Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-08-04
CHINA'S CURIOUS LAWS.
The Innocent Fear Them More Than
DO the Wicked.

From the London Mail.
China has a very complete legal system
the growth of thousands of years The first
Indication of law To be found in Chinese
tradition is the institution Of marriage about
he year 2S52 b c.
A remarkable difficulty which the Chine
government has to contend with Is paiu.-d
out in Mr.. Alahaster's standard work IN
chinese Criminal Law. There are three srts
If laws-Tartar, Chinese and Mohammcdau
and when the codes clash the result is not
snamusing. There may be three criminals
equally guilty of the same offense and
brought for trial to the same court al The
same time. with the result that the criminal
amenable TO Tartar law escapes with
whipping. the Mohammedan incurs the pen-
atty of military service and the prisoner
;ried under Chinese law. besides being baIn-
booed, is transported for life.
As in England, the law prevails; military
Interference is not tolerated. \ sergeant
who caught a man gambling had him nog-
ed on the spot. For this that sergeant re-
,eived 100 blows with the bamboo himself
and three years transportation. The sod
Hers who logged the gambler under the
~ergeant's direction received as their share
ninety blows and TWO years transportation
. the Chinese Botany Bay-a district on
he borders OF the empire.
The same law sometimes finds a different
expression. A corporal found sentry
asleep on duty. and he hit him with a watch
mans pole so that the sentry died. Now.
he watchman's pole is civil instrument.
SO the unhappy corporal received lpJ blows
and three years transp Drtatipn.
The apathy with which Chinese will stand
by and see nffenSes committed has often
been the subject Of adverse criticism among
foreigners. Mr.. Alabaster explains that il
s due to fear Of the law. H. cites case
wherein two ruffians attempted To ahlUct
another mans wife Hearing her cries a
gallant Chinaman went to her assistance.
The real criminals appear to have escaped,
but the gallant resCuer got several years.
Advocacy in the law courts. moreover. is
rs dangerous as chivalry. 1t is recorded
that a distinguished scholar DESTROYS II
shining as harrister. was sentenced To TWO
years Imprisonment and eighty strokes
with the Chinese equivalent Of the birch for
trying to coax from the judge in a criminal
case verdict Of manslaughter instead of 4
verdict of murder.
In bad OF murder accessories may
not be visited with the death penalty. Thus
if half a dozen persons commit the crime.
and ii was uncertain who struck the blow
the first striker is held to be III guilty one
and he alone IS executed. Again. should
one of the accessories chance to die IN
prison, tn sentence # the man held IT,
sponsible in the first instance IS commuted.
The law, says Mr.. Ai8baster. distinctly
dscourageS "larking,'' and. indeed games
generally. There is a case quoted I'm which
three men playing at horse managed 10
luIlble over IN q hean on the TDHEMgE. and
one Of them. falling on the bra ss-bouni
pipe in the pocket Of him who lay under
most was thereby killed The Judges ae-
clined to allow the case to be dealt with -
one Of misadventure. and insisted upon the
smoker being sentenced capitaly.
The most ignnminious Of all penalties in
the Chinese code Is sicns to pieces
with extinction If the family. The con-
demned man il tied to a cross. ami by a
series Of painful cuts his body is sliced be-
yond recognition. the idea being to destroy
the future well as the present life IT the
offender. The Chinese believe that The
spirit of the dead man VIII appear as "a col
lection Of little bits-a dreadful iGnnm'ny.
Chinese law is q maze Of contradictions
and complexities. but the magistrate who
fails to thread his way among them prop
erly is severely punished. For instancc. il
a magistrate prOnounCes a sentence II de-
capiiatiun when 1t should have been strln-
guation he receives a thrashiu= with jhe
bamboo. and the eNecu.icuer who carried
out the magistrates original sentence
shares the punishment with him.
Similar penalties await official careless
ness Of all kinds. but there IS one partioG-
larry amusing rod in pickle Tor The c.riny
judge If an offender is allowed u -srlne
the penalty due TO his offcnse the urhaurv
magistrate must himself suffer IN, fun
penalty which he ought to have oNart.l.
ConstableS are periodically beaten if hey
fail To produce prisoners. When Variants
are issued the policeman in'ruetrl with The
warrant ha- thirty DAYS in which 2, r.~a-
or arrests the wrong man. he ir0urs q pom
atty one degree less heavy than ihat lue
to the real offender. The position - con-
stable IS not much sought after IN China. \
certain Chinese law. having reference tp al
manner If crimes. often permits a criminal
to eSCane punishment entirely. The CHI
nese regard the continuance Of the -.Ioras-
sion Of a family as infinitely imrorrauf-
more impoT' ant. indeed. than tho punish
ment Of a heinous offen-e. Thus II -ir 'H-t
survivor 81 a family Kills his wife he
escapes execution on the ground that II he
were killed there would he no one loft 20
worship the ancestral tablets!
Chinese prisons are loaihstTHe with flth
but the Chinaman is accustomed - 7frt
their state does not trouble him. Petty af-
TENDERS get pint Of old rice a day IT hey
are without other means Of support ordf-
narilY. however friends and relatives ara
expected to provide the food In winter
they are allowed thick Jacket and II
sick. they have medical treatment. Warmed
beds are provided for The aged or -rirm
criminal in winter and cooling drinks N
summer
fIrrnEtE rsr.nITrE-S