- 1 -
THE
Chinese Exclusion Act.
REPORT AND RESOLUTIONS
ADOPTED BY THE
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
OF THE
STATE OF NEW YORK.
December 5, 1889.
New York:
1889.
- 2 -
Press of De Leeuw & Oppenheimer,
231 William Street,
New York.
- 3 -
The Chinese Exclusion Act.
REPORT AND RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED BY THE CHAMBER OFCOMMERCE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, DECEMBER6, 1889.
The committee on Foreign Commerce and the RevenueLaws, to which was referred a communication from Mr. C. P.Huntington relating to the Chinese Exclusion Act, submitsthe following report:
by a letter addressed to Mr. A. A. Low, a member of the Chamber,by Mr. C. P. Huntington, also a member, and by Mr. Low referredto the Chamber. As this letter is the basis of our inquiry andembodies the views of many of the people of the United States,it is proper that it should be given in full. It is as follows:
New York, November 24th, 1888.
A. A. Low, Esq.,
Burling Slip, New York City.
Dear Sir: I do not carry in my mind whether you have altogether retiredfrom the China trade; but I know you still have a keen interest in the nationalprosperity and in the dignity and honor of this Government. I suppose you feltas most other people did, last summer, when Congress passed the ChineseExclusion Act, that it was an unworthy proceeding which nothing but the necessitiesof a partisan struggle could have brought about It may have been foreseen,and perhaps was pointed out at the time, that the Government of China had it inits power to inflict far more serious harm upon our country than we could uponChina, even supposing that the coming of the Chinese was the injury to our laboringpeople which was charged. It seems that without uttering a word or liftinga finger the Chinese are enabled to retaliate effectively against our commerce; sothat we have not only offered them a wanton affront, but also injured ourselves laa twofold way, by excluding a tractable and cheap labor which we very muchneed to build up our desolate places; and by the loss of a valuable trade which wemight have kept to the exclusion of our rivals. A gentleman direct from Chineseand Japanese ports tells me that since the news of the passage of the ExclusionAct reached China American agents there have been unable to sell any of thecoarser cotton textile fabrics, of which they had been taking large quantities.Their wants are supplied from other sources; England, I suppose. They offer- 4 -no explanation for this change of policy, but simply say they are not baying.Just as soon as they can supply themselves with petroleum from Asiatic oil wellswe may expect that trade to follow. Clocks and machinery can be supplied bythe English and Germans who would be glad to relieve us of the trade. The tea,mattings, ra