Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1886-08-13

opposition tp fprtlSn commerce St
long IL the nations from which i
came We're comparatively weak. Tw,
centuries ago the continent of Amer
lea was wilderness, and Europe WA
composed of small, dcspotic, and ia
from prosperous states; but in pro
portion us these which form the worlt
external to China, grew great ant
prosperous, in proportion as theil
military power and commercial enter
prise increased, just in the same ratio
did China, close her seaboard to for
eign access.
1t was not for nothing that the
Chinese rulers foresaw that the rapid
strides of Caucasian civilization would
render them dangerous in the same
degree that they were permitted t,
obtain foothold on Chinese soil.
Nor was it alone the material adj
vancement of the western nations
that bore out this policy and justified
this principle of national action. The
spread of liberty which has success
sively changed and modified every
government of Europe, saving those
of Russia and Turkey, would have
been inimical to the permanence Ol
the Chinese political hierarchy; and
1t is not without interest and instruc.
ton that We learn that it was a
knowledge of the French revolution
that, in the latter part of the last
century, caused the authorities OF
China to restrict the privileges OF
foreign traffic, to attempt to exclude
foreigners from Canton, and to com.
NIT other works of quasi hostility
which were destined ultimately to end
in war.
Nor is the craftsmanship of the
Chinese displayed in less degree in
their home policy. Every Chinese
male is registered, and he can depart
to no corner of the earth but his
place and locality are known, and the
idea of fealty to his native land kept
before him as n governing principle.
He belongs to his country during life,
and his country indicates his burial
place when life has departed. The
system of espionage extends to busi-
ness relations, and its thoroughness
and accuracy are sometimes surpris-
ingly displayed. When, in 1889, the
opium was delivered up by the British
at the BOgue forts, the Chinese COM
missioner, Lin, was aware, before any
account had been rendered, of the
exact number of chests of the drug on
board the several vessels in the har-
bor. The paternal character of the
government, as well as the rugged
craftsmanship of the Chinese, is
further illustrated by the fact that
this opium, upwards OF twenty thous-
and chests, and having an actual
value of six millions of dollars, was
totally destroyed. The ferocity with
which their laws are executed, to
which allusion has already been made,
is also further illustrated by the fact
that a miserable creature who at
tempted to carry off some small pieces
from the general destruction, was, on
detection, Immediately put to death.
Such is the Chinese nationality /;
such are its rulers. 1t only remains
for the completion of our analysis of
this people, to consider their purely
physical condition, as we have already
considered their industrial, political
and moral nature.
The Chinese are children of the
temperate zone, and have developed
under the influence OF q climate suffi-
ciently cold and variable to insure con-
siderable strength together with great
endurance and elasticity to the physi-
cal frame, and yet warm enough to
yield in abundance the staple food of
more tropical lands. Rice, in the
larger part of the kingdom, has been
from time immemorial the principle
sustenance of the people, and the fact
that they have not deteriorated to a
greater extent under the influence of
a crowded population and, with many
classes, of comparative insufficiency
of food, is doubtless because this grain
contains larger proportion of phos-
pilates than any other, and thus rem
ders possible the full development OF
brain and bone even when ordinary
nutrition is diminished. Physiologi-
cally considered, the organization OF
the Chinese is coarse, as is indicated
for example, by the hair ordinarily sc
thick and strong that they, by COM
parison, liken that of Europeans to
soft and downy fur. This coarseness
Of physical fibre has, however, fol
them, one great advantage, for, as is
the case with animals, they recover
from all kinds Of accidents, wounds
and bruises with much greater
rapidity and, as one writer has stated
"with fewer symptoms of any kind o.
danger" than is the case with Cauca
slams. AS concerns ability for labor
they may be considered as possessed
of great endurance rather than o
great bodily strength. 1t was calcu
lated that, of those employed in tn,
construction of the Pacific Railway, il
required five Chinese laborers to dc
the work of four of those of our OWL
country; and l was informed in Ne
vada that while they were admirably