The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-07-05
HOW CHINA ISG0VERNED.
vICEROYs ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR
DAMAGES BY FLOODS AND FIRE.

DAMAGES BY FLOODS AND FIRE.
The Buttons of Mandarin Grades-The
Law Courts Absolutely Venal-Hid-
eous Torture OF Prisoners and Wit
nesses.
From the NetU York Times.
HONG KONG, CHINA. May 15.-The system
OF government by which the empire Of
China is managed is probably the strangest
on the face Of our globe. The ease and uni
formity with which this population Of AGO.
900. 900 Of human beings is governed under
the lax and peculiar laws Of the empire is,
indeed, almost a phenomena. Its form is
that of an absolute monarchy, but the alb
solutism is 80 generally divided among the
various provinces that it may probably be
best termed union of absolute govern
ments
The emperor is, of course, the supreme
head Of all, aud is supposed to receive his
instructions as to the management OF the
vast territory committed to his charge by
DEGREES from heaven. He is considered by
his subjects as being second only to the AL
mighty God, and to be the connecting link
bet ween themselves and the Almighty.
To remove from the emperor some Of the
burdens of government, he is assisted by a
cabinet, composed of the four chief manda-
rims Of the empire. Under these are placed
six boards, which have cognizance of all the
smaller details which, though TOO weiRhty
for the provincial governments to handle.
are still not sufficiently important to bring
to the attention of his majesty. Distinct
from these boards is another, known as the
board of censors, whose duty it is to ascer-
tain and keep informed OF all the intrigues
or plots which may be concocted to weaken
the lawful authority of the central govern
ment. Members of this board are
dispatched to all parts of the en-
pire to keep informed upon all points
which might tend to bring opposition to the
emperor. They also carefully spy out
everything connected with the private and
public character of all officials upon whom
suspicion may rest. These members have
power to arrest and bring 20 trial any one
whose conduct may be supposed to need in
vestigation, and very frequently and unex-
pectedly do THESE censors perform their
duties This board is probably one OF the
most efficient of the various departments of
the empire, and does more than any Other
branch of the government in maintaining
it against the powerful coalitions which are
being constantly formed to overthrow the
present Tartar dynasty.
The emperor chooses bis own successor,
Wn6LQ6E poESUu CuOhbu may D6 d
Der OF the royal family or not; yet the
great desire an emperor has to see his own
dynasty perpetuated usually makes him
choose a son, whenever such is available.
The people of China are taught from IN
fancy to regard the emperor as the son or
representative of heaven, and the empress
es the representative of the earth. One of
the chief duties Of the empress is on certain
DAYS OF the year to worship the tutelary
deity of the silk wormA She has also 10
carefully inspect and approve Of all the silk
fabrics which the ladies Of the imperial
harem weave for the garments OF the
various state idols. Besides the empress,
the emperor has eight other wives who
have the rank and title of queens. The
selection OF an empress or queen depends
olely on the personal attractions of the
ladies in question, aud without any refer
eAce whatever to their connections or family
reputation. To choose them, upon their
accession to the throne of an emperor, a
festival Is held in Pekin, to which all Tartar
ladies and the daughters OF bannermen are
invited from all parts of the empire. The
lady declared he belle Of this gathering is
chosen as empress and the eight next chosen
are made queens.
The empire is divided into eighteen prov
inces, each of which is presided over by a
viceroy and a staff Of assistant maDdarins.
who are in most respects as independent Of
the central government in the administra-
tion Of the provincial affairs as though they
were conducting an entirely different state.
Each town and village also has its own
officials. who in turn are more than semi
independent of the provincial authorities.
PROFESSIONALLY, the system by which China
is ruled is the most lax Of any in the world,
and yet this empire has existed for more
than forty centuries, while other nations
with more ideal forms OF government have
Taasa1 and aOntiDy1a tf Of 0YfakQnca
as time rolls on. China, however, seems as
stable to-day as she ever was.
The viceroy and other high officials are
appointed by the emperor and constitute
his chief hold upon the various provinces
Of tho empire. They are not allowed to
hold office over the provinces Of which they
are natives. but are invariably appointed
to rule over those parts most distantly re-
moved from the early home OF the viceroy.
Nor are they allowed to contract marriages
in the provinces over which they have been
appointed to rule. This is done to pre-
clude all possibility of their acquiring too
much local and family influence over their
provinces. To further guard against this a
viceroy is removed to another post every
three years
The salaries attached to all Chinese gov
ernmental offices are very small, and this
is the direct cause OF much of the scandal
Gus and irregular proceedings so prevalent
IN Chinese AFFAIRS. mus the manddrlns or
China, though obtaining the smallest pos
sible amount of pay from the public treas
ury, are enabled by the accumulated gains
of fraud, avarice and extortion TO retire
from office as mon of wealth and substance.
Seldom does Chinese official care to spend
more than a single term Of three years in
office, for by that time be has gained
fortune which will render him forever the
envy Of his less fortunate countrymen. The
mandarins have been for ages the very
worst curse of the empire. BY their mis-
rule and oppression they have thrown the
country, with its millions Of industrious
people, into that deplorable anarchy, con-
fusion and misery for which it is oonspicu
Gus among the nations of the earth.
The duties which a viceroy is expected to
perform are very difficult. He is held as
directly responsible to the emperor, who in
turn is responsible to the gods for the gen.
eral peace and prosperity Of the province.
When any serious revols breaks out among
the secret societies, or a food or famine oc-
cur, the viceroy is regarded as the subject
FOR punishment, and loses his Office and
sometimes his head for not having prevented
the disaster. Particularly is the viceroy-
ship of the province Of the Yellow river an
untenable one. This river is subject to
periodic overflows, and each time large
tracts of land are submerged, doing great
g. h. NJ