CHAPTER II.

GOVERNMENT.

THE form of government of this vast empire is an absolute monarchy. The emperor regards himself as the interpreter of the decrees of Heaven, and he is recognised by the people over whom he rules as the connecting link between the gods and themselves. He is designated by such titles as the Son of Heaven, the Lord of Ten Thousand Years, the Imperial Supreme; and he is supposed to hold communion with the deities at his pleasure, and to obtain from them the blessings of which he, personally, or the nation may stand in need. This mighty monarch is assisted in the administration of the government by a cabinet council, which consists of four great ministers of state. In addition to this council there are six supreme tribunals for the conduct, in detail, of all governmental business These tribunals, which are designated by the general appellation of Loo-poo, are as follows:-First, that which is termed Leepoo. This office is divided into four departments. In the first of these, officers are selected to fill the various offices which are deemed necessary for the due administration of the affairs of the respective provinces and districts of the Empire. The second takes cognizance of all such officials. The third affixes the seal to all edicts and proclamations; and the fourth keeps a register of the extraordinary merits and good services of distinguished men. The second board or tribunal is named Hoopoo, and to it is entrusted the care and keeping of the imperial

revenue. The third board is named Lee-poo. To it is entrusted the superintendence of all the ancient usages and religious rites of the people, and the preservation of all temples endowed by the imperial government. The fourth board is named Pingpoo. It has the care of all the naval and military establishments throughout the empire. The fifth is called King-poo. It has the supervision of all criminal proceedings. The sixth and last, which is termed Kung-poo, superintends all public works, such as mines, manufactures, highways, canals, bridges, &c. Over each of these tribunals presides a chief minister, or counsellor, whose duty it is to lay the decisions of his particular board before the cabinet council of four great ministers of state. When the decisions of the boards have been thoroughly discussed by the cabinet, they are submitted with becoming reverence to the notice of his imperial majesty. The power of these ministers, however, is almost nominal, as the emperor regards himself as responsible to none but the gods, whom he is supposed to represent. The people are thus in the hands of the emperor as children in the hands of a parent. But though there is outwardly a contempt manifested by the emperor for any or every suggestion which may be made to him by his ministers, there can be no doubt that, in private, much heed is given by his majesty to the advice of all confidential servants of the State. Very few, indeed, of the sovereigns of China have been sufficiently endued with the wisdom of this world to be able to rule without the counsel or advice of others. The sanction of the emperor to all laws and edicts is conveyed by a seal, and all remarks made by his majesty are recorded in letters of red, by what is styled the vermilion pencil.

Besides the various councils there are two others- the Toocha-yun, and the Tsung-pin-fow. The former is a board of censors. The censors are supposed to attend the meetings of the board or councils already described, to ascertain whether or not intrigues or plots are being concocted to weaken the stability of the government. Members of this board are not unfrequently sent into the provinces to ascertain how matters of business are being conducted there. Spies are sometimes sent by the

II.]

BOARDS OF GOVERNMENT.

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censors to different parts of the Empire for the purpose of scrutinizing the public and private conduct of any official or officials upon whom suspicion may rest. Of these emissaries the local authorities and principal citizens of all large and influential cities stand in great awe. His Excellency An, a commissioner from this board, arrived at Canton in the autumn of the year 1862, and suddenly placed under arrest several unsuspecting officials and citizens of distinction; and in obedience to his orders some of them, including the notorious Chong Shun and Too Pat, were executed in a most summary manner.

In the Pekin Gazette of November 12th, 1871, a statement was published-translated in the China Mail of December 23rd, 1871-to the effect that a censor had brought to the imperial notice a case of triple murder, in which a native of Chekiang was the complainant. The petitioner stated that his brother was intercepted on his way from market to purchase peas, and was surrounded, on account of an old grudge, by a family of four brothers, with the assistance of two outsiders. Two men who were carrying the peas were killed on the spot. The murderers then carried off the petitioner's brother to their house, where they confined him, and afterwards put him to death by the sword. The matter was reported to the then district magistrate Ng, but, in consequence of the Taiping rebellion, it could not be investigated.. Ng's successor in the magistracy, To by name, had the offenders arrested; but through the artful device of an underling who had been bribed, they were set at large. Emboldened by their liberation, the murderers disentombed the coffins, and mutilated the remains of the deceased, with a view to the destruction of all means of identification. For this offence another magistrate, Wong, sent out officers to arrest them, but the police were resisted. The successor of this magistrate ordered the military to assist in the apprehension of the murderers, but they managed to make their escape. The matter had been allowed to remain in abeyance for fourteen years, although three lives were concerned. The perfect had been petitioned twenty-five times, the intendant of the circuit nine times, the governor once, and the governor-general once, and yet the complainant had not been

able to obtain redress. Reference had invariably been made. to the magistrate to have the murderers arrested, but they were allowed to enjoy their ease at home.

The second of these two boards, the Tsung-pin-fow, consists of six high officials. These keep a register of the births, deaths, marriages, and relations of the princes of the blood royal, and report at times upon their conduct. The register in which the names of the lineal descendants of the imperial family are recorded is of yellow paper; that in which the names of the collateral branches are recorded is of red paper. These records are submitted to the emperor every ten years, on which occasions his majesty confers titles and rewards. These titles are divided into four classes, the first being hereditary, the second honorary, the third for services rendered to the State, and the fourth rewards due to literary attainments. It is imperative upon the ministers constituting the board of Tsung-pin-fow to furnish at frequent intervals the various tribunals styled Loopoo with reports as to which of the sons of the emperor possesses in the highest perfection the essential qualifications of a good sovereign. These reports, like all others, are submitted to the emperor. The emperor of China has the power of nominating his successor, whether indeed the person nominated be a member of the blood-royal family or not. The desire to perpetuate his dynasty scarcely ever admits of the emperor selecting one to fill the throne who is not a member of the reigning family. As a general rule each emperor is succeeded by his eldest son. Should the latter be regarded as incapable of administering the affairs of state, the second or third son is called upon to reign. When the emperor is childless, a selection is made from a collateral branch of the same dynasty. As in almost all Chinese families, or clans, the members of the imperial house are very numerous. At one time it was a practice to give official employment to each of these scions of royalty. The custom invariably entailed no ordinary degree of trouble and anxiety on the imperial government by giving rise to conspiracies and rebellions, and it was abandoned. Each prince has now to rest satisfied with the high-sounding, but empty title of king-a royal rank of which he may be deprived in the