The Sketcher.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 221, 4 December 1875, Page 5

The Sketcher.

JOHN RENTON.—A ROMANCE OF THE SEA. (From the Queenslander.) IV. Although pretty Boree and her baby slept the sleep of her ancestors, as recounted last week, she was not exactly buried. The reader need not start; she was not eaten. Although Renton speaks of the inland tribes or bushmen as cannibals, he defends his coast friends from a like charge. They have plenty of fish and not a few pigs, he says, and do not crave for human flesh ; while, on the other hand, the bushmen have only pigs without any fish, except such as they can procure by barter of yams, and they are utter cannibals, professing to prefer the human bonne Louche to all other food whatsoever. The distinction between fish and no fish appears certainly insufficient to account for the abstinence of the coast tribes as compared with those of the bush, but it is our business merely to relate what Renton himself stated.

The disposal of their dead is one of the traditional customs which frequently enable antiquarians to trace the scattered fragments of some ancient nation, in spite of the expiration of centuries. We question whether the method practised on Malayta Island is precedented by the custom of any ancient race. It appears, in fact, to have been in part an outcome of the peculiar situation of the tribes, surrounded everywhere by water, although Renton was understood to signify that the bushmen followed the same postmortem fashions. The natives do not bury their dead in the fashion now generally prevalent throughout the world. The body of a •hief is, after death, swathed in many folds of the leaves of a particular tree, and deposited in a sort of canoe-shaped coffin, which is placed on forked posts a few feet above the floor of one of the men’s huts, in the division specially set apart to the gods—of which more anon. In the bottom of the canoe is a hole, to which a tube of bamboo is applied, and perfectly caulked at the juuction, the other end of the tube being sunk through the door, and terminating below water mark among the stones and shingle which form the artificial ground of the village. The body is further covered and tightly packed with fine scrapings from the wood of the same tree 'which furnishes the leaves in which it is enveloped, and which must have extraordinary anti-septic qualities, as no offensive odour whatever annoys the inhabitants of the hut. After a sufficient time has elapsed—so many moons—the envelopes of the upper part of the body are opened, and the corpse is found to be perfectly dessicated, the juices of the body having drained away through the tube. The head is then easily detached, being broken off at the neck like a dry stick. The remains are then removed to a tabooed or sacred place among the trees, and the head is retained, and, enclosed in a bag of matting, is laid upon a shelf at the back of the hut. In the case of a great chief or warrior, an elaborate casket is prepared to contain the head. This is carved of wood in the shape of a porpoise, with lid complete, the fish being accurately designed, colored, and ornamented with shells or beads. This head then becomes one of the gods. In the larger huts about a third of the interior space is partitioned off by a beam, and is held particularly sacred and holy, numberless heads being disposed in rows on shelves lining the walls. The bodies of ordinary individuals and of women are treated in somewhat similar fashion, but their heads are simply stored away as among us a careful housekeeper would keep her preserves, most huts being embellished by shelves full of matting bags, each containing a head ; and to prevent confusion, and preserve a record of identity, each has attached some distinguishing mark or label of shell. Whatever ideas of religion exist among this curious race are connected with these relics. Their idea appears to be that the spirit of the dead continues to linger around the mummy head,, and to be conscious of the events occurring in its presence. On all important occasions these gods are appealed to. Their good will .is sought to be secured by propitiatory offerings. As in most other systems of theology, the gods are presumed to delight in whatever is most valued among their worshippers. They are seldom appealed to without a collection being made during the service. Of all the articles which go to. form wealth in these communities, a pig is the most valuable, and accordingly the gods are never approached on great occasions without a sacrifice of the unhappy porkers. On extraordinary occasions a perfect hecatomb of swine are offered up. Not everyone may approach the divinities. Even 'among this rude people a class have discovered the convenience of appointing themselves intercessors. This office is generally held by the chiefs, who, as far as eve could gather, appear to He hereditary. On the eve of. great undertakings, a large" fire is kindled within the sacred enclosure in the hut, and upon this the burnt offering of pigs are so disposed that the smoke and savor of their roasting may be wafted around the orim deities’ nostrils. In the whole affair there is a i omai kable similarity to like processes under the Mosaic law. It is not everyone whoso worldly possessions range as high as a porker, however ; but as everyone feels it incumbent on .him. to present something, a curious provision is made beforehand. It frequently happens that out of a litter of pio.s one or more do not live. These still-born beasts are carefully preserved by drying, and stored away foi leligious uses. "When a solemn ceremony is in progress, each worshipper brings to the officiating priest a tiny morsel of this dried pm wrapped up in leaves, and contributes it towards the ceremony. The priest is engaged within the holy place in the service o? the altar, carefully attending to the burnt-offering, so that it may not be overdone. He is deeply repressed by the occasion, and wears a solemn

and reverend aspect. He receives the mystic morsel from the worshipper, and with many contortions and snorts lays it before the deity. He proceeds then to invoke the powers on behalf of this particular communicant. This he effects by a series of impressive gasps, keeping the mouth open and expelling the air forcibly from his lungs, so making a peculiar sound (if an extremely sacred nature. The worshipper finds the greatest comfort in this awful ceremony, and after presenting his offering, which appears to be somewhat analogous to the threepenny bits of devotees nearer home, he is prepared to cast fear to the winds. He believes himself invulnerable in the coming war, and supported by the consciousness of the immunity from wound or harm granted by the gods, wiil rush without hesitation into the midst of a hundred foes. Readers cannot fail to perceive the similarity between this priestly process and the habit of our own church dignitaries of consecrating regimental colors, praying for blessings on our troops, and performing a service over war ships. The fallacy of thesavage religion, however, is made apparent, as Renton states, by warriors occasionally losing their lives, or suffering defeat in spite of the favor of their deities and the invocation of their priests. This, however, is understood in no way to derogate from the vital truths of thenreligion, or the mystic powers of the priests. It is very simply explained away by the latter. The unfortunate warrior has been mistaken in supposing himself in favor with the gods. He has been guilty of some unpardonable lapse at some time, and his offering has been in vain. All these great religious ceremonies are concluded by the priests reverently eating the roasted pig, which i 3 too holy for any other stomach.

THE CHINESE QUARTER, OF MEL-

BOURNE. (from the Daily Teleyraph.) Objection has been taken by the (’orporation officials to the style of architecture affected by many of the Chinese residents in Little Bourkestreet and the lanes which run into Great Bourke-street, and notices to quit have been served upon a number of Mongolians whose residences do not comply with the provisions of the Building Act, either in regard to the area of land attached, or to the quality of the material used in constructing the houses. On Thursday night Mr. Martin Evans, the Corporation inspector, proceeded, in company with representatives of the Press and Detective Fook Shing, to inspect some of the Chinese lodginghouses which abound so plentifully in the locality above named. Leaving Bourkestreet by a right-of-way which runs through to Little Bourke-street, the party soon found themselves among a number of ramshackle wooden tenements, which hung in some mysterious way to the brick walls, from which they seemed to jut. The right-of-way was an exceedingly quiet place, and no lights were visible to the majority of the visitors, who, however, under the guidance of Mr. Evans, were promptly admitted to a “ Chinese lodginghouse.” The sight was a curious one. The ground floor was uncovered and damp, kitchen utensils and other articles being strewn about in delightful confusion, giving the impression that Chinese bachelors, like their European brethren, are by no means very tidy when left to themselves. A Chinaman, who came downstairs on hearing the visitors enter, then led the way to the upper apartment, access to which was gained by a short flight of ricketty stairs. The inmates were just beginning to think about “going to sleep,” and were using opium freely, in order that Morpheus might clasp them in his arms. The room was a miserable den of filth. Four dirty beds, curtained with ragged drapery, which might have been washed years before, occupied the apartment. On one couch squatted a Chinaman engaged in mending clothes, while on each of the other three a miserable barbarian sat trying to get his opium pipe into smoking order, the result being that the place was filled with an atmosphere which, in point of offensiveness, was unique. Eight men, it was stated, occupied the room at times, though there was not space in it to swing a cat decently. Leaving the lodginghouse, a start was made for a carpenter’s shop close by, the occupier working by the light of a rag steeped in fat, and on "being asked whether he would let the visitors see his sleeping apartment he at once consented to do so. The room was much below the level of the street, and it was very damp and very filthy, but John seemed quite satisfied with his place of rest, which was, contrary to the general rule, supplied with blankets. Both tiie buildings mentioned had been erected by simply covering in yards with rough pieces of wood, on which was placed sheet iron, scraps of wood, and in fact anything which might be expected to exclude the air of heaven, and to promote a filthy and uncomfortable state of affairs. Then a visit was paid to a “cookshop.” In the front room, which opened on to Little Bourkestreet, a number of Chinamen were engaged in preparing fowls for cooking, and here was seen a peculiar species of cakes, made of flour and Chinese oil, the paste thus formed being shaped into circular pieces and sprinkled over with a soit of seed intended to produce insensibility, somewhat resembling that caused by the administration of. Indian hemp. In a room behind, the cuiaine was proceeding, several fowls cut up being dropped into a cauldron of boiling water. As the flesh became “ done ” the cook took it out of the water by means of an instrument resembling a landin'.- net and dropped it into some bowls which were standing in readiness. The upper apartments of this house presented a somewhat better appearance than those of the places previously visited. The rooms were partitioned off by deal boards, and the only furniture visible was a chair or two and the customary wooden tables, at which soup was drunk. Two or three European girls wore here seen drinking soup which was brought to them by the China” men. J lie sleeping rooms were closely packed with beds, and very ill ventilated. The row of gambling houses in the old arcade were then visited, and after some hesitation the party were allowed to watch the ceremony of “draw-

mg the bank ” from the inside of the rails by which the crowd of investors is shut off from the bankers. This scene has often been described, and it may be witnessed on any night of the week in one or other of the “ banks.” " The revolting part of the night’s entertainment was yet in store. It was decided to go to “Brogan’s lane.” Crawling through a low door, entrance was gained to one of a series of shanties, raised by covering over yards. Faint glimmers were seen through cracks in the boards, and wherever lights were visible, Fook Shing sang out to the dwellers, “ Open the door.” A door resembling that of a cupboard was opened, and a Chinaman was seen lying on a bed of the usual class, smoking opium. A dull light was on a tray in the middle of the bed, separating the Chinaman from a woman of apparently about fifty, whose eyes rolled in a way which showed that she too had contracted a taste for a narcotic other than tobacco. On being spoken to she answered with a drunken kind of laugh, and jabbered a mixture of English and Chinese. It may lie heie remarked that both men and women, whenever seen in bed, had not divested themselves of any portion of their clothing, but were sleeping in their ordinary day attire. The Chinaman, when asked whether his “ wife ” liked opium, chuckled, showed his teeth, and said “ welly good.” In other houses about this place, women of notorious character were found drinking soup. Mr. Evans then visited a house occupied by a woman who had received notice to remove, consequent upon the contemplated demolition of her premises. He asked her whether she would allow him to see the place in which her two children, aged fifteen and eleven respectively, slept. She promised to comply, and stepping forward, undid a bolt which secured the door of a box-like apartment, containing two filthy and ragged couches. There was no floor to the room, but the woman stated that her landlord had promised to lay one down, and to further improve the place. Mr. Evans advised the stoppage of all expenditure, as the hovel was marked for destruction, and the woman then said it was a hard case, as she had no other place to go to, and she was a poor woman earning her living by doing a little washing. In reply to a question, she said that her children were at night school, at least she believed so. After leaving this place, a number of Chinese dens were visited, each presenting the same characteristics, for when one has been described, all are known. There was the same miserable filth on the ground floor, the same ricketty steps upwards, and the same ghastly spectacle of poppy-inebriation presented by the dirty Mongolian smokers, packed in bed like sardines in tins. At one house there existed a cesspit under the same roof as the kitchen, and separated from it only by a screen of canvas. A quantity of offensive matter was also contained in jars placed near the cesspit, which had not, according to the inspector, been emptied for years, and which emitted a most noisome odour. At another house, a good-looking girl, who said she was nineteen years of age, was found in company with two Chinamen, who were lying in bed opium smoking. The love of tawdry finery had not left her, for she was engaged on some ornamental needlework. She had been with Chinamen she said for a long time, and was satisfied with them. “ She had lost her shame.” In another room was found a good-humored half-caste child of about two years old, which chattered in Chinese, and played without fear with a lamp for lighting opium pipes. After visiting several other places, in which for the most part Chinamen were found by themselves, the tour of inspection concluded. THE THRIFTLESSNESS OF PROFESSIONAL MEN. (From the Spectator.) Mr. W. E. Forster, in his speech at Otley on . Saturday, said that, excepting the capitalists and trading class, —the class of “ men of business ” of various kinds, —there is probably no class in England which is more disposed to thrift, —to saving,—than the socalled working-class, the class which lives by wages, and that it would certainly bear favorable comparison with the class of professional men, who are less thrifty and frugal in En<dand than any other class of society. We believe that to be quite true. Unquestionably there are no people in England who spend so freely what might be saved as what Mr. Forster means by the members of the professional classes, —in other words, those who live by educated labor of a high kind, —clergymen lawyers, surgeons and physicians, artists’ liteiary men, civilians. Considering how small the margin of the income is oik of which working-men could save as compared with the margin of income out of which professional men might save, there can be little doubt that the professional classes are as much less thrifty than the working classes, as the tradin'' or capitalist classes are more thrifty than they. Nor is the reason, we think, very recondite." First, it is easy enough to see why the most disposed to save of all classes should be capitalist classes. For a capitalist properly means a man all whose gains are, to him at least, reckoned and measured by the proportion they bear to the capital he has invested in his trade. Of course economists tell us that a good part of these gains ought not to be so reckoned,— that a very large part of them are as much the wages of educated labor, and of a very exceptional sort of talent, as is the fee marked on the barrister’s brief „ r tin' guinea deposited in the hand of a physician The sagacious trader will probably "ain a «reat deal more by his sagacity than he°ever could by Ins capital only. The shopkeeper who is master of his business will turn over his capital twice, where the shopkeeper who is not master <»t it cannot turn it over once. But though this is so, the capitalist always weighs what he is worth by the proportion which his gains boar to his accumulated property. The unit by which he measures is the property with which he started. By the rate at which that increases, and by that alone, he gauges his success, Unless he adds to his property, he

does not really add to lfi* prosperity ; unless nc adds largely to his property, In'- does not add largely to his prosperity. The scale on which he measures his success is a scale of which his accumulated property furnishes the unit. He cannot do well without seeing the way to extend his operations ; and lie cannot extend his operations without sinking more capital in them. Hence, to the capitalist, saving is as much the essential of condition of gaming as gaining is of saving. Unless lie can save much he has not the means of gaining more ; and thrift becomes to him as much the condition of success as success is of thrift. Lut this is not at all true of the professional man, the man who makes a hundred guineas by an able legal argument, or by a journey of 100 miles to see a patient of whom the local doctor despairs. In cases like these the measure. of success is not the profit on capital invested, but the yearly income earned. No fresh investment of capital will, as a rule, procure the professional man larger gains. The lawyer’s learning and brains are his capital : and money saved will not extend his learning or improve his brains. The doctor s experience, his quickness of sight, his half-unconscious appreciations of the meaning of particular symptoms, and his knowledge of remedies are his capital; no money-savings will sensibly increase the value of these qualifications. Again, the literary or artistic touch of the author or the painter is in general altogether beyond the reach of the magic of thrift to improve or to spoil. These men know that the qualities which bring success are not qualities the yield of which can be doubled by saving, or halved by failing to save. In ail these cases, the measure of success is not capital, but income ; and it is not by the increase to his capital, but by the increase to his income accordingly, that the professional man gauges his position. This may sufficiently explain why the capitalist is so much more thrifty than the professional man. If the former makes 20 per cent, on his capital, the motive for investing at least 10 per cent, of it in the extension of his operations is overwhelming. But if a barrister makes .£SOOO a-year, there is no motive at all of the same kind for saving £2500 of it. For in the transactions with the utility and profit of which to himself he is most familiar, the saving of this money would be of little or no use to him ;—it would not bring him numberless fresh opportunities, as it would to the trader, of displaying his professional skill ; it would not get him new clients, or raise the estimate of his medical opinion. It would be simply provision for his family, or for his own old age, and nothing more. . Now, nothing is more certain than the limitation of men’s imagination by their individual experience. What a successful author thinks of is how to gain a new success of the same kind as his last; and if saving would help him in that, as it does the blanker, he would save. But as it will not do so, but only help him in a quite different way, with which perhaps his thoughts are seldom engaged, there is no constant force pressing upon him which induces him to save.

Well, but how has the working-man any more motive to save than the professional man ? He, too, measures his success by his wages, not by his invested capital. He, too, knows that it is increased dexterity and skill which will bring him a larger income, rather than any addition to the sum standing in his name in the savings bank. This is indisputable, but it is also true that, as a rule, the step from the work of the skilled laborer to the work, of the employer of labor of the same kind is a very obvious and natural step, which it must enter into the mind of every ambitious workman of real ability to take ; and that there is no such step from a less profitable to a much more profitable mode of employing the same order of faculties possible in the case of the professional man. The laborer who has saved money is better fitted perhaps than any one to employ to advantage the kind of labor in which he himself is versed. But the lawyer or the author who has saved money has no way open to him of turning, at the same time, both his knowledge and his money to account by the successful employment of the talentsof other lawyers or other authors in undertaking like unto his own. Perhaps, indeed, something of this kind happens when a very popular author like Dickens turns editor, anil collects round him a staff of clever writers, who admire his genius and are even disposed to copy his mannerisms. But the case is exceptional, and as a, rule it so seldom turns out that the very successful author happens to have the qualities of a successful editor and journalist, that exceptions of the kind may be put aside as irrelevant. No doubt one of" the great reasons why professional men are, on the whole, so thriftless in proportion to their gains is this, —that the occupation which absorbs their energies is not one the gains of which can be extended by the help of judicious saving and investment. A man cannot be successful in commerce, nor, indeed very successful even as a skilled laborer, without a strong motive for saving in order to secure more success, either of the same sort, or at least of a closely analogous sort. But a professiona man who is very successful rarely has a strictly professional motive for saving. The more his heart is absorbed in lfi* work, the less he thinks of providing for himself in directions which are in no way bound up with his work.

And no doubt there is still another reason why professional men are, in proportion to their chances ot saving, relatively even less thrifty than the working-classes themselves. The tastes , of professional men are sure to bring them into close and equal intercourse with very much wealthier men, and not uufrequently to give them even some advantage in delicacy of judgment over these wealthier men, and so to present temptations to them, if they once fall into the error of measuring their resources by their income, and m,t by their accumulated property, they mav fancy themselves justified in yielding. Working men, on the contrary, have this great ad van” tage, as far as the growth of thrift is concerned, that if they resist the temptations to extrava-

gauce peculiar to tin ir class—which arc no doubt much more urgent from the very fact that hitherto the limits of their pleasures and tastes have been so contracted, —they have hardly any temptation at all to live up to the staddard of a richer class. If they are proof against the temptations of the gin-palace and the beer-house, they are by no means likely to be much beset by the temptations of tint hookhunter or the china-collector. Professional men, on the contrary, are always being tempted by their association with intellectual equals of much greater wealth, but probably not always greater income, to spend at least as large a proportion of the income which has no accumulated wealth behind it, as the capitalist spends of an income all of which has accumulated wealth behind it. Further, it is, we imagine, one reason why professional men do not usually save, in proportion to their means of saving, anything like as much as artisans, that the former, of all classes, are most accustomed to lay stress on those elements of success in life which no sort even of thrift or education will buy. The skilful workman lias, no doubt, also much in him which no education will buy; hut the elements of his success are so much simpler, and so much more nearly attributable to good teaching and training, that he is much more apt to look at education, which can he bought, as the only investment needful to command success, than is the successful professional man, who is perfectly well aware that very many ineecd of the greatest failures of his profession, are men who had bct.ni just as well educated, and perhaps just as earnest in their efforts to turn their education to account, as himself. It is the habit of dwelling on “ luck” which makes the gambler, and it is the habit of seeing large fortunes earned bv qualities which no investment of money, or time, or training can at all secure, which makes the lavishness of the professional man. lie sees clearly that his peculiar gains come not from saving, not from careful foresight and what the economists call abstinence—since those who save more, and forecast more, and abstain more than he lias ever done, arc often comparative failures—but from the possession of a monopoly of special qualities, the origin of which is hidden from all eyes. And so, the proverb which says that what is easily gained is lightly prized, probably explains as much of the comparative lavislmess of successful professional men as any other consideration to which we have adverted. OUR MERCHANT NAVY, (From Land and Water.) At a time when universal attention is directed to matters connected with merchant ships and merchant seamen, it is interesting to survey the progress made by our commercial navy during recent years. Fortunately, the opportune publication by the Board of Trade of authentic tables bringing dowu the history of British, merchant shipping to the end of 1873, supplies the information necessary for this purpose. Going so far back as 183 S, we find the shipping entered and cleared in the United Kingdom classed 70'5 per cent, as British, and 29'5 foreign, while in 1873 the percentages wei-e 68'9 and 31T ; thus showing a slight gain to the foreigners during the interval. Had it not been, however, for the civil war in the United States, which transferred a great deal of the American ocean-carrying trade to England, the falling off in the tonnage of British ships entered and cleared would have been much more marked. In 18(30 their percentage had fallen to 58'2 against 41'8 for foreigners ; in the succeeding year the respective figures were GO O and -10'0; and 1862, 62 - 3 and 37'7. From that date the British tonnage began to rise and foreign to fall, until in 1867 the former stood at 70'7, and the latter at 29'3. Since then the percentages have remained almost stationary, with a slight tendency towards decrease on the British side, and increase on the foreign. Under the head of “ Aggregate tonnage of Merchant Navies of the British Empire, United States, France, Holland, and Norway, from 1815 to 1873, or for as many years as can be given,” some interesting figures are to bo found. In the year of the battle of Waterloo, now just sixty years ago, the Empire possessed 2,681,276 tons; while in 1873 the amount credited to her was 7,294,230 tons, being the greatest quantity mentioned in her annals, except in 1865, when the tonnage was 7,322,604. But it must not be supposed that she has advanced alone. Taking 1850, the earliest year affording data for comparison, her tonnage is again at 4,232,962, that of the United States at 3,385,266, that of France at 685,153, that of Holland at 396,124, and that of Norway at 298,315. But by 1873, the United States owned 4,639,203 tons; France, 1,068,031 tons; Holland, 522,368 tons; and Norway, 1,120,450 tons, the increase in the last instance being nearly quadruple. Taking these five nations together, they are found collectively possessing 9,098,820 tons of merchant shipping in 1850, of which the British empire owned rather less than half, while in 1873 the total was 14,644,282 tons, and the proportion slightly more in our favor. From a comparison of these figures one fact of very great importance, hearing on the supply of merchant seamen, is brought into vivid light. While the five named countries only required in 1850 sufficient sailors to man 9,09*8,820 tons of shipping, twenty-three years afterwards they needed a supply for 14,6-14,282 tons. Hence, as the number of men who take up with a seafaring life from natural affinity or the influence of early circumstances is, and must be, limited, this constantly increasing demaud for seamen lias served to deteriorate the quality of the supply. Probably in this fact will be found one of the causes leading to the more frequent loss of ships through what mariners of the old school would consider want of seamanship. Not less suggestive, as showing how easily the ocean-carrying trade of a country may fall into the hands of rival nations arc the figures giving the tonnage of the United States. In IS7I, when civil war broke out, slu* possessed

2,612,628 tons of ocean shipping, and 2,839,399 tons employed in coast and river traffic. In 18(34 the former had fallen to 1,581,894 tons, nor has it since recovered, the figures for 1873 being 1,423,288 tons, while the Homo shipping increased in the interim to 3,215,915. This latter fact shows that the immense falling off in ocean-going tonnage cannot bo attributed to more restricted trade, since that would have equally affected shipping under both heads. Hence it is impossible to doubt that the increased cost of insurance consequent upon the proceedings of the Alabama and her consorts, had for its direct effect the transfer of a great portion of the United States ocean-carrying trade to nations that could sail their ships at ordinary risks. This fact we commend to the notice of those well-intentioned zealots who apparently wish to reform the whole shipping trade of England without regard to the increase; of expense thrown upon owners. The margin of profit on shipping ventures being already very narrow, owing to excessive competition both at Home and abroad, remedial legislation should he so framed as to give full consideration to this important factor in the case ; otherwise it may happen that England will find herself with a fleet of perfectly seaworthy merchant ships rotting in her harbors for the want of remunerative employment. The dearth of sailors, consequent upon increased demand, is strongly brought out in a table giving seamen’s wages in each year from IS4B to 1874. Taking five principal English ports —Bristol, Glasgow, Liverpool, London, and Newcastle-cum-Shields —the average rate paid in 1848 was about 475. per month, while in 1874 it ranged between 60s. and 705., with exceptional instances of 80s. and even 90s. Even at this latter rate supply frequently proved unequal to demand, the superintendent at Poplar reporting “a very limited supply of men throughout the year; masters have managed to fill up their crews (sometimes with difficulty), hut have had no choice.” The way iu which “ filling up ” is contrived comes out in Table No. 22, giving “ the numbers of British and foreign seamen serving in registered sailing and steam vessels of the United Kingdom from 1851 to 1873.” In the former year 136,144 English sailors were so employed against 5,793 foreigners, the percentage of the latter to the former thus being 4.2. In 1873, tlie numbers were 182,399 and 19,540, and the percentage of foreigners 10.57, or more than two and a-half times as much as in ISSI. As foreign sailors, taking them all round, are not considered nearly so efficient as the old class of English A.B.’s, it follows that the average quality of crews employed in our merchant ships has steadily deteriorated. The succeeding table shows that there has also been a very important falling off in quantity during the last twenty years. In 1854 the proportion of men to each 100 tons of registered sailing and steam vessels (excluding river steamers) was 4'3d, while in 1873 it had decreased to 3'52, or 'B4 of a man less to each 100 tons. When this fact is coupled with the much larger admixture of foreigners, there can be little cpiestion that our ships are far less efficiently manned at present than was the case some twenty years since. At the same time as the cost of sailing has gone on steadily increasing year after year, owing to the rise in wages, the benefit resulting to shipowners from employing fewer hands, is nearly balanced by the difference in the price of labor. This is easy of proof. A ship of 1000 tons register would have carried in 1554, according to the proportion of men to tons then existing, 43'6 hands, at a monthly cost of £l2O, taking average wages at 555. per head. In 1873, when the proportion was 3'42 and the average rate of wages about 655., the number of hands would be 35'2, and the monthly cost £ll4. On the other hand, the shipowner got less value for his money at the latter date, owing to the greater proportion of foreign seamen. From a consideration of the foregoing facts it would appear proved that while England barely holds her own at present in the carrying trade of the world, the slighest addition to the cost of sailing might serve to turn the scale in favor of her rivals. Therefore, while freely admitting the necessity of amending the Merchant Shipping Acts, especially in regard to unseaworthy vessels, we would earnestly counsel those who have taken the matter in hand to do their spiriting gently. A branch of industry providing well-remune-rated work for 202,229 men, aud giving profitable employment iu the many millions sterling sunk in 7,294,230 tons of shipping, ought not to be lightly destroyed. RIYER DWELLINGS IN COCHIN CHINA. In order to see something of the Cochin Chinese we must go to the river side, where there are hundreds of boats grouped together, forming a native floating village. Many of the Chinese merchants are already down to the boats, treating for the rice which they contain, while others have closed their bargains, and are paying tlie natives in basket-loads of copper-cash. A few steps beyond, we come upon the river dwellings. Can any style of life he more primitive than this 1 The caves which our British forefathers inhabited wore castles when compared to these abodes, and the Swiss lake dwellings were palaces. Here a family of seven may be found domiciled in a but which measures sft. by 7ft. The sanitary arrangements are simple. The structure is elevated on a platform a few feet above tlie stream, into which all the refuse and garbage is allowed to fall. The capitalist, if he proposes to build a river residence of this sort—one offering every advantage to a large family in search of cheerful society, a commanding view of the stream, good fishing close at hand, unencumbered by toils and ground rent, and boasting a drainage system so unelaborated and cheap—has to launch out the sum of 21d015., or 12s„ in the construction and decoration of the edifice. When built, the proprietor will let it on a repairing lease. As the morning is hot, the occupant's only article of clothing is a conical hat, the badge of a parental dignity, ll’c would, as he is partially

civilised, have removed this ornament when we approached; but as it might have led to a severe cold and untimely end, I requested him to keep it on. Clothing iu this neighborhood is one of the most expensive items in the maintenance of a family, although articles of dress are usually unknown to the children until they become five yeare old. In front of these lints we may see the canoes, scooped out of solid logs, and used for friendly visits, marketing, or fishing. 'These natives, as I have already said, are not clean in their habits. The} 7 are near water, but 1 fear soap would fiud a poor market among them, unless they took a fancy to eat it, which sometimes occurs. They labor as little as they possibly can, and spend their leisure in smoking, in chewing as much hotel nut as as they can afford to buy, and in the chase ; hut their hunting ground is a caput humcinum, and the tiny game is esteemed a great delicacy. Here, in Ghalon, the Chinese is the dominant trading Asiatic race, and this is indeed the' case in all the Malayan and Indo-Chinese nations to which they have emigrated.—“ IndoChina and China,” by J. Thomson, F.It.G.S.