a quarter of a century, to allege that either treaty obligations or moral precepts were suspended in favor of a handful of " diggers," who on this occasion took the law into, their own hands, and mercilessly drove those harmless Chinese from the Buckland gotdcietd. The Government of the flay are rather to be commended for such prompt and effectual interference for the protection of the lives and property of the numerous Chinese scattered over the Victorian goldfields, and hence the security which they have enjoyed during tile long years which have intervened. The pamphlet furtherdeals with what may be regarded as the socuU aspect of the (-question, and the ■ writers maintain that their countrymen are good colouuts t that they have contributed in many ways to the comfort and progress of the country; that, contented with smaller earnings, they have extracted the gold from ground which Europeans abandoned; that they have become the chief producers of vegetables on the goldfield* l that they till many domestic situations better than the less sober British ; that the Colonies are not yet sntltciently peopled ; and that their country uuui, accustomed to tropical climes and tropical productions, are better «natiried to develop the industries for which vast tracts of the Australian Continent are only adapted, w»d which, so far as European settlement ii concerned, must remain a trackless desert. They proceed further to declare that their countrymen are not only industrious, plodding, sober, patient, frugal, and fawahidlngr but that front infancy the sublime precept* of the " Great Teacher" are instilled into their minds. That the Chinese are welt educated, Chinese fathers considering it such a disgrace to bring up their children in ignorance that anyState system of compulsory education is needless, and numerous nttotattons are given from eminent English writers portraying a state of society in Britain which cart find! no parallel for brutatity,_ intemperance, and ignorance in their own Cetestial land.. We cannot, however, in the limits of a single article do justice to this eminently "suggestive pamphlet. Their country, they tell us, contain* 2,flW>,WH> square mites of territory, and 40t>,et)t>,IWO people t Australia 3,000,1X10, and a tittle over 2,000.000. Their countryis therefore «w £"*» "» extent than Australia and contains (»'" hiwlfd timr* nwri' li,JktMHimtf. It l»S been stated byChinese writers population of Chinat has been much.over estimated, and that the total nuxnber «f inhabitants is but 10O,0W>6O\ "But even admitting that this itr:por;a» k . discrepancy occurs in the estimate of the pamphleteers, the

fact, us it «tttnd*, is suggestive. Million* of the over-crowded Chinese are perudiing from famine—" think of the horror and pity of it"—" And yet," say they. "' God," you tell us, ' has made of one blood all nations of men.' " In conclusion we commend the pamphlet to the thoughtful and the impartial. We arc in no fear ! of the Anglo-Saxon's love of even-handed ! justice, his humanitarian instincts, or his " beautiful precepts"" being permanently overborne by the selfish and senseless clamor of a mob. Right _ will re- ! assert its superiorty to might, and ; the " Chinese question" will, ere the j discussion closes, pass through new and important phases. For ourselves, we I desire falrplay. Wc shall be no party to L-»ny violation of treaty obligations, nor ! shall wc be eaaily beguiled into any position of hostility" to a race which have ! sturdy human rights in common with livery other nation, and we cannot help ! thinking that the Anglo-Saxon faculty for ! profitably employing the inferior races of ! the globe might", if put to the test, find | profitable- and useful occupation for the i Chinese that have come amongst us. 'Looking at the vast unpeopled wastes of the Australian Continent, we opine that i that there is yet room for even considerable accessions to their numbers without 'running any risk of over-crowding, and 'that, in the cultivation of the silk-worm. fci'Eaeeo, coffee, cotton, and other tropical or semi-tropical productions, Chinese immigration, if wisely regulated, rather 'than " violently suppressed, might eventually add enormously to the productiveness, and consequently to the wealth and ; material progress, of the Colonics. In 'the eloquent and weighty words of the -concluding paragraph of this pamphlet, our country will avert the danger of being "associated with deeds of falsehood and treachery, with broken faith, with a Ivio-lated'trcaty, . . . which no sophistry : can reconcile with the precepts of religion, with the canons of morality, with the spirit of our laws, with the policy of our wisest statesmen, with the voice of conscience, and with the character and traditions of the people of Great Britain.'"