The means of subsistence being frequently precarious among so populous a nation, and at no time to be acquired without careful industry, and, at the same time, the real weakness of the government, in spite of its bombastic edicts, have combined to make the temptation to piracy almost irresistible. In not a few instances the government have been compelled even to conciliate or buy over the depredators; and, in spite of all their efforts to suppress them, the ladrones have never ceased to infest the coast to a greater or less extent. The temptations are always numerous, and the desperate characters who gain their living by smuggling are, at all times, as likely to gain it by _robbing_, whenever the opportunity may appear more favourable. Hence, we can scarcely wonder that the pirates had long become bold, enterprising, well-organized, and successful in their efforts, directed, however, almost exclusively against their own countrymen, along the whole coast. Such as _were_ the banditti of Italy and Spain not long ago, or the klephts of Greece, or the robbers of Hounslow Heath in times past--such have been for centuries the pirates or ladrones of China. They are, in fact, the highwaymen of the "Celestial Empire;" for their rivers and water-communications are essentially their highways. Under these circumstances, we are led to the conclusion, that nearly all these defences in the Broadway Passage had been constructed more with a view to the defence of the river against the Chinese themselves, than under any apprehension that the foreigners would ever force their way into it. This supposition is further borne out by the fact that, even during the short expedition of the Nemesis, bands of robbers, and boats filled with men of a very suspicious character, were distinctly seen at a distance, trying to take advantage of every opportunity of plundering their countrymen _while the panic lasted_. Indeed, it may with much truth be said, that on this, as on many other occasions, the Chinese suffered a great deal more from the excesses and misdeeds of their own people, than they did from any hardships they encountered at the hands of their foreign enemies during the war. Many ludicrous, no less than unfortunate, scenes have been witnessed, of Chinese plundering parties falling in each other's way accidentally, and then fighting for each other's booty, while, just at the critical moment, a third party would perhaps step in, and carry off the greater part of what the others had been already fighting about; and perhaps even these would, in their turn, be stripped by another fresh party, before they could get fairly off with their prize. In reality, the war itself served to disorganize the Chinese police, and to diminish the authority of the local officers. Smuggling, robbery, and multiplied outrages, were never more prevalent throughout all the maritime districts than during the continuance of hostilities.