"The horses they use here are from Australia, and whenever a lot arrives by a ship they have an auction in the square. They say that some of the horses turn out well, and increase rapidly in value; while others seem to be much affected by the climate, and do not last more than a year or two. The horses fetch good prices, and the trade of bringing them from Australia is said to be quite profitable.
"Everywhere we go we see Chinese. They are of all classes, from highest to lowest, and from honest to dishonest. They are in every kind of business, and they have their guilds or trade associations just as they have them in China. They occupy official positions under the government, and on several occasions there have been Chinese members of the Legislative Council of Singapore. Once in awhile there is trouble between them and the Europeans, arising out of questions of commerce: but for the most part everything runs along smoothly, and the Chinese show a perfect readiness to obey the laws, and live as they ought to live. And speaking of their trades-unions calls to mind an amusing story.
THE GOD OF GAMBLERS.
"They carry the principle of trade association into everything; and the thieves and gamblers have their guilds and gods like the others. The guilds have rules and regulations that are very strict; and if a man violates them he is liable to be expelled, and driven to seek a living by honest means. When thieves wish to commit a robbery, they must consult the officers of the guild and get their permission, and they must pay a certain amount of the profits for the support of the association.
"Sometimes they go in parties of a hundred or more; they surround a house and plunder it by force, and they usually manage it so that the occupants cannot make any resistance. It is said that when a house is to be robbed, the thieves will scatter a narcotic drug about the rooms that has no effect upon themselves, but will put a European to sleep. He sleeps till long after the robbery is finished, and does not suffer the least injury by inhaling it.
"When a thief enters a house to practise his profession, he removes his clothes and oils his body all over. He winds his pig-tail around his head—having previously stuck it full of needles. If anybody attempts to grasp his arm or leg, he slips off like an eel; and, if he is seized by the pig-tail, the person who takes hold of it is sure to let go in a hurry. Who shall say that the Chinese thief is not a shrewd operator?
