1885 - Report of the Royal Commission on Chinese Immigration

The 1885 Royal Commission was a result of a motion that was presented in the Canadian House of Commons. The motion asked that a law be passed to prohibit Chinese from immigrating to British Columbia. This led to the formation of a Commission to determine whether or not stopping Chinese immigration to B.C. was necessary and to discover more about Chinese immigration in general.

Chinese work gang, C.P. tracks near summit, BC. image courtesy of Glenbow Archives, Calgary, Alberta. NA-3740-29

The motion presented to Parliament was the result of years of prejudice and worry on behalf of white workers in Canada and specifically B.C. This prejudice stemmed from the attitudes people of the 19th century held about the Chinese people and their culture. It was felt that Chinese workers took jobs from white workers. In fact, the Chinese tended to be more willing to work for relatively small sums of money and to take on menial labour. Chinese workers were often welcomed by white employers who were happy to pay the Chinese less than the average European worker. Andrew Onderdonk who had the contract to build a portion of the Canadian Pacific Railway was one such employer. Onderdonk required a lot of cheap labour, so he arranged for a large number of Chinese workers to come to British Columbia. Actions like this increased the general animosity toward Chinese workers.

The following excerpts taken from the 1885 Royal Commission reveal the range of perspectives people held in 1885.

Excerpt from the Resume - page cxxx

7. That their custom of living in quarters of their own - "Chinatowns" - is attended with evils, such as the depreciation of property, and owing to their habits of lodging in crowded quarters and accumulating filth is offensive if not likely to breed disease. But these evils might be dealt with by police supervision.

14. That no one,… desires to exclude Chinese merchants, or any class of Chinese save two. All would exclude prostitutes and criminals. While numbers would exclude them because they compete, or are supposed to compete, to the disadvantage of white labourers.

Excerpt from Chapter IX Details of suggested legislation - page LXXXVI

2nd. That an act be passed by the Dominion Parliament imposing a duty of say $10 per head, to be collected as other customs duties, on each and every Chinaman or Chinawomen, every Chinese boy or girl landing in or coming into the province of British Columbia,…

The following men held prominent places within British Columbia society. Each were from a European background and each held the popular beliefs of the time. Though they were not from the Kootenays, they are excellent examples of 19th century social attitudes.

Sir Matthew Begbie, Chief Justice of British Columbia

"Industry, economy, sobriety, and law-abidingness are exactly the four prominent qualities of Chinamen as asserted both by their advocates and their adversaries. Lazy, drunken, extravagant, and turbulent: this is, on the whole, I think, the real cause of their unpopularity. If Chinamen would only be less industrious and economical, if they would but occasionally get drunk, they would no longer be the formidable competitors with the white men which they prove to be in the labour market; there would be no cry for suppression".

The Honorable Mr. Justice Crease, Judge of the Supreme Court of British Columbia - page 143

Ban Quon family, Cranbrook, BC. Front row (L to R): Florence Ban Quon, Lillian Ban Quon, Charles Ban Quon, Berle Ban Quon (wife of Joe), Joe Ban Quon; back row (L to R): George Nakahara, Gordon Gee (nephew), Bud Ban Quon. Image courtesy of Fort Steele Heritage Town Archives, FS.455.4.

"They will never assimilate with the Anglo-Saxon race, nor is it desirable that they should. Certain degrees of labour contract of limited duration, amounting while it lasts to a species of slavery, are said to be common among them. Like all low classes of people they have a low estimate of women. They do not regard British Columbia as their home and when they die send their bones home to be buried in China".

Robert Dunsmuir, M.P.P., proprietor of Wellington Coal Mines - pages 130/131

"In regard to legislation I do not think any measures of a prohibitive nature are required at this early day, nor do I believe that legislation should take place either to restrict or regulate the incoming of Chinese, for the simple reason that they will not arrive in larger numbers than the requirements of the labour market demand".

Andrew Onderdonk, CPR Contractor - page 149

"I have tried to encourage whites to come as well as Chinese. I do not believe in assisted immigration for whites. Those who are good for anything do not need it; those who do are always a burden to the rest of the whites."

During interviews with this Royal Commission, people expressed the opinion that Chinese should not be employed as public workers, so Chinese lost their public work jobs. As well, many Chinese realised that it was necessary for them to live in cleaner and more hygienic conditions.

Rhoda Chow - Head Tax Certificate, 1913 Image courtesy of Trail City Archives, Trail, BC, 1253.

In 1885, a tax was placed on Chinese who came to Canada to live. The tax regulated the immigration of Chinese rather than excluding them from the country. This particular tax was called a headtax, and was first set at $50. This amount was raised to $100 in 1901 with the thought that this would deter Chinese people from immigrating to Canada. The headtax was not applied to Chinese people visiting Canada, or educated people (who it was thought would be more useful residents) such as doctors, scientists, or clergymen. Even little children who were a threat to no one had to pay the tax. The following headtax certificate of Rhoda Chow shows that Chinese children were included in the restrictions. This was a further burden to Chinese families uniting in Canada to become fully contributing Canadian citizens.

Although both Japanese and East Indian ethnic communities were marginally included in British Columbia society, they were not considered to be part of the mainstream Canadian population. The larger Chinese community remained the main focus of restrictive British Columbia and federal legislation.