A veer high authority qaoles with approval the old proverb that a prophet ver without honour save in his own country. That a prophet, any eminent man, may be trary, too mach honoured in place, and that the people's pride in their distinguished compatriot may coutainan element of actual danger to the State, Government; and it is to this dread that the law is rigorously enforced which renders "man incapable of holding the provines chang, who is a native of An-bui, could never become Viceroy of the Liang Kiang, although he once relieved Tsdug Kuo-fan in that post when the latter was compelled by stress of circumstances to head an expedition against the rebels Li himself, at that time, being Fa-t'ai of Soochow, 'I'so Tsung=t'ang, the late Viceroy, is a native of Hunan; Ho Ching, for many years Viceroy of Min Cha, was born in the province of Kuangtang. This regulation, which strikes a European at first sight as being so unnecessarily stringent, is however by no means peculiar to the Chinese. An almost precisely similar eunctment was passed about the year 177 of our era by Marcus Aurelius, the wisest of Roman Emperors, on his retarn to Rome from Athens and Alexandria, This law forbed any man to obtain impo. num, or power directly conferred by the Buporon i in his nati it iti Viooroy, Avidins Onssi ingratitude wont far to shake the Eme own generous faith in haman "The experience of the writes a clusively that the provinces were grows ing too independent of the Coutrat Government, and the vow law was framed to meet this danger. It must not be supposed that the regulation was at all intended to restrict the provinees in the management of rheic own local affairs, [t had reference only to officers who wore clothed imperium} Vint is, to the deputies chosen by the Bas peror." At the same time it must be noticed that although this striking analogy exists between the regulations of the two Empires, the resemblance is not perfect. Lhe danger drouded Marcus Aurelius, and whioh he sot to avert, was that of insurrection, The danger drouded by the Emperors of China is partly the same, but still more that of favouritism, which would tend to misoarringos of justice. It is fo Unt, if an offivor exercised high diotiow in his native province, lo would find it almost impossible to avoid the exorcise of part Surrounded by his family, and in a yot wider irolo by his family frienda and i timates, he would. be much hampered in Uso administration of justi not only by his pers it affections bat al pertain to the on which ea much stress is laid in Ute Chinese moral code. There would be a danger, in fact, of a Governor or Viceroy being called upon to adjadioato in matters in which his uncle or his elder brother was implicated; and the mau would Uns find himeolé in the unnatural position of having to sit in judgment upon his own elders. The g principle, therefore, which forbids an officer to hold jurisdiction in his native province is almost identical with that which prevents Prince Chfan from secepting office in Peking. It is im possible, la Chinese eyes, that the sou
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.