Japanese Immigration to British Columbia and the Vancouver Riot of 1907 ––––––– A Sourcebook Selected, transcribed and annotated By Chris Willmore Cover: Anonymous. (c. 1912). Japanese Women, Vancouver [Photograph]. Collection of C. Willmore Victoria, B.C. November 2020 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. 2 Table of Contents Antecedents ..................................................................................................................................5 “A great kindness toward Japan” (October 5, 1893) ............................................................................................ 5 “Regularly as clock work” (March 13, 1895) ........................................................................................................ 5 “Scarce this year” (August 12, 1895) .................................................................................................................... 6 “It was not Japan’s desire” (January 25, 1896) .................................................................................................... 6 “Perfect and efficient laws” (July 6, 1896) ........................................................................................................... 7 “Not conducive to the general good” (March 7, 1901) ...................................................................................... 10 “The Japanese question” (August 7, 1907) ........................................................................................................ 11 The Natal Acts.............................................................................................................................. 14 “There still remains an effectual way” (June 4, 1900) ....................................................................................... 14 “British Columbia had grievances” (June 14, 1900) ........................................................................................... 15 “Natal Act in Force” (January 2, 1901) ............................................................................................................... 16 The act is disallowed (August 4, 1902) ............................................................................................................... 16 “British Columbia was sacrificed” (December 15, 1902) ................................................................................... 18 The Natal Act is re-enacted (April 9, 1903) ........................................................................................................ 18 “The Natal Act is working overtime” (November 18, 1903) .............................................................................. 19 “A notable fact” (November 18, 1903)............................................................................................................... 20 “Seriously called in question” (December 12, 1903).......................................................................................... 20 The New Immigration Act (May 26, 1904) ......................................................................................................... 22 “The Immigration Act will not be tested” (July 7, 1904) .................................................................................... 23 “Again Disallowed” (January 23, 1905) .............................................................................................................. 23 Mr. Bowser enters the ring (January 30, 1907) .................................................................................................. 24 Mr. Bowser’s Natal Act (March 25, 1907) .......................................................................................................... 25 “Of more than ordinary importance” (April 3, 1907) ......................................................................................... 25 “Desirable exclusion” (April 19, 1907)................................................................................................................ 26 “Dunsmuir withheld his signature” (May 17, 1907) ........................................................................................... 29 Attorney-General Bowser (July 25, 1907) .......................................................................................................... 29 “It is now up to Sir Wilfrid Laurier” (July 25, 1907) ............................................................................................ 30 Bowser defies Dunsmuir (July 26, 1907) ............................................................................................................ 31 Martin vs Bowser (August 2, 1907) .................................................................................................................... 31 A significant typo (August 6, 1907)..................................................................................................................... 34 “The fate of the Bowser Bill” (September 7, 1907) ............................................................................................ 35 “Partly correct and partly incorrect” (September 9, 1907) ................................................................................ 37 Vancouver’s Asiatic Exclusion League ........................................................................................... 39 “Excitement in Vancouver” (July 26, 1907) ........................................................................................................ 39 “A white man’s country” (August 5, 1907) ......................................................................................................... 39 “Canadians for Canada” (August 13, 1907) ........................................................................................................ 39 “Undesirables” (August 13, 1907) ...................................................................................................................... 42 The Vancouver Riot ...................................................................................................................... 46 “Let us go down with guns” (August 24, 1907) .................................................................................................. 46 “The big parade” (September 6, 1907) .............................................................................................................. 46 “Vancouver hoodlums disgrace their city” (September 8, 1907) ...................................................................... 47 “The dimensions of an international question” (September 9, 1907) ............................................................... 48 “Bathed in riot” (September 9, 1907) ................................................................................................................ 49 “Law and order were lost” (September 9, 1907) ............................................................................................... 51 “Two nights of rioting and destruction” (September 9, 1907) .......................................................................... 56 “Hundreds of Chinese strike” (September 9, 1907) ........................................................................................... 58 Opinions in Ottawa (September 9, 1907) ........................................................................................................... 60 “A strong undercurrent of unrest” (September 10, 1907) ................................................................................. 61 3 “Chinese return to work to-morrow” (September 10, 1907) ............................................................................ 66 “Hailed with delight” (September 11, 1907) ...................................................................................................... 66 “The last embers of the riot” (September 11, 1907) ......................................................................................... 67 “There is no rioting or drunkenness” (September 11, 1907) ............................................................................. 69 “Chinese ask that protection be given” (September 11, 1907) ......................................................................... 69 “Conditions are now quite normal” (September 12, 1907) ............................................................................... 70 From Hawaii’s Japanese press (September 13, 1907) ........................................................................................ 71 Hawaii and the Gotoh-Bowser Affair ............................................................................................ 73 “Canada’s Treaty with Japan” (January 29, 1907) .............................................................................................. 73 “Fifty thousand Japanese” (February 1, 1907) ................................................................................................... 74 “Provincial rights invaded” (February 2, 1907) .................................................................................................. 76 “Infinite trouble had arisen” (February 2, 1907) ................................................................................................ 78 The Natal test as a barrier to immigration (March 25, 1907) ............................................................................ 78 “A habit in British Columbia” (April 10, 1907) .................................................................................................... 79 The Kumeric