Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1874-01-29

ence to the Emperor, who whilst he is
in the public service, stands to him IN
loco PARENTS. When q son has reached
his 18th year, he commonly assumes the
direction of the business matters of the
family, if his father be dead, unless, in
deed, as sometimes happens, his mother
have very strong will OF her own. The
doctrine inculcated in the Chinese
classics is that woman has three stages
of obedience, to-wit First, she must
obey her father (before she marries) I;
second, her husband latter she is mar
ried) third, her son when her husband
is dead; provided, of course, that the
son have reached the age of manhood.
In the last-named case, however, law
and custom wsuld never uphold the son
in all unkind or unflial manner. Fihal
piety is held in the highest esteem in
China, even to an exaggerated extent,
and it may happen that, in cases of ex-
tremely unflial conduct, parents will
bring their offspring before the district
magistrate, and invoke the aid of the
law in support of their rights such in
stances are, however, rare, but they oc-
casionally occur, and the only persons
who have any claim to be consulted are
the maternal uncles of the accused,
who, if these concur with his parents
in their view of his misconduct, stands
very bad chance indeed of escaping
without some serious mark of indignity,
if he be lucky enough to get off without
severe punishment.
Fathers have virtually the power of
life and death over their children, for even
if they kill them designedly, they are
subject to only the chastisement of the
bamboo and a years Punishment if
struck by them, to no punishment at all.
The penalty of striking parents, or for
cursing them, is death, as among the
Hebrews. In practice it does not APP
pear that this absolute power bestowed
on fathers is productive of evil, the nat
ural feeling being, on the whole, suf-
ficient security against its abuse"
If son be convicted of the murder of
either of his parents, Chinese law visits
the crime with awful severity, for not
only is the murderer executed, but his
body is cut up into small pieces, and
everything possible is done to mark the
enormity of the crime. On this point
the following extract, from the work
quoted before, describes very graphic
ally the course that is pursued ga
man and his wife had beaten and other
wise severly ill-used the mother of the
former. This being reported by the
Viceroy to Picking, it was determined to
enforce, in q singular manner, the
fundamental principles of the Empire.
The very place where it occurred was
authenticated, as it were. and made ac-
cursed. The principal offenders were
put to death the mother of the wife
bambooed, branded, and exiled for her
daughters crime the scholars of the
district, for three years, were not per-
mitted to attend the public examina-
tions, and their promotion thereby
stopped the magistrates were deprived
of their Office, and banished. The
house in which the offenders dwelt was
dug mp from the foundations. Let the
Viceroy, the edict adds, make known
this proclamation, and let it be dispersed
through the whole Empire, that the
people may all learn it. And if there
be any rebellious children who oppose,
beat. or degrade their parents, they
shall be punished in like manner. If
the people, indeed, know the principles
of reverence, then they will fear and
obey the Imperial will, and not look on
this as empty defamation. i instruct
the magistrates of every province to
warn the heads of families and elders of
villages, and on the I'd and 18th of every
month to read the Sacred Instructions,
in order 10 show the importance of the
relations of life, that persons may not
rebel against their parents, for intend
to render the Empire filial.' The for
going paragraph viii give very clear
idea of what is universally the theory
on the subject in China, but, judging
from our own knowledge of their charac-
ter, we much fear that in this, as well
as in very many other matters, the
Chinese are much more perfect in their
theory than in their practice. English
Magazine.