On the Chinese Settlement in New Zealand and Australia.

Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Volume 22, 1889, Page 527

By Coleman Phillips Papers.—1. “On the Chinese Settlement in New Zealand and Australia,” by Coleman Phillips. Abstract. Mr. Phillips, in his paper, desired to obtain the opinion of members of the Society upon Chinese immigration, as a philosophical question.

If we brought here the best plants, the best animals, the best mechanical inventions, our duty was to people these islands with the best men and women. The best races for colonization in temperate zones were—(1) The Scandinavian; (2) the English, Scotch, and North-east of Ireland people; (3) the German: in tropical zones, the Asiatic and negro tribes. Unless precautionary measures were taken, one Asiatic people—the Chinese—would very likely take possession of Northern Australia, which the author deemed inadvisable. He thought that the Australasian Colonies should be divided into three zones of settlement: the first, or temperate zone, to comprise New Zealand, Tasmania, and the southern coast of the Australian Continent; this zone to be reserved for Scandinavian, English, Irish, Scotch, German, and other such settlement: only 1 per cent. of Chinese to be allowed to reside therein. The second zone to be the more central parts of the Australian Continent, wherein 3 per cent. of Chinese should be allowed to reside. The third zone to be Northern Australia, wherein the settlement should be as follows:— Anglo-Saxon 10 per cent. German 10 " Scandinavian 10 " Italian 10 " Chinese 10 " East Indian 10 " Malay 10 " Japanese 10 " Negroes 10 " Arabs  5 " Various other nationalities  5 " Total 100 To absolutely prohibit Chinese settlement in any part of the Australasian Colonies Mr. Phillips thought barbarous and most inadvisable. He would rather control the immigration in the above-named proportions by the issue of residential licenses, or passports, in an exactly similar manner to German or French passports inter se, our consuls in China to issue these licenses to respectable Chinese only, and not to the convict class. We had prevented English convicts from coming here, and we were trying to prevent French convicts. Surely we could stop Chinese-convict settlement. In New Zealand there was nearly 1 per cent. of Chinese population already. Residential licenses should be issued to each of these persons forthwith. These could be viséd for any place in the colony where Chinese settlement was not too numerous. No Chinese quarter should be allowed in any city of Australasia upon any account whatever; the police to see that this regulation was especially complied with. Mr. Phillips was also of opinion that European immigration should be encouraged in large numbers, so as to occupy the temperate zones of Australasia before the Chinese took up their residence. The United States of America met the threatened Chinese invasion in the best way when it peopled its territory with fifty million Europeans. The future sovereignty of the Australian Continent was involved in this question, and Australasia should be peopled as rapidly as possible from the Anglo-Saxon stock. In his paper the author gave the Chinese every credit for the virtues they possessed, whilst at the same time he exposed their vices, which he said had to be provided against. Sir James Hector thought that the political aspect of this important question was not suitable for discussion here; but it had also a wide bearing on ethnological science. As regarded the Chinese, taken as a whole, no section of the human race extended over a wider range of climatic conditions, and yet preserved what were to our eye constant national characteristics; nevertheless, there must be great differences in

character and habit, and consequently classes of Chinese might exist that would be dangerous among our community, while others might be unobjectionable, and even desirable. There was, however, a wide gap between Chinese and European races; and why should the colonies which had been secured with so much enterprise as a relief for the overcrowding of our own parent-country, be voluntarily surrendered to an outside race? The speaker also expressed himself strongly against the establishment in our towns of special Chinese quarters. Mr. Hulke said that Mr. Phillips deserved great credit for having had the courage to tackle the Chinese question; but he did not think the idea could be carried out. We could not legally or morally prevent their coming. We ought, however, to make laws to protect us from any evil that might arise from their presence. We could put a material check upon them by enacting that no foreigner might keep a retail shop—any one wishing to do so must thus become naturalized; and this was very repugnant to the feelings of a Chinaman, for when once naturalized—his pig-tail cut off—he would lose caste, and could not well return to China. As gardeners they were a necessity. Mr. Phillips, in reply to Sir James Hector, said that the control of the immigration would be quite easy. A certain amount of fraud would be committed in consequence of the resemblance of the Chinese to each other; but a percentage might be allowed for fraud. A certain amount of evil existed under every law. There were, luckily, only certain treaty-ports from which the Chinese could emigrate, and our consuls were there. When the number of residential licenses for each colony had been granted, no more would be issued. Each Chinaman with us then must always possess his license. He might pass it on to a friend, but the punishment for such an offence (being without a license) would be deportation to China. The Chinese authorities would see the wisdom of this course, as they did not allow us to travel much beyond the treaty-ports. It was necessary for us to treat China courteously. She was our nearest neighbour, and a powerful one too. Some future Chinese Tamerlane, issuing out of Northern Australia and sweeping down the Queensland coast, might lay every city in ashes. It was more advisable to cultivate feelings of friendship with so powerful a neighbour than feelings of enmity. Hostile feelings easily take root in the birth of young nations.—In reply to Mr. Hulke, Mr. Phillips said he did not think it right that we should insist upon the naturalization of the Chinese. If we insisted upon that, then China could insist upon British residents in China giving up their nationality and becoming Chinamen.