Trade and Travel in the Far East Part 9

That exposure to the sun in that zone is uniformly prejudicial to the health of Europeans, does not admit of a question; but, in China, the sun's rays seem to exert a more injurious effect than in most other places I have visited. The residents in Hong Kong, it is true, were somewhat careless in the matter. Few, if any of them were provided with carriages or other conveyance to protect them from it when business called them abroad during the day; and it was quite common to see them moving about, on foot and on horseback, with no other precaution than an umbrella carried over the head, in spite of the daily examples of parties suffering from such imprudence.

The number of European inhabitants in Hong Kong will this summer (1844) be trebled by the removal of most of the merchants from Macao; and the general health of the place will be anxiously watched. Should it prove as bad as last summer, (which G.o.d forbid,) it will drive many people away, and injure the settlement irreparably. The prejudicial effects of going into the sun might be avoided, almost entirely, even by men of business, were they to adopt the Calcutta system of note-writing. There, a merchant seldom or never moves from his office; and when he does, it is in a covered vehicle. Let the Hong Kong residents follow their example, and their numbers will not be thinned as they have hitherto been.

That the European fresh from home, full-blooded, and in robust health, should be more liable to fever than his acclimated countrymen, is not to be wondered at; but many of the new comers might escape disease by common prudence. Confident in their strength of const.i.tution, and wearied with a long confinement on s.h.i.+p-board, they sally forth, day by day, to take a walk, just as they would in England, heedless of the fierce luminary that is pouring his rays on their exposed heads, and bent only on amus.e.m.e.nt or variety. A week of such folly (to call it by no stronger name) has sufficed to bring many a youth to a premature grave.

The weather begins to grow warm in China (I speak of Hong Kong, Macao, and Canton) about the middle of April; in June, it is oppressively hot; and during the following three months, which are the most unhealthy, the thermometer in the shade ranges from 85 to 90. This is a degree of heat that ought not to be much felt by experienced Indians; and in Java, or in the Straits of Malacca, I should not complain of it; but there is a peculiarity, an oppressiveness, in the heat of China, that makes even respiration difficult, and excites such copious perspiration as to weaken the frame. In October, the weather becomes cooler, and, for the next five months, is sufficiently cold to render fires a comfort morning and evening; and occasionally during the whole day. Were it not for their winter, I know not what would become of the European residents in China: this season braces them up for the coming summer, and, in short, saves their lives.

The progress made in Hong Kong since its occupation as a British Colony, is astonis.h.i.+ng, and perhaps unsurpa.s.sed in the history of civilization.

Owing to the peculiar features of the locality in which Victoria stands, that town has been extended along the beach, till it is now upward of four miles long, with three short streets extending a little way up the hills about its centre. The Queen's road extends along the beach the whole of this length, and has been cut with great labour and expense.

The lots between this road and low-water mark are considered as the best for mercantile purposes, and are nearly all in the possession of mercantile men, who have built, in most cases, handsome warehouses with dwelling-houses above. There are, however, some exceptions, a portion of the ground being occupied by Chinese shopkeepers, who inhabit low ill-built houses, which, as ground with water-frontage becomes more valuable, will have to give way to better buildings, raised by a higher cla.s.s, who will buy out the present occupants. The lots on the south side of Queen's Road are not so valuable as those opposite; nevertheless, they are nearly all in the possession of monied men, who will before long find it to their advantage to level the many wretched buildings that now disfigure the road, and to erect houses worthy of a town bearing the royal name.

On my departure from the Island, building was going forward in all directions, notwithstanding the somewhat illiberal terms on which alone lots were obtainable; and I have no doubt that, by this time, many smiling cottages adorn the hills in and near the town, while more stately buildings rear their prouder elevation on the level below.

House-rent, as might be expected, is very high, and will probably continue so for ten years to come. It took that time to reduce the rents in Singapore; and as I expect that Hong Kong will become a place of still greater trade, and attract a larger European population than the Straits' settlement, I see no reason that the owner of property in houses there should not look for a handsome return for his outlay for ten years, and for a fair remunerating price at the expiration of that time. Something like a hundred per cent. per annum has been got for the small houses occupied by Chinese shopkeepers, while twenty-five, thirty, and even forty per cent. is a common return for substantially-built warehouses.

Some idea of the rapid progress which this settlement has made, may be formed by the reader, when I state, that one firm had laid out upwards of 40,000l. sterling in building, and was still laying out more, when I quitted it. This is, certainly, by far the largest expenditure that has been made by any single establishment: but many others have spent from 6000l. to 10,000l. in a similar way; and the outlay by individuals on speculation, is by no means inconsiderable.

The Chinese population of Victoria and the neighbourhood amounted, last January, to ten thousand souls; certainly not the choicest collection that could be wished, as the number of robberies that take place in and about the town sufficiently testify. This evil the magistrates were, however, doing their best to remedy; and some scores of idle vagabonds had been sent across the Channel dividing the Island from the main land of China. Some of the chiefs of the robber-gangs had been apprehended and set to work on the roads, in irons; a proceeding that alarmed their confederates not a little.[24]

[Footnote 24: An account of the capture of two of these scamps was given to me by the chief magistrate, the day before I left Victoria, and was to the following effect:--A China-man in the pay of the police, though never seen by any magistrate, came to the police compradore's house one evening, and said: "If you will send two European constables to a certain spot (which he named) at nine o'clock to night, I will shew them where they will find two robber-chiefs smoking opium and looking over their gains." This hint was immediately communicated to the chief magistrate, who at once resolved to act upon it, and sent the constables to the spot indicated. There, the spy met them, masked, and made signs for them to be silent and follow him. He guided them down past West Point upwards of a mile, when he turned up the hill by a footpath, which, in half an hour, brought the party to a small hut, through the crevices in the wall of which a light was visible. To the door of this hut, the guide significantly pointed, and instantly disappeared without uttering a word. The constables took the hint, and burst the door open, when they found what they had been led to expect; two men smoking opium, the room almost full of European clothing and other stolen property, quite sufficient to convict the smokers of unfair play towards the late owners of it. These men were of course secured; and the day I sailed from Hong Kong, I saw them at work on the roads in irons. Their apprehension caused a complete cessation of robberies for the time being, the sight of the noted chiefs on the roads having terrified their followers.]

The general appearance of Hong Kong, from the sea, is picturesque and curious. That part of the Island on which the town is situated, is hilly, and, with the exception of the few paddy-fields already mentioned, presents no level s.p.a.ce on which to build. The hills stretch completely down to the sea; and Queen's Road has been formed by cutting away their projecting spurs, throwing the earth into the sea in front, filling up the gaps on each side the spur, and thus forming a long strip of level. Above the level of Queen's Road, many terraces have been cut in the hills, upon which private dwellings have been perched; and to a person sailing into the harbour, these look suspended on the hill side, and inaccessible. To speak the truth, the approaches to them are not the most practicable; particularly in rainy weather, when, from the clayey nature of the soil, they become extremely slippery. Several water-courses descend from these hills, forming miniature ravines and a few water-falls, which have a pretty effect after a day's rain. They occasionally wash away an ill-built house; but this is the fault of the clumsy and foolish builders.

Many of these hills are covered with a hard, tough, useless sort of whinstone, which adds considerably to the expense of building on them.

Others are well stocked with granite, which the Chinese masons split very neatly into any shape, by driving innumerable wedges into the blocks. The adroitness with which they do this, is quite surprising. The China pine (or fir) grows all over Hong Kong; but the young trees no sooner attain the height of two or three feet, than they are cut down by the natives, and carried off in bundles to clean the bottoms of the countless boats that ply about the harbour. Thus, with one or two exceptions, these hills are quite bare, and, in winter more particularly, exhibit any thing but a lively spectacle. In summer, their green covering of coa.r.s.e gra.s.s improves their appearance.

The only thing that reconciles one to the site chosen for building the town of Victoria, is its beautiful harbour: in every other respect, the choice was decidedly bad. A more awkward place on which to erect a town, could not have been fixed upon; and its northern aspect adds, I suspect, to the unhealthiness of the place, as it exposes the town to the cold winds of winter, and completely shuts out the southerly breezes of summer, which are so much wanted to refresh the worn-out colonist There are situations in the Island much more eligible for a town, but their harbours are exposed, so that, when we consider how well the s.h.i.+pping are protected in Victoria bay, we feel disposed to allow that a better choice could not have been made under all the circ.u.mstances.

The market of Hong Kong is well supplied with fish, flesh, and fowl, vegetables, fruit, and game; and those who choose to take the trouble of seeing to it themselves, may obtain supplies on reasonable terms: those who leave these matters to their servants, are of course robbed, and are apt, without making any inquiry, to come to the conclusion, that every thing here is dear. The retail price of every sort of provisions is pasted up on the market-gate, once a week, by authority of the magistrates, in Chinese and English characters; so that the exorbitant rates charged by _compradores_ may be easily detected and put a stop to.

Chinese boats of all descriptions, sizes, and sorts may be hired at every wharf, at any hour from daylight till eight at night: their moving about after that hour, is prohibited by the Authorities, who had strong reason to suspect their being connected with the gangs of robbers that occasionally land from the opposite sh.o.r.e, commit some daring robbery, and disappear again before daylight.

When the fleet of men of war and transports arrived here, from the North, in October 1842, the troops, amounting to upwards of fifteen thousand, were regularly supplied, during their stay in the harbour of Victoria, with fresh provisions, eggs, &c.; and no rise of prices took place. On the departure of the fleet, the daily supply was reduced by the Chinese to just sufficient for the consumption of the place. No portion of the supplies for the market is produced on the Island: the whole is brought from the innumerable creek and river-banks in the neighbourhood. It is to be hoped that this state of things will, before long, be altered, since, as matters now stand, the Cow Loon Authorities could, at any time, deprive the inhabitants of Hong Kong of their daily bread.

American, French, and English Missionaries are already congregated in this infant settlement. The first have built a neat little chapel, where Divine service is performed every Sunday morning in the Presbyterian form, and, in the evening, in Chinese. The French Roman Catholics have built a stately and handsome chapel with a good dwelling-house attached to it: they have a large congregation among the Irish soldiery and the Portuguese from Macao. The English Missionaries had only just arrived with their establishment from Malacca, and, when I left the Island, had neither house nor chapel, but had commenced building. A chaplain of the Church of England had arrived, appointed by the Home Government: no English church, however, had even been commenced, and the congregation meet every Sunday in a neat house, where, if they escape fever during the summer, and colds and ague during the winter, they ought to deem themselves very fortunate.

Grog-shops and other resorts for the depraved and idle, are already plentiful in Victoria. They are, however, all closed on Sunday; and the sailor ash.o.r.e, on liberty on that day, is fain to content himself with a walk along the road, during which he may be heard muttering deep curses on the heads of those who framed this (according to his notion) unjust and tyrannical regulation.

Before concluding my remarks on Hong Kong, I will add a few words on what I consider as the best means to be adopted with a view to render the settlement more healthy. Much must be done by the Government; and the rest may be left to the inhabitants themselves.

In the first place, the paddy-fields at the east end of the town must be thoroughly drained, and the cultivation of paddy in the neighbourhood entirely stopped. Proclamations on this last subject had been published in March last. That the draining of these lands would decrease the quant.i.ty of malaria generated in the valleys, there can be no doubt; but, that it would entirely do away with it, I deem very problematical.

At all events, it would not stop the volumes of fog that descend from the hill-tops at sun-set, and completely envelop the valleys and the houses. Draining, indeed, would do good, and ought to be tried at once.

The owners of property in the neighbourhood were very sanguine as to the result of the experiment. More good, however, would be done in the way of purifying the air of these valleys, by entirely removing the small hill on which the Morrison Education buildings stand. The task, at first sight, may seem herculean; but is not so in reality. Thousands of men are to be hired in the villages on the opposite coast, who would gladly work for three dollars (13s. 6d.) per month. Were a couple of thousand of these put upon this job for a twelvemonth, there would not be much of the hill left. The pecuniary outlay would be considerable; but the returns would do much more than pay the interest on it. The base of the hill itself is of considerable extent; and the earth carried from its top, if thrown into the sea at its foot, would create a large level s.p.a.ce for building, that would yield quit-rent enough to render the speculation (were the work undertaken by private individuals) a highly profitable one. This hill completely shuts up the largest of the paddy-growing valleys; and its removal would admit into it the easterly and northerly breezes, which might do more than any thing else towards preventing the descent of the fog. There are other hills, near the one alluded to, that might be levelled with great advantage to the neighbourhood, as well as to the parties who might undertake the task.

In this case, there are individuals ready to execute the work on their own private account, who actually made offers to the Government on the subject; but their terms were rejected by the Authorities, and the hills remain in _statu quo_. The sea being very shallow at the base of these hills, the s.p.a.ce filled up by cutting them down, would be very considerable, and the task by no means difficult. Sir Stamford Raffles removed one at Singapore, in size equal to the one known in Hong Kong as Leighton's Hill, without incurring a s.h.i.+lling of expense to his Government. To the parties who removed the soil, he gave the ground they had made, charging them the same quit-rent that others paid on the grants made to them.

At West Point, draining seems to be the only plan that can be recommended to render the situation more salubrious. Neither there nor any where else in the Colony, is it safe to reside in houses having only a ground-floor. Of those who have done so, few have escaped the fever; and still fewer of those who caught it, recovered. Draining upon a large scale, is the part of the work I would leave to the Government: upon the inhabitants, I would impose the task of making proper sewers all over the town. The few that existed there last summer, were not simply a disgrace to every person connected with the place, but tended in no small degree to thin the population by the abominable effluvia they threw out. In the immediate vicinity of every house or shop belonging to the Chinese, might be seen a collection of impurities sufficient to create a pestilence anywhere, much more in a place with the thermometer frequently above 90 in the shade. The a.s.sessment of five per cent. on all rents, would create a fund sufficient to purify the town, to keep it clean, to provide a regular scavengers' establishment, and, moreover, to pay night watchmen to protect the property of its inhabitants from the gangs of robbers that infest the place. Were these suggestions carried out, if the citizens of Victoria were but careful to avoid the sun, and if not a few would but reduce by one-half their allowance of brandy-and-water and cigars, I will venture to predict, that the medical men of the place would have a comparative sinecure.

Among other arrivals in Hong Kong during the year 1843, were some fifty or sixty emigrants from Sydney, (N. S. Wales,) consisting of mechanics of different descriptions. They alleged, that the bad times in Australia had driven them away. Poor fellows! I fear they have made a sad mistake in the change they have sought. Here, they will find times, for persons of their cla.s.s, worse than those they have had to complain of, a climate to contend against, from which they have not the means of protecting themselves, and hundreds of Chinese artisans, who can afford to work for less than half what they can live upon. Most of them were badly housed; and it was to be feared, that the end of summer will see very many of their number in their graves.

The colonists of New South Wales appear to hare formed the most extravagant ideas of the benefit they are to derive from the new settlement of Hong Kong. With the exception of salt provisions, I know of nothing they can send to the new settlement with even a chance of profit; and the prices of these must be lower than those ruling in Sydney by the last accounts, to yield a profit. Some small lots of timber have been found to answer; but the demand for this article will cease, when the buildings now in progress in Victoria shall have been completed. Cattle, horses, and sheep have been tried, and the experiment has proved an utter failure.

CHAPTER XVII.

CHINA.

FIRST VIEW OF CANTON--DESCRIPTION OF THE EUROPEAN QUARTER--HOSTILE FEELINGS OF THE PEOPLE--COMMERCIAL PROSPECTS OF CANTON--AMOY--FOO CHOW--NINGPO-- SHANG-HAE--MR. MEDHURST--RESULTS OF THE TREATY WITH CHINA.

The sail from Hong Kong to Canton is very interesting, particularly to a stranger. The numerous islands he pa.s.ses, and the entirely new scenes that everywhere attract his eye, cannot fail to delight and amuse him.

Here, the unwieldy Chinese junk; there, the fast-sailing Chinese pa.s.sage-boat; now and then, the long snake-like opium-smuggler with his fifty oars; innumerable fis.h.i.+ng-boats, all in pairs, with a drag-net extended from the one to the other; country boats of all descriptions pa.s.sing to and fro, their crews all bent on money-getting, yet, never failing to cast a glance of mingled contempt and scorn at the "_Fan qui_"; the duck-boats on the river banks, their numerous tenants feeding in the adjacent rice-fields; a succession of little Chinese villages, with groupes of young Celestials staring at him with never-ending wonder; here and there, a tall paG.o.da rearing its lofty head high above the surrounding scenery, as if conscious of its great antiquity and of the sacred objects for which it was built; the Chinese husbandman with his one-handed plough, drawn by a single wild-looking buffalo; smiling cottages, surrounded with orange and other fruit-trees; the immense fleet of foreign s.h.i.+ps anch.o.r.ed at Whampoa;--these and a thousand other objects, all equally strange and new, attract the attention of the stranger as he sails up the "Quang Tung" river. On nearing the city itself, he is still more astonished and pleased with the sights that literally confuse his ideas, making the whole scene to seem the creation of magic, rather than sober reality. Here, the river is absolutely crowded with junks and boats of all sorts and sizes, from the ferry-boat of six feet long, to the ferry-boat of a thousand tons burthen. Long rows of houses, inhabited princ.i.p.ally by boat-builders and others connected with maritime affairs, and built on the river, line its right bank. Outside of these, are moored numerous flat-bottomed boats with high roofs: these come from the Interior with tea and other produce, and resemble what I fancy Noah's Ark must have been, more than any thing I have seen elsewhere. On the left bank, the sh.o.r.e is lined with boats unloading and loading cargoes, while the different landing-places are completely blocked up with ferry-boats seeking employment. The s.p.a.ce in the centre of the river, is continually crowded with boats, junks, &c.

proceeding up and down. The scene altogether is bewildering to the stranger. Busy as the scene is, which the Thames presents at London, its superior regularity and order, in my opinion, prevent its coming up to the scene I have just faintly traced, in the strange and excited feelings it calls up. Amidst all this, there is a constant clatter of tongues strongly recalling the confusion of Babel. A China-man never talks below his breath; and, if one may judge from the loud tones in which the whole community express their sentiments, whether in a house or shop or in the street, the only conclusion that can be come to is, that, in China, the word secret is not understood, or rather, that the idea corresponding to that word has no existence in their conceptions.

Of the immense city itself, the home of a million of souls, what account can a traveller give, who has seen little more of it than the portion inhabited by foreigners? I must say a few words, however, about that part of it which I have seen.

I begin with the foreign factories. These buildings stretch along the left bank of the river about three quarters of a mile, (or, rather, they did so, for one half of them have recently been destroyed by fire,) and extend back about two hundred yards. They are large, substantially built, and comfortable houses; but those situated behind the front row, must be (indeed I know they are) oppressively hot residences in the summer season. The s.p.a.ce between the factories and the river, is reserved for a promenade, where foreigners may take a little recreation after their day's work. Although but a limited s.p.a.ce, it is invaluable.

Here, in the evening, may be seen Englishmen, Americans, Frenchmen, Spaniards, Dutchmen, Portuguese, Pa.r.s.ees, Moslem, and Hindoos; all enjoying the evening breeze, and talking over the affairs of the day or the news brought by the last overland mail, while a crowd of Chinese coolies surround the square, gaping with noisy wonder at the strangers attired in all the costumes of Europe and Asia. The streets princ.i.p.ally resorted to by foreigners are, China Street (old and new) and Carpenter's Square. In the former, a very choice collection of Chinese articles may be purchased, either in the way of curiosities or of valuable merchandize. In Carpenter's Square, the new-comer may fit himself out with everlasting trunks, dressing-cases, &c.; or, if in search of furniture, he may here, in half an hour, furnish his house with well-made, substantial articles. The houses in these streets are all of two stories, with very narrow frontage, ground being valuable. A large quant.i.ty of timber is used in their construction, which renders any chance fire in this city so very destructive. The streets in Canton are all very narrow, most of those I have seen not exceeding six or seven feet in width: the two China Streets are probably twelve feet wide. The city does not cover half the s.p.a.ce which a European one with the same population would do. Its streets, from their want of breadth, always appear, and indeed always are crowded; and the unwary pa.s.senger is very liable to get knocked down by some heavily laden porter running against him, if he does not keep a sharp look-out. Like Macao, it is infested with loathsome beggars, who are, if possible, still more clamorous in their demands for charity than those of that place. Here, the stranger will be surprised to see dogs, cats, and rats hawked about, dead and alive. I do not say that these animals form the daily food of the people of Canton, but they are daily and hourly hawked about its streets, and purchased by the poorer cla.s.ses. The Canton market is, nevertheless, remarkably well supplied with the good things of this life; and the European who cannot live and be contented with the provisions procurable in it, must be hard to please. By nine o'clock at night, this huge city is perfectly quiet, and nine-tenths of its inhabitants are wrapped in sleep. At either end of each street is a gate, which is shut at that hour, and ingress or egress put a stop to for the night. This regulation, as may be supposed, is an excellent check upon night robbers, whose peregrinations can extend no further than the end of the street they live in. Another equally salutary regulation is that which makes the inhabitants of a street responsible for each other's good conduct. Thus, if A's servant steals any thing from B, A must make good the loss. Prowling being put a stop to during the night, I have seen robberies attempted and detected during the day; and I certainly never saw a poor thief treated elsewhere with such unrelenting cruelty. A China-man seems to have no mercy for a thief; nor is this feeling to be wondered at in an over-peopled country, where all have to work for their bread, and where idlers are sure to starve.

During the winter, in Canton, the lower cla.s.ses suffer severely from cold: they are poorly fed and worse clothed: and hundreds of them may be seen about the streets, s.h.i.+vering and looking the very picture of absolute wretchedness. Amongst these, a few old women may be seen sitting by the side of the streets, earning a scanty subsistence by mending and patching the clothes of people as poor as themselves. These poor women, having all undergone the barbarous operation of cramping the feet during infancy, are consequently unable to undertake any thing but sedentary employment to gain their bread. The very small size to which the feet of some of the Chinese females have been distorted by cramping them with bandages during the first six years of their lives, is almost beyond belief. I have seen a full-grown woman wearing shoes, and walking in them too, not more than 3-1/2 inches long. Their walk resembles that of a timid boy upon ice; it is necessarily slow; and, indeed, some of them require the aid of a staff in one hand, while they lean with the other on the shoulder of a female attendant. The smaller the eyes and feet of a Chinese beauty, the more she is admired. I once asked a respectable China-man, what he thought of this custom of cramping their daughters' feet: his reply was, "Very bad custom." On my inquiring further, whether he had any daughters, and whether their feet were treated in the same way, he answered in the affirmative, but a.s.serted, that they had been subjected to the cruel ordeal by their mother, against his will. He added, that, in a China-man's house, where there were young girls, no peace could be had, night or day, for their cries, which lasted till they were six years old. He gave us a reason for the mother's insisting on her daughter's submitting to this long course of pain and suffering:--"Suppose _he_ no small foot, no man wantjee make _he_ number one wife." A respectable China-man, it appears, always chooses a small-footed woman for his princ.i.p.al wife, while, for Number two, three, and four, he contents himself with ladies whose feet are as nature made them, and who are consequently more able to make themselves useful in household matters.

The inhabitants of Canton and its vicinity have displayed, since the war, more hostile feelings towards Englishmen, than those entertained by the natives of any of the northern ports. They still affect to believe, that Sir Hugh Gough durst not attack their city; and it is, perhaps, to be regretted, that he was hindered from shewing his strength on that occasion. Several riots and two extensive fires among the foreign factories, have taken place since that time; and it is the opinion of many persons, that, before long, Canton will require a lesson such as Amoy, Ning-po, and other places have received. That the first of the two fires alluded to was the work of incendiaries, there is no doubt; and so well satisfied were the native Authorities upon this point, that they made good the losses sustained by foreigners on the occasion.

The proposal to grant land to foreigners in the neighbourhood of Canton, for the site of country residences, met with so energetic opposition from the natives, that the Authorities did not venture to carry the plan into execution. Inflammatory placards were posted all over the city, calling upon the people to protect their ancient rights, and threatening extermination to foreigners, and to the local Authorities themselves, in the event of their complying with the pet.i.tion. It is probable, that the wealthy men and others connected with the commerce of Canton, felt that the arrangements then pending between Her Majesty's Government and that of their Imperial Master regarding the commerce of the two countries, would, if completed, affect their old privileges and monopoly; and that they adopted the measures above-mentioned in order to shew their displeasure. That their commerce will suffer in consequence of the arrangements since brought to an amicable conclusion, there can be no doubt; but it is not less certain, that Canton will continue to be the centre of an extensive trade. Its merchants must be content with a share of the loaf, in place of monopolizing, as heretofore, the whole.

The days of Hong merchants and monopoly are at an end; and the benefits derived from Free-trade will shortly convince all but those connected with the late Hongs, that the changes recently effected in the relations of the Celestial Empire with other countries, are not deserving of the abuse that has been so abundantly lavished on them.

The far-famed Bogue Forts, I observed, in pa.s.sing up the river last March, to be rebuilt in the same clumsy style as that of the fortifications which Sir Gordon Bremmer knocked down. As a means of defending the river against any thing but Chinese junks, they are utterly useless; and one cannot help feeling surprised that so intelligent a people as the Chinese did not take a lesson from the perfect ease with which their forts were razed to the ground, and build their new ones on a better plan. The scenery at the Bogue is very pretty; and the forts, if of no other advantage, form a picturesque feature, viewed while sailing past them.

Not having visited Amoy, Foo Chow, Ning-po, Chusan, or Shang-Hae, I am unable to give any description of those places. I can, however, state what I have heard about them, and give the mercantile reader some idea of their importance as places of trade.

Short as is the time that these ports have been open to the commerce of Britain and other foreign nations, many cargoes of Indian cotton, different sorts of produce from Singapore and the islands of the Malayan Archipelago, manufactured goods, consisting of woollens, gray and white s.h.i.+rtings, chintz, &c., from Manchester and Glasgow, have been advantageously disposed of at one or another of them. Amoy has taken off several cargoes of Bengal and Bombay cotton, at prices considerably higher than those ruling at Canton. This branch of trade is likely to increase, and is one that will interfere with Canton to a considerable extent. As a residence, however, this place has a bad character in point of healthiness: at least, the troops, both European and Indian, suffered severely there from fever. They were stationed on the island of Koo Loong Soo, which is said to be more healthy than Amoy itself.

None of our merchants had visited Foo Chow, up to the time of my departure from China; nor had a Consul been sent there; but this has, I presume, since taken place. The city has been described to me as large and populous, and the seat of a very extensive trade. It escaped the ravages of the late war; and its inhabitants may probably entertain a similar idea to that which possesses the people of Canton; namely, that we were afraid to attack them. Whether this notion will lead them to give Europeans an indifferent reception, or not, remains to be seen. Let us hope that they will act wisely in the matter, and not bring down vengeance on their own heads. Sir William Parker, by visiting their harbour in Her Majesty's s.h.i.+p Cornwallis, proved to them that they are not beyond the reach of European s.h.i.+pping, as they at one time thought.

Some difficulty is experienced, I believe, in approaching Foo Chow, owing to the strength of the currents in the neighbourhood; but, as a seventy-four-gun s.h.i.+p has got over that difficulty, it is proved to be not an insurmountable one.

Ning-po is also a large and wealthy city, admirably situated for trade, and surrounded with a beautiful country. It stands some forty miles from the sea, by the river, which is said to be navigable for s.h.i.+ps of considerable burthen even beyond the town. The climate is salubrious, and the natives are quite awake to the benefits likely to arise from a free intercourse with Europeans. At this port, the first British vessel bound for the northern ports of China, from England direct, was loading, in March last, with tea and other Chinese produce. By how many hundreds she will ere long be followed, I leave the reader to imagine. It is said by those who have visited this port, that nothing can exceed the urbanity of the Chinese Authorities and merchants, or their anxiety to do all in their power to please and entertain European strangers. This, doubtless, in part arises from the severe lesson that was read them, on more than one occasion, by Sir Hugh Gough; a lesson which, it is hoped, they will long remember. An extensive and important trade is carried on between this place and Chusan, by which means our manufactures will find their way into that island, after its ports shall be closed against our s.h.i.+pping. Here, Russian manufacturers are met with; and a friend of mine informed me, that, in a Chinese shop at Ning-po, he purchased a few yards of superior Russian black broad cloth at the very cheap rate of two dollars and a-half (11s. 3d.) per yard. This price seems lower than that at which the British manufacturer could produce a similar article.

Samples of the cloth have been sent to England, so that this question will soon be decided.

Shang-Hae, the most northern of the five ports opened to foreign commerce, is, perhaps, the most important of the whole five. I have undoubted authority for a.s.serting, that the number of Chinese junks, of more than a hundred tons burthen, that enter this port weekly, exceeds a thousand. The same authority speaks of the busy scene that this harbour daily presents, as quite beyond his powers of description. Many British, American, and other merchants have visited Shang-Hae since it became an open port; many cargoes of manufactures have been disposed of there; and already a considerable export trade on foreign account has commenced. A bold attempt was made by some influential and wealthy merchants from Canton, to prevent the mercantile men of the place from purchasing cargoes from the foreigners: in this, they succeeded for a time; and the Canton men were in hopes they should secure the northern trade for their own capital, as of yore; but they calculated beyond their mark. The Shang-Hae men listened to the tales that were told them, and kept aloof for some time, till they saw that the Europeans were quite determined not to leave their harbour without effecting sales. Suddenly they changed their minds, and said to the Canton men: "If the '_Fan-quis_'

are such a wicked race, how comes it that you are so anxious to have their trade to yourselves?" In a week afterwards, every foreign vessel in the river was cleared of her cargo at remunerating prices.

Shang-Hae is the princ.i.p.al port in the Empire for the export of raw silk. This fact is sufficient of itself to proclaim the vast importance of the place. The winter here, is described as being very severe; and the cold is said to be so intense, that hundreds of the very poorest sort of natives perish in the streets from its effect on their half-clad persons. The heat of summer is also intense; which renders the city unhealthy, situated as it is in a low, swampy country. Yet, I heard of no sickness among the Europeans who pa.s.sed last summer there.

The Missionaries have not been behind the merchants in occupying Shang-Hae; and Mr. Medhurst, so well known for his extensive knowledge of Chinese literature, had completed arrangements for removing his family thither in the early part of the present summer. He had previously visited the place, avowing the object of his visit, and had found no difficulty in procuring a commodious house, large enough for the comfortable accommodation of his family, as well as for a printing establishment, &c. Mr. Medhurst has been a personal friend of mine for these twenty years; and he will believe me when I say, that I heartily wish him all the success in his mission that he can wish for himself; but, of his success, I have my doubts.

As to the benefits likely to accrue to the commerce of Great Britain from the Treaty lately concluded by Sir Henry Pottinger with the Chinese Government, I conceive there can be but one opinion, although the extent of those benefits is as yet uncertain. When I express an opinion, not penned in haste or without consideration, that the large quant.i.ties of grey s.h.i.+rtings, white ditto, chintz, cotton yarn, long ells, Spanish stripes, fine woollens, camlets, &c. now purchased of the British merchants by the Chinese, are likely, within the next three years, to be quadrupled, the manufacturers of my country will at once perceive what this celebrated Treaty is likely to accomplish for them.[25] We must, moreover, take into consideration, the extra tonnage that will be required to carry on this extended commerce; the number of seamen it will employ; the consequent increased demand for every description of stores taken to sea for the use of s.h.i.+ps and men; the innumerable families that will thus be provided for; and the not improbable increased demand, over and above quadruple the present, for the goods named, when the new trade shall have had time thoroughly to develop itself. Nor must we overlook the benefit likely to result to British India, the cotton of which has. .h.i.therto been supplied to the Chinese _via_ Canton: it will now be carried to their doors in British vessels, and sold to them at far cheaper rates than could have been afforded when sent in the former round-about way. Taking this view of the case, it stands to reason, that the demand will increase; and though the merchant of Bombay, Madras, or Calcutta may not make larger profits than heretofore, he will do a much larger business, employ double the number of men and s.h.i.+ps, and enjoy the prospect of returning to his native country some few years sooner than he dreamed of under the old regime.

[Footnote 25: It must be borne in mind, that this was written at sea, before I had any knowledge of the reception which Sir Henry Pottinger's Treaty had met in Manchester and other manufacturing towns. Their subsequent reception of Sir Henry himself, proves how well satisfied they are with what he has done for them; and the extent of last summer's exports to China, demonstrates, beyond a doubt, that I was not far wrong in my predictions.]