with one hundred blows; but if he possess no such property, with eighty blows. When any master of a family has among his household strangers, who constitute, in fact, a distinct family, but omits t make a corresponding entry in the public register, or registers them as members of his own family, he shall be punished with one hundred blows, if such strangers possess taxable property; and with eighty blows, if they do not possess such property; and if the person harboured is not a stranger, but a relative, possessing a separate establishment, the punishment of the master so offending, shall be less than as aforesaid by two degrees, and the person harboured shall be liabl to the same punishment. In all these cases, the register is to be immediately corrected. In all the districts of the empire, one hundred families shall form a division, in order to provide a head and ten assessors, whose duty it is to assist and oversee in the performance of all public matters. These 'elders' must see that all the families in their respective divisions have been registered, and failure in doing this, exposes them to the bamboo. The returns of population are to be made annually."
On this subject, Dr. Morrison observes:—
"In the Chinese government, there appears great regularity and system. Every district has its appropriate officer; every street its constable; and every ten houses, a tything-man. Thus they have all the requisite means of ascertaining the population with considerable accuracy. Every family is required to have a board, always hanging up in the house, and ready fur the inspection of authorised officers, on which the names of all persons, men, women, and children, in the house, are inscribed. This board is called a mun pae, 'door tablet,' because where there are women and children within, the officers are expected to take the account from the board at the door. Were all the inmates of a family faithfully inserted, the amount of the population would, of course, be ascertained with great accuracy. But it is said, that names are sometimes omitted, through neglect or design; others think that the account of persons given in, is generally correct."
The census thus annually called for, by the Chinese
