CONGRESS. (THE ISTHMIAN CANAL.) 



189 



restrictions upon Chinese persons and require 

 them to comply with such strict provisions that 

 no Chinese having the least respect for himself 

 would submit to such indignities and come to 

 this country. I fear the effect of the bill, if it 

 becomes a law, will be that Chinese merchants 

 will not come here to buy goods nor students 

 come for educational purposes. 



" Another feature of the bill must be alluded 

 to. The new possessions of the United States, 

 such as Porto Rico, the Hawaiian Islands, the 

 Philippines, and others which may hereafter be 

 acquired, are subjected to its provisions. It can 

 not be claimed that they were considered when 

 the treaty was negotiated, and it is hardly just 

 or in accordance with international comity that 

 the treaty should be extended to them without 

 the consent of China. 



" I have received repeated instructions from 

 the Imperial Government, in view of the reenact- 

 ment of the exclusion laws, to exert myself to see 

 that treaty rights are observed and that no unnec- 

 essary hardships are placed upon Chinese subjects, 

 and I feel that on account of the pendency of the 

 legislation referred to I could not refrain from 

 asking you to lay before the honorable Congress 

 the views above set forth. You know that in 

 regard to the exclusion of laborers my Govern- 

 ment and myself have stood ready to cooperate 

 with your Government in making the treaty pro- 

 hibition effective. But with regard to the exempt 

 classes who seek to come here for trading, edu- 

 cational, and other legitimate purposes, I must 

 earnestly protest against the unwarranted and 

 unjust provisions of the bill. In place of ' in- 

 suring the greatest degree of fairness and justice,' 

 as stated by the Immigration Committee, it 

 would impose such indignities and hardships 

 upon these classes that few, if any, would come 

 here. And notwithstanding the sincere wish of 

 my Government and myself to maintain and 

 cement closer the friendly relations between the 

 two countries, I greatly fear that those friendly 

 relations would be endangered by the enforce- 

 ment of the act." 



April 16, the Senate adopted, instead of the 

 committee measure, a brief substitute offered by 

 Mr. Platt, of Connecticut, and passed the meas- 

 ure by a vote of 76 to 1. April 17 this substi- 

 tute was passed as an amendment to the House 

 bill. 



After the usual non-concurrence and two con- 

 ferences, it was modified slightly and accepted 

 by both houses of Congress. 



It was approved by the President, April 29, 

 1902, in the following form: 



" Be it enacted by the Senate and House of 



epresentatives of the United States of America 

 in Congress assembled, That all laws now in 

 force prohibiting and regulating the coming of 

 Chinese persons, and persons of Chinese descent, 

 into the United States, and the residents of such 

 persons therein, including sections 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 

 11, 13, and 14 of the act entitled 'An Act to 

 prohibit the coming of Chinese laborers into the 

 United States,' approved Sept. 13, 1888, be, and 

 the same are hereby, reenacted, extended, and 

 continued so far as the same are not inconsistent 

 with treaty obligations, until otherwise provided 

 by law, and said laws shall also apply to the 

 island territory under the jurisdiction of the 

 United States, and prohibit the immigration of 

 Chinese laborers, not citizens of the United 

 States, from such island territory to the main- 

 land territory of the United States, whether 

 in such island territory at the time of cession or 

 not, and from one portion of the island territory 



of the United States to another portion of said 

 island territory: Provided, hoicecer, That said 

 laws shall not apply to the transit of Chinese 

 laborers from one island to another island of the 

 same group; and any islands within the jurisdic- 

 tion of any State or the District of Alaska shall 

 be considered a part of the mainland under this 

 section. 



" SEC. 2. That the Secretary of the Treasury 

 is hereby authorized and empowered to make and 

 prescribe, and from time to time to change, such 

 rules and regulations not inconsistent with the 

 laws of the land as he may deem necessary and 

 proper to execute the provisions of this act and 

 the acts hereby extended and continued and of 

 the treaty of Dec. 8, 1894, between the United 

 States and China, and with the approval of the 

 President to appoint such agents as he may deem 

 necessary for the efficient execution of said treaty 

 and said acts. 



" SEC. 3. That nothing in the provisions of this 

 act or any other act shall be construed to pre- 

 vent, hinder, or restrict any foreign exhibitor, 

 representative, or citizen of any foreign nation, 

 or the holder, who is a citizen of any foreign 

 nation, of any concession or privilege from any 

 fair or exposition authorized by act of Congress 

 from bringing into the United States, under con- 

 tract, such mechanics, artisans, agents, or other 

 employees, natives of their respective foreign coun- 

 tries, as they or any of them may deem necessary 

 for the purpose of making preparation for install- 

 ing or conducting their exhibits or are preparing 

 for installing or conducting any business author- 

 ized or permitted under or by virtue of or pertain- 

 ing to any concession or privilege which may have 

 been or may be granted by any said fair or expo- 

 sition in connection with such exposition, under 

 such rules and regulations as the Secretary of the 

 Treasury may prescribe, both as to the admission 

 and return of such person or persons. 



" SEC. 4. That it shall be the duty of every 

 Chinese laborer, other than a citizen, rightfully 

 in, and entitled to remain in any of the insular 

 territory of the United States (Hawaii excepted) 

 at the time of the passage of this act, to obtain 

 within one year thereafter a certificate of resi- 

 dence in the insular territory wherein he resides, 

 which certificate shall entitle him to residence 

 therein, and upon failure to obtain such certifi- 

 cate as herein provided he shall be deported from 

 such insular territory; and the Philippine Com- 

 mission is authorized and required to make all 

 regulations and provisions necessary for the en- 

 forcement of this section in the Philippine Is- 

 lands, including the form and substance of the 

 certificate of residence so that the same shall 

 clearly and sufficiently identify the holder there- 

 of and enable officials to prevent fraud in the 

 transfer of the same: Provided, however, That, if 

 said Philippine Commission shall find that it i> 

 impossible to complete the registration herein 

 provided for within one year from the passage 

 of this act, said commission is hereby authorized 

 and empowered to extend the time for such regis- 

 tration for a further period not exceeding one 

 year." 



The Isthmian Canal. Jan. 9, 1902, the 

 House of Representatives passed by a vote of 308 

 yeas to 2 nays a bill " to provide for the con- 

 struction of a canal connecting the waters of the 

 Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.'' It authorized the 

 President to act on the matter; but it determined 

 upon the Nicaragua route, disregarding any other. 

 It was on this point that the only difference cf 

 opinion arose. After many years of discussion 

 there has come substantial agreement as to the 



