First Sentence

"THE hanse or gild merchant, organised to retain the advantages of trading in the locality for the benefit of the denizens of the locality, does not exist generally in China to-day, nor, with two or three exceptions to be referred to later, is there anything to show that it ever has existed; but other forms of gild, such as that exemplified in the steelyard, and in the craft or mistery, are both found there in full vigour."