Chinese Immigration Act 1885 Excerpts from the Chinese Immigration Act of 1885 That Required Most #1 Chinese Immigrants to Pay a Head Tax Upon Entering Canada
Chinese Immigration Act 1885 Excerpts from the Chinese Immigration Act of 1885 that required most #1 Chinese immigrants to pay a head tax upon entering Canada. Reasons for the Head Tax Comments in brackets are not part of the original document. They have been added to assist the reader with difficult words. An Act to Restrict and Regulate Chinese Immigration Into Canada [Assented to [agreed upon] 20th July, 1855.] Section 4: …every person of Chinese origin shall pay…the sum of fifty dollars, except the following persons who shall be exempt from such payment … the members of the Diplomatic Corps, or other Government representa- tives and their suite and their servants, consuls and consular agents; and second: tourists, merchants, men of science and students, who are bearers of certificates of identity, specifying their occupation and their object in coming into Canada …. Section 6: Every master [captain] of any vessel bringing Chinese immigrants to any port in Canada, shall be personally liable to Her Majesty for the payment of the fee imposed by section four of this Act in respect of any immigrant carried by such vessel, and shall deliver, together with the total amount of such fee, to the controller, immediately on his arrival in port and before any of his passengers or crew shall have disembarked, a complete and accurate list of his crew and passengers, showing their names in full, the country and place of their birth, and the occupation and last place of domicile [residence] of each passenger. “Chinese Immigration Act 1885, c. 71: An Act to Restrict and Regulate Chinese Immigration Into Canada,” Asian Canadian, 2005, http://www.asian.ca/ law/cia1885.htm (Accessed October 17, 2011) © Public Domain the critical thinking consortium The “Chinese question” in the #2 British Columbia legislature Excerpt from a speech made during a special session of the British Columbia Reasons for the legislature focused on the “Chinese question” in February 1884.
[Show full text]