Word: commonest
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Dates: during 1900-1909
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...eight-ninths being stolen by the various officials through whose hands the taxes pass. Justice may be bought, and, in a lawsuit, that side usually wins which pays the court the larger fee. Another feature in the executive government is the extreme cruelty used by officials. Beating is the commonest form of punishment, and torture is sometimes resorted to as a means of securing evidence. It must be said, however, that such cruelty is not characteristic of the nation. Another vice of the Chinese is the opium habit, which is much more serious than drunkenness, because those addicted...