194
CARL SMITH
felt among the large bodies of emigrants of his own race already in the state, or coming in the spring.
The trust of the Chinese community in putting Tong A-chick in a position of leadership had not been misplaced. They had found an able spokesman.
WHEN THE CANTON AND MACAU GROUPS 'RULED' SAN FRANCISCO
Tong A-chick had become the spokesman for the Chinese community in California because of his natural leadership qualities, his fluency in English and his knowledge of Western manners and customs.
The organisation in which he first rose to leadership was the association organised in San Francisco by people from his home district Heung Shan (Hsiang-shan, now Chung-shan). It was one of the earliest of what were eventually six such organisations of people from the Pearl River Delta. The Heung Shan men adopted the name Yeung Wo for their group, meaning Association for Peace in a Foreign Place.
Such bodies organised by the Chinese outside China to oversee community affairs were sometimes criticised by the established Government authorities. This was true of the Tung Wah Hospital Committee in Hongkong in the 19th century and it was also true of the Chinese associations or “companies” of San Francisco.
In 1853 the California Legislature and a San Francisco Grand Jury looked into the manner in which the Chinese had organised themselves to look after the interests of their community.
The report submitted to the legislature by its Committee on Mines and Mining Interests begins with a statement of the reasons the associations were organised. “After the large immigration which took place in 1850, the Chinese, finding that their language, habits and customs were not understood by our people, thought it necessary to establish some system for their better regulation and internal government.
194
CARL SMITH
felt among the large bodies of emigrants of his own race already in the state, or coming in the spring."
The trust of the Chinese community in putting Tong A-chick in a position of leadership had not been misplaced. They had found an able spokesman.
WHEN THE CANTON AND MACAU GROUPS 'RULED' SAN FRANCISCO
Tong A-chick had become the spokesman for the Chinese com- munity in California because of his natural leadership qualities, his fluency in English and his knowledge of Western manners and
customs.
The organisation in which he first rose to leadership was the association organised in San Francisco by people from his home district Heung Shan (Hsiang-shan, now Chung-shan). It was one of the earliest of what were eventually six such organisations of people from the Pearl River Delta. The Heung Shan men adopted the name Yeung Wo for their group, meaning Association for Peace in a Foreign Place.
Such bodies organised by the Chinese outside China to oversee community affairs were sometimes criticised by the established Government authorities. This was true of the Tung Wah Hospital Committee in Hongkong in the 19th century and it was also true of the Chinese associations or “companies" of San Francisco.
In 1853 the California Legislature and a San Francisco Grand Jury looked into the manner in which the Chinese had organised themselves to look after the interests of their community.
The report submitted to the legislature by its Committee on Mines and Mining Interests begins with a statement of the reasons the associations were organised. "After the large immigration which took place in 1850, the Chinese, finding that their language, habits and customs were not understood by our people, thought it necessary to establish some system for their better regulation and internal government.
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