Chinese Laundries.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLV, Issue 13, 28 September 1910, Page 5

Chinese Laundries.

Fifty-four Chinese are petitioning Parliament, through Mr. Arnold, protesting against any amendment of the Factories Act in regard to hours of labour in Chinese laundries. They point out that when they paid the heavy entrance fee imposed upon Asiatics they believed they would 'be allowed to pursue their avocations on even terms and in friendly rivalry with the other factors of the brotherhood of man, and judged that the opportunity was a favourable one for establishing small laundries where any person could get washing done in small quantities. They submit that the limitation of hours of labour proposed by the bill would work unfairly and against the interests of the working man, who wants to wear a clean shirt on Sunday; besides which ■the laundry-keepers cannot afford, out of the small profit they make, to employ a clerk to keep a wages book in the English language. In conclusion, they point out that that legislation, designed to create a discrimination between the Chinese and people of other nationalities, is inconsistent with the “Open Door” policy which has been thrust upon the Chinese nation by the Western nations.