No. 214.
Mr. Bayard
to Mr. Denby.
Department
of State,
Washington, June 7,
1888.
No. 328.]
Sir: The treaty concluded in this city on March 12
last, between the Chinese minister and myself, was, as you have been
heretofore informed,
[Page 311]
duly
submitted to the Senate for its advice and consent, and a full copy thereof,
together with the message of the President transmitting the same, have been
transmitted to you for your information.
On the 7th of May the treaty was confirmed by the Senate, with two
amendments.
I now inclose a copy of the treaty as so amended, and with it a copy of the
correspondence* held by me
with Mr. Chang Yen Hoon, the Chinese minister, by which you will perceive
that he does not consider that the Senate’s amendments change the force or
effect of the text of the original treaty and that he accepts the same as in
consonance with the treaty as concluded.
It appears also by the letter of his excellency that, under the Chinese
system of making treaties, it is necessary that all conventions shall
receive the imperial assent before the exchange of ratifications can be
authorized. To this end, the treaty upon being signed was at once
transmitted to the Chinese foreign office at Peking.
The effect of the Senate amendments was to necessitate a submission of them
likewise to the same authority, and they have, therefore, been duly
forwarded to Peking by the Chinese minister.
Pending the consideration of the treaty and the Senate amendments by the
authorities in China, and the communication of the result of such
consideration to the Chinese minister here, the latter has embarked for
Peru, to be absent several months in the performance of his official duties
as minister duly accredited by China to represent that Government in
Peru.
The delay consequent upon his absence, and the action of the Senate in
attaching amendments to the treaty, will prevent the enactment at this
session of the legislation by Congress needed to carry the treaty into
effect, and nothing more can probably be done until the reassembling of
Congress in December next.
In the interim, however, the treaty as amended may be received from China,
and ratifications being exchanged it may be within the power of the
President to make proclamation of its final adoption.
I am, etc.,
[lnclosure in No. 328.]
Copy of treaty as amended.
Whereas on the 17th day of November, A. D. 1880, a treaty was concluded
between the United States and China for the purpose of regulating,
limiting, or suspending the coming of Chinese laborers to, and their
residence in, the United States;
And whereas the Government of China, in view of the antagonism and much
deprecated and serious disorders to which the presence of Chinese
laborers has given rise in certain parts of the United States, desires
to prohibit the emigration of such laborers from China to the United
States;
And whereas the Government of the United States and the Government of
China desire to co-operate in prohibiting such emigration, and to
strengthen in other ways the bonds of friendship between the two
countries;
Now, therefore, the President of the United States has appointed Thomas
F. Bayard, Secretary of State of the United States, as his
Plenipotentiary; and His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of China has
appointed Chang Yen Hoon, Minister of the Third Rank of the Imperial
Court, Civil President of the Board of Imperial Cavalry and Envoy
Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, as his Plenipotentiary; and
the
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said plenipotentiaries,
having exhibited their respective full powers found to be in due and
good form, have agreed upon the following articles:
Article I.
The high contracting parties agree that for a period of twenty years,
beginning with the date of the exchange of the ratifications of this
Convention, the comings except under the conditions hereinafter
specified, of Chinese laborers to the United States shall be absolutely
prohibited; and this prohibition shall extend to the
return of Chinese laborers who are not now in the United States,
whether holding return certificates under existing laws or
not.
Article II.
The preceding article shall not apply to the return to the United States
of any Chinese laborer who has a lawful wife, child, or parent in the
United States, or property therein of the value of one thousand dollars,
or debts of like amount due him and pending settlement. Nevertheless,
every such Chinese laborer shall, before leaving the United States,
deposit, as a condition of his return, with the collector of customs of
the district from which he departs, a full description in writing of his
family, or property, or debts, as aforesaid, and shall be furnished by
said collector with such certificate of his right to return under this
treaty as the laws of the United States may now or hereafter prescribe
and not inconsistent with the provisions of this treaty; and should the
written description aforesaid be proved to be false, the right of return
thereunder, or of continued residence after return, shall in each case
be forfeited. And such right of return to the United States shall be
exercised within one year from the date of leaving the United States;
but such right of return to the United States may be extended for an
additional period, not to exceed one year, in cases where by reason of
sickness or other cause of disability beyond his control such Chinese
laborer shall be rendered unable sooner to return; which facts shall be
fully reported to the Chinese consul at the port of departure, and by
him certified, to the satisfaction of the collector of the port at which
such Chinese subject shall land in the United. States. And no such Chinese laborer shall be permitted to enter the United
States by land or sea without producing to the proper officer of the
customs the return certificate herein required.
Article III.
The provisions of this Convention shall not affect the right at present
enjoyed of Chinese subjects, being officials, teachers, students,
merchants, or travelers tor curiosity or pleasure, but not laborers, of
coming to the United States and residing therein. To entitle such
Chinese subjects as are above described to admission into the United
States they may produce a certificate from their Government or the
Government where they last resided, viséd by the diplomatic or consular
representative of the United States in the country or port whence they
depart.
It is also agreed that Chinese laborers shall continue to enjoy the
privilege of transit across the territory of the United States in the
course of their journey to or from other countries, subject to such
regulations by the Government of the United States as may be necessary
to prevent said privilege of transit from being abused.
Article IV.
In pursuance of Article III of the immigration treaty between the United
States and China, signed at Peking on the 17th day of November, 1880, it
is hereby understood and agreed that Chinese laborers, or Chinese of any
other class, either permanently or temporarily residing in the United
States, shall have for the protection of their persons and property all
rights that are given by the laws of the United States to citizens of
the most favored nation, excepting the right to become naturalized
citizens. And the Government of the United States re-affirms its
obligation, as stated in said Article III, to exert all its power to
secure protection to the persons and property of all Chinese subjects in
the United States.
Article V.
Whereas Chinese subjects, being in remote and unsettled regions of the
United States, have been the victims of injuries in their persons and
property at the hands of wicked and lawless men, which unexpected events
the Chinese Government regrets, and for which it has claimed an
indemnity the legal obligation of which the Government of the United
States denies; and whereas the Government of the United States,
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humanely considering these
injuries and hearing in mind the firm and ancient friendship between the
United States and China, which the high contracting parties wish to
cement, is desirous of alleviating the exceptional and deplorable
sufferings and losses to which the aforesaid Chinese have been
subjected; therefore, the United States, without reference to the
question of liability therefor (which as a legal obligation it denies),
agrees to pay on or before the 1st day of March, 1889, the sum of
$276,619.75 to the Chinese minister at this capital, who shall accept
the same, on behalf of his Government, as full indemnity for all losses
and injuries sustained by Chinese subjects as aforesaid, and shall
distribute the said money among the said sufferers and their
relatives.
Article VI.
This convention shall remain in force for a period of twenty years,
beginning with the date of the exchange of ratifications; and if, six
months before the expiration of the said period of twenty years, neither
Government shall formally have given notice of its termination to the
other, it shall remain in full force for another like period of twenty
years.
inclosures.
