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THE ASIATIC QUESTION-IN
BRITISH COLUMBIA.
Many people are asking just now what is the real cause of the hostility to the Chinees and Japanese in British Columbia, and why these people are subjected to insuit and outrage in country where they have hitherto lol a peaceful and nomolested existence, So far as I was able to discover during my ricant visit to British Columbis there to these principal causes for the present state of things. The first is what may he described as race batred or the dislike of the whites for people of any other colour; the second is the alleged unfair competition of the Chinese and Japanese with white wage earners; and the third is the use made by some of the politicians of the racial prejudice with a view to the influencing of votes. Although the recent acute crisis has attracted public attention to the presence of the Chinese and Japanese in Canada, it would be a mistake to suppose that the question upon which feeling is at prosent so much inflamed is a new one. On the contrary, it is a question of a
a good many years standing, op cially in so far the Chinese are concerned,
The number of Chinese in Canada is 12,000 or thereabouts. Thoff advent in any considerable ambers dates from the early sixties and the gold
faver which followed on the discovery of the rich
The
placer fields of Cariboo and Cassiar. Later, when this industry waned, numbers of the Chinese left the country, but some rompined. During the constraction of the Canadian Pacifio Railway, however, large numbers again came in, so that as great industries boy an to develop there was always a supply of labour available. In 1901 the total number of Chinese in Canada, as given by the census, was 16,792, of whom 14,376 are credited to British Columbia Ontario had at that date 718, Quebec 1,014 Manitoba 205 New Branswick 50, Nova Scotia 104, Prince Edward Island, and the Territories 287. Of those in British Columbia 2,715 rosided at Victoris, 2011 at Vancouver, 604 at Nanaimo, 505 at Union, 739 at New Westminster, 241 at Rokalend, and 391 at Nelson. The Chinese come from Southera China and are of the labour or enolis class, Their
presence has long been objected to by the Labour crganisatione of Canada from one end of the Dominion to the other, and Commissions-were sppointed in 1884 and in 1900 to inquire into the question of Oriental immigration. The hostility to the Chinese resulted in the imposition of a tax of 850 (£10) a head on all the Chinese ontering the country, This being found ineffective te achieve ite purpose the tax was increased to 8100- (£20). Still the Chinese come in, and following on the report of the Royal Commission appointed in 19. O the tax was further advanced to $500 (100) a head. For a time it seemed that this heavy tax would have the desired result The Chinese entering British Columbin fell off to number which was regarded as negligible. As a result of their exclusion, however, the rats of wages paid to them has very materially advanced, and the knowledge of this fact having became disseminated among the class of Chinese who are dasirous of obtaining a foothold in the province, the necessary funds are now forthcoming, and larger numbers of Chinese are arriving in t country than had come in for a considerable time after the angentalion of the tax to its present amount.
Before the year 1896 no record was kept of the number of Japanese who arrived in British Columbia, but from July 1, 189, to, June 1001, 13,013 Japanese are stated to have landed at Victoria, BC. These people do not all re- main in Canada. Many of them return to Japan from time to time, and others go over the border to the United States. The report of the Royal Commission of 1993 states that the Japanese of the labouring gass differs from the Chiness of the same olaes in that be is more independent, energetic, apt and ready and anxious to adopt, at least in ap pearance, the mannera and mode of life of the white man. He avails himself of every opper tunity to learn English and often kos it a condition of his contract of hiring that he may do so.
The consensus of opinion of the people of British Columbia is that they do not and cannot assimilate with the white people, and that while in some respects they are less undesirable than the Chinese, in that they adopt moro roadily our habite of life
and
THE HONGKONG DAILY PRESS, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2ND, 1907.
to
|cluded between Canada. and Japan, who, in, from 8100 (20) to $500 (£100). The. Com-, return for aubutantial trade advantages, stipulat-missioners reported that the class of immigration ed for immigration facilities. Moreover, some represented by the Chinese falls far short that standard. O essential ·TD the thousands of Japanese coming from Inwall, of
URBA From and therefore indepenilently of the snoti n of wellbeing of the country. the Japanese Gorerament, have lately entered dian standpoint it is injurious, and in the the country, it is wild, for the purpose of ander- interests of the nation any further immigration taking labour on the new Traps Continental ought to be prohibited. The great industries Railway- It is difficult to obtain accurate would not suffer, There is a surplus of this figures as to the number of Japanese at present class of labour at the time ready to enter any in Canada, for whereas on the bae hand it is avenue of unskilled labour that may open. If contended that they do not amount to mora no more were admitted the supply is equel
the demand for years to come, and the change than 6,000, of whom 3,000 are notaral'zul, on the other the salients is placed at quite donale will be so gradual as to be almost imperceptible. this figur.
Yet, as I have already said, the demandt for labour is so great that the wages of the Chinese have been advanced to a point which makes i
* it profitable for them to pay the heavy
tax of 100 exacted from them on their entry into the country. The proceedings of the Ninth Au- Dual Convention of the Agarsia1ed · Barda of Exstera
British Columbia held at Greenwood B.C., on March 13, 14 and 15 of this year, con- tains the following passage which I extract from the President's ddrosa:
In all the principal autres of population visited by me in the course of my journey across Canada, a certain number of Chinese are to be found. In the Eastern oities they are largely engaged in the laundry business; but it is not oil one reaches the Far West that one bude them installed in any considerable ambers as domestic servants, and engaged in trades and occupations of a more or less mecial description, Their reputation as servants is high. The binamu daclared to be industrious, sobre ponceable, law-abiding, and strictly honest. He will take-over-the-conduct of the house and fallit his duties to the complete satisfaction of his employer. The objections, to him are that he does not assimilate with th rest of the population, that his standard of living is lower than that of the European, that he andersells the labour of the latter, and that he is tending to rob Canada of its distinctive character as a white man's country. As we have soon the ar-
end against the admission of the Chinese are adduced with even greater tehemence, if possible, against that of the Japanese. It is from the labouring population that the opposition to the immigration of Asiatics appears mainly to proceed. The ladies of British Columbia, boire unable to obtain servants, seem to be largely in farcer of the atmission of the Chinese for domestic purposes, and hore recently addressed, I was informed, a petition to the Provincial Legislature praying for some relief to the Chinese entering the service. While walking in Victoria, B.C., country for the purpose of engaging in domestic few weeks ago I met a well-known resident of Vaucouver Island. This gentleman, who was accompanied by his wife, said that they had visited that day every registry office and agency in the city with a view to engaging a servant, and had been unable to secure one of any kind, white or yellow. "We are now," be added, returning serrantless to a fairly large house, with no one but my wife to undertake the domestic work. Similar complainta vora nade to rio in other places, and as the Chinese are admittedly good sarsante, it is not diffealt fo understand why their presence is capacity should be desired. The Chinese are very largely employed in the salmon-canning industry, in market gardening, in goal mining, and in saw mills, it is alleged that their presence is injurious to the country, that white men will not engage in the industries in which the Chinese compete with them, sad that the competition is unfair because, whereas the white man is expected to maintain himself, his wife, and his children in a condition of respectability the Chinese bare no family life to zot es a drain their resources. On the other hand, there are those who maintain that the Chese are necessary in the present state of the country for the development of its resources, and that it is the duty of white men to fill the higher posts in the world of labour, leaving the humbler and more manial positions to be taken by the Asiatica.
The division of opinion between the diforont schools of thought as to labour is a sharply marked in British Columbia as it is in any country in the Old World, perhaps even more sharply.
The miners' unions of British Columbia | said a resident in Victoria who is familiar with the local conditions to me are dominated by the Western Federation of Miners, the headquarters of which are in the United States. All our troubles are due to the influence of the Western Federation, and if the Government takes any action it ought to be with a view to preventing our unions from being affiliated to those of a foreign country. These unions to a large extent control the whole situation; as far as labour is concerned, and they are firmly opposed to the. silmission of the Urientals. The same people who are opposéil to the entrance of Chiasse and Japanese are opposed to all immigration. "If they were willing to allow white people to come in here till we could fill the country with them There would be some hope for us; bat. they want ne immigrants at all. As for the Chiness, they are most seber, industrious, and peaceable. They are hated for their virtues and not for their vices. The Japanese are bound to swarm ofer hore. I do not believe it will be 15 years before they will insist on being placed or an equality. with white men on the western seaboard of North America, both in the United States and
spend moro of their earnings in the country tin all that goes to riake for the permanent settlement of the country they are, quits as merione a menace as the Chinese and keeper competitors against the working man, and as they have more energy, pueli, and independence, more dangerans in this regard than the Chinese. The Japanese are employed in the fisheries and lumber industries and occupations in cidental to these, such as boat building and getting out shingle bolts, cordwood, and mining timber. They are also employed in the mining indiatry, on railways, in sealing, as domestic servants, in farming, land olearing, and market gardening, and as tailors. When I was in British Columbia I noticed that considerable Canada: bumbers of them were employed as waiters in After the above frank and possibly extreme hotels, in which capacity, as far as my ex-expression of opinion, the views of a British perience gcos, they ura vợt Entisfactory. Columbia labour organizer will be road with Ütlets had succeeded in oslablishing shops for interest --- thesale of trinkets, toys, picture past cards, and, We who have been here for the last 36 or 18
her articles of a miscellanions kind.
yours said the Labour representative in question An attempt was made by the Government and to me find that there is no shortage of labour. Legislature of British Columbia come uins or 11 is cheap labour that is wanted by the capital- ten years ago to restrict the immigration of theists, sed, and in the last analysis it makes no Japanese into that province; but to legislation, difference whether they be Chinese, Japanese, being offensive to a friendly Power, was disapproved by the Imperial Government, and - on August, 2, 1909, the Government of Japan instructed the Governors of the Prefectures af that country to prohibit entirely for the time being the emigration of Japanese labour rs for the Dominion of Canada.
The Commissioners, in their report of 1902, stated that they fully appreciated this action, nud added:---
The coures adopted by the Japanese Govern ment, if we may without presumption be permitted to say se, is usost opportune, eliminating all cause of frictional irritation between Canada and Japan, and so favouring a freer trade and intercourse between the countries than could otherwise obtain.
Nothing further is needed to settle this most difficult question upon a firm basis than me BASTIAN CO the action already taken by the Government of Japan will not be revoked,"
that
or Englishmen who come here--the fact that the necessities of the immigrant compel him to work for less than we are working for has the same effect upon us and upon the botir market. The country is already in the possession of the big corporations. It is now practically capital. ist property used for the purpose of exploiting labour. It is, however, a white man's country, and we mean to make it and keep it a working man's country into the bargain. The working men have to take, possession of the reins of government and declare that this country is for the working class, to take possession of the natural resources of the country, and declare that they are for the benefit of the working class, rather than for that of the capitalist. That is what has to come about, call it Socialisms or what you will. This country is developing quite fast anaugh
In justice the speaker just quoted, it should be added that be gustitied iris reference to the Your Commissioners desire to express their immigration of Englishmen by saying that earnest hope that in the continuance of this what he objected to was organized immigration. friendly pañcy legislation on this subject by the He did not fear the immigration of individuals Canadian Government may be rendered an entering the country on their own initiative, as necomery Should, however, a change of policy the Unions could got hold of them and see that
Salvation Army.
is the condition of its labouring mes. From this A god criterion of the prosperity of a conntry
standpoint our territory compares favourably with any other country, · Lo lamber nors and saw millathers has been a coutional scarcity of labour, and the fruit growing industry is almost si a standstill, and is likely to a remain until the advent of a class of labour not at present to be found in the country.
The annual report of the Minister of 31lues of the provings of British Columbia for the year ended December 31,1906, after referring to the increased lool consumption and export of coke, proceeds
While these increases are very cousilerable, they are not warly as great as they would have been but for the shortage of labour at the sacious collieries, which were, therefore, quite unable to satisfy the deraand for fuel. A fuot fumite seemed to be imminent; and, as a malter of fact, in the spring of 1907 cuke had to bound been received by the Creflon alter from was imported, & cargo of soms 3,000 tons having
Australia.
Japanese has, was informed, the support of The agitation against the Chinese and the labear anions throughout the country, and pressure is being brought to bear upon the numbers of both political parties in view of the approacting aloolion, which may take place next year, to farour astion hostile to Orientul immigration. A well-informed correspondent wrote to me beforo loft Canada theif Mr. Borden, the leader of the Opposition, were to side with the Auti-Asiatice he would swoop the country in so far as the constituencies were controlled by the labour vote. No doubt Mr. such a course, hat he is certainly also alive to Borden is alive to the electoral possibilities of the Imperial interests which are involved in this momentuns question.- Timer.
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be adopted in this regard by the Japanese they had heir tickets. I found, moreover, Government whereby Japanese labourers may while in British Columbia, that there was a very again be
permitted to emigrate to Canada, the strong objection to the organized and assisted walfare of the Province of British Columbia immigration now being carried on by the Imparatively demands that effective measures be adopted to take the place of the inhibition
As to the statement that the country is de- now imposed by the Japanese Government.
Your Commissioners recommend that in that veloping quite fast enough, that, of course, is a event an Act be passed by the Dominion Govern. matter of opinion, British Columbis is more thau 372,000 square miles in extent that is to ment on the lines of what is known as the eny it is larger than France, Prussis, and Natal Aor, male suffoiently stringent and Bavaria combined. Yet this country, which is effective to accomplish the desired result. bursting with natural riches, has a population.
the last few years the Japanese beve again been coming into the country in consider of only some 10,003-soule
Daring
The report of the Royal Commission on able numbers. By ad arrangement made with Chinese and Japanese immigration, published the Japanese Government, the number was restricted to 500 or 60 a year, ezelasivo-ef as a Canadian Blue-book in 1902, was a very strong indictment of both Chinese and Japanese merchants, students, and those Japanesa, about labour, and it was on the strength of this report 8,000 in number, who have been naturalized in that the poll tax on the former was raised Canal. Last year a further treaty was con.
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