Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1888-05-19
SLAVERY IN CHINA.
THE DISPUTED QUESTION OFF.
CIALLY DETERMINED.
United States Consul Charles DENLY
Reports to the State Depart
ment Upon the Subject.

ment Upon the Subject.
! In the advance sheets of reports frol
4 United States Consuls, published by Ii
State Department at Washington, the 70
lowing is given by Consul Charles Denb
concerning slavery, past and present, i
China:
As some discussion has lately take
place in the United States touching SLAYER
IN China, submit the following obserya
lions thereon:
The origin of slavery in China is give
In an ancient writing, the "Fong-fou-ting.
IN substance as follows: In antiquity Their
were no slaves, neither male nor female
The first slaves were felons, who lost thei
liberty by reason of their crimes. Bu
they were slaves simply in the sense tina
their labor belonged TO the public. Pris
oners and captives taken in war introduced
a second species of slavery Finally, il
| the troubles and misfortunes of the tbirt
dynasty, the poor, who were without re
sources, gave themselves with their fami
lies to the great and rich who were wilIins
10 support them. These two last forms o
slavery caused the condition to be regarded
rather as misfortune than shame.
| In the memoirs prepared by the early
CatholIc missionaries, and printed in 1777
there are treaties on slavery. Marriage OF
slaves was encouraged for the sake Of the
| increase.
Slaves were usually treated with kind
ness, and were supported by their masters
4 1 N fAII
| mon. and instances are recorded wherein
slaves refused the tender of their freedom
The missionaries wax eloquent in defense
Of slavery, and regard the institution as
developing "a mode of thought and senti-
ment worthy of the authors Of 'Telemachus
aud of the Friend of Man." The tradi.
tional Chinese patriarch's idea of the
family, they say, modifes and tempers
slavery so that masters and slaves become
one great family.
Slaves were never numerous in China
and of late years they have decreased in
numbers. All China knows, saws one
writer, that an edict of the Emperor was
necessary to oblige his Tartars on duty to
have slaves for domestic servants, and that
this edict is hardly observed.
All modern writers agree that slavery
still exists. Every native may purchase
slaves, and the condition is hereditary
Freedom is forfeited by crimes or mort
gagged for debt. Slaves are SO few that
they attract little attention. At Pekin
| girls bring higher prices than boys, vary.
ing according to age up to Is years, from
80 to 300 taels. Needy parents sell their
children, and orphans are sold in times Of
famine for few taels in cash.
Williams ascribes the paucity of slaves
to the existence of the competitive exam
nation system. The widely diffused edu-
cation, consequent on the preparation for
the examinations Of 100000 of people
every year has saved China, he thinks,
from the feudal system, the villainage con-
sequent thereon from the introduction OF
castles and the considerable extension OF
slavery. To deny that competitive exam.
nations have had this beneticent tendency
would be to contradict the experience OF
| humanity touching the benefactions Of
education. But the same result in western
countries is much more advantageonsly
| obtained by the common schools. which
more than all else are the distinguishing
glory of modern times.
1t is probable that the patriarchal form,
of the Chinese Government, the primitive
idea among the Chinese as among the Jews
that all the people constituted a great
| family, and the doctrine of the worship OF
| ancestors, have more than the competitive
examinations restricted the spread Of
| slavery.
That slavery is tolerated by Chinese law
| will sufficiently appear from the statute.
which, although fallen somewhat in disuse
still exist. | quote few of these laws:
By Section lis of the Penal Code a mas
ter soliciting and obtaining in marriage
for his slave the daughter of free mar
suffers eighty blows. Accessories are pun
ished in like manner. A slave soliciting
and obtaining daughter of free man il
marriage is punished in like manner. /
he receives the woman into his family hi
suffers one hundred blows.
| a person representing falsely slave t.
be free, and thereby procuring such a slave
free husband, suffers ninety blows. The
marriages are in all cases null and void.
Under Section 313 slave striking :
free man shall be punished one degre,
more severely than is by law provided il
similar cases between equals.
Entire disability so caused is punished
by strangulation, and in the event of deati
from the blow the slave is beheaded. A
free man striking slave is punished on'
degree less than IN ordinary cases, but h,
is strangled if death follows the blow.
Slaves striking or killing one anothe
are punished as equals are
Under the head of 'slaves striking thei
masters" Section 3l4, the punishments arr
very severe. For striking the master tn,
punishment is beheading for killing him
death by the slow process for Academia
killing, death by strangling for Academia
wounding, one hundred blows and Danish
ment. For similar injuries to their mas
ter's relatives the punishment is reduced
one degree.
If the master beats the slave to dealt
for having committed crime he suffer
one hundred blows.
A gentleman living here who has de
voted his life outside of all missionary so
cieties and alone to charity, J. Fishe
Crossette, gives me some information as t,
slavery. He says there is system O
servitude carried on in the coal mines ives
of Picking. Men are involved in gamb
ling debts and then taken to coal mine
Their lives and labor are mortgaged 70
the existing debts and others subsequent
created, and they remain slaves.
The Chinese have a great horror of thi
condition, and the law has done much +
put stop to this abuse, and in certain dis
tricts has succeeded. Mr. Crossette pei
sonally knows that large numbers of girl
were carried off and sold into slavery dun
ing times of famine in the province c
Shantung. A Chinese convert at Isl
nan-fu sold his little daughter for SIG t
serve as maid of all work in a rich man
family. Boys were not marketable An
other Christian sold his wife for 81 so t
pay debt OF, that amount.
A WONDERFUL FIND In KANSAS