Page:Brinkley - China - Volume 2.djvu/107

Court. These, though not forming parts of the ordinary administrative body, call for mention as indicating the degree of elaboration to which official organisation has been carried in China.

From what has been written thus far it will have been gathered that the administrative posts are distributed so as to preserve a balance of power between the Manchus and the Chinese. But the division is by no means equal. Thus, out of a total of twenty thousand officials in Peking—in round numbers—the Manchus and Mongols combined do not aggregate one-fifth, and among two thousand officials of and above the grade of Chih-hien in the provinces, the proportion of Manchus and Mongols is still smaller. Nevertheless, owing to the antipathy that exists between Chinese and Manchus, this intermingling of the two, though in unequal proportions, sets up an automatically checking action between the parts of the machine. "In the mutual relations of the great departments of the Chinese Government," says Dr. Williams, "the principles of responsibility and surveillance among the officers are plainly exhibited, while regard has been paid to such a division and apportionment of labour as would secure great efficiency and care, if every member of the machine faithfully did his duty. Two presidents are stationed over each Board to assist and watch each other, while the two presidents oversee the four vice-presidents; the president of one Board