The Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR P.M. Resurrexi. TUESDAY, JUNE 21, 1881.

Thames Star, Volume XII, Issue 3893, 21 June 1881, Page 2

The Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR P.M. Resurrexi. TUESDAY, JUNE 21, 1881.

In the Chinese Immigration Act, tho onus of paying the tax appears to bo thrown upon the captain of the vessel bringing the Chinese to ]S>w Zealand. Clause 6 says—"Before making any entry at the Customs, the master of the vessel shall pay £10 for each Chinese on board, and no entry shall be deemed to have been legally made until such pay ment has been made. If any master

neglects- to"' pay the £10, or attempt to evade the payment, he shall be liable to a penalty ef £20 for each Chinese he allows to be landed, .and in addition his vesse' shall be forfeited, and may be seized' condemned, and disposed of in like manner as ships forfeited for breach of any law relating to the customs of the Colony. We cannot Bgree with the framers of the Act that it at all meets the case, aod especially the clauses allowing a refund of the money if within three years the individuals desire to leave the Colony. The • tax in the first place, is not at all heavy enough to meet the end in view, namely, keeping the Chinese out of the colony, and the refunding of the money is an absurdity. In fact, it is just playing with the matter, and is sure to prove of little effect. The majority of the Chinese are imported, as it were, by large companies o£ Chinese merchants, who will readily find the money required, especially as it is to be refunded, so that, ■ instead of stopping, the influx or limiting the number, it will, on the other hand, ensure a regular supply of new material each three years; for the companies paying the money will take every care that the men leave the colony within the tim • provided in the Act. However, we may accept the first measure as a first instalment of legislation in this direction, which may be readily amended at some future time.