CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



189 



\vh<> believe in thoir monarchical form of gov- 



s they believe in their religion j who 



icrilice life for it ; who will commit sui- 



:.ir their devotion to their Government 

 .UK! tlioir religion. The edict from China or 



these Chinese companies will be as por- 



. control of these men as could be possibly 

 It will bo absolute and unqualified. It 



.posed to extend to them the elective fran- 



. which follows citizenship under your fif- 

 teenth amendment. There are probably about 



hundred thousand Chinese, nearly all 

 males, upon the Pacific coast. It will be rery 



under these coolie contracts to bring in 

 hundreds of thousands more if you do not 

 i-hei-k this coolie-trade ; it will be very easy 

 for them to have all those men under their con- 

 trol, and they will bo able to sway, if the Amer- 

 ican people submit to it, the political destiny 

 of the Pacific coast. I am no alarmist, but I 

 propose to review this question calmly." 



Mr. Sherman, of Ohio, said : " Mr. President, 

 the amendment offered by the Senator from 

 Oregon raises the question whether wo shall 

 engraft Chinese in the naturalized population 

 of the United States. The amendment offered 

 by the Senator from Massachusetts raises the 

 question whether we shall adopt by our 

 naturalization laws the whole pagan races 

 of the world and engraft them in our popula- 

 tion. These are among the most grave and 

 difficult propositions that have ever been sub- 

 mitted to Congress. We have now but ten 

 days of the session left. It is utterly impossi- 

 ble to discuss these questions in the light of 

 enlightened statesmanship in the ten days left 

 of this session. Indeed, my own study and 

 conviction about the Chinese question and the 

 extension of the naturalization laws would in- 

 duce me to trespass on the time of the Senate 

 for a good while if I chose to discuss it." 



Mr. Trumbull, of Illinois, said : "All I wish 

 to say in reference to this proposition is, that, 

 it' the Chinese are permitted to come to this 

 country, I am for incorporating them as a part 

 of the body-politic and making them citizens 

 of this country. If you allow them to come 

 at all I do not want them here as slaves or 

 inferiors. I do not understand, on the prin- 

 ciple upon which the great Republican party 

 is based and on which it has triumphed, how 

 wo are to refuse to admit as members of the 

 body-politic persons whom we allow to come 

 here and dwell among us. What is to be their 

 condition ? Are they to be slaves or are they 

 to be freemen? I understand our policy is to 

 make freemen of all the men of this country. 

 If the Senator from Oregon and the Senator 

 from Nevada are right, then refuse them ad- 

 mission to this country; but, if you allow 

 them to come, make them a part of the body- 

 politic." 



Mr. Sumner : " The Senator from New York 

 has chosen to make an assault on me to-day 

 because in the discharge of my duties I do not 

 see my duty as he sees his duty ; because on 



this 4th day of July I choose to stand by the 

 Declaration of our fathers. For that I am im- 

 peached by the Senator from New York. 



u Ho presses me topostpono this proposition 

 until to-morrow. When, sir, will that to- 

 morrow come? Can the Senator tell ? Is ho 

 adopt enough to indicate the day or even the 

 week when a vote con be had on it? The 

 Senator knows, he must know, that if not 

 voted on now it will fail during the present 

 session. The Senator shakes his head; but 

 he knows too much of the business now be- 

 fore the Senate not to see that I am right. 

 What chance is there of getting before the 

 Senate the original bill containing this propo- 

 sition? Why, sir, the bill was introduced first 

 in the month of July, 1867, now three years 

 ago. I tried then to put it on its passage, 

 deeming it so simple that there was no need 

 of a reference to any committee. The Senator 

 from Vermont (Mr. Edmunds) prevailed against 

 me by insisting that it should be referred to the 

 Committee on the Judiciary. It was referred, 

 and there it slumbered until that Congress 

 closed, thus sleeping the long sleep. 



" On the 22d of March, 1869, which was in 

 the next Congress, I introduced the same bill 

 again I have it before me and again it 

 slumbered in the hands of the Judiciary Com- 

 mittee until a few weeks ago, when at last it 

 was reported to the Senate. Then it took its 

 place on the Calendar, with the numerous 

 other bills there, important and unimportant, 

 some very important, all in competition with it. 



" What chance have I had for a vote upon 

 it? From the month of July, 1867, down to 

 this hour, Saturday was the first day I was 

 able to have a vote upon it ; and now to-day 

 Senators insist that I shall withdraw it and 

 postpone the whole question to some 'to-mor- 

 row,' some indefinite, unknown to-morrow. 



'To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow, 

 Creeps in this petty pace from day to day, 

 To the last syllable of recorded tune 

 And all our yesterdays havo lighted fools 

 The way to dusty death.' 



" Sir, I am not one of those ' fools.' I will 

 not postpone this question to any 'to-morrow.' 

 The Senate will do as they please ; but, God 

 willing, they shall have an opportunity to vote 

 on it. Vote as you please, sir, but the time has 

 come for a vote. 



" Mr. President, this is not the only bill on 

 the Calendar which concerns the rights of col- 

 ored persons. There are two on the Calendar 

 and one now before the Judiciary Committee. 

 The first on the Calendar was reported by me 

 from the Committee on the District of Colum- 

 bia as long ago as February 8, 1870, and is 

 entitled ' A bill to repeal the charter of the 

 Medical Society of the District of Columbia.' 

 That society has been guilty of an act which I 

 have no hesitation, on all the testimony before 

 us, in declaring to be one of infamy, for which 

 they deserve the promptest judgment of Con- 

 gress, which shall takp from them the power 

 to inflict indignity on their fellow-man. En- 



