rms by the United States
and France in 1844. Now eighteen powers, including Japan, have
consular courts for the trial of their own subjects according to the
laws of their native lands. Mixed courts have also been established,
that is, a defendant is tried in the court of his own nationality, the
court giving its decision under the supervision of a representative of
the plaintiff's nationality. In practice the Chinese have seldom sent
representatives to sit on the bench of consular courts, but, as the
Europeans lack confidence in the administration of Chinese justice, no
suit brought by a foreigner against a Chinese is decided without the
presence of an assessor of the plaintiff's nationality.

Army.

_Defence._--The Chinese constitution in the period before the reform
edicts of 1905-1906 provided for two independent sets of military
organizations--namely, the Manchu army and the several provincial
armies. On the establishment of the dynasty in 1644 the victorious
troops, composed mainly of Manchus, but including also Mongols and
Chinese, were permanently quartered in Peking, and constituted a
hereditary national army. The force was divided into eight banners,
and under one or other of these all Manchus and all the descendants of
the members of other nationalities were enrolled. They form the bulk
of the population of the "Tatar city" of Peking. Each adult male was
by birth entitled to be enrolled as a soldier, and by virtue of his
enrolment had a right to draw rations--i.e. his allowance of the
tribute rice, whether on active service or not. Detachments from one
or other of the banners were stationed as garrisons in the chief
provincial centres, as at Canton, Fuchow and Hang-chow, &c., and their
descendants still occupy the same position. As a fighting force the
Manchu garrisons both in the capital and in the provinces had long
become quite effete. In the capital, however, the _elite_ of the
Manchu soldiery were formed into a special corps termed the Peking
Field Force. Its nominal strength was 20,000, the men were armed and
drilled after the European fashion, and fairly well paid. There were
other corps of picked Manchus better paid and better armed than the
ordinary soldier, and it was computed that in 1901 the Manchu army in
or near Peking could muster 40,000, all more or less efficient.

The second organization was termed the army of the G