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warm in winter, these houses are made on the opposite plan; conse- quently foreigners who come to reside in this city, tnust build their own houses, or must suffer severely by occupying such as the Chi- nese have erected for themselves. The very exterior of these dwellings, with dark walls, unglazed windows, and heavy roofs sur- mounted by a long line of tiles piled with their edges upwards, pre- sents a forbidding aspect; their interior with tiled or mud floors be- low, and little or no ceilings above, is equally cheerless; and on trial, if any one from choice or necessity makes it, they will be found no less unsuitable for all the purposes of health and comfort, than their first appearance warranted us to expect.
The Chinese have been reproached as being " a nation without shirts, streets, or table linen.” In their habitations, whether regard be had to health, convenience or taste, there is very little that is worthy of commendation. None but
None but a pagan people, half-civilized, would or ought to be contented with such. Depend upon it, that a moral renovation, following in this country, will be succeeded by a corresponding change in their domestic habits.
The government of Shingĺrái though on a small scale, is an exact model of the supreme and provincial courts. The magistracy of China is a wheel, within a wheel, his imperial majesty, the son of heaven, being the mainspring, the center of the whole. In the capi- tal, around him, are the six Boards, ect. The same machinery is found in each of the provinces, departments, and districts. Accord- ingly, in this city, we may see a miniature picture of the imperial court with all its essential features. The modern government aspires to be both theoretically and practically, what it was in the days of those great emperors who lived soure fifteen hundred years before Confucius. Hence, by acquiring a knowledge of any local magis- tracy, we supply ourselves with data for ascertaining what now ex- ists in the higher spheres, as we go upwards to the seat of the one man, who sits alone, as the vicegerent of tne bright azure heavens.
The several offices and their incumbents, as they now exist in Shanghái, stand thus:
1. – Kin ming, Káng sủ, Kien-tuh, hái kưán fan si»n S4, Sung,
Tii,ping pi taus欽命江蘇監督海關分巡蘇松
太兵備
Hien ling 屁 齡:
2. Hái fóng tung chi 海防同知, Tsin Ping huán 沈炳垣;
3. Shàng hải hien chi hin
上海縣知縣
Lau Wei wan 藍蔚雯: