File No. 15077/41–43.
Minister Fox to the
Secretary of State.
[Extract.]
American Legation,
Quito, December 30,
1908.
No. 424.]
Sir: I have the honor to inclose herewith
copies of certain correspondence between the consul general at Guayaquil
and myself with regard to the desire of one Wong Koon Hou, a Chinese
citizen of the Territory of Hawaii, to be allowed to enter the port of
Guayaquil. I beg to state that the documents submitted through the
consul general were:
- 1.
- Certificate of Hawaiian birth No. 178, dated May 6, 1901,
issued by the secretary of the Territory.
- 2.
- Certificate of residence No. 9830, dated May 7, 1901, issued
by the collector of internal revenue for the district of
Hawaii.
The latter designates this man as Chinese laborer and the certificate
contains the following note:
No Chinese laborer, whether he shall hold this certificate or
not, shall be allowed to enter any State, Territory, or District
of the United States, from the Hawaiian Islands.
I sincerely trust for approval for my action.
I have, etc.,
[Inclosure 1.]
Consul General Dietrich to Minister Fox.
American Consulate General,
Guayaquil, December 24,
1908.
No. 57.]
Sir: Mr. Tay Sing has just handed me
certificate of birth and certificate of residence of Mr. Wong Koon
Hou, of Honolulu, which certificates I inclose herewith for your
inspection. I am informed that Mr. Wong Koon Hou is now at Payta,
Peru, and wishes to come to Guayaquil, and for that reason forwarded
papers to Mr. Tay Sing, to ascertain whether there would be any
difficulty of his being allowed to land here.
I find that I have not in the consulate the act of Congress approved
May 5, 1892, as amended by the act of November 3, 1893, and
therefore I am unable to satisfy myself clearly on this point,
although I feel certain that he is entitled to the same protection
as an American citizen, and in my opinion should be allowed to enter
Ecuador as an American citizen.
The acts referred to above, which I have not here for examination,
you no doubt have at the legation. They will be found in volume 27,
page 25, and volume 28, page 7, respectively. If you will refer to
these volumes, you can clear up this subject for me. I have told Mr.
Tay Sing to wait until I could
[Page 243]
hear from you on this subject before
attempting to advise this man in the matter.
I will thank you if you will send copy of the acts of May 5, 1892,
and November 3, 1893, when returning Mr. Wong Koon Hou’s papers to
me for the files of the consulate.
I have, etc.,
[Inclosure 2.]
Minister Fox to
Consul General Dietrich.
American Legation,
Quito, December 29,
1908.
Sir: I have to acknowledge your
communication of the 24th instant, in which is requested advice as
to whether Mr. Wong Koon Hou, of Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands, a
citizen thereof of Chinese birth and who is now in Payta, Peru,
could come to Guayaquil without any difficulty to his landing being
interposed by the Ecuadorian authorities.
In reply I have to state that it is inferred that this inquiry is
made on behalf of Mr. Wong because he is of the Chinese race, and
further because the immigration of people of this race is proscribed
by the law of Ecuador. It is also assumed that it is desired to
enlist the good offices of the legation in this case.
My instructions clearly limit this legation to the exercising of good
offices in behalf of Chinese subjects living in Ecuador, and this is
confined to friendly intervention, in case of need, for the
protection of the persons and property of these Chinese.
It appears from the statement and the papers submitted that Mr. Wong
is not a Chinese subject, neither is he living in Ecuador, nor has
he ever been here. In my opinion this case does not, therefore, come
within the purview of my instructions in the matter of the
protection of the Chinese in this country.
With regard to your contention that Mr. Wong is entitled to the same
protection as an American citizen, and to enter Ecuador as such, I
would say that it is not within the province of this legation either
to decide upon the hypothetical question or incumbent upon it to ask
the Government of Ecuador to do so. The papers are herewith
returned.
I am, etc.,
