In China, as in Scotland, families or clans consist of every living member or connection of the family. In China the affairs of every member of the family are managed by a council. This council consists of the elders (men over sixty years of age), and the scholars. We told you in No. 1 of THE GREAT ROUND WORLD what severe trials a man has to go through in China before he can be called a scholar. It is the duty of this council to collect and save all moneys due to any member of the family, to direct the business of their households, and to manage the family and its affairs so completely that the members of the family are like children under the guidance of a very careful parent; and when they come to this country, and are obliged to think and act for themselves, they are no more capable of doing so than they would be if they were really children. To meet this difficulty, and help the Chinamen, an organization called the First Company was formed in San Francisco, which undertook the duties of the elders of the families, and was a great comfort to the Chinamen in America. By and by, as more Chinamen came into the country, the First Company got too large, and others were formed on the same principle, until finally there were six companies altogether. Then other societies were formed by the Chinamen, and among them the Sam Yup and the See Yup. These two societies seem to have the true clannish spirit, and a hatred and rivalry exist between them that remind one of the stories of the Middle Ages. Belonging to the Sam Yups was a Chinaman named Little Pete, and it is indirectly through him that trouble has fallen upon the heads of the ten Chinese merchants. If what is said about him is true, Little Pete must have been a very great rascal. He was a well-known character in San Francisco, and there was no work too bad or too wicked for him to undertake. Among his other crimes he bribed juries, and had a whole regiment of witnesses ready to swear as he wished. The See Yups knew all about this, and so, when a case was coming into court against any of their members, they would go to Little Pete, and hire his witnesses to swear for them,--well knowing that if they didn't do this, Little Pete would have them there to swear against the See Yups. By these means Little Pete grew very rich, and was as much hated by his enemies of the See Yups, as admired by his friends of the Sam Yups. Time passed on, and Little Pete, full of his power, began to make the tax on the See Yups a little heavier than they could submit to. They appealed to the Consul. He took no notice of them. They went to Washington, accused the Consul of being in league with the Sam Yups, and asked that he be dismissed. The Minister would have nothing to do with them, and they went back to San Francisco, vowing vengeance on Little Pete.