U.S. Commissioner Orders Expulsion of Eleven Chinese Residents
Following a trial in Port Townsend, eleven individuals were ordered removed from American soil for alleged violations of the Chinese Restriction Act.
The eleven Chinamen captured by customs officer Matheson last Saturday were tried this morning before United States Commissioner Allen Weir, and found guilty of violating sections 1 and 12 of the Chinese Restriction Act, and were remanded to the custody of the collector of customs, to be by him returned under direction of the President to British soil, from whence they came.
“Found guilty of violating sections 1 and 12 of the Chinese Restriction Act, and were remanded to the custody of the collector of customs, to be by him returned... to British soil.”
This court action occurred during a period of intense legal and state-sponsored hostility toward Chinese residents in the Pacific Northwest. It documents the real-world impact of federal exclusion laws on individuals living and working in Puget Sound at the time.
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