The Union and eastern journal. [volume] (Biddeford [Me.]) 1854-1858, 1856-05-16
Erom Lif, Illastratsd.
China.

IFS, hkhiAoLs, LIC', LIZ.
fThs following interesting article on Chns
has been prepared Cor us FROM the last mum
Der Of the transactions ofihe Royal A>h'''e
Society Of England, and consists PIineiPall.
of sls,emen,s made by Sir John Bowrins in
n letter addressed the Register General Lon
don -Ep.l
There has been no official census taken
Of China Zoe fOrty-,hree years. II Is esti-
mailed iha, ths population is now betwer"
$50 and 400 millions Of human beings. The
area in English square miles ID l,sis,ssO,
showing about PEG persons to eveiy square
mile. which Is considerably less than the
population Of The denssly peopled counties
OF Europe.
According TO ancient usage, The popula-
ton Of China Is grouped under four heads
1. ScaolArs; 2. Husbandmen 3. Mechan
ice; 4. Merchants. There Is a numerous
class who are considered almos, as social
ou,casts, such as ge-Players, professional
gamblers, beggars, cOnvic,s, and others,
and these probably form no part OF the pop
ulaiiOn returns. In the more rural districts,
on the other hand the returning officer most
probably contents himself with giving the
average Of mole accessible and beller-peo-
pied localities. have no means ofoblain-
ing any satisfactory tables 10 show The pro-
portions which dlfsIent ages bear to one
another in China, or the average mortality
n, different periods OF human life yet to
every decade Of life the Chinese apply some
special designation the age Of ten is 1.-THE
Opening Degree" twenty, youth ESpir-
ed !" thirty. "Strensih and Marriage ]"
forty" Officially Apt" fifty, Error
knowing :" sixty, Cycle Closing" sew
eniy, " Rare Bird OfAse;" eighty, "Rusy
visaged :" ninety. +" Delayed !" one hun
dreJ, ages Extremity" Among the
Chinese the amount Of reverence grows
with the number OF years. There are moi
only many establishments for the reception
OF the aged, but the Penal Code provides
severe punishmenls for these who refuse 10
relieve The poor in the declining Yeas. Age
may also be pleaded in exienuation OF crime
and IN mitigation Of punishment. Imperial
DEGREES sometimes order presents to DE
given to all INDECENT old people in the en-
pirc.
Though there are periods when ex,raord-
mary harvests enable the Chinese 10 trans
port rice, the principal foVd Of the people.
from one province TO another, and some
times even to foreign countries, yet Of late
the importalions from foreign countries have
been enormous, and China has drawn large
ly on the Straits, the Philippines Siam, aud
other places, 10 I'LL up a vas, insuiiiciency
to supply. Famine has. notwithstanding.
committed dreadful ravtges, and the prOyis-
ions Of The imperial sranaries have been
wholly inadequate to provide Tor the public
wants. The constant flow Of emigration
IRON China, is slriking evidence oil the IT,
dundIncy Of The population; for though
that emigration is almost wholly confined
10 two p,ovinces, namely, Kwang,ung AID
Fookien, representing together popnla-
ton Of probably fIom $4,000 900 10 IS ,oOO.-
900, am disposed 10 think that a number
nearer 5000, 900 than . 900 900 from these
provinces alone are located in foreign coun-
tries. In the kingdom Of Siam, it is esti-
mated ,ha, there are million and half OF
Chinese, Of which 200, 900 are in the cap
iial, (Bankok). They crowd all the islands
OF The Indian Archipelago. In Java, we
know by correct census, there are l36, 900.
Cochin China teens with Chinese. Null
,itudes 20 10 Australia, 10 the Philippines,
to the Sandwich Islands, to the .wes'ern
coast Of Genital and Southern America /;
some have made their way 10 British India.
The emigration TO the British West Indies
has been considerable 10 Havana, greater
still. The annual arrivals in Singapore are
estimated at an average Of 10, 900, ard 1000
is the number that are said annually to re-
turn TO China.
There is no, only this enormous maritime
emigration, bu, cons derable island efilnS
Of Chinese toward Manchuria and Tibet:
AMI il may be added that the large and fer
tile Islands Of Formosa and Haiuan have
been 10 a grea, extent won from the abor-
igines by successive inroals OF Chinese set
tiers. Now these are all men - there is mol
q woman to 10 900 men; hence perhaps the
small social value o i,hs female infant. Yet
this perpetual outaowing Of people seems in
no respect 10 diminish the number OF those
LEI, behind.
Few Cinnamon leave their country with
on, fixed purpose 10 return 10 worship in
the ancestral hal, TO bring sacrifices to
the iombs Of their fathers but ]. may be
doubted il one in ten revisils his native
land. The loss Of lie from disease - from
bad arrangements - from shipwreck and
other causallies, amour, to a frishtfal pr
cen,agc on those who emigrate.
Agriculture is held IN high honor in Chi
na, and lhs husbandmsn stands next in 'ank
TO the sage or literary man in The social h
erarchy. I, has been supposed ,ha, nearly
q ,enih of the population derive their means
Of support from fisheries. Hundreds AMI
thousands Of boats crowd the whole coat OF
China - sometimes acting in communities.
sometimes independent and isolated. There
is no species Of craft BY which fish can be
inveisled which is no, prsc,iced with sue
cess IN China every variety Of net, from
vast seines embracing miles, 10 the smallest
hand fls, in the care ola child. Fishing by
night. ami fishing by day; fishing in moon
light, by torch light, and in utter darkness /;
fishing in boats Of all sizes, 6-hing by thUse