alternatehistory.com
March 1852 - Chinese immigration
14 March 1852, Government House, Melbourne, Victoria
Governor Horatio Wills looked at his pile of papers. There were three items under his consideration, the first of which was his replacement. He had no current thoughts in relation to this but would have to correspond with London in regards to it soon.
His second problem was the Chinese. Already 25,000 Chinese had immigrated to California for “Gold Mountain”. Now, at the height of summer, 224 Chinese had arrived on board the large barque Star of Asia. With ‘the diggings” around Ballarat and Clunes already called “New Gold Mountain” it seemed obvious to all concerned that the gold strikes would only be the start of another wave of Chinese immigration. To Will’s mind the presence of potentially so many Chinese in Melbourne and Victoria was likely to constitute a security risk. Who knew where such people’s loyalty lay. Already there were calls within Victoria and indeed Tasmania’s Parliament to take measures to cease or restrict Chinese immigration. Will’s, however, had his own ideas.
Labourer’s were now needed on Melbourne’s suddenly booming docks and the gold fever gripping the colony was dragging away able bodied men to fulfill such a need. From Amoy came indentured Chinese labourers that had been successful in other areas as an alternative to the slave trade and many ships and crews who had previous experience in such a trade, which was probably appropriate as he was certain many did not come voluntarily. The very Treaty of the First Opium War had allowed the presence of British subjects in virtually all Chinese ports and for that reason London would never agree to an exclusion of Chinese immigrants and in any case Will’s had a need for them to feed into Melbourne’s dock work and foresaw a need to use their market gardening and irrigation skills. No, there was more than one way to skin a cat. Chinese miners were not required, however, Chinese labourers were. Wills was to recommend the placement of an 8 pound poll tax on Chinese immigration for single men only. For families or men with wives this was waived. It was also waived for those that came to fill indentured positions for the Colonial Government. This was to become law on 15th June 1852, initially cutting Chinese immigration drastically before it was to flow again in 1853.
His second priority was to greatly increase the presence of the local militia. With the outbreak in January of a full scale Sepoy revolt in India in addition to a Roaylist rebellion in Burma, the 40th Somerset Regiment would not be coming to the colonies at all, leaving Australia and New Zealand garrisoned by only two thinly spread Regiments, namely the 11th and 99th. This was down from a peak of seven Regiments in the 1840’s. To cover such an enormous area such limited forces were, in his own mind, manifestly inadequate. To that end he had obtained permission for some military stores to be left in Melbourne to allow the formation of full Regiment of Rifles, with half in Melbourne and the remainder in Tasmania, New Zealand and South Australia. There was little point in trying to accommodate such an arrangement with New South Wales and it’s vassal states Queensland and North Australia, as the Governor in Sydney, Richard Plantagenet, was a man that seemingly was vested in only his own interests. Relations between New South Wales and Victoria had plunged to an all-time low, fuelled by escaped convicts, jealousy of the gold strikes in Victoria and silly pettifogging, Plantagenet being insanely jealous of all those he thought likely to usurp his prerogatives. Even his own son had broken with the man and now resided in Melbourne. It was a fundamental differences in philosophies, on one side a penal colony based on slave labour, on the other a developing colony.
Governor Horatio Wills looked at his pile of papers. There were three items under his consideration, the first of which was his replacement. He had no current thoughts in relation to this but would have to correspond with London in regards to it soon.
His second problem was the Chinese. Already 25,000 Chinese had immigrated to California for “Gold Mountain”. Now, at the height of summer, 224 Chinese had arrived on board the large barque Star of Asia. With ‘the diggings” around Ballarat and Clunes already called “New Gold Mountain” it seemed obvious to all concerned that the gold strikes would only be the start of another wave of Chinese immigration. To Will’s mind the presence of potentially so many Chinese in Melbourne and Victoria was likely to constitute a security risk. Who knew where such people’s loyalty lay. Already there were calls within Victoria and indeed Tasmania’s Parliament to take measures to cease or restrict Chinese immigration. Will’s, however, had his own ideas.
Labourer’s were now needed on Melbourne’s suddenly booming docks and the gold fever gripping the colony was dragging away able bodied men to fulfill such a need. From Amoy came indentured Chinese labourers that had been successful in other areas as an alternative to the slave trade and many ships and crews who had previous experience in such a trade, which was probably appropriate as he was certain many did not come voluntarily. The very Treaty of the First Opium War had allowed the presence of British subjects in virtually all Chinese ports and for that reason London would never agree to an exclusion of Chinese immigrants and in any case Will’s had a need for them to feed into Melbourne’s dock work and foresaw a need to use their market gardening and irrigation skills. No, there was more than one way to skin a cat. Chinese miners were not required, however, Chinese labourers were. Wills was to recommend the placement of an 8 pound poll tax on Chinese immigration for single men only. For families or men with wives this was waived. It was also waived for those that came to fill indentured positions for the Colonial Government. This was to become law on 15th June 1852, initially cutting Chinese immigration drastically before it was to flow again in 1853.
His second priority was to greatly increase the presence of the local militia. With the outbreak in January of a full scale Sepoy revolt in India in addition to a Roaylist rebellion in Burma, the 40th Somerset Regiment would not be coming to the colonies at all, leaving Australia and New Zealand garrisoned by only two thinly spread Regiments, namely the 11th and 99th. This was down from a peak of seven Regiments in the 1840’s. To cover such an enormous area such limited forces were, in his own mind, manifestly inadequate. To that end he had obtained permission for some military stores to be left in Melbourne to allow the formation of full Regiment of Rifles, with half in Melbourne and the remainder in Tasmania, New Zealand and South Australia. There was little point in trying to accommodate such an arrangement with New South Wales and it’s vassal states Queensland and North Australia, as the Governor in Sydney, Richard Plantagenet, was a man that seemingly was vested in only his own interests. Relations between New South Wales and Victoria had plunged to an all-time low, fuelled by escaped convicts, jealousy of the gold strikes in Victoria and silly pettifogging, Plantagenet being insanely jealous of all those he thought likely to usurp his prerogatives. Even his own son had broken with the man and now resided in Melbourne. It was a fundamental differences in philosophies, on one side a penal colony based on slave labour, on the other a developing colony.
- johnboy
- Word Count: 660