When all this is done, the surplus of a Chinaman’s wages is not great.  But suppose he sent off all his pay; he does not and can not send off the work he has done for it, the ditches he has dug, the levees he has made, the meals he has cooked, and the clothes he has washed and ironed, the harvest he has helped to sow and gather, and the vegetables he has raised; the cigars, and shoes, blankets, gloves, slippers, and other things he has made.  These remain to enrich the country, to make abundance where, but for his help, there would be scarcity, or importation from other States or countries.

But lately it is asserted that the Chinese have brought or will bring the leprosy hither.  This is a genuine cry of anguish and terror from the Hoodlums; for, bear in mind that, according to the best medical opinion in the Sandwich Islands, where this disease is most frequent and has been most thoroughly studied, it is communicated only by cohabitation or the most intimate association.  If you ask a policeman to pilot you through the Chinese quarter of San Francisco between eight and eleven o’clock any night, you will see the creatures who make this outcry.  They are Hoodlums, gangs of whom per ambulate the worst alleys, and pass in and out of the vilest kennels.

I was curious to know something about the “Chinese Companies” of which one frequently hears here, and which exercise important powers over their countrymen all over the State.  What follows concerning these organizations I derived from conversation with several Chinese who speak English, and with a missionary who labors among them.

There are six of these companies, calling themselves “Yong Wong,” “Howk Wah,” “Sam Yup,” “Yen Wah,” “Kong Chow,” and “Yong Woh.”  They are benevolent societies; each looks after the people who come from the province or district for whose behalf it is formed.

When a ship comes into port with Chinese, the agents of the companies board it, and each takes the names of those who belong to his province.  These then come into the charge of their proper company.  That lodges, and, if necessary, feeds them; as quickly as possible secures them employment; and, if they are to go to a distant point, lends them the needed passage-money.  The company also cares for the sick, if they are friendless and without means; and it sends home the bones of those who die here.

[Illustration:  CAPE HORN, COLUMBIA RIVER.]

Moreover, it settles all disputes between Chinese, levies fines upon offenders; and when a Chinaman wishes to return home, his company examines his accounts, and obliges him to pay his just debts here before leaving.

The means to do all this are obtained by the voluntary contributions of the members, who are all who land at San Francisco from the province which a company represents.

In the Canton company, “Sam Yup,” I was told that the members pay seven dollars each, which sum is paid at any time, but always before they go home.