CHINESE TRICKERY.
Though the ships, in consequence of the Viceroy's permit, found no
difficulty in purchasing provisions for their daily consumption, yet it
was impossible for the Commodore to proceed to England without laying in
a large quantity both of provisions and stores for his use during the
voyage. The procuring this supply was attended with much embarrassment,
for there were people at Canton who had undertaken to furnish him with
biscuit and whatever else he wanted, and his linguist, towards the middle
of September, had assured him from day to day that all was ready and
would be sent on board him immediately. But a fortnight being elapsed,
and nothing being brought, the Commodore sent to Canton to enquire more
particularly into the reasons of this disappointment, and he had soon the
vexation to be informed that the whole was an illusion; that no order had
been procured from the Viceroy to furnish him with his sea stores, as had
been pretended; that there was no biscuit baked, nor any one of the
articles in readiness which had been promised him; nor did it appear that
the contractors had taken the least step to comply with their agreement.
This was most disagreeable news, and made it suspected that the
furnishing the Centurion for her return to Great Britain might prove a
more troublesome matter than had been hitherto imagined; especially, too,
as the month of September was nearly elapsed without Mr. Anson's having
received any message from the Viceroy of Canton.
It were endless to recount all the artifices, extortions, and frauds,
which were practised on the Commodore and his people by the Chinese. The
method of buying all things in China being by weight, the tricks made use
of by them to increase the weight of the provision they sold to the
Centurion were almost incredible. One time, a large quantity of fowls and
ducks being brought for the ship's use, the greatest part of them
presently died. This alarmed the people on board with the apprehension
that they had been killed by poison, but on examination it appeared that
it was only owing to their being crammed with stones and gravel to
increase their weight, the quantity thus forced into most of the ducks
being found to amount to ten ounces in each. The hogs, too, which were
bought ready killed of the Chinese butchers, had water injected into them
for the same purpose, so that a carcase hung up all night for the water
to drain from it has lost above a stone of its weight, and when, to avoid
this cheat, the hogs were bought alive, it was found that the Chinese
gave them salt to increase their thirst, and having by this means excited
them to drink great quantities of water, they then took measures to
prevent them from discharging it again, and sold the tortured animal in
this inflated state. When the Commodore first put to sea from Macao, they
practised an artifice of another kind, for as the Chinese never object to
the eating of any food that dies of itself, they took care, by some
secret practises, that great part of his live sea-store should die in a
short time after it was put on board, hoping to make a second profit of
the dead carcases which they expected would be thrown overboard, and
two-thirds of the hogs dying before the Centurion was out of sight of
land, many of the Chinese boats followed her only to pick up the carrion.
These instances may serve as a specimen of the manners of this celebrated
nation, which is often recommended to the rest of the world as a pattern
of all kinds of laudable qualities.