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I?3.
139

THE ANTI-JAPANESE PETITION.

APPEAL

IN PROTEST AGAINST

A THREATENED PERSECUTION,

K. T. TAKAHASHI.
A Japanese-Canadian.

• •• « . •■ .

• V ' •

—IT — r-

MOXl REAL :
Gazktte Phintino Company.

1897.

IP323. /7(

,, • • I -• . . •• •

THE ANTI-JAPANESE PETITION.

APPEAL

IN PROTBST AOAINST

A THREATENED PERSECUTION,

K. T. TAKAMASHI.

A Japanusu Canadian.

Ill (Iciuorratic coiiiiti-ii'sjK'opk' uroapt to (hiiik lightly o[
invoking the aid of their logislatmvs. But in reality tliis
is at all times a most weighty affair, and should the invo-
eation he in furtherance of some unjust scheme, nothing
eould he more eondemnahle than such an ahuse. And it
hehooves all patriotic citizens to rise in solemn protest on
sueii occasions.

In duty hound, then, I as a loyal citizen of Canada
appeal to you who are our representative men for your
und)-'ided support to my representations, which I humhly
subiiiit hcreinbelow.

Some interested persons have for some months past been
soliciting signatures to what they term an "Anti-Japanese
petition " addressed to the House of Commons of Canada
in Parliament assembled. It prays, in substance, that a

61864

new law 1h' ciiactt'd to alter the [(rcsriit stalut«»i-y jtrovi-
niiMiH of (Canada for iiatiirali/iitioii as far us it coiictTiis tho
Jaftanosc iniiiiii^raiits, iiisiiinatiugtliat tlio latter (tlu- Japan-
cue) have l>een in tlie iialiit of reH()rtin«i: to fraudulent prae-
tieoH in obtaining tlieir naturalization papers.

Now, there ire to-<lay in Canada, over four hundn'd
men and women of JupaJieso race who are domiciled and
naturalized, myself heini; one of them. If the Parliament
lejfislate a new specitic law on the strenirlh of the state-
ments of these petitioners, who styh' tViemselves "anti-
Japanese," tlje meanin.u; and result (»f su< h an Act will be
to jvrcK'laim, under the irreat Seal of the Stat*', that we, wlio
are Canadians, are so only through a fraud, and that other-
wise we are objectionable intruders.

I, on behalf of tlies*' four hundred threatened Ja[>anese
Camidians, and also on my own account, declare most
emphatically that we are lawfully and le_u;ally the citizens
of Canada, and that we shall consider any law wiiii-'u imty
bo passed to vitiate this our sacred status, as both nnjust,
tvrannical and unconstitutional.

Furthermore, T solemnly pn»tcst that our threat machinery
of leujislation must not be trifled with to abet cons[>iracy ;
and I appeal to yo>i, in wliose hands rests the jjood name
of Canada, that, within hi-r mii^hty dominion, no law be
framed or tolerated which threatens to perpetuate an in-
justice and persecution upon a large number of her innocent
and law-abiding peoi)le.

I may anticipate a retort that the petitioners are not
conspirators, and do not mean any persecution. It must
be remend»ered, however, that, to the intelligent public of
Canada, the Anti-Japanese agitation has always appeared
ill-advised and uncalle<l for; while the insincerity which is
ai)parent in all their stated grii'vances, and the discrepan-
cies which exist between their allegations and the actual
facts, would clearly indicate that it is the petitioners' policy

.^.

to Tni;-<lon(l the pctiplo and TniTiamciit witli a n.orc flourish
of assortions and insiimatioii.-'.

Bclnu: inicalltMl lor, ami not warranted hy tactH, and yet
plaiinini;' tor a ijrcat wronir, it would aiipcar that tlio ]K'ti-
tioni'rs' attitude cannot luit Ik- that of i'onsjtirint^ plotters
and persecutors.

It may he asked, What reason is there to show that the
hiw (h'nianded i>y the petitioners is uin ailed tor? In reply,
I suhinit that Japan lias a very strin,L'"<'nt law in oj)eration,
which provides that no suhjeet o\ tluit ein[>ire shall leavt'
its hounilary without a written [lerniit, in the form of a
})assport, the i^ranting of which depends totally up(Ui the
cliaracter of the ai)i)licants.

Now, the dapani'se are a very proud peo[)le, most
intensely jealous of their national reputation, and they
camiot hear the thouifht that their countrvmen mi<;ht
hecome a cause of prejudice and disc-redit abroad. Ai^ain,
as admitted hy all th(>se who know, Ja[)an\s police system
and otlier administrative organi/,ati<tns of vi«^ilance and
inspection are the most i)erfect and etHeient in tin* world.
These two cii'cumstances c(»mhined nuike the . Japanese
emigration law a most effective measure. An instance of
this was when Hon. T. Xosse, .lapanese Consul at Van-
couver, memorialized his Goveriniient us to the undesir-
ahility of further granting passports to emigrants hound
for British Columhia. This was in Dei-ember of 1805,
and in consecpience there canu' from Japan not a single
emigrant to that province all through tlu- months of
January, February, March and April of the following
year. This stringency was subsequently relaxecl owing to
the local recpiest. At all events, tliis shows tliat Japan is
not only thoroughly i\\ earnest, but entirely cai'.able of
preventing lier people from becoming an objectiiuiable
a<ldition and burden in foreign lands, and her action has
always been prom[»t in tliis lier most lau<lal>le ettort.

To all fair iniiidcd Canadians, tlierctoro, it can not bnt
1)0 plain that any Hpccial law to exclude tlio .Fapant'Ht' \h not
only cMitiri'ly supi'pHnoiiH, but unjnstitiaKlc from an intorna-
titmal point of viow. For own loss than ayoar ago, during
tho last sossioii of tiio I'arliuniont nncU-r the (/onservativo
(Jovornniont ot Cana(hi, niiiny prominent momltors, inohnl-
uig Sir Charlos Tiippor, tho thon I'romior, and tho Hon.
Mr. Lanrior, did not hositato to (h'lnmni'o a foroign bill,
known as tho " Alion Bill," thon [)ondinjL? in tho Conj^ross
of tho Unitod States of Anu-rioa, as nnjnst and nnoivilizotl.
J'rooisoly for the reason that we Canadians arooivili/A'd and
eidi<«;htened, thoy tln-n ai;rood not to onti'rtain any retalia-
tory measures nntil it had bei-n ascertained that tin- Wash-
inu;ton (ilovernment wonld not bo conoiliatod. X(»to, thon,
that Japan has to-day beoomo a oo-i'([iial of tho most eivil-
i/A'd mitions of Europe and America, by reason of their
havinsjf conoeded to her donnnids in ratifying tho revised
treaties of 1894. 1 [01100 Jajian, as a power, should reoeive,
and is entitled to, all tbo international oourtesios as observed
by tbe oivili/ed mitions of tlu' world. Is it possible, then,
that Canada, whoso representative men had so recently
declared even retaliation as iinwortliv of her national recti-
fiide, tliongh in jiresonoo of an open affront, would not
only ignore a most exom[>lary dis[iosition of a nation wbose
wishes have boon respectfully heeded by all the groat powers,
but would themselves assume the offoiisi>'o with not 80
much as an attempt at a friendly lonsultation ? I charac-
terize such a proceeding as a pusillanimous inconsistency,
and repeat that such a law as domamkul by the petitioners
is both unnecessary and unjustitiable.

It is true, the petitioners make various statements in
justification ot their contention. I beg, therefore, to show
how much truth and reason there are in their sii^nod
depositions.

Firstly, thoy say : " That, wbon-as the Japanese, 011

account of the low Htaml'm^ of living to which they havo
been uccustoiiu'd in tlieir own country, are willing to take,
and do accept, a much lowiT scale of wages than it \n pos-
sible for Canadians to accept and maintain themselves and
their families."

This is botli misleading and faise.

In .rapan, her brooks and rivers, ponds and lakes, whiirh
are numerous and everywhere, and the scan which surround
her islands, yield a great al>undan<'e of tish. Then the soil,
which is generally rich and fertde, atfords in a more
prolific measure much larger variety of vegetables than in
Caiuula. Being plentiful and easily obtainable, both tish
and vegetables are ex<'eedingly cheap there ; but being
fresh from Nature's stores, they are always wholesome and
nutritious, and the Japanese — high and low — delight in
tliem and live upon them.

The petitioners' evasive phrase, " the low standard of
living," is, therefore, meaiungless except as an insinuation
suggested by the fact that in Clnmi they have a large,
floating pojiulation that have no home, no citizenship, but
live, sim[)ly live, from day to day, upon the dregs ami
refuse of the street, and are ever t)ining even for shivery
abroad rather than continue their native life under the
incessant pressure of hunger and inhumanity.

With tliese people, frugality verging u[»on starvation is
inevitable, and low living becomes a habit, .lapan, liow-
ever, is not China, and is absolutely free from those exe-
crable features so characteristic of the latter. Xot only
that, but even what is commonly known in the great cities
of Europe and America as the " pau[>er class" is an
unknown (pumtity and [>ractii'ally has never existed in
Jiapan. In other words, even the lowest class of people in
Japan have no opportunity to become habituated to what
may be termed a " low standard of living." To say the

Ica.st, tlu'ii, it is most inislfiitlini:' to sjicnk nl' flic .liipiiiiosc
standard (d'liviiii; as " low."'

Ah for tlio nll('<^atioii that llu- .lapain'sc acct'pl, a much
lower scale of \va<,';cs, etc., it is iiiHiualificdly false. Aceus-
toine(l to a life (d plentiful and easy misteiiaiiee, direct
from the hands of their own indulgent Xatiire, it iw a eoin-
mon experience of ail the .Ia|>anese who venture ahroad
that they cannot live as cheap as the natives of the place.
This is esiieciaHv true in a countrv like onr Doniiniitn,
where the edihle tloia iiud tislu's are coinparativt'ly limited
ami I'epi-csent much expense, and the .lajtam'se lniv(! to
<'hoose hi'tweon pavini"- more to satisfy theii' native tastes or
adojtt tlie mode of lite of Canadian mitives. In eithei*
case, it is therefore a [diysical imitossihility for them to
lis'e in Canadi. and aci-ept u scale (A' waiires lower than that
of th white workers. As a nmtter of fact, they tlo not.

I have carefully ii'athered and learned from most reli-
ahle sources the kiinl of jttirsuits that the .lai>anese ii'ener-
ally take up in this country and the scale of wattes tin'V
accept in so doinii;. These are hoat-huildinir. net-makin«f,
saw-mill han«ls, rancliinu", farming;, collii'ry and salmon
lishint;' : and tiie minimum waives they do accept in these
trades and industries are not one whit helow what are
C(.»mmoidy accepted by the whitt' people, and are much
hiu^her than tliose prevalent in the eastern provinces.
Furthermore, I ofier tliat if tlie jietitioners would submit
wlwit they consider as an avcrai^i' scale of waj^es of the
white workers, I shall also show that the same of the
dapanese in Canada is not any way diii'erent therefrom.
I may achl that in .Iai)an itsi'lt' wat?(\s have risen 100 per
cent., and even 200 per cent, in some cases, in consefpience
of ii;reat strides made tiiere in matters commercial and
industrial duriiii;; the last iivc or six years. With tlie
adoption of a gold standard, a measure wViich has lately
passed both the houses of the Diet, there is every iiidica-

tioii tluit (H'oiiDiiiie iiotiitioiis in .liipaii aii<l ('iiimda will
luM'oinc j»nifti»'ally tin' hiiuw \\\ tlu' iiiiiiu'diatr tiitiir*'.

In tlu lijflit of all tlu'st' t'iriimif*tai\('t'H it »(* jtlain that tlio
|»('titi(>iu'rs' rttatcnu'ut?* a, " b(»tli iuislt'a<lin_L» and t"alHt».

St'condlv tlu'V arifiii' " that wln'icas an a ri'sult ot" their
ahility and tlu'ir willinifiu'ss to ju'ct'pt •.iich a low seah' of
wa<;('s, the dapaiu'sr art' alrcatly r<o scriouHly foni|K'tiiii;
with white lahour in the tisheries, niinintf, Intuherinif and
other indnrttrieH in thirt provin •(•, that lli"'' ;ire to a largo
extent eXk.'lnding white luhourerH troni wnch in Inntries, and
tliere in every [)rol)ahility that in a tew year?-, tliey, totfether
with the Chinese, will entirely mtniopoli '. the wpportnnitiert
for employment in the tisheries, niarket-ijai lening, t-an-
nerieb and other leading in(histrief4 of Briti h C'olninhia."

This is an illnsion forced from the delii>ion I have re-
futeil ahove. Japaiu'se are not and will not be coming in
in large hordes ; nor have they displaced any white lahorcrs
in any industries of IJritish (\>lumhia. There is, therefore,
absolutely no ground for pretending that the dapanese are
going to monopolize the labor nnirket, a j)oint which I
will make still clean-r in my refutation that follows the
next complaint of the petitioners whicli is : " That whereas
the influx of dapanese is continuing on a large scale, and
thereby the rate of wages, and the op[)ortunities for em-
ployment available for Camidian workmen are generally
lessened, the result has been to seriously prejudice the
reputation of British C^)hunbia as a desirable field for im-
miifration from Eastern Canada and the Tnitcd Kiuifdom."

This is again ii gross misi'cpresentation of facts. There
is in the first place no influx of Japanese into liritish
Columbia continuing on a large scale. Some who land
there, from time to time, via the Camidian I'acific vessels,
are mostly transient passengers destine<l to different points
in the United States, as may be verified by the official I'e-
cords of tlie liealth clearance })apers, issued and ke[)t by the

United States Emigration Coniniissioiier in Vancouver ;
and tliere is nothing singular in the .Ia]»anese preferring tiie
Canadian to other routes heeause thi' t'oimer offiTs the hest
rat(! and aeeoiiiniodation. l'>ut the uuniher ot" .Jaj>anese
who eome with tlie intention of staying and do a<-tnally
Htay in C^anada, is now-a-days exeeediugly small, as it has
always hecn, and the petitioners' statement is in conse-
(pienee a nndieious exaggeration. Not less wanton is tlieir
attemj)t to pivot the cause of tlii' reduction in wages in
British Columhia outo tlie intlux of Japanese. Whatever
be the motive (jii the petitioners" part to forget, tlu'fact
is, that tliis result has hei-n brought about by a mul-
tiple of causes <piite indi'peiident of any . Japanese element.
As is well known, the [)roviiice has become considerably
(Ufveloped during the last eight or ten years, and this
meant economically an improvement in the means of com-
munication and trans[iortatiou, and the widening of the
<'hannel of commerce, whicb induced a more regular and
increased tlow of supply of the necessaries of life, not to
mention nuichinery, implements of agriculture, etc., than
formerly. In consequence down went the prices of food
and clothing aiul the rent. The cost of living reduced, tbe
price of labor or the rate of wages could not help following
suit. It is hence evidently absurd and even ludicrous
to say that the Jajtanese had anything to do in all this, ex-
cept, perha[)s, in helping on tlie progress and development.
Look, for instance, at the earinery industry on the Fraser.
In place of 6 or 7 only ten years ago, tliere are to-day 86
establishments doing thriving business. I know full well a
stock argument of the agitators is that the province of On-
tario has attained its present tlourishing condition without
aid from a single Asiatic, implying that any given ter-
ritory can be opened up without depending in the least
upon Oriental immigrants. But the agitators forget that
all new comers to a new country look for more or less of

l»ar<lships and privations, and would juiturally select such
district as is easy of access and otherwise frt-e of luitural
ol)stacles, as much as possihle. In a }>rovince like British
Colund)ia, which has hut 00,000 whites and :{0,0()0 I-idijms
against a vast area of 450,000 s(|uare miles, the presence of
some eight or nine hundr('(l Jaitanese scattered here and
there can not possibly make any difference to settlers'
minds. And 1 cannot lieli> d()uhtinii:the petitioners' serious-
ness wlien they feiij-n that the .lii[)anese have s[)oiled tiie
oitportunities of British Columbia to induce the Canadians
of eastern townsliips and Britishers to immi5i;i'ate.

Why, nine-tenths of the people of eastern Canada as
well as of the British Islands and European (-ontinent,
know absolutelv nothins;: of British Columl)ia ; while with
tfie remaining one-tenth the sentiment is entirely in favor
of the .Japanese. The real key to the situation is simply
this : Ontario and Manitoba are on this side ot the
Rockies and (»fter all the inducements which htinn-fide
settlers of white race look for, and the;/ (Id not care to
extend thejournei/ to British (hlinnbio at increased cost and.
trouble; and Japanese havi' nothing to do whatever in this
matter. I tlierefore conclude that the pi'titioners wild
assertions are an imposition upon the credulity of the
Parliament and Canadian }»ublic.

Fimdlv thev insinuate " That, whereas as the result of
the extreme facility with which the .)iii»anese immigrants
can become naturalized as ih'itisli subjt'cts, there is great
danger in conse([Uence of the com[»ai'atively small adult
male wbitc population of tlie Province of British Columl>ia
becoming Orientalized to a very great extent, which, with
the ignorance of the . Japanese of the EnglisU language
and of British constitutional methods, involves a serious
menace to the progress and institutions of the province,
•^nd to its peace an<l orderliness."

T protest that .Tapanoso liavi* no more advantage in the
matter of naturalization in Canada than any otlier people;
nor do they eiiiov anv extra facilitv to become a British
subject not grante(l t(^ any other nationality, as darkly
hinted by the [)etition('rs. Again, .hipan, of all countries
in the world is constitutionally nearest to Great Britain,
and her legislative and M<hninistrative methods are of the
most advanced type ever adoptt'd and experimented upon
by mankind. This .lapan has no outcast and no [iauper
(dass ; and her peoj)le in general ari; as apjtreciative of
(h'mocratic [)rincii»les as are average Canadians, and are
law-abiding, industrious and [)rogressive. It is therefore
til height of nudign imagination to say that the immi-
gration of the Japanese people is derogatory to the con-
stitutional prosperity of C^anada.

In cities and towns like Vancouver, Victoria, (^Jomox and
Steveston, where Japanese congrcgati', they have long
since established a (diurch and missions, and an hospital
and s(dK)ols, and beni'tit associations, started and nuiin-
tained exclusively by themselves without any outside as-
sistance. Knglisli is the language taught and. used as
far as ])ossible in the schools ; and Christianity, the relig-
ion, iireached in the (diurch and the missions. The hos-
pital cost the Jajtanese tishermen in and about Steveston,
:;noi-e tlian .$2,500, which they have cheerfully subscribed.
It lias treated some two hundred patients since its opening
and is [troving to be a source of great blessing. The
benciit associations aim at social fraternity and mutual
assistaiue and nothing sjieaks more elo((uently for them
than the fact that there has not yet been a single Jaiianese
in the whole Province of British Columbia who became a
beneticiary ot an}' (diaritable institution since their estab-
lishment.

If these things mean anything, they mean that .Tai>anese
are of a progressive and civilized race.

I have )i,)w sli„wn panio^rai.h by para.jirapli liow utterly
uiiteiiablo are tlic coiitoDtioiis of the lu'titioiicrs.

I shall desist from further i)roIoiiirii,,j.'- my representation
lu'yond remarkiiiiT that the [.etitioiiers' tnie purpose can
not he so much the shuttin^i^ out ot the Japanese as
nionoiM)]i/i„ir to themselves the labor market of British
Cohimhia, so that they nuiy be in position to dictate their
own terms to the employers, .-ai.italists and political parties
of that Province and Canachi. I should not, ho^ve^(■r,
omit to re.-ord here in Justice to my fellow- Jaj.anesc
C'anadian that the real and most serious enemy to the
I>read-winners ot British Columbia are to day as it had
always been, those predatory, aliens other than Jaj.anese
who freely cross and recross the boundary Miu^ and carry
iill their earniuiTs away into the American side. When
prospects are In-tter and wa<jjes rise on our side they
promptly come swarmiuir in and at once make themselves
the competitors of the sons and dauirhters of our soih
As i)romptly they dej.art when the tide chan<rcs, leavinu-
our own workers poorer by what they take awav with
tliem. As aliens they have no ri^trbt of tishin.!? i„ Canadian
waters, but wlien the season opens along tlie Fraser, I am
told, they come and with remarkable despatch make
tliemselves qualitied Canadians. The same is said to be
true in other industries of Britisb Coluiid)ia. Yet singu-
larly enough its labor agitators and the petitioners liave
nothing to say about these. One would conclude that
the hidden but none-the-less real object of the present
agitation and its j.rayers are to inve'igle the Canadian
Government into an intrigue to fatten European immi-
grants and settlers in AVashington and other States of
the American Union, under i)retext of protecting Canadian
workers !

Again by reason of the late war, I bave studiously
avoided all direct comparison between tlie Japanese and

ChiiR>;c, I'Xcept in ont' phrv wlu-ro the pctitioiuTs' asper-
sions mu<U' it inovitaldc. Bnt justice doniands now that
I sliouhl further jtoint out that the jjetitionors arc them-
selves aware of and do recognize the vast ditferonces that
lie hetwoon the two nations. For, do thev not have the
anti-Ja}>anese as well as anti-Chinese petitions, the two being
wholly distinct and dissimilar in their respective wordings
and prayers?

In spite of this forcihie fact, however, in all their public
utterances, the agitators who were the means of getting up
the petitions and securing theri'to the signatures, never liad
any comphiints in particular to make against the Japanese,
but their tactics have always been to speak of ''Chinese
and flaitanese " in one breath and one phrase, as if the two
were one and same [»coj»le with identical traits and char-
acters. It would hence ajipear the petitioners have calcu-
If.icd largely upon such anti-.';i[)anest; spirit as they might
create and foster, knowing well, how generally some
thoughth'ss people prejudge unfavorably of the Japanese
because of some facial semblances they sometimes bear to
the Chinese, wiiile there has always existed a strong antag-
onistic fi'i'ling in jdl civilized countries against the latter
people. It is then almost comdusively plain tliat the peti-
tioners or the (»riginal agitators at least, have hardly any
faith in their own anti-ffapanese contentions, except that
they depend upon this forced extension of anti-Chinese
prejudices. F ask my respected fellow Canadians, in whom
centre our national intelligence and integrity: "Should
Canada be dragged into such irresponsible schemings of
agitators? ""

In the United States here are several thousand Japan-
ese, located principally in the Western State^ on the Paci-
tic. This means that to a square mile of land luuh'r culti-
vation or development, with its population and industries,
there are more Jaitauese there than in our Canada. Yet,

who 1ms ever hoard of sm anti-.Tjipanoso petition in the
United States, tliouirh tlie Gonvy Chinese exclusion law is
a I'omnion knowled^v of the whole world? The in-comini?
(»f .Fapanese into California and other States hegan lon^
betore the eities of Vancouver and Victoria attained tiiei'r
present importance. Tn other words, the Americans have
had longer and larger experiences with the .Japanese, hut
they do not tin.l, and have not found, any cause to object
to the hitter's immigration.

Why, then, do the agitate. rs of British Colund.ia alone
iind fault with the .lapanese?

My most resi)ected fellow-citizens, I have now explained
to you why such a law as demanded by the i>etiti<>ners is
uncalled-for and unjust, how untenable are the grounds of
their contentions, and what is their suspected motive,
together with their mm/jis npcnuu/i. Above all and most
strongly I have declared it that any recognition of the
petitioners' petition will most seriously implicate the posi-
tion of the four huiulred Japanese Canadians, who iuv
both loyal and law-abiding, and that a law sucli as the
above will become a mean? of menace and persecution
upon these innocent and law-abiding citizens.

I have also emphatically pointed out that an anti-
Japanese law will be an act of undignified petulaiicy
toward a friendly i.ower — an act unworthy of British fair-
ness and Canadian dignity.

In conelusiou, I would remark that when the Ilonor-
ables the Ministers Tarte, Davies and IJlair were on their
tour through British Columbia, in the early part of this
year, there were presented to tliem many addresses and
speeches by local representatives of various branches of
industries: in all these, not a word was said in reference
to Japanese.

From this significant tact coupled with anotlier that
Japanese are not cutting into the rates of white men's

, • • . . . • • / . ,

wages, it mu8t l)e inferred that tlioro iH rciiUy no coinplaint
to make agaiiiHt tlieiii and that tiiey are helping on as they
liavc always heen, in the opening np and indnstrial deve-
lopment of British Colnmhia.

Thus looked at from every point of view and considered
under all circumstances, tiie Anti-.Iapanese agitatii.'U is
unjust and any Anti-Japanese law will inaugurate a
persecution.

Therefore, I appeal to you who are legislators, leaders
and teachers of Canada and Caiuidians that you may take
up our cause ami extend us your sympathy and assistance.

I am, in humhle petition,

Your fellow citizen,

K. T. TAKAHASHI.

'M.

•••*•* •

• I • • t

lilt

srs
ke
e.