The Beggars Of China

A writer in a Shanghai journál referring to tlie beggars of China,; sáyji that large donations are given to them by the people, but these are in the nature of an insurance. In the citiea the, beggars are organized into very poWerfuI guilds, more powerful by far than any organization with which they can ;have to contend, for the beggars lia ve noj.hing to lose and nothing to fear, in whi0hirespects they stand alone. The shop eepjer who should refuse a donationíto $ stalwart beggar, after the lattec haö waited for a roasonable time and has besought witli what lawyers cali "dué diligence," would be liable to invasión f rpm a horde of famished wretches, who would render the esistence even of a Btolid Chinese a burden, and who would utterly prevent the transaction of any business until their continually rising demands should be met. Both the shop keepers and the beggars understand thxs perfectly well, and it is for this reason that the gifts flow in a steady, if tiny,