relation of the states to the Federal Government is peculiar and
unique. I will illustrate my point by correcting a mistake often made
by foreigners in regard to the different provinces of China. It is
generally assumed by Western writers that each province in China is
self-governed, and that the provincial authorities act independently
and in defiance of the injunctions of the Peking Government. The
facts, however, are that until the establishment of the Republic, all
the officials in the Provinces were appointed or sanctioned by the
Peking Government, and that by an Imperial decree even a Viceroy or
Governor could, at any moment, be changed or dismissed, and that no
important matter could be transacted without the Imperial sanction.
How does this compare with the states in America? Every American
boasts that his state is independent of the Federal Government. All
officials, from the Governor downward, are, in every state, elected by
the people. Each state is provided with a Legislature consisting of a
Senate and a House of Representatives, also elected by the popular
vote. The state has very large, and almost absolute, legislative and
executive powers, and is competent to deal with all matters not
reserved by the Constitution for the Federal Government. Each state is
also independent of every other state. The criminal and civil laws,
including all matters pertaining to the transfer of and the succession
to property, as well as marriage, divorce and fiscal laws, are within
the scope of the state administrations. The authorities of each state
naturally do their best to make their own state as populous and
prosperous as possible. Thus in some states the laws concerning
divorce, corporations, and landed property, are more favorable than in
other states. A person, for example, unable to obtain a divorce in his
own state, can, without difficulty, attain his object in another state.
What is expressly prohibited by statute in one state may be perfectly
legitimate in the neighboring state. It is the same with the local
taxes; fees and taxes are not uniform; in one state they are heavy,
while in another they are comparatively light. A stranger would
naturally be surprised to find such a condition of things in a great
nation like America, and would wonder how the machinery of such a
government can work so well. Nevertheless he will find that everything
goes on smoothly. This can be explained only by the fact that t