Sunbury American and Shamokin journal. [volume] (Sunbury, Northumberland Co., Pa.) 1840-1848, 1845-11-15

navy, for ins,ance-the case is different. lfan
officer behave badly, he is suspended with or
| without pay, &c; put an officer il never de.
graded, as for instance, from captain to a md
| shlp,nan In China this is the mode of punish
ment Il is the universal tenure of office. And
a man has TO Commence anew, eligible again to
the highest Offices if he conducts we'll
Public opinion is as much regarded in Chi
nn as 10 Greet Britain or in the United States
Newspapers abound, and are read as much as in
this country. The Chinese have their red
book, as we have onr blue book Pamphlets
labored arguments. are publ shed as with US;
and in farther analogy, periodical addresses are
made BY the sovereign to the people, which
however, iuculcate morals as well as politics.
The stated agricultural festivals are great
feature with the Chinese it is at these times
that the Emperor drives the pu,gh before his
whole court, as an example 10 his subjects
The works of Confucus ntc read by all, and
their influence on the public mind is unbound
ed. They publish as much, aud as chrapy,
as in the United States; and the people read
and write generally as they do in this country.
Their lingrage, which was at first hcrogly-
phc, has become one Of arbitrary signs, hut no,
letters; there is no alphabet, but each separate
sign stands for a particular u'ra..-There are
$4,000 characters IN their dictionary ; and from
this it may BE- Inferred what an immense labor
it is TO learn their language. and what it is
which converts China INTO ONE great school.
Oral language differs in different provinces, hui
the written language is the same ,lIrouchnu,
China. The written language bears the same
relation To the oral language Of the provinces,
as the Arabic numerals DO TO the various Ian.
guages Of Europe. When persons from differ
rn' provinces canno, comprehend each o,lcr.
they resort to writing or making figures in the
air. This language giving only to the people
laws, &c, has done every thing for the stability
Of the government.
The manners of the Chinese are eprinen,ly
courteous. Ladies do not mingle in their Wib.
lc assemblies. The lecturer would not pro-
nounce their morals OF higher or lower stan.
dard Than those of Europe. ilr did no, bciicve
Il the province OF a transcient viscr so to do
The Chinese estimate the morals of the Euro
peans nj low rate they have LEARNED them
from English sailors and soldiers within the pas.
1--WE wears When the missionaries renonsiraie
with the Chinese upon sin, they significantly
point TO The morals of,te foreigners. The Chi
nese are eminrn,ly intellectual. The country
ubnuuds in hooks public libraries, and shops for
The sale Of books. A catalogue of one OF their
libraries comprise ten volumes In every dwell
ling house, books are necessary articles OF fur
ntGre.
Great inius,ire has pcpn done To the Chinese
aud their writings by hsi lran,la,nrs. Mr.
Gushing had formed high estimate Of their
intellectual powers from his in,ervpn.sr with
them lrdccd, officials could no. fail to cxhihi,
intellectually, as scholars take first rank n the
empire, The stability Ui their government is
evidence, Ia a certain extent, of the intellectual
and mnra character The prevalent religion
is worship of ancestors . though specific rrli.
ginns, such as Boodhism, lamaism. Mahom"i-
an>m, &c, are tolerated. All Important O.
vents, by the Chinese are celebrated by pros
,ratnns, burning nf incense, beating Of gongs,
and brrning of fireworks
The staple food OF the Chinrse is rice. IT,
the decorations pi their tables, and furniture of
their houses. traces of high civilization may be
found. The luXurlcs ui the table consist of
biche de mer, sharks fins and edible b rdS
nes,s---the letirr the highest cost a:tute ut toad
IN Chinn, The food ui The Tartar is game
Which is roasted and served Up whc'r, while the
ate tea, ana spiri, distilled i;om rice, Many
Of the drinking vcs., Is now in use IN the United
States are copied from the CHINESE,
Commercially speaking, Chlaa Is Complete III
herself She raises her own brcadsruiis, ~
cept some l,,'ie rice which she imports. She
has tcs, silks materials ur uu,cn, IS ui iron, ami
woud, codh precious metals, &c. Her com,
mcrce wns changed ny II :. course Of the OF um
trade, which is very rcjudicial to China, 1t
would Fnn. hov ever, have been changed by
the Introduction Of cotton, large quantities of
which, oi the raw kind, she imports from the
United States. She also imports the mannfac.
tured article from the United States and from
Great Britain. The use of machinery is proh.
biied IN China. The trade whether it goes = /.
rect from this country or Great Britain, crea,.
ly benefits US, as perhaps 67ths of r1,,,.tish msa
uiactnred goods consiS, OF Am' r,can cotton.
We come to consider the question II wha
will be the ultimate effects of this obs,,e =