294 JAPANESE AND CHINESE MERCHANTS. Chap. XVII. 
have now become indispensable to our happiness 
and comfort. But as a customer to our manu- 
facturing districts, Japan will never be equal to 
China. 
As merchants, too, the Chinese appear to be far 
ahead of the Japanese. While a Japanese would 
be haggling for a few cash on a hank of silk or 
a pound of tea, a Chinaman would be quietly 
settling for a ship-load of the same articles. Expe- 
rience has also shown that the Chinese trader 
is more to be depended upon than the Japanese. 
Indeed, as merchants of honour and talent, I doubt 
if the former are to be excelled in any part of the 
world. That pithy little sentence which concludes 
a bargain, “put-e-book,” or “book it,” is consi- 
dered as binding as if it was registered by the 
Bank of England ; and rarely indeed will a China- 
man recede from his bargain, even if its fulfilment 
should involve him in an unfortunate speculation. 
At present this cannot be said of the Japanese ; 
but they may probably improve when they become 
better acquainted with foreigners, and when 
others, now in the background, come into the 
field. 
Traders in Japan, however wealthy or intelli- 
gent, are looked down upon with disdain by the 
merest serf of the Daimios ; and the merchants of 
foreign countries are treated much in the same 
way. This state of things "will not surprise any 
one acquainted with the history of our own 
country in the feudal ages. Every one doubtless 
