THE police is so well regulated in all the large cities of China, that
disturbances rarely, if ever, happen during the night. The watch is set
at nine, and continues till five in the morning. A gate is placed at
each end of the cross streets, which are all streight, and at right
angles with the main streets; from each gate a watchman proceeds till he
meets his brother watchman about the middle; at every half hour he beats
the hollow bamboo tube, in his left hand, with the mallet in the right,
striking the same number of blows as there may be half hours elapsed
from nine o’clock: the blow gives a dead, dull sound, sufficiently
audible, and to a stranger sufficiently disagreeable. Each watchman is
also furnished with a paper lantern. At the great gates of cities, and
at certain distances in the main streets are guard-houses, at which a
party of soldiers are stationed to aid the police, if necessary; but
this is rarely the case, as, in addition to the common watch, every
tenth housekeeper in every street is made responsible for the orderly
good conduct of his nine neighbours. In the day time there is plenty of
noise, and quarrelling and scuffling among the lower orders of the
Chinese.
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[Illustration:
CHINA—PLATE 10
]
Plate X.