THE CHINESE IN CALIFORNIA.

Inangahua Times, Volume V, Issue 36, 8 April 1878, Page 2

THE CHINESE IN CALIFORNIA.

(Pxom a correspondent of tlio Now Zealand Herald.) Tho Obineso havo boon in California dating back as far an 1816. Thoro was then ono pioneer Ohiunman. Tho lirst lavj^j shipment was by v ci^ar mmniluoturor, it Jiuropcan. lfu iulroducod thorn as Cluncso cheop labor. In San l'nmcisoo you may sec tliom in Chiucso fnotorios 50 iv a i-oom, working sowiujj uiaohino.s muknig punts, jumpers, shirls, aud all

kinds of Kuroponn rlothin?; Mint m.iy bo seen, workini; from onrly in '.lie morning till 11 nnd 12 at night. This is what is culled Chinese indu^ry*! call it slavery. Is tliero nny wonder why Europeans cuinot competo with them ? The same may bo said of nil oilier branches of industry that they haro monopolised, tho making of carpet slippors, ladies' boots and shoes, &a. ; tho manufacturing of timvnro, such ns billies, colieo pots, Sm ; you may nee Chineso cobblors, watchmongcrs, money brokers, tailors. Stores nnd shops innumerable ; offices for the hiring of Cliincso sorvnntß, to which la-lies (Kuropoan) go when they wnnt to hire n man chnmbcr« mnid, or a phinoso boy to nurso baby nnd wheel tho porambular vyhen tho Itidy goes out. Clunnrnon nro employqt in a majority of privato houses to do nil tho work that olhci'wiso would hnvoboon dono by Eurqpoan females— washing, ironing, cooking, mnking bods, cleaning windows, scrubbing, watering tho gnrdon, and keeping it in order. In sonio largo hotels thoy nro employed scrubbing, cleaning vogo* tables, washing dishes, Ac. ; and in tho country hotels they nro hrgoly employed ns cooks, Sec- Most all tho washing 'of clothes (I may any is dono, b^OUinamoD. In Snn Francisco nil the by-stroets nro full of Chineso wnshhousos. They nre so numerous that they ghall bo six shops apart. This, I boliove, on account of (ire. Those Chinese warehouses nro patronised by men nnd women. You may often see tho femnles going in thorp iv* quiring nbout their washing*, Chinnmen do nil tho fluting nnd wearing nppnrcl to perfection, 1 am told, bettor thnn Susan or Jnno. Most all sorvnnt girls send their wnshing there. Tho Chinnmen is so convenient; there is no resisting him. Ho comes for tho dirty clothes nnd brings thorn back clean. Ilis charges nro cheap, nnd ho wilHrust for a week or a month. Soyornl Europeans lmvo what aro called '• Whiteman's " laundries. Their motto is " No Cinnamon employed/ but such is tho stnto of things that a number of them employed Chinamen. Thero nre Chineso wnshhouscH in every town nud city throughout California nnd tho Jiouky Mountains, in Halt Lake City, Helena, all through Montana, nnd even in Jkitish Columbia. Cuinnmon nro employed on nil tho railways throughout California, and as far over on tho Paoilio lino ns Cheyenne, grading nnd repairing the road. Every largo and small town in California has it population of Chinese. Thoy acquire Iniul nnd houses, and thoy nro n fixture ; nil light farming work they do, picking fruit, ite., nt S.m Francisco in European style. Boiuo o!' the hay steamers nro muitil v .supported by Chineso sailors, coalpassers, and stokers. This company.-* vessels run to China and .Jnpan, Oregon, 'Panama roulo, and on tho I^ieilie Mail servieo. During the six yenra .1 was in San Francisco, they have landed Chinese men and women nt tho rate of IL'OO to 1000 every fortnight ; and besides in« numcr.'iblo ships have arrived with 400 to {?00— these latter would not bo noticed iv Snn Francisco. If }' ( '»i i;o out early of a morning to the ililToront markets, you may sec about a hundred Chineso peddlers nt oii«m getting their stock for tho day's round. And in the daytime Chinese ragpicker.'i aro innumerable. If not closely wntohed they will steal anything they can put their hands on. Cliincso merchants nnd companies nre acquiring n good share of landed estates in Sun Frnncisico, encroaching on some of tho principal streets. They ship a great quantity of cigars nnd cheap clothing to tho Eastern Glntes. Thoro nr.o two theatres nnd two Chiucso Joss houses. Chineso retail cigars ; stores nro scattered nil over tho town, and on some of tho principal streets, If thoy got possession of n shop that is lofty, thoy make a second room abovo, gonorally with enough room to sit down, with thoir heads touching coiling, Their lodging houses nro crowded to suffocation, packed liko sardines. A Chinoso woman 19 a pioco of poods lo bo bought and sold. If a Chinaman wisjiosto marry, ho must buy one from a boaa nt tho rate of 000. dollars, moro or less. If a Ckinamnn becomes enlightened to tho stato of Amorioan law, ho will perhaps run away with ono and gpt married by n clergyman, nnd no obtain protection of tho law, ns it does not publicly nllow "slavery. If Ah Quong owes Ah Jim 100 dollara and can't pay, Ah Jim takes possession of Ah Quong's wifo, ns part of his goods nnd olwiltcls. This is a truo states of affairs in Frco America. Peoplo nro apathetic, but tho fnct is well known. Such cases ns tho abovo como beforo tho Polico Court.