Omaha daily bee., 1889-03-10

old with cues hanging down their backs play
about upon their decks. The boys nave lit
tie round barrels or drums about q foot long
and six inches in diameter tied by strings 10
their backs and many girls of the s ;ame
overheard it would be good fortune to
the poor fellow to get rid of the expense of
raising her, but the boy must have his life
preserved. Poor girls are of no account in
China and infantcide is still common. You
can buy a girl baby for from one cent up to u
dollar, and at the Jesuit children's asylum
near Shanghai one of the sisters told me
that they bought hundreds Of girls every
year for less than "a dollar apiece. AT Foo
Chow MIR. Wingate, our consul, told me of a
poor woman who strangled her own baby
girl in order that she might adopt the baby
of a neighoor to raise as a wife for her
little son, and a missionary there told me
of u man who went around peddling chill
dren. There is a founding asylum here,
which upon the payment of twenty cents by
the mother, will take a girl baby to raise,
but these girls are sold as soon as they grow
much past the weaving age, and they are
bought IN large numbers by brothel keepers.
The selling Of girls for wives and concu-
bines is common and full grown maidens
bring from twenty-five, dollars upward. |
spent a day sitting beside the Chinese judge
i'm the mixed court in Shanghai and among
the cases tried was That of an old woman
who wanted to prosecute q mandarin for
breaking his contract in the clylng of her
daughter. The girl was sold for thirty
dollars and the mandarin took her with him
to Formosa, but did not pay the mother.
Babies are often bought here, their eyes are
put out and they are raised as blind beggars.
AMONG THE DEGGARs.
There are thousands Of blind beggars here
in Canton, and going through the city to-day
/ saw at least three hundred of all ages and
sexes. They went in groups Of six and eight
in single file and the leader could see just
enough to get along. The others held on to
one auother'S clothes and all from decrepit
old women to little blind boys held ont little
fiat rounu baskets and turning. up their
sightless eyes asked for aims in piteous
tones. These blind beggars come from
the blind asylum of Canton. They go
out daily to beg through the city
and they stand in front of the shop until
its owner pays them to go away. They
barely get more tnan the tenth OF a cent
from a single man, and Inasmuch as the
asylum furnishes them but little food they
are pale, thin. and p~itifully ragged. The
sackcloth in which the beggar of China is
ing. He is dirty and loathsome TO an OK
IRENE, and ! would as soon think of touch.
ing Il smallpox patient or a leper as one of
these beggars. ..,I,,
CONSULAR GOSSIP.
Mr.. Charles Seymour, the American con
sui at Canton, has been my companion
during much of the week | have spent
here, He understands this city and district
better, perhaps, than any other foreigner in
il. He is the senior consul among the
foreign representatives here, and during the
dangerous troubles of the French war he
was the only consul who had nerve enough
to take matters in hand and not run
from the Chinese mob, He has about
40, 000,0 900 people in his consular dis
trict, AND mis- position is more
that of "a minister than a con sui,
He mas the worst element of the Chinese to
deal with, and in the foreign chan res made
10y President Cleveland he was one OF the
few republicans left in office. The foreign
colonies in ASIA are now discussing the three
American weddings of this winter. Pretty
American girls are as much in demand here
as IN London, and Mr.. Seymour's daughter
is TO be married in about a month TO the
manager of the big house of Jardinc,
Mathleson & Co, Mr.. MacHahin, a young
Sc~otchmap, who has lived some years in
China. Jardine, Mathieson 4 Go. is the
wealth est of the foreign firms in China, and
Jar1ine has buildings at Shanghai which rent
for 5000 a year. The company have large
IS ablis lments for bo,h residence aud bust
II SIS, and Miss Sei mo IT will preside over a
big establishment II Canton. Colon 81 Den
by's daughter, who was very popular among
the foreign legations at Picking, is TO be mar
ried in March to the grandson OF Admiral
Wilkes. The wedding is TO take place in
America, and Miss DENLY is now in the
United States. The other weddi ~ is that of
the daughter of the uCnSul at NingpO- IL
was celebrated the last OF November and the
wedding was a large one.
F'RANR q. CARPENTER.