THE  CHINESE  EMPIRE

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maintain  the  efficiency  and  provide  for  the  expenses  of  the
Government  courier  service  from  border  to  border  of  his
district.  From  his  own  funds  he  must  execute  such  repairs
as  are  ever  effected  to  bridges  and  the  things  called  roads,
must  see  that  schools  are  maintained,  and  must  call  upon
the  wealthy  to  contribute  for  public  and  philanthropic
purposes.  He  maintains  order,  sees  to  the  physical  wellbeing ­
  of  his  district,  and  is  the  guardian  of  the  people’s
morals.
These  are  the  principal  functions  of  the  Mayor  of  the
Chinese  municipium,  and  under  the  paternal  government
of  this  “  Father  and  Mother  of  the  People  ”  the  ruled  might
be  expected  to  be  a  body  of  abject  slaves.  This  is  far  from
being  the  case.  In  most  countries  the  people  may  be
divided  into  the  law-abiding  and  the  lawless  ;  in  China  a
third  division  must  be  noted—those  who,  though  innocent
of  offence,  come  within  the  meshes  of  the  law  through  the
machinations  of  enemies.  This,  however,  only  serves  to
redress  the  balance,  since  the  Chinese  are  essentially  a
law-abiding  people,  and  in  the  country,  at  least,  are  guilty
of  few  crimes  below  their  common  recreations  of  rebellion
and  brigandage.  These  they  indulge  in  periodically  when
the  harvest  is  in,  if  for  any  reason,  such  as  flood  or  drought,
the  crops  have  been  deficient  ;  but,  apart  from  this  and
apart  from  the  regular  visits  of  the  tax-collector,  it  ft
doubtful  if  the  actual  existence  of  a  government  is  brought
tangibly  to  the  notice  of  a  tenth,  certainly  not  to  a  fifth,
of  the  population.  The  remaining  eighty  or  more  per  centlive
  their  daily  life  under  their  customs,  the  common  laW
of  the  land,  interpreted  and  executed  by  themselves.  Each
village  is  the  unit  for  this  common-law  government,  the
fathers  of  the  village  exercising  the  authority  vested  m
age,  but  acting  under  no  official  warrant,  and  interpreting
the  customs  of  their  fathers  as  they  learned  them  in  theft
youth.  The  criminal  law  is  national  ;  but,  with  a  more
or  less  general  uniformity,  each  circumscription  has  its  own
local  customs  in  civil  matters.  Questions  of  land  tenure»
of  water  rights,  of  corvées  (when  not  Imperial),  of  tempft