The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1909-05-02

Q
trade. merely allowing the facts ant
! their bearing on present circumstances
He tells simply the extraordinary storJ
Of the manner in which the maritime
customs under Sir Robert Hart's man
agement have influenced Chinese admin
istration and the dealings Of the Chinese
Government with the outer world. Only
a few topics can be touched upon In the
limitations Of q review. In his explana-
tions Mr.. Morse frequently makes use
Of Western parallels or a~nalogues. but
he Is careful to point out that these are
only comparisons that must not be taken
too literally, that East is East and West
is West and that similarity must not be
taken for identity. 1t should be noted
here too that the pa~renthetical remarks
that he drops from time to time, betraying
the Western point Of view, which he tries
to keep out Of sight, and often also his
sense Of humor. are not the least attractive
touches In his book.
The Government Of China, We are told.
Ia an autocraoy superimposed on a democ-
racy. Whatever the governing powers
may have been, the Chinese in essentials
have always ruled themselves according
to their local customs and laws. The
present Manchu dynasty. while control
ling the military organization .and pro-
viding for certain posts that would bring
In revenue, has been content on the whole
to let the Chinese live according to their
own ideas. The empire Is in reality q
sort Of federation, and the eighteen prov
inces Of China, leaving out the three Man
ohurian provinces, are in many respects
almost autonomous. like the Staten OF the
Union or those OF the German Empire.
The power Of appointment Of all provincial
and municipal officials, high and low, Is
to be sure In Pekin. yet the proportion
Of Manohus holding imperial appoint
ments in the provinces has not exceeded
one-f1fth, while the many important
extra -oficial posts created by modern
conditions are seldom held by them.
The municipaland provincial government
ID almost entirely in the hands Of Chinese.
while tho central imperial Administra-
ton II Influenced and controlled az much
by Chinese as by Manchu mind"
The unit for administration within the
provinces is the hsien. which may DO COM
pared to the American township or the
modern oommunes OF the Latin countries;
it 10 the civic. political. judicial and fiscal
unit Of Chinese life. 1t comprises almost
universally a walled city and the country
around it. In 1t every Chihese subject
Ia inscribed: here is his ancestral home,
hnpo -tn hA rat,,-u 70 orxn,ttNl In thn
evening Of his life and here will his bones
be sent should he die abroad; during his
whole life be is identified with his hsien."
The official head of the district 'is the
Chihsien, who may be called the Mayor,
but who cumulates most Of the functions
Of government. He 10 the court Of first
instance in civil and criminal cases. the
coroner. prosecuting attorney, sheriff
and jailer; he is the agent Of the provincial
and imperial Administration in collecting
the land tax and the grain tribute; he
il registrar of land. famine. locust and
moth commissioner. and responsible for
the prevention Of foods; he Ia entrusted
with the preservation Of public buildings.
and the expediting Of Government cou-
riers. He maintains order, secs to the
physical we'll being Of his district and is
the guardian Of the peoples morals"
He delegates some Of these powers to
persons not Of his own appointment,
but Ia always hold responsible. If he be-
comes oppressive tho country people
under him may take to riot and arson
and the traders TO the peculiar Chinese
method Of resistance. the cessation Of
business a combination Of lookout. strike
and boyoott-a strong weapon against .
Magistrate whose n aim Ii 70 serve his
term without q disturbance sufficiently
grave to come to the notice Of his
superiors.'
The subdivisions Of the hsien are the
villages at the head Of which are the Tipaos.
nominated by the magistrate from the
village elders. The Tipaois the official that
comes closest to the people; he is respon-
sible for their good conduct and moral
behavior and also for the payment OF
the land tax and tribute. Two or
moro hsien form a fu or prefecture and
WI Of more Of these a higher division
OF the province. under o Taotdi. The
eighteen provinces themselves are ruled
by eight Viceroys and eleven Gov
ernor-Generals. The other officials Of
provincial administration. whose funo-
tons are described clearly by Mr.. Morse.
must be sought for in his book. Their
duties are too complex to be described
briefly and show plainly why misunder-
standings must have arisen with the
who frst tried to foroe their
way into China.
Certain generalities are interesting.
All officials in the provinces down to dis
magistrates arc appointed from
Pekin; for the lower posts the provincial
may recommend. but 1t is
only the central Government that ap-
promotes. transfers or cashiers.
This keeps them all under discipline.
Moreover, appointments arc for three
years; In the case Of viceroys and Gov
this rule 10 often d~isregardod, q
instance being Ii Hung Chang,
who held the V~ioeroyalty at Tentsin for
nearly thirty years; for lower officials
the rule 10 followed almost universally,
they may be retained at their
posts for a V oond term. Another peculiar
and ~invariable rule 10 that NO ohloial 10
appointed TO a post In the province Of
mis- birth: every official IL an alien to the
people he rules, often unable to Under
the dialect they speak, Moreover