The Hastings Standard Published Daily. FRIDAY, MAY 15, 1896. THE YELLOW MAN.

Hastings Standard, Issue 17, 15 May 1896, Page 2

The Hastings Standard Published Daily.

FRIDAY, MAY 15, 1896. THE YELLOW MAN.

For the cause that lacks assistance, For the wrongs that need resistance, For the future in the distance, And the good that we can do.

The almond-eyed Mongolian is bound to receive attention—and very close attention—during the next few months from politicians of every colour. He is a convenient peg on which to hang a patriotic outburst, and his greasy pigtail may be pulled, and the operation is certain to afford extreme pleasure to the crowd. We have already had the story of the " two Chinamen of Round Hill," and we have had also a critical analysis of the

China with many noble virtues. That he is industrious will be admitted readily by everyone ; that he is charitable, too, we have had evidence on many occasions ; that he is honest in his business transactions will also be granted ; and that he grows succulent cabbages, which the "pore working man " never fails to buy, will also be conceded. If we lump together all these good qualities and weigh them, they fail to bear down the scales as against his filthiness. There is nothing so repulsive as an unclean Chow, and the average Chinaman is unclean. But John Chinaman possesses the art of hiding from the public view the unsavoury side of his character. Those who have seen the Chinese quarters in Sydney and San Francisco well know the unutterable dirtiness, morally and physically, of Chinamen. In a small way one may get an insight into " Chinaism " by visiting their haunts in the large cities of New Zealand. Behind the counter of his shop, or when at the back door he blandly enquires ; "You likee cabbagee he appears to be a model of cleanliness and civility; but in his dun he is the king of filth. We venture to say that no sane person in New Zealand considers the Chinaman a desir-

illilc immigrant-, and yet there arc veryfew that take any practical steps to prevent his coming here ; on the contrary, every inducement- and every encouragement is given him to bring himself and his uncleamiess into the colony. The working man will rant and screech and howl in public about Chinese competition, and Chinese this and Chinese that, and in the privacy of his back yard the pigtailed pagan is selling his cheap and nasty vegetables to the wife of the working man, and before he departs the Chinaman is requested to " come again next week." The Chinese question is toyed with year after year, and the restrictive mensures have failed to stop the influx. According to the official returns read by the Premier at Johnsonville on Tuesday night, there are in Wellington alone 152 Chinese fruit and greengrocer} 7 shops. Five years ago there were, probably not more than half the number, but the wonderful encouragement given to them has induced others of their kind to venture into the business. The whole fruit and vegetable trade of the city is in the hands of the Chinese, and they seem to be preferred to white men. We have it on the authority of a small greengrocer of the Empire City that notwithstanding that ho sells as cheaply as the Chinaman in his neighbourhood the Chink does by far the larger trade. The Chinese, the Assyrians, and other disease-dis-tributing, wage-cutting Asiatic-; must be kept out of the colony, and while those already in New Zealand should be fairly treated, care should be taken to barricade the colony against those without. There is ample evidence to warrant the introduction of the Undesirable Immigrants Bill, which the Premier says will be one of the measures for the approaching session.