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 passes, 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
passage-boat; now and then, the long snake-like opium-smuggler with his
fifty oars; innumerable fishing-boats, all in pairs, with a drag-net
extended from the one to the other; country boats of all descriptions
passing 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 pagoda 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 ships anchored 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 principally 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 shore is lined with boats
unloading and loading cargoes, while the different landing-places are
completely blocked up with ferry-boats seeking employment. The space 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 space 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 space, it is invaluable.
Here, in the evening, may be seen Englishmen, Americans, Frenchmen,
Spaniards, Dutchmen, Portuguese, Parsees, 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 principally
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 quantity 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 space 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 passenger
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 classes. 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 classes suffer severely from
cold: they are poorly fed and worse clothed: and hundreds of them may be
seen about the streets, shivering 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 asserted,
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 principal 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 petition. 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 passing 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
shirtings, 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 ship Cornwallis, proved to them that they are
not beyond the reach of European shipping, 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 ship 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 ships 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
shipping. 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 asserting, 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 principal 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 passed 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 quantities of
grey shirtings, 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 ships 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 hitherto been supplied to the Chinese
_viâ_ 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 ships, 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.]
A trade suddenly thrown open with three hundred millions of human
beings, is not likely to be completely developed in three, four, or five
years; and I conceive that I am within the mark, when I hold out
encouragement to my countrymen to quadruple their shipments to China. In
April, May, and June, 1843, before the five ports of China were
officially opened to foreign trade, and when visiting them was
precarious, an unusually large quantity of British and American
manufactures was poured into the China market. Ship after ship arrived
from the manufacturing districts, with full cargoes; and the universal
cry was, "What is to be done with all these goods?" I can tell the
public what became of them. They were sold almost as fast as they
arrived. Many of them were purchased, for the northern ports, by
speculators, who, to a man, did well with them. Prices not only kept up,
in spite of the heavy import duties, but actually continued to advance
till the end of the year, when they were twenty per cent. higher than
when all the cry was, "What is to become of these goods?" This spirited
demand for goods at Canton and Hong Kong, continued up to March last,
when I sailed from China. Whether the supply sent out this season, has
exceeded the demand, or not, I have no means of ascertaining, while
writing in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean; but I have no fear as to
the result of any shipments that may have been made.
That the thanks of the mercantile world in general, and of its members
in Great Britain in particular, are due to Sir Henry Pottinger for the
very satisfactory conclusion to which he has brought the recent
disturbances with China, and to Sir Hugh Gough and Sir William Parker
for the gallant manner in which the warlike portion of the work was
conducted, every unprejudiced man must allow. Though Sir Henry had not
left China when I sailed, I presume that he will be in England before me
_viâ_ Egypt; and nothing would give me greater pleasure on my arrival,
than to find that he had been rewarded by his Sovereign by being made
"Earl Nankin." His career has been a brilliant one; and that he may live
many years to enjoy the fruits of his exertions, must be the wish of all
that are likely to benefit by them.[26]
[Footnote 26: No such honour has been paid to Sir Henry, though
his reception by his Sovereign, the Government, and the public,
has been such as must amply have gratified him and all his
friends.]
Whether or not we are shortly to have another Chinese war, is a problem
I do not pretend to be able to solve: there are various opinions on the
subject; but my own is, that every thing depends on the foreigners
themselves. If the Consuls and others sent by Government to the five
trading ports are firm and resolute men, who will never suffer the
slightest infringement of the Treaty by the Chinese, without an
energetic remonstrance,--if the captains of ships of war stationed at
the five ports are strict in maintaining order among the masters and
crews of the shipping of their nation,--if mercantile men take care, on
the one hand, to give no cause of complaint by smuggling or otherwise,
to the Chinese Authorities, and, on the other hand, to put up with
nothing from them that is not borne out by the terms of the Treaty;--in
short, if foreigners generally (under which term I include every person
not a Chinese) unite together and stand up for the Treaty, the whole
Treaty, and nothing but the Treaty,--I see no reason to suppose that it
may not work well, and for many years to come. On the other hand, if
Consuls vacillate in their intercourse with the Chinese authorities,--if
captains of ships of war permit irregularities in the conduct of
merchant seamen,--and if foreign merchants condescend to injure their
fair fame by smuggling, in place of submitting to the very moderate
duties imposed upon their trade by the new Chinese tariff,--all and each
of them must take the consequences of their conduct; and they may rest
assured, that the Chinese will always be ready to seize with avidity the
slightest opportunity afforded them for charging foreigners with a
breach of the Treaty. We must hope that foreigners resorting to China
for the purposes of trade, or merely as travellers in search of health
or of strange sights, will be sufficiently aware of the importance that
is sure to be attached to their conduct, to avoid giving the Chinese
just cause of complaint. Should they be careful on this point, and
should the amicable relations now existing between the two countries
remain uninterrupted, it will not take many years to convince the
intelligent Chinese, that intercourse with what they are pleased to term
the Barbarian nations of the earth, is not to be despised.
As for the result of another war, there cannot, I imagine, be two
opinions. That Great Britain would be the victor, and the _gainer_ too,
after a struggle of half a summer, is pretty certain; and that she would
make the Chinese pay dearer for their temerity than they were made to do
before, seems probable, and would be but just. The possession of Chusan
and other eligible mercantile positions on the coast, would open fresh
fields for the enterprise of our merchants, and for the employment of
hundreds of seamen and others; and the fleet and army, after satisfying
the Chinese that they were as able and as willing to fight as ever,
might, with great advantage to their country, take a trip to Japan, and
try to prevail on the ruler of that _terra incognita_ to open his ports
to foreign commerce. I would tell the Emperor of Japan, You shall either
be my friend or my foe. If the former, you must permit your subjects to
trade with my people; and if the latter, you must try your strength with
me. While there are tens of thousands of unemployed operatives in Great
Britain, her rulers should omit no opportunity of extending her
commerce; and their suffering the Japanese sullenly to exclude our
shipping, while the Dutch enjoy the sole privilege of trading to their
country, seems to me putting up with a state of things that ought not to
exist.