Welcome Overstayed

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 613, 15 March 1929, Page 8

Welcome Overstayed

Chinese Visitors Who Will Not Leave

J>\ revelations made iu the Magristrate's Court at Auckland U this week, the question of whether the authorities should close down entirely upon Chinese visitors to New Zealand has been raised in the minds of ‘‘White New Zealand'* enthusiasts. It is officially explained, however, that recent arrivals are effectively covered by the guarantee bond which now accompanies each visit.

A case at the Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday confirmed a long-standing suspicion that shrewd and leai'ned Chinese- are bleeding their visiting brethren white of their cash upon false guarantees of security in this country. Large sums of money apparently are paid over by Chinese who should be out of the country, but who are persuaded that the payment of £IOO or £2OO, as the price might be, will enable them to stay for a further term. In this case the defaulter gave himself up. and saving the State the added expense, was let off with a £5 fine —and deportation. Others are in gaol. Complaints of this extortion frequently reach the ears of the Customs officers, but as it is a Chinese custom

never to give receipts among Chinese —the racial integrity is on a plane far higher than mere scraps of paper—direct evidence is hard to collect. The law now says there shall be no Chinese immigrants to New Zealand as permanent residents. Six months is the limit of their stay, and after that the judgment of the law—providing the visitors are located. While in New Zealand the visitor must not work; he must hand to the Customs officials £lO as a bond, which is refunded to him when he leaves; and, in addition, two reputable Chin ese are compelled to sign a document guaranteeing the State all expenses incurred in connection with the visit. This bond is considered by the Customs officers to be effective in checking defaulting visitors. Special reasons must be given before the trip from China to New Zealand is made permanently. Asiatic immigration has been tightened in recent years, and during 192 S only four

arrived for residence here—one man j and three women. At limes efforts to smuggle them into the country have been suspected. The difficulty iu finding defaulters is accentuated by the native shrewdj ness of the Asiatics themselves, who I change their names to elude the police. | A man who arrives as Hi Low might later be discovered bzv chance in an I obscure hut in the Otaki gardens living as Hop On. But. as Mr. J. McIntosh, collector of Customs at AuA land, asks: “What can we do in such circumstances?” Once recently the actual man was apprehended, but since his arrival in New Zealand he had become so portly and prosperous that, he could not be identified by his photograph. ELUDING THE POLICE Mr. Mclntosh hopes that many of those who have overstaj r ed their leave here —estimated roughly at fewer than I 50 —are getting tired of shifting from | town to town eluding the authorities, and sooner or later will give themselves up. Their shortage of funds is increased by extortion by their few dishonest fellows, and they fall into debt. Even their own countrymen weary of keeping them for nothing, and as they are not allowed by law to work, they are eventually willing to come, miserable and repentant, to the deportation authorities. New Zealand retains remarkably few Chinese over 70 years of age. The inherent desire to be buried in the flowery land is too strong in the aged Oriental breast, and a steady trickle back to the East shows their determination to rest finally near the temples of their gods. About two years ago a ship called at Auckland on its way from America to China. Its bunks were filled by scores of old Chinese returning to their native land to die. Many of them could not move from their beds, but those who were on their feet were not allowed to land. GOING HOME TO DIE 111 the old days the bones of Chinese who were buried in the Dominion were transported for reburial in China. Just before the health authorities stopped this procedure a ship containing a big cargo of these precious remains was sunk off the Taranaki coast. The return to China before death is now considered to be far more satisfactory.

There seems food for consideration in the suggestion that the authorities, having admitted that they are being cheated by visiting Chinese, the only remaining thing for them to do is to close down entirely upon Chinese migrants to this Dominion. Advocates of White New Zealand would welcome such a. move, but international and trade considerations demand common courtesy to visitors. It is well, however, that another aspect of the problem should not be overlooked. While careful attention is being paid to Chinese, the migrants from other parts of the world are increasing. in numbers. During last year 316 aliens arrived. Of these 68 were Jugoslavs and 48 Italians.