“All the World Rushed In.” Chinese are an early 1848 arrival in Gold Rush California, surrounded by astonishing array of racial/ethnic/nationalities. But the Chinese miners are not treated equally.

The 1850 FOREIGN MINER TAX that California imposes seems only to be collected from the Chinese, as the singularly "visible foreigner." In 1852 Chinese first appear in court and before a state hearing committee, presenting themselves as an organized community delegation accompanied by lawyer, come to contest unequal, abusive and even murderous treatment in the mines by persons claiming to be “tax collectors” for the state.

The Chinese delegation wants to know: What will the state do to stop the murders? Ahy are only the Chinese alone treated as foreigners? And why are the Chinese not allowed to testify in court? The Chinese delegation then leaves behind a standby lobbyist in the state capitol at Sacramento. The lobbyist was astutely chosen for being a well-connected, former municipal judge.