aces upon the
ticket, which is stamped as a precaution against forgery with the
private stamp of the pawnshop. Jewels are not received as pledges, and
gold and silver only under certain restrictions.

The other class is not recognised by the authorities, and its very
existence is illegal, though of course winked at by a venial
executive. Shops of this kind, which may be known by the character for
_keep_, are very much frequented by the poor. A more liberal loan is
obtainable than at the licensed pawnbroker's, but on the other hand
the rate of interest charged is very much more severe. Pledges are
only received for three months, and on the ticket issued there is no
stipulation about damage to the deposit. No satisfaction is to be got
in case of fraud or injustice to either side: a magistrate would
refuse to hear a case either for or against one of these unlicensed
shops. They carry on their trade in daily fear of the rowdies who
infest every Chinese town, granting loans to these ruffians on
valueless articles, which in many cases are returned without payment
either of interest or principal, thereby securing themselves from the
disturbances which "bare poles" who have nothing to lose are ever
ready to create at a moment's notice, and which would infallibly hand
them over to the clutches of hungry and rapacious officials. The
counters over which all business is transacted are from six to eight
feet high, strongly made, and of such a nature that to scale them
would be a very difficult matter, and to grab anything with the view
of making a bolt for the street utterly and entirely impossible. In a
Chinese city, where there is no police force to look after the safety
of life and property, and where everybody prefers to let a thief pass
rather than risk being called as a witness before the magistrate, it
becomes necessary to guard against such contingencies as these. As
things are now, pawnshops may be considered the most flourishing
institutions in the country; and in these establishments many even of
the highest officials invest savings squeezed from the districts
entrusted to their paternal care.

POSTAL SERVICE

Many residents in China are profoundly ignorant of the existence of a
native postal service; and even the few who have heard of such an
institution, are not aware of the comparative safety and speed with
which even a valuable letter may be forwarded from one end of the
Empire to the other. Government despa