August 17, 1901.)
the son of the well-known Admiral Lang, resi dent in England, and occupied a prominent position in the community, which mourn his loss sadly. Deceased was, I believe, 25 years of up.
THE "VIPERE," fast and furious cruiser of the French navy, is in our midst again. She left here on a cruise that was as much mysterious as unknown on the 5th and returned hither on the 10th. En passant, I may mention her facetious nickname of the "Wipe her."
LABOUR IN THE PHILIPPINES. [FROM A SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.]
Maxiia. 5th August, THE NATIVE WORKMAN.
Capital interests are likely to be concerned with labour-supply as soon as these islands can be brought into shape, for the commercial growth expected of them. There is no precedent bere upon which to build definite forecasts. The common impression of the native is that if he may own a garibao, escape direct taxation, and have plenty of leisure in which to sit in the sun in peace, his cup of content will be full. dustry, government and such things may do what they like so long as they do not bother
In-
This disposition to eat, sleep and view the scenery, rather than get down to daily grind has not been indulged everywhere in the islands at all times, but the climate favours it, nature is a good provider, and experience and testimony that the Filipino likes to be his own easy master make out a fairly good case.
CHINESE EXCLUSION.
is the woman. The white soldier is so much out
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CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
to their advantage to do so. They learn the language, marry the women, join the church, attend the cockfights and are usually around wherever there is a good profit to be pulled off or a chance for one. Scruples of the women probably furnish them the leading | motive for church attachments, for the women wish to be properly married when they can be. Their willingness to marry Chinese is ex- plained by the promise of more comforts of living
than can come usually from A native alliance. Along with this prospect they are probably aware that the Chinese interests must be stronger than domestic ones has a wife or a betrothed in China, and that
to keep him here after he thinks that he has sufficient money to enable him to go there aud end his days in good circumstances. A church connection under the old rule was at one time the only life insurances with which a Chinese could provide himself. There is a cathedral in one of the outlying towns in which the vestal fires have for many years been kept continually burning by Chinese, but whether from faith or tradition, their consciences alone know. The tradition is that the convert who originally looked after the fires won first prize in the Philippine lottery.
THE MESTIZOS.
Some of the brightest people in the islands are the offspring of Chinese-Filipino marriages, and some of the most unscrupulous. All that may be heard or said against half-castes any where applies to the mestizos of these islands. They were behind the insurrection, Aguinaldo of the wealth of the islands in private hands is and others of them being leaders in it. Much
theirs. When agriculture flourished, they mado advances on crops and acenmulated the mort. gages with which much of the land is burdened.
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Export business was beyond their control, but they handled products up to the export point, with all the profits accrning therefrom. They managed the juntas that fed the insurrec- tion, scalping for themselves there also at every buru. It is the testimony of naval officers who smugglers of contraband that whenever they lave patrolled the island waters against overhauled a boat engaged in this business, they invariably found mestizos, or Chinese in their employ, in it. The mestizos now lead in professions of loyalty to the United States, the Chinese again ably seconding them.
It may be a question where to find labour, if the native ambition should prove nuequal to the projects of capital. China might furnish a ready answer, were immigration free, but the barriers are already as high against influx from that quarter as they are in the United States, and there is no policy to which the native mind is more strongly committed than upon that of Chinese exclusion. It is commonly agreed that the business head of the average native family of the running when a coloured hero in khaki appears, as to suggest that the vexing problem of the disposition of blacks in the South might be solved in this field, colonising them where they would find climate and society alike con-
THE ARGUMENTS FOR THE CHINESE? genial. Far from being objectionable, a new
It has been urged on behalf of Chinese labour strain of blood is believed by many to be necess-that the argument for exclusion which brought ary to energise the people sufficiently for the about the passage of the United States law demands of labour. It will not be reasonably cannot hold here, because of the radically dif- opposed on the ground that racial purity should foring conditions in the two places. In one be preserved, for the aboriginal foundation has case unrestricted immigration menaced and been superimposed by layers of Japanese, threatened to undermine energetic labour; in Chinese, Indian, Malay and Spanish, until only the other, since labour has not acquired a the assurance of the professional ethnologist,dignity of its own, but has always been un- who may rely upon becoming so scientific that no one can follow him, can presume to furnish a competent analysis.
NATIVE HOSTILITY TO CHINESE,
Although there is perhaps little danger that Chinese labour will be imported, the outlook points to an agitation in the not distant future in favour of changes in the law which will admit such labour, at least under temporary arrange. ment. Such native expression as has been heard upon this subject opposes utterly the ad- mission of Chinese upon any pretext or for any purpose whatever. The view that favours their coming does not go beyond bringing them in on contract and sending them out as soon as the work for which they come is completed. Natives object to them because Chinese absorb the retail trade, set examples of hustling that are both unwelcome and disagreeable, and become demoralising social and commercial factors otherwise. Those who think they should be brought in for contract service say that they make the only reliable labour in this part of the world, and that enterprise must halt unless their help may be had to push it.
willing and indolent, it deserves no considera tion. Conditions in Singapore are cited to show what might happen in the Philippines were immigration unrestricted. There the Chinese Bre sinong the
most substantial residents and among the most highly respected. Of course only experience can furnish adequate material for judgment in such a matter, and one of the pussies of the situation here is that in spite of all that may be seen and heard against the Chinese, individuals of that race may be met in almost every section who have so fitted themselves into the social and commercial life of the islands as to have become as much a part of that life and as creditable to it as any other class. There is scarcely an important settlement in which Chinese may not be found who have lived there from forty to sixty years, who apparently enjoy the respect of their communities, and who say that they know and expect to know no other home.
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habits and purposes having regard for ends not purely selfish and for means not largely an- scrupulous. Neither natives mor Spaniards concerned themselves about that. There was no incentive to the Chinese to have any object in life here other than to make all the money or acquire all the property they could. They might naturally have done the most with their opportunities in any oise, but here no induce- ment was put forth to bad them to be honest or straightforward, and having one object in mind, the checks that restrain dealings in China were not imposed here, and they indulged their propensities unbridled.
While exceptions frequently appear, the rule supposed to guide Chinese conduct is to get money by any means. The Chinese became long ago notorious as adulterants of things to eat, drink and wear. Philippine exports fell under general suspicion when they passed through Chinese hands. They cheated in weight as well as in quality, and did everything possible to cast discredit on commerce. Yet in spite of these tendencies and practices, and of native jealousy, hatred, and contempt for them, when at one time they were driven out, the Governor of the islands felt obliged to arrange for their r turn, because he found that business suffered by their absence. They were, and they continue to be, the vehicle between the import one hand and the and export houses on consumer and producer on the other.
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RUNNING OUT THE NATIVES.
Chinese shopkeeping is not a business of competition among themselves. They will resort to every means to run out natives, but will not rut prices against each other, A wholesaler may thus send to every Chinese shopkeeper in a town goods to be sold at a certain price, and there will be no deviation from it. 1 hey have no bargains to offer, nor do they Book to induce trade otherwise. If consumers want their goods, their price, must be paid. Their thrift enabling them to lend money on land and products, they got the whip hand at almost all of the important trade wholly to them. centres. Country peddling also fell almost shops, but they never took the migratory life Natives formerly had the and the burdensome toil of peddlers, so that in occupying this field the Chinese found chances for which the natives would never trouble themselves to look, and helped their compatriots in the towns to reduce the demands upon native shops.
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UNSCRUPULOUS DEALINGS.
Having always in mind their one object in coming here, lack of scruple in gaining that object did not stop at imposing light weight, impure goods and top prices on those to whom they sold. Those from whom they bought received almost as little consideration. Whole- salers have always had to allow in their calculations for failures among merchants. Chinese make no halfway work in this line. When bankrupt assets run as high as ten per cent., wholesalers count themselves lucky. Bankrupts have not always waited for inventories to be figured out. That process and its results being of interest to others rather than to themselves, they have frequently reached the China coast before its completion, and sometimes before creditors became aware that it would be necessary. No means of identification or police methods were discovered to prevent hasty departures, or to detain, overbaul or extradite Chinese who chose to round out their fortunes and terminate their foreign re- sidence in this way. The petition of the Spanish Governor, after the Chinese massacre and expulsion, for the return of merchants from that country was granted upon an arrangement that involved the favoured nation clanse, and carried with it the privilege for Chinese mer- chants to go and come without question, thus adding to the other difficulties of restraining delinquents and bankrupts from seeking mfe refuge out of the country when so inclined.
THE LABOUR FUTURE.
PAST HISTORY OF CHINESE IN THE ISLANDS. Perhaps there may be a suggestion in the fact that fow Chinese have landed here except If the Chinese could or would stick to their]| coolies, and that what they have become is self- lasts, the natives might dislike them less. They made, with an environment never influential to Tendencies and practices which lift Chinese come here generally as coolies, ready to go repress tendencies toward rice and cunning, immigrants here out of the coolie elman, sem ei into the fields or to do any kind of heavy work and usually calonlated to encourage and to make of them shopmen, peddlers, merchants, for small pay. Presently they blossom out as develop such tendencies. The Chinese was ¦ money lenders, plantation factorn and schemers shopmen. They manage after a little to lend always a despised race, and might well have felt in commercial fraud, level opposition partion- money on crops and become a creditor class itself under perpetual challenge to display to | larly against the merchant class. It is barely almost before the natives realize it. They the utmost its crafty qualities." It might not | powible that if a way could be devised to confine mingle with natives only when it is distinctly || have been possible to mould these people to 'Chines immigrants to work in the fields ́or