PETITION TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

Tuapeka Times, Volume III, Issue 187, 7 September 1871, Page 6

PETITION TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

We have been requested Uff publish the followiug copy of a Petition, got up »nder the auspices of the Arrow District Miners' Association for signature throughout the Otago Goldfields, and presentation to the House of Representatives '.—. — To the Honourable House ,of Bepresejj tatjves : This petition humbly sheweth, — '

1. That your petitioners consists of miners and other residents on the Croldfields of Otago and its capital, .and who are largely interested in the future prosperity "of the Province. 2, That your petitioners claim to have discovered ajl the Goldfields of Otago ; have endured many years of hardship and privations in their development and extension, and have by their efforts raised them to fchdr present high position as valuable fields of Jabour, certain through[time to attract a Jarge European immigration. 3... That your petitioners are most loyal subjects of her Britannic Majesty : are intelligeut, industrious, and' welldisposed; composed of individuals' in the prime of manhood, and inured to the hardest toil ; that therefore, they fire highly desirable colonists.

4- That large numbers of Chinese have been permitted to locate themselves upon the G-oldfields o£ Ota^o, S.nU thai i'lejr numbers are increasing so rapidly as to alarm your petitioners', who tear that they (the Chinese) will Boon yastly outnumber the Euroi yeav ea is, hnd absorb almost the whole of the workable auriferous deposits. 5, T&afc the Chinese belong to v a

totally different race of men, with whomyour petitioners cannot assimilate iv any respect ; that they do not bring their wives with them, which fact must tend to lower the standard of morality in- the Province;. and that their presence will create a formidable barrier against any addition to our population from Europe, and counterbalance the wood which might result from the reduced rate of passage-money from Europe, provided by the Government of New Zealand, to such an extent that your petitioners believe the moment has arrived when you will have to make your choice between Europeans and Mongolians as your future population, as experience emphatically teaches that the two races cannot both prosper when brought into close contact; and your petitioners would point out the fact that, by encouraging Chinese immigration, a serious loss must result to British commerce, as the Chinese nation will reap the principal benefit of their trade, and also of the money they realise.

6. That New Zealand incurs an enormous expense of blood and treasure in opening up these islands for settlement, in doing which large debts are incurred to which our posterity will have to contribute ; and that it is therefore unjust to her Majesty's subjects to allow fields of labour opened up at such vast sacrifices to be overrun and impoverished by the subjects of a foreign power, who do not intend to make the country their home, and who ev&de payment townvda ita revenue whenever possible.

7. That, by the principles of international law, as recognised by Great Britain and the United States of America, which form the basis of the Treaty of Washington, it is distinctly laid down that the natural resources of a British colony— such as the Dominion of Canada — are not to be thrown open to the occupation or enjoyment of the citizens of other nations, except under special treaty, and then only in consideration of equally valuable concessions and advantages given as an equivalent. In support of this, your petitioners beg to quote Clauses 18, 22, and 23 of said Treaty. 8. That both California and Australia acknowledge that the presence of the Chinese in large numbers in their midst is to be deplored ; and your petitioners would draw your attention to the great expense it will entail upon the Colony to provide Chinese interpreters and detectives, such as they have in Victoria, where the gaols are full of Chinese, notwithstanding the difficulty of detecting crime among them — not forgetting the hardships and privations which the miners and other residents of the goldfields of Victoria have to endure from the numerous depredations committed by the Chinese on their property — in fact, to such an extent were their robberies carried that no portable property was considered safe ; and, moreover, the Chinese did not scruple to commit murder when caught in the act of robbery ; the gross immoralities practised m their camps, constitute them the. headquarters of prostitution, and the refuge of gamblers, thieves, and asassins. Europeans cannot compete with the Chinese in the labour market, and great poverty and distress must result to your petitioners, which will be more intensely felt in this Colony, inasmuch as we have not such enormous fields of labour to operate upon as California and Australia, and the ill-effects of a large rush of Chinese will be more speedily aud keenly felt. 9. Your petitioners therefore pray that you will recommend the Governor to exercise the prerogative which gives the Crown- absolute power over all mines of gold in the Colony, and cause a clnuse to be inserted in the new Goldfields Act, forbidding the issue of miners' rights to the Chinese, at the same iitne making^ suck provisions as may seem equitable towards those who hold mining privileges under the present Regulations.

10. Your petitioners deeply feel the necessity of placing an effectual bar 1o the further influx of Chinese, as it is their solemn conviction that unless the most stringent measures are taken, the result will be bloodshed and nnarchy, or the total exodus of your petitioners from this Colony.

It. Tour petitioners believe that their prayer is based upon justice and equity, and is in strict accordance with international law, as shown by the recent transactions-betweenthe Imperial Governmeut and the United States of America in reference to the Canadian Fisheries, referred to in the 7th clause of this petition.

And your petitioners will ever pray, &c, &c,

The "Hawkes Ray Express" is responsible for the startling statement, that a man named Austrian George having shot a'young lady at a ball at Cheroke Flat because she refused to marry him, was seized by the populace and burned alive. The youngest daughter of the AgentGeneral for South Australia, Caroline Birch Dutfcon, born in that colony, has carried off the highest honour in the recent general examinabion for women in connection with the University of London.

A late Ceylon paper states that a sale by auction was lately made at a Galle of horses shipped thither from Melbourne Forty-three were disposed of, at an aggregate sum of £1367. The highest price obtained was £63, and the lowest £23, the average being over £31. On the same occasion a number of colonial sheep were disposed of under the hammer at 45s per head,