Their men-of-war are flat vessels about 70 feet long, and 10 amidships and can be used for coast defence only. The soldiers who are the rowers are directed in their movements by the sound of a drum.
The soldiery, scattered over the kingdom, is supposed to protect the roads, but often by attacks on travellers, abuses the trust of the governors to whom it is subordinated. In time of peace the soldiers are armed with clubs which are formidable weapons in their hands and they break the legs or thighs of those who resist or try to run away.
All civil disputes are summarily disposed of by the magistrates. The offender is obliged to offer meat and drink to the other party in the suit so that their differences may be forgotten over the feast. The creditor is absolute master of his insolvent debtors whom he can treat with every indignity. Criminals are punished in proportion to their crimes. Theft is not punished by death, but by the loss of a limb or of some part of the body. Murderers are condemned to death by decapitation. They are led to the scene of the crime or to their house as a place of execution. If there are several criminals, there are several executioners who on a given signal decapitate their victims simultaneously. The Tonkinese are the least cruel people of the Indies in the punishment of guilty persons. By law life may be bought at a price, and only the poor actually suffer the extreme penalty.
Although the eunuchs are objects of popular scorn, they have considerable power, and as their misfortune smooths the path to honours, it is often the case that self mutilation is practised by ambitious men of advanced age without fearing the pain and sequelae of the operation. Their surgeons perform the operation skilfully, and they have a method by which many accidents are avoided. The patient is thrown into a deep sleep which lessens the shock of the operation, and experience has shown that the torpid state induced, is a protection against fever and inflammation which so often occurs after such operations.
At the age of 18 years every man is subject to a poll-tax in proportion to his wealth. The magistrates, soldiers, and learned men however are exempt and it is the poor man that bears the brunt of the taxation as is usual in most countries. The taxes are collected after the harvest and the inhabitants of the remotest parts of the kingdom are forced to bring a certain quantity of fodder for the King's elephants and horses to the store houses in the capital. Every man is in addition obliged to work for six months on public works for which he receives food but no salary. So great is the degradation of human nature in these climates that the inhabitants, less privileged than animals, seem only to exist on the earth for the purpose of watering it with the sweat of their brows.
The grandees and the learned follow the doctrines of Confucius, but its precepts are too simple to be adopted by the common people who can only behold the workings of a deity in the marvellous. The principal belief is that of Fo which is divided into various sects, the most widespread of which was founded by a China man named Lauro who is revered as one of the greatest wonder-workers of the East. His followers give out that his mother carried him in her womb for 70 years without having lost her virginity. He boasted of his intimacy with spirits who revealed the secrets of the future to him. The priests, brought up in ignorance and superstition, attract the minds of the populace by their fables and wonders. They live in extreme poverty as they have none of the grandees for their disciples, and the bounty of the common people is their only source of revenue. A certain number of priests boast they can cure the most stubborn forms of disease by means of charms. When summoned to the patient they make their appearance in a most extraordinary manner in order to render the performance more imposing. They make their exorcisms to the accompaniment of drums, and trumpets. They jump about in the sick room until the fate of the patient is decided either for death or life and whenever the result proves the useless nature of their performance, they have plenty of excuses ready for their non-success.
In Tonkin the gospel-harvest has been more fruitful than in any other of the lands of the Indies. The scorn of the great for the idolatrous priests has contributed to the success of the Missionaries, who have more than 200,000 converts in this kingdom of whom more than 15,000 are under the charge of a French Missionary recently elevated to the rank of Bishop of Agathopolis and who is assisted in his duties by three French priests and four Chinese converts.
I must here recapitulate the causes that ought to be favourable to the success of this undertaking. The aim of the Seminaries of the Foreign Missions is the establishment of a clerical order in all countries of the world. Sacred history tells us that the Apostles and their successors ordained priests among all nations that they converted. People are always more ready to give credence to their fellow citizens who are well known to them rather than to foreigners whose motives are often to them questionable. The native priests know the language better, are better preachers, make themselves better understood and are more readily listened to in the explanation of the mysteries of religion. Knowing the manners and customs of the country they are acquainted with the best methods of combating the natural inclinations of the people and know how to gain their confidence. All the local superstitions are well known to them, and it is easy for them to point out their absurdity and falsity. With all these advantages they can fight against error and triumph over ungodliness. The hierarchical order established by the seminary, can alone inculcate a perfect type of Christianity that will have no further need for foreign intervention on its behalf.
Besides these general reasons there are particular reasons for the Indies. The toils and dangers incurred in penetrating those distant lands, the study of the Indian languages so difficult to learn and to pronounce, the climate often deadly and always unpleasant to foreigners, and the expenses of travelling, render the Indies inaccessible to most of the priests and members of religious societies who are zealous of making conquests for Jesus Christ. The incessant wars that lay waste all the countries of the Indies do not allow the missionaries to go from one country to another when needed to do so by the church. Princes and people cannot understand their dogmas and worship. The idolatrous priests cannot behold their gods trampled underfoot without becoming enraged against men whom they consider impious and sacrilegious. It is in these times of stress that the flock has the greatest need of its pastor. Besides this in this Indies the foreign priests can render no services to those who groan under the sword of persecution. As soon as they appear, their complexions and facial characteristics betray them and as soon as they are recognised, they are haled off to durance vile.
These eastern lands are of such wide extent and so densely peopled that all the priests and members of the religious societies of Europe would hardly be sufficient to instruct such vast multitudes.