EXTRATERRITORIALITY  189
criminal  offences,  and  for  those  with  which  he  may  be  charged
he  is  judged  according  to  the  provisions  of  his  own  laws.
In  civil  cases  he  is  held  accountable  for  the  requirements
of  the  commercial  code  of  his  own  country  ,  and  in  suits
against  Chinese  he  is  aided  by  the  advocacy  of  his  own
official  representative,  the  Consul.
Finally,  in  at  least  ten  of  the  treaty  ports,  the  foreign
merchants  collectively  are  privileged  to  form  their  own
municipal  government,  subject  only  to  the  oversight  of  the
Consuls,  to  tax  themselves  and  administer  the  proceeds  of
the  taxes,  to  construct  their  own  roads,  and  to  control  their
own  measures  of  police  and  sanitation.
Others  could  be  added,  but  these  constitute  a  formidable
list  of  exceptional  privileges,  enjoyed  by  the  foreigner  and
denied  to  the  Chinese.  It  is  no  part  of  my  purpose  to
inquire  if  these  privileges  are  equitable  or  not  ;  it  is  enough
to  say  that  they  will  be  maintained  so  long  as  foreign  nations
are  strong  enough  to  insist  on  their  maintenance.  Protection ­
  is  thus  given  to  foreigners  in  their  daily  business  such
as  Chinese  do  not  enjoy  ;  and  it  would  be  unreasonable  to
expect  that  no  foreigner  would  be  found  ready,  for  a  consideration, ­
  to  lend  a  corner  of  his  flag  to  cover  the  nakedness
of  the  poor  Chinaman.  Among  the  foreigners  resident  in
China  there  is  the  same  proportion  of  good,bad,  and  indifferent
as  among  the  same  class  in  the  home  lands,  and  the  malpractice ­
  is  common  ;  but  while  the  abuse  of  the  flag  provides
a  decent  income  to  many  among  them,  it  causes  great  injury
to  the  legitimate  commerce  of  the  countries  from  which
they  come,  and  disorganises  the  methods  of  administration,
right  or  wrong,  just  or  unjust,  of  the  land  in  which  they
live.  Because  an  American  can  take  certain  goods  from
one  place  to  another  for  a  hundred  dollars  in  taxes,  while  it
would  cost  a  Chinese  twice  that  sum,  provides  no  reason  good
in  the  eyes  of  the  American  nation,  the  American  manufacturer, ­
  or  the  legitimate  American  trader,  why  the  Chinese
should  be  allowed  to  save  half  his  outgo  by  the  misuse  of  the
American  flag  ;  the  differential  taxation  is  a  matter  between
the  Chinaman  and  his  own  Government  and  is  no  concern