The Steamer Victoria Arrives with 400 Chinese Passengers
Federal authorities prepare to investigate claims of forged entry certificates amid the looming deadline of the Geary Exclusion Act.
The story, cleaned up
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The Northern Pacific steamship Victoria arrived this morning from Yokohama, carrying 360 Chinese, two Japanese, and ten white passengers. Of the Chinese passengers, 200 claim to be actors en route to the World's Fair, but are armed with certificates alleged to be forged by American consuls in China. Collector Wasson maintains the evidence of forgery is plain and has requested an interpreter from San Francisco to assist in a rigorous examination. Meanwhile, local Chinese residents are expressing growing anxiety as the May 6 deadline for registration under the Geary Exclusion Act approaches, as current federal staffing levels are insufficient to process the number of people seeking to comply with the law.
“Several Chinese who are anxious to comply with the provisions of the act are apprehensive lest May 6 passes before they are afforded an opportunity to register.”
This reporting captures the height of the Geary Act's implementation, a federal mandate that required Chinese residents to carry residency certificates or face deportation. It highlights the systemic state-level exclusion that defined Washington's labor and immigration policy at the end of the 19th century, a period of severe anti-Chinese agitation in the region.
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