By additional work and care it is not so hopeless as was once supposed to obtain such a knowledge of the population of China as shall approximate to the truth. If inquiries are conducted with the latest aids it will probably be found that the estimate made by Richthoven and others of 200,000,000, is much too low. The object of this article is to point out as worthy of special consideration the recently published returns of the population round Peking, plainly showing as they do that the agricultural class is the real foundation of the nation's strength in regard to numbers. Peking is the centre of a fertile district divided into twenty-four chows and Asiens and the population of the whole region is stated in the new edition of the Shuntien-fu-chih to be 3,373,660. The population of the city itself is not given in these tables, probably because the prefectural magistrate has nothing to do with a population which pays him no taxes. The question before his mind and the traditions of his yamen limited the matter of population returns to the inhastill reasons for reporting the number of bit ants living on the soil. The two Asiexs persons in a family below what it orarrondissements of Pekingitself stretch actually was. Near Peking there is a to the east, west, south and north, outside fear that strong young men will be of the city, to a distance of many miles. taken away to be soldiers, Soldiers "That called Wan-ping on the west after must be athletic. The weak will not reaching the western hills thirteen miles be accepted. But it is just the athletic off, embracesalargepart ofthecoal district that are most useful at home, This is with its numerous mining population; to believed to be the main cause operating these are tobe added the keepersof peach, to lower the true amount of the registered apple, grape and pear orchards, with the population, Another reason is gross cultivators of mushrooms, for the Peking neglect of duty on the part of the market. There are also the shepherds, census officers. These two reasons the manufacturers of incense, of green together may lower the census 20 per and black dyes, of soap, of lime, and of cent., itis thought. On the other hand a the blue colour used by builders, with small contribution is in some districts the Buddhist and Tanist monks. The collected as a present to the official arrondissement terminates at the great scribes who make the registration. At wall fifty miles away. The whole popu-present near Peking a gift of two caus lation outside of Peking is 206,456. darkens is expected in return for the The other arrondissement, Ta-hsing, has registration form duly filled up and an_extra-mural population of 180,184.
A large part of the crows seen in the given to each householder to paste on his door. This takes place every Spring Peking streets are donkey boys, wheel-and it is a handsome perquisite for the barrow drivers, cultivators of vegetables scribes and acts powerfully to make the for the Peking markets and cab drivers registration complete. There are some who have their homes outside the walls.
Villages near Peking where it is not These with the farmers and small traders believed that any families escape regis-make up the 386,000 outside the walls. tration. If then we add 20 per cent.
Among the twenty-four arrondisseto the amount 3,373,000, we have ments, that one which has the largest upwards of four millions as the extra-population is a country district known mural population of the prefecture as Pau-ti. It has in it no important of Peking. According to Sacharoff's city but it boasts still a population of tables, the population of Peking itself 826,591 persons. If the volume on the was in 1845, 1,648,874. Foreigners same topographical work on land be coustlted. this mystery is explained, It who are now living in Peking think the contains 1,220,612 mow. The next perulation not more than 800,000. acharoff stated the number of the dead largest arrondissement is Ningho. It taken out of the gates in coflins in has 9,932 mow, and a population of a year as being 39,438. This was in 212, The largest market town in the year 1845. If we add 4,500 for Pau-ti is seven Zi in length. There is little children and others buried without absolutely no town of importance. These coffins, and consider one in thirty as the large amounts of population are made mumber of deaths, we have a population up of villages scattered over the fertile in the Tartar city alone of 1,320,000. pain where all sorts of grain are grown, But we know the population of the ere are nomines or manufactures. Sim-country now better than we do that of ly the farm' nation gives these their high Portion in the publish-the city, and in regard to the latter we must wait for more recent information.
The cultivation of vegetables increases the number of villagers be-THE FRENCH-MAIL PAPERS, cause the area occupied is small while the profits are large. We are not sur-Tae Schnaebele affair had really been prised then to find numerous villages amicably arranged when the Spectdtor was published, but its account of it is so concise near to Peking wherever the streams that we extract it from the western hills allow of garden-Tt may be assumed, we think, in the first ing. But what ought to fix the atten-place, that M. Schnacbele, a French Com: tion is that the grain cultivation alone emissary of Police on the frontier, exerted on the Chihli plain easily supports po-himself to organise a system of espionage within the disaffected province, Alsace-Lorpulation of 200,000, or 300,000 persons rame. The German officials assert this strong: in the area of a single arrondissement. ly, nor is it denied by M. Schnaebele, who, indeed, but for some such charge, must have It is this circumstance that should give be en ¢ither unknown to Germans, or an the economist increased confidence in object of profound indifference. He was £0 the official reports of population of the successful in his taskk—which, we must remark, is one occasionally imposeil'on its agents by Chinese Government. every Government in Europe, though they do It will be asked by some, how can we not mention the fact in debates—that it was rely on the Chinese population lists at resolved to arrest him; and accordingly, orders were issued, either from the supreme all? The fact regarding them is that it Government, or, as is alleged, from a Hig! is a custom come down from antiquity Court in Leipzic, to arrest Mf. 'Schunebele, to count the people. In some dynasties should he enter Germany, for treason to the Empire. These orders, according to the offi-a poll-tax has been levied. When this cial report made to the' German Government, was the case the returns would be very and published in the North German Gaze incomplete. Householders would conceal of April 28th, were issued to Herr Gautsch, Commissary of Police in Lorraine, who, acthe real number of their families in order to diminish the impost. But geniing to French official accounts, thereupon forwarded to M. Schnaebele a letter asking when through its great unpopularity for an interview in order to inspect some posts. which mark the boundary, and which. bad this tax had to be rescinded, there were fallen into disrepair. M. Schnaebele accepted
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.