The National tribune., 1890-07-31

money out of the prisoners and tho result is
that the mortality in Chinese jails is terrible.
| The prisoners arc expected TO cook for them
| selves and the worst of them are heavily ironed.
| Many of those j saw had iron bands around
their neeks and not few had chains about
their waists.
It might be supposed that such punshments
| would decrease crime. They do not seem 10
have this effect, and the Chinese jails are full,
and the police have plenty TO do. The Chinese
are by no means moral people, They are in
some respects like tho French. They abound
in polite phrases, and will smile courteousy
| upon you while cutting your throat. They are
| the most sensual people in the world, and the
| vices of Sodom are common all over the Chinese
Empire. The language used by the Chinese
rouGhs is more vile than that of the Bowery or
OF White Chapel in London, and superstition
| is everywhere common. The opium vice
makes many criminals, and you will find
! opium saloons everywhere aud thousands
smoking in them. j spent one night in going
about with the boys at Shanghai, and / was
| Mortified with the sights of the Chinese Sums
| Ono of the opium dens which j visited on this
night had hundreds of smokers, and its re-
ceipts are, / am told, $1,000 night 1t was
gorgeously decorated, the furniture was Of the
finest black teak wood, and the painted walls
were inlaid with the finest of marbles The
| electric light shone through the sickening
opiu:N smoke. and the ceilings of richly carved
woods had the finest of Chinese lamps hanging
from them TO add TO the scene. The opium
smokers were in little cells, and on each side
OF little glass lamp two men lay on red cush-
ions resting their heads on blue pillows and
smoking. In many cases ! noted that man
had woman smoking with him, and these
were, | am told, not the wives of the smokers.
The crowd was made up of the rich and tho
poor, and men dressed in silks lay side by side
with halfn naked coolies. From here / went 20
a singing saloon, where pretty Chinese girls
picked the banjo, and visited dozen other
opium dens filled with horrible sights.
The Japanese do not eat opium, and it is a
crime 10 import IL into the country. There are
no opium smokers in Japan, and the Japanese
are far more civilized than the Chinese. / do
not think the japanese are so immoral as the
Chinese and theft is not so common. They
are less sensual, though they have not the
ideas Of chastity that we have. Although
there are several thousand criminals IN the
state prisons of the country, many of these are
political. and / imagine that the statistics OF
japanese crime will compare very favorably
with those OF our own country, am told that
the Coreans are a very sensual people They
arc so far from civilization. however, that il is
almost impossible to judge them with accuracy,
aud their vices have not the refnements Of
those OF Paris or Picking. They do not smoke
opium to the extent that the Chinese do, and
in q country where concubinage is common,
and where woman has no rights that man is
bound to respect there cannot be high grade
of morality as regards man.
In Aialacca and at Singapore you find crimi-
nails by the hundreds. The Chinese who emf
CRATE TO these ports by the thousands are Of the
worst character, and they are more vile away
from home than in China. ] heard stories OF the
dongs of the rich Chinese merchants at Singa-
pore which are too vile 10 put in these columns,
and their excuses surpass those of the Romans
at the time OF the fall of the Empire. The
selling of women in Siam TO brothes is very
common. aud the low houses of Bangkok are
many. The jails Of Siam in many cases hang
out over the water, and the prisons are not
much better than those Of China
In Burmah ! visited Jail in which there
wero 1000 criminals IL is the biggest Jail in
the world, aud the English have numerous
other big iails scattered all over India. A
great number OF the Bnrmans were arrested
for theft and not few for fights aud murders.
They arc a hotblOOdcd race, and the blow
quickly follows the thought in Burmah.
Among the prisoners were many of tho DecOits
who were taken in the late war with Thebaw,
and all Of these prisoners wore chains on their
legs and their necks and some had great iron
chained together. They are kept at hard labor,
and were made 10 get down on their knees and
fold their hands in attitude OF prayer when
ever one Of the turkeys or a white visitor
came near them. This was done, WAS told,
in order 10 prevent their jumping on the turn
keys or escaring By taking them by surprise
The came rules found In vogue in the Eng
lish jails in India. The East Indians have
castles which are criminal by profession. Every
one has heard Of the Thugs the professional
murderers Of India. And these men, although
the English have been able 10 practically OK.
terminate them, are still able 10 get in their
work upon certain occasions. They were adopts
IN the use Of poison, and they often DESTROYED
their victims by strangulation. II Is said that
they could steal sheet from under sleeping
man without awaking him, and murder was a
part Of their worship. Hanging is the common
method OF committing suicide in japan and
when men are murdered il is often the case
that the murderers hang them afterward in
order 10 make people believe they have com
mitted suicide. As 70 infantcide, this Is COM
mon all over India. and also in many parts of
China. The HndOos look upon the birth Of
female child a. curse aud according 10 the
census il is shown that about AZ girls under IL
years in every thousand OF certain castles are
missing. This would mean the killing Of four
girls in the hundred, which is large number.
j nc puts tIe one "a tue most uple1 WARRIOR
tribes Of India, and they very often kill their
female infants. The child is destroyed at birth,
or It's mother gtaryes IL 10 death. In some
cases the child Is straBgled, and in BenRrcs
am told that il Is a common practice 10 drown
babies in milk, the parents praying that they
may come again in the form Of sons. The
English are doing all they can TO stop these
crimes, and they are succeeding 10 q great ex-
tent
Az to theft, the Hindoo will steal IL he gets
a chance, and you cannot trust him with the
smallest amount. Ia posting my letters in
Calcutta ] WIS warned 10 draw pen across the
stamps 10 prevent tho servants who took them
10 the mail from taking them off aud selling
them again, and found that stealing was COM
mon everywhere. The natives do not trust each
other but, strange TO say, they trust tho Eng
ligh and the Americans, and you can get any
kind Of credit you please on your face il 1t be
white. The suicides Of wives burning them
selves on the funeral pyres Of their husbands
has practically died out in India. The English
Government would not permit 10, and though
the custom Is highly respected by the Hindoos
ii has fallen into state Of inOeuOus desuetnde
/ saw along the Gauges many monuments to
women who had thus burned themselves in or
der 70 escape being widows, and am told that
the custom was originally introduced AS d check
upon the practice which prevailed ages ago of
Hindoo women poisoning their husbands Be-
fore the custom was invented poison was 80
well known among the Indians, that when a