The  abundant  population  and  over-crowded
labor  market  may  have  something  to  do  Vv'ith
the  disincHnation  of  the  people  to  the  use  of
labor-saving  machinery.  It  is  not  so  long
ago  that,  in  civilized  countries,  there  arose
an   outcry   that    the   adoption    of   railways


would  be  ruin  to  all  those  who  made  their
living  by  the  earlier  methods  of  travelling,
and  it  need  not  therefore  surprise  us  to  find
Chinamen  ranging  themselves  in  opposition
to  any  contrivances  which  may  appear  to
compete  with  human  labor.
The  mason  who  wishes  to  move  a  block
of  stone  knows  no  better  means  for  the  pur-
pose than  the  shoulders  of  his  fellow-men
supplemented  by  bamboos  and  ropes.  The
carpenter  who  wants  to  saw  up  a  fallen  tree
does  so  with  his  own  hand,  without  a
thought  of  the  easier  device  of  a  saw-mill.
So  it  is  with  every  branch  of  industiy.
Many  of  the  contrivances  employed  are
extremely  ingenious,  but  since  their  inven-
tion no  further  advance  has  been  made
towards  relieving  the  workman  from  any
part  of  his  toil.
Great   Mechanical   Skill.
In  many  cities.  Canton,  for  example,
bricklayers  and  carpenters  stand  in  the
street  for  hire,  and  often,  unhappily,  remain
all  the  day  idle.  Even  when  employed  their
wages  are  ridiculously  small  compared  with
the  pay  of  their  colleagues  in  our  own
country,  or  even  in  Europe,  whose  hours  of
labor  are  short  compared  with  theirs,  and
whose  relaxations  furnish  a  relief  from  toil
to  which  Chinamen  are  complete  strangers.
In  the  higher  branches  of  mechanical  skill,
such,  for  instance,  as  gold,  silver  and  ivory
work.  Chinamen  excel,  and  they  are  excep-
tionally proficient  in  the  manufacture  of
bronzes,  bells,  lacquer  ware  and  cloisonne.
191


192


CHINA:    PAST   AND    PRESENT.
