Chap. VII. GENERAL CONDITION OF CHINA. 



141 



character of the Canton or Shangliae rebellion ; 

 indeed there has ever been strong proof that 

 thieves or pirates would be a much more appro- 

 priate name to apply to the rebels in these towns 

 than the sacred one of Christian. Let us hope for 

 better things as regards the Nanking insurgents 

 and their leader Tai-ping-wang, when we know 

 them as intimately as we have known their coun- 

 tryman at Shanghae and Canton. 



Although the picture which I have given of 

 some parts of China is a melancholy one, it must 

 not be supposed to represent the general condition 

 of the empire. China is a large country, and those 

 parts disturbed by rebellion bear but a small pro- 

 portion to the remainder, which is perfectly undis- 

 turbed. Indeed, even a mile or two away from 

 a place in the hands of the rebels we find the 

 country quiet and the husbandman engaged in 

 cultivating his land. Thus it is that notwith- 

 standing all these disturbances we have no lack of 

 tea, silk, and the other articles which form the 

 bulk of our exports. 



