Globe-trotters visit them, and admire the maximum of gold-leaf
crowded into the minimum of space, their huge idols, and curious
carving; of course passing over those relics which the natives
themselves prize most highly, namely, sketches and scrolls painted
or written by the hand of some departed celebrity. Foreign
merchants regard them with a certain amount of awe, for they are
often made to feel keenly enough the influence which these
institutions exert over every branch of trade. They come into being
in the following manner. If traders from any given province muster
in sufficient numbers at any of the great centres of commerce, they
club together and form a guild. A general subscription is first
levied, land is bought, and the necessary building is erected.
Regulations are then drawn up, and the tariff on goods is fixed,
from which the institution is to derive its future revenue. For all
the staples of trade there are usually separate guilds, mixed
establishments being comparatively rare. It is the business of the
members as a body to see that each individual contributes according
to the amount of merchandise which passes through his hands, and
the books of suspected defaulters are often examined at a moment’s
notice and without previous warning. The guild protects its
constituents from commercial frauds by threatening the accused with
legal proceedings which an individual plaintiff would never have
dared to suggest; and the threat is no vain one when a mandarin,
however tyrannical and rapacious, finds himself opposed by a body
of united and resolute men. On the other hand, these guilds deal
fairly enough with their own members, and not only refuse to
support a bad case, but insist on just and equitable dealings with
the outside world.