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- Report to the Honorable Huang Jun Quan, the Chinese Consul General in Francisco
April ,1886
The Honorable Huang,
We are Chinese merchants and Directors of the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Associations in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. We report to Your Honor to forward our report to the Honorable Zeng, the Chinese Ambassador to England, for protection to fight against the discriminating laws. Since the trade development between China and Canada, we have been residing in Victoria, British Columbia. There are now over 100 Chinese stores, and the total number of Chinese, including railway workers, gold miners, fishers and maids, reaches 17,000. The local people have treated us well. However, in recent years they began to hate us out of jealousy. They passed a law in 1884 that every Chinese should pay head tax for the rights to live in British Columbia. It was abolished eventually because of the protest of the Chinese who launched a petition through the former Chinese Consul-General Huang in Francesco to the Chinese Ambassador to England. Evil stages a comeback only a few years gone by. In September last year, the Legislature again passed a law that every Chinese entering British Columbia should pay $50 head tax, and every Chinese currently living in B.C. should pay $10 annually for a license to live in the province. We were forced to protest to the Provincial Governor, who approved the $50 head tax, and rejected the $10 annual fee. The Parliament was discontented with it, and submitted it in February this year to the British Queen for arbitration. Their motion is to compel every Chinese currently living in British Columbia to pay $10 annually, and the gold miners to pay $15 more. We do not know yet whether it would come into force. We are extremely worried: what can we do with it? We come here from so far away to make a living. We work very hard to keep a simple and frugal life.
We assume that Your Honor, having been so caring for us, would not reject us. Could you please forward our report to the Honorable Zeng, the Chinese Ambassador to England so that His Honor could issue a protest to the British Government. If it could be successfully done, we shall be eternally indebted.
We beg Your Honor to bestow favors
Yours sincerely
The Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Associations in Victoria
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