The salt-trade is a government monopoly, the duties upon which form an important branch of the imperial revenue. This trade is limited to a small number of licensed merchants, who are generally very rich, and are often called upon to make liberal grants towards the support of the provincial government. The ninth officer, Tuh-leang-taou, has the control of all the public granaries in the province; their superintendents are subject to his direction and inspection. Canton and the suburbs contain fourteen public granaries; these are required to be kept filled in order to furnish supplies for the people, in times of scarcity. Kwang-chow-foo-chee-foo, or a magistrate of the department of Kwang-chow-foo, is the tenth officer in Canton; his title is often abridged, sometimes to Kwang-chow, at others, to Che-foo: Kwang-chow is simply the name of the foo. Chee-foo means, literally, “known of the department (or foo),” and denotes that it is the office or duty of this magistrate to be fully acquainted with the portion of territory over which he is placed. Either term is sufficient to denote, pretty nearly, what is the authority of an officer placed at the head of all the affairs of such a division of the province. There are numerous civil officers placed in various parts of the department, all of whom are under his immediate inspection. He has also under his authority a sze-yo, whose duties, as superintendent of the prisoners of the department, are similar to those of chief jailer in a county-prison. The eleventh principal officer in the province is Nan-hae-heen-che-heen; this officer is subordinate to the che-foo, and is to the district of Nan-hae what the che-foo is to the department of Kwang-chow. As che-heen, he is required to know all the affairs of the district. The department of Kwang-chow is divided into fourteen heens or districts, of which Nan-hae and Pwan-yu are two of the principal, and include the city of Canton. The last officer whom we shall particularize, is Pwan-yu-heen-che-heen; the rank and duties of this magistrate are the same in the district of Pwan-yu as are the last-named officers in the district of Nan-hae: their titles, like that of the che-foo, are commonly abridged; thus, when speaking of the Nan-hae magistrate, the people say, Nan-hae-heen; and when it is not necessary to mention the district, they simply say che-heen, designating by each of their phrases, the magistrate of the district of Nan-hae.