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either join a bandit organisation or submit to unlimited 
tmail, flock into the towns. Similarly, the substantial people 
ie smaller towns remove to Foochow, and, whenever there is 
nie or a political turnover in Foochow—as has happened four 
igve times in the last two years—there is a considerable exodus 
hanghai or some other centre supposed to be a harbour of 
ge. This adds much to the uncertainty of the poorer classes 
btaining employment; it increases the risks attending existing 
stries, and utterly discourages the establishment of new 
_ Iprises. There is a certain amount of emigration to the 
ciuth Sea as it is called, that is the Straits Settlements, Malay 
“es, Dutch Hast Indies, &ec., though the Foochow emigrant 
“rally goes not direct, but after transhipment at Amoy. Some 
1s emigrant labour is seasonal, and, whether seasonal or not, 
‘ge proportion of the emigrants eventually return, either as per- 
ent or occasional residents, to their native province. They 
3 or send into the country a great deal of wealth, and also return 
ldeas expanded far beyond the range of the untravelled peasant. 
and this exceedingly noticeable many years ago while travelling 
ugh the districts north from Amoy. For 100 miles out from 
'y wherever a house showed any sign of wealth it was pretty 
un to prove to be the home of a returned emigrant. 
\part from emigration, certain local employments, e.g., that of 
ng timber on the rivers, naturally involve long journeys. Again, 
country where all goods transported by land have to be carried 
iorters, the proportion of men (and women) engaged in such work 
ir greater than in countries where mechanical transport—-rail- 
3, &c.—exists, or even where there are roads suited to horse or 
ock carts, The immense population engaged in porterage also 
Into existence an unusually large class of people employed in 
"ing to the wants of such wayfarers. If a man carries 80 or 100 lb. 
niies a day, over swamps and mountains, in all weathers, over 
8 80 rough as those of Fukien, he has done a fair day's work— 
many carry more and further. Such conditions naturally lead 
widespread habit of moving about in search of jobs in distant 
es. 
Otherwise, if by travelling long distances in search of employ- 
t is meant having to go many miles daily to reach one’s work, 
: dubt if this is very common. It is not the distances but the 
I nitive means of communication that impoverish the Chinese 
, king man—Dby isolating him, by limiting his markets both for 
| thase and sale, and by obliging him to do drudgery which is done 
where bv machines or animals. 
q 
» hile the Standard of Living is low, Wages, especially those of 
] Unskilied Workers, do not always reach that Standard. 
No doubt this is so, though, in view of the great fertility of the 
the thoroughness with which it is cultivated wherever cultiva- 
Is possible, the mildness of the climate and the economic 
arity of Chinese families and clans. who, if not alwavs owners 
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