upport wife
or family, toiling seven days in the week, with no amusements,
enjoyments, or comforts of any kind, no interest in the country,
contributing no share towards the expense of government, living on food
that he would now reject with loathing, crowded with his fellows ten or
fifteen in a room that he would not now live in alone, except with
repugnance. Admitted freely into Australia, the Chinese would starve
out the Englishman, in accordance with the law of currency--that of two
currencies in a country the baser will always supplant the better. "In
Victoria," says Professor Pearson, "a single trade--that of
furniture-making--was taken possession of and ruined for white men
within the space of something like five years." In the small colony of
Victoria there are 9377 Chinese in a population of 1,150,000; in all
China, with its population of 350,000,000, there are only 8081
foreigners (Dyer Ball), a large proportion of whom are working for
China's salvation.

There is not room for both in Australia. Which is to be our colonist,
the Asiatic or the Englishman?

In the morning we had another beautiful walk round the snow-clad
mountains to the village of Yangpi, at the back of Tali. There was a
long delay here. News of my arrival spread, and the people hurried along
to see me. No sooner was I seated at an inn than two messengers from the
yamen called for my passport. They were officious young fellows, sadly
wanting in respect, and they asked for my passport in a noisy way that I
did not like, so I would not understand them. I only smiled at them in
the most friendly manner possible. I kept them for some time in a fever
of irritation at their inability to make me understand; I listened with
imperturbable calmness to their excited phrases till they were nearly
dancing. Then I leisurely produced my passport, as if to satisfy a
curiosity of my own, and began scanning it. Seeing this, they rudely
thrust forth their hands to seize it; but I had my eye on them. "Not so
quick, my friends," I said, soothingly. "Be calm; nervous irritability
is a fruitful source of trouble. See, here is my passport; here is the
official seal, and here the name of your unworthy servant. Now I fold it
up carefully and--put it back in my pocket. But here is a copy, which
is at your service. If you wish to show the original to the magistrate,
I will take it to his honour myself, but out of my hands it does not
pass." They looked puzzled, as they