CANTON

CANTON, a large commercial and populous city of China, in the province of Quang-tong, situated on the eastern bank of the Pekiang river, which at Canton is somewhat broader than the Thames at London Bridge, and is navigable 300 miles farther into the interior. It has an additional course of eighty miles to the sea, near its junction with which it takes among foreigners the name of Bocca Tigris, or the mouth of the Tigris, from the appearance of one of the islands at its entrance. The town stretches about five miles along the side of the river, and nearly three miles in an opposite direction. It is defended towards the water by two high walls, having cannon mounted, and two strong castles built on two islands in the river; on the land side it has a strong wall and three forts. The wall of the city is about five miles in circumference, with a broad and deep ditch close to it, and several gates, within each of which is a guard-house; and no European is permitted, without the order of a mandarin, to enter the Tartar city, all foreigners being confined entirely to the suburbs. With a view to defence, however, these fortifications would be totally unavailing; and their only utility consists in preventing the intrusion of strangers. The Chinese portion of the city, in its building and exterior appearance, entirely resembles the suburbs; and in these the streets are long, straight, and very narrow, some of the principal not exceeding fifteen or twenty feet in breadth; but they are clean, and well paved with little round stones, and flagged close to the sides of the houses, which are in general small, seldom consisting of more than two stories, the lower story serving as a shop in which goods are exhibited for sale, and the rest of the house, with the court behind, being used as a warehouse. Particular streets are allotted for the supply of strangers, others to particular classes of artisans. The principal street appropriated to Europeans is denominated China Street. Here are to be found the productions of every quarter of the globe; and the merchants are in general extremely attentive and civil. The Chinese are remarkably expert men of business, and of the most assiduous habits, and one of them is always seen sitting on his counter, and using every effort to attract the attention of the British seamen, who are in the habit of frequenting this quarter of Canton. They have an English name painted on the outside of their shops, besides a number of advertisements composed for them by the sailors in their peculiar idiom. They contrive in this manner to draw the seamen into their shops, and occasionally to impose upon them by their specious manners and command of temper. The factories of the different European powers who are permitted to trade here extend a considerable distance along the banks of the river, fronting the city at about a hundred yards from the water. They consist of large and handsome houses, on which are hoisted the respective flags of the different nations. These factories are named by the Chinese, hongs, and resemble long courts without a thoroughfare, which generally contain four or five separate houses. They are built on a fine quay, and

a broad parade extends along the river in front of the factories, whither the European merchants, commanders, and officers of ships resort to enjoy the cool of the evening. The British factory far surpasses all others in elegance and extent. It has a large verandah, reaching nearly down to the water's edge, raised on handsome pillars, and paved with marble, and commanding an extensive view along the river banks. There are spacious warehouses in the neighbourhood for the reception of goods, and dwellings of the Chinese, which are hired out to merchants who visit Canton. For the space of four or five miles opposite Canton boats and vessels are ranged parallel to each other in such close order that it resembles a floating city; and these marine dwellings are occupied by numerous families, who reside almost constantly on the water. In the middle of the river lie the Chinese junks, which trade to the eastern islands and Batavia, and which are moored head and stern, some of them of the burden of 600, and even of 1000 tons.

Canton, from the number and size of the vessels in the river, the variety and decorations of the boats, the superior architecture of the European factories, and the general bustle of a numerous and busy population, has all the appearance of a great commercial city; and Mr Ellis¹ expresses his belief that "in the wealth of the inhabitants at large, the skill of the artificers, and the variety of the manufactures, it yields not, with the exception of the capital, to any city in the empire." The suburbs are frequented by foreigners from all parts of the world; and from their various languages, dresses, and deportment, a stranger would be at a loss to say to which nation the town belonged. Canton carries on a very extensive commerce, and, with the exception of the port of Amoy, in the province of Fokien, to which the Spaniards have still the privilege of trading, though they make no use of it, is the only port in the Chinese dominions which is open to the ships of Europeans. According to the policy of the Chinese government, it is only a limited number of merchants, who are called the hong or security merchants, that are allowed to trade with foreigners. Their number formerly amounted to eight, and sometimes to twelve; but from bankruptcies among them, they are now reduced to seven.² They are commonly men of large property, and are famed for integrity in their transactions. All foreign cargoes pass through the hands of these merchants, and by them also the return cargoes are furnished. They become security for the payment of duties, and it is treason for any other merchant to engage in the trade with foreigners. This severe law, however, it appears, has from time immemorial been evaded; for other merchants, called "outside merchants," who carry on their transactions outside of the harbour of Canton, or shopmen, are in the practice of dealing with foreigners, either through the medium of the hong merchants, under whose pass the goods are imported or exported, or clandestinely; and more recently the trade has been sanctioned by the Chinese authorities. In 1828 a proclamation was issued, specifying a list of twenty-four articles of export, in which alone the hongs were to deal; and an additional list of fifty-three articles of import, which were left free to all other merchants.³ A great contraband trade is besides carried on in Canton, or among the

islands at the mouth of the river, often under the eye of the custom-house officers, who are either bribed, or who have not a sufficient force to put it down. The inconsiderable marine force possessed by the Chinese is totally inadequate to check the contraband trade in opium.¹

Canton is about fifteen miles above Whampoa, and in this distance are five custom-houses or chaps where boats are examined. There is a custom-house officer named the hoppo, whose business it is to regulate the duties which are paid by the hong merchant, the importer remaining entirely ignorant of their amount. Accounts are kept in tales, mace, candaries, and cash;—ten cash being one candarine, ten candaries one mace, ten mace one tale, which last is converted into English money at 6s. 8d., though it is intrinsically worth only 6s. There is but one kind of Chinese money called cash, which is of base metal, cast, not coined, and very brittle. It is of small value, and varies accordingly in the market from 750 to 1000 cash for a tale. Its chief use is in making small payments among the lower classes. Spanish and other silver coins are current, and are estimated by their weight; every merchant carrying scales and weights with him. All the dollars that pass through the hands of the hong merchants bear their stamp, and when they lose their weight in the course of circulation they are cut in pieces for small change. The duties are paid to government in sycee, or pure silver, which is taken by weight. In delivering a cargo, English weights and scales are used, which are afterwards reduced to Chinese cattles and peculs. A pecul weighs 133½ pounds English, and a catty 1½ pound. Gold and silver are also weighed by the tale and catty, 100 tales being reckoned equal to 120 ounces 16 pennyweights troy. All goods are sold by weight in China, even articles of food, such as fowls, hogs, and the like.

The foreign trade of Canton is very extensive; but the great article of export is tea, the demand for which, in Europe, has been increasing for more than a century past. This article is monopolized in Britain by the East India Company; and from their accounts it appears that they import annually into this country about thirty millions of lbs. From papers laid before parliament, their annual sales of tea bring a return of between two and three millions sterling, though the article is burdened, in addition to the exorbitant price charged by the Company, with the enormous duty of 96 per cent. on all teas under two shillings per lb. and of 100 per cent. on all above that price. We have no exact data for estimating the total quantity of tea exported from Canton. The quantity taken away by the Americans amounted, on an average of six years from the year 1827, to 11,066,666 lbs. Tea is not very generally used on the Continent of Europe. The annual importation of tea into Holland, on an average of ten years, was 14,814 chests.¹ In France it is by no means in common use; and, estimating the consumption of the Continent at seven or eight millions of pounds, the total amount of tea exported from Canton may be stated at about fifty millions of pounds. The other articles of export are China ware, gold in bars, sugar, sugar candy, rhubarb, China root, snake root, sarsaparilla, leather, tutenague, Japan copper, varnished and lacquered ware, drugs, leaf gold, utensils of white and red copper, cast iron, raw and wrought silk, thread, nankeens, mother of pearl, gamboge, quicksilver, alum, dammer red lead, vermilion, furniture, toys, a great variety of drugs, and dollars of sycee or pure silver, and also of Peruvian silver. The Canton junks bring to Singapore coarse earthenware for the use of the Chinese settlers, some raw silk, nankeens, tobacco, sacrificial paper,

&c. The imports from Bombay and the Malabar coast consist chiefly of cotton, pepper, sandal wood, putchuck, sharks' fins, olibanum, elephants' teeth, rhinoceros' horns, pearls, cornelians, and beads. With the eastern islands, namely the Philippines, the Soo-loo islands, Celebes, the Moluccas, Borneo, Java, Sumatra, Singapore, the east coast of the Malayan peninsula, Siam, Cochinchina, Cambodia, Tonquin, and Japan, Canton carries on trade by means of junks; and the imports from these countries are tin, ivory, pepper, betel nut, rattans, sea-slugs or biche de mer, a variety of drugs, edible bird-nests, a favourite luxury at the Chinese tables, spices, &c. The principal articles imported by the East India Company are woollen clothes, long ells, camlets, lead, tin, and iron; cotton from Bengal, Madras, and Bombay. The following is a statement of the British trade to and from Canton in 1828; first, of the Company's trade; and secondly, of the private trade:—

From this statement it appears, that the extent of the private trade, both to and from Canton, greatly exceeds that of the East India Company, notwithstanding the advantage of the monopoly of tea; the imports of the Company only amounting in value to L.901,791, and those of the private trader, including the contraband trade in opium, to L.3,169,128; and the exports by the Company to L.1,753,033, while those of the private trader exceed two millions.

The Americans carry on an extensive trade with Canton, which appears to fluctuate greatly, though it has on the whole been decidedly on the increase since its commencement, about the year 1785. In 1826-7, owing to over-trading, the American merchants engaged in this trade sustained heavy losses, and a serious stagnation followed, which, however, was not of long duration, the exports having increased the following year to nearly their average amount. We subjoin, from parliamentary papers, the following account of the American trade to Canton at different periods:

The American imports into Canton are chiefly bullion; but furs, opium, and ginseng, which is not esteemed by the Chinese equal to that which they procure from Tartary, and of which the emperor has a monopoly, are also imported; and within these twelve or thirteen years they have carried out British woollen manufactures and cotton stuffs, iron, copper, quicksilver, cochineal, opium, linens, watches, and tin plates; and it is singular, nay a complete illustration of the nature of monopoly, that at the time the export of woollens by the East India Company was attended with loss, and had in consequence fallen off, private traders exported these articles with a profit, and have consequently continued the trade.

The intercourse carried on with Canton by the other nations of Europe, namely, the Portuguese, the Spaniards, French, Swedes, Danes, and Dutch, is inconsiderable and fluctuating; and is not nearly equal to that of the British or the Americans.

The Chinese are, according to all accounts, an industrious and trading people; and ready on every occasion, as far as they can, to counteract the barbarous and anti-commercial spirit of the government. All the different traders who have frequented the port of Canton agree that great facilities are given for the dispatch of business, and that no trader has the least difficulty in disposing of his goods, and in procuring a return cargo. There are certain port duties to which all vessels are liable, in proportion to the Chinese measurement of its tonnage, which is from the centre of the fore mast to the centre of the mizzen mast for the length, and close abast the main mast from the outside, taking the extreme, for the breadth. The length is then multiplied by the breadth, and divided by ten, which is their mode of ascertaining the mensuration of a ship. At the custom-house ships are classed under three denominations, namely, first, second, and third rates, which last rate must be paid by all ships, however small, as there is no lower rate; and in like manner no higher rate is ever paid on any ship of the first class, however large. The first rates are seventy-four cubits long and twenty-three broad; and they pay per cubit seven tales, seven mace, seven candarines, and seven cash. The second are seventy-one to seventy-four cubits, and from twenty-two

to twenty-three broad; and they pay seven tales, one mace, four candarines, and two cash. The third rates, which are sixty-five to seventy-one cubits, and from twenty to twenty-two broad, pay five tales. Ships are besides liable to the kumshaw, which is an imposition under the name of a present to the great mandarins, and which is now regularly claimed along with all the other port-dues: on British vessels it is 1950 tales. The duties on ships of the smallest class amount on an average to about 4000 dollars, and ships of larger dimensions do not pay a great deal more. Small country ships frequently lie off about Linting Fora, or Large Bay, until some of the large China ships from Europe come in sight, when they shift their cargoes on board of them, which are then usually carried up to Canton for one per cent.; and in this manner the duties, customs, and measurement of the ship, are saved, as well as the emperor's present.

The establishment of the East India Company at Canton consists of twelve supercargoes and twelve writers, who transact the Company's business with the hong merchants. They are politically the representatives of the British authority at Canton. They are paid by a double commission of two per cent. on the price of the goods imported into Canton by the Company, and on the price of tea at the Company's sales in London; and three per cent. commission defrays the whole annual expense of the establishment, amounting to about L.150,000. The writers have a fixed salary and a free table, and they succeed by rotation to the situations of supercargoes, who have also a free table, and annually divide among them, in shares proportioned to their seniority, a sum of from L.50,000 to L.80,000 sterling. The three senior supercargoes constitute the select committee, the chief of which has generally an income of L.8000 per annum; the second and third members L.7100; and the income of the junior members declines in a graduated proportion to L.1500 per annum. They have besides a free house and table, and their services given in return are not certainly laborious in proportion. Their duty is to reside four months of the year at Canton, during the season when they have to transact business with the hong merchants; after which they retire to Macao for the rest of the year, having little or no occupation, and no society except among themselves. It is to pay for such expensive establishments, and for other modes of wasteful management, as the useless size and cost of their ships, and their extravagant outfit, that the people of Great Britain are taxed in the monopoly price of tea, an article in universal use, and now considered as a necessary, and by no means therefore a fit subject for an exorbitant tax.

Provisions and refreshments of all sorts are abundant at Canton, and in general are excellent in quality and moderate in price. It is a singular fact, that the Chinese make no use of milk, either in its natural state, or in the form of butter or cheese. Among the delicacies of a Chinese market, are to be seen horse-flesh, dogs, cats, hawks, owls, and edible bird-nests, which are so much sought after that they sell for their weight in silver. The Chinese, however, who are settled in Batavia and Singapore show no aversion to European luxuries; and are particularly fond of spirits and wine. The business at Canton is generally transacted in a jargon of broken English, the Chinese being extremely ready in acquiring such a smattering of English words as to render themselves intelligible; and the lower classes of them are frequently hired as servants by the Europeans.

The intercourse between China and Europe by the way of the Cape of Good Hope began in 1517, when Emanuel, king of Portugal, sent a fleet of eight ships, with an ambassador, who was conveyed to Pekin, and who obtained the

Canton. sanction of the emperor to establish a trade at Canton. It was in 1596, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, that the English first attempted with two ships to open an intercourse with China; but they were lost in the outward voyage. About 1634 several English ships visited Canton; but a misunderstanding having occurred with the Chinese authorities, by the treachery of the Portuguese, a rupture and a battle took place, and it was with difficulty that this misunderstanding was rectified. China was again visited in 1673 by an English ship that was refused admission into Japan. In 1677 a factory was established at Amoy; but in 1680 the factory was destroyed by an irruption of the Tartars, and it was not till 1685 that the emperor permitted any trade with the Europeans. Upon the union of the two East India Companies in London, an imperial edict was issued, restricting the European commerce to the port of Canton. Tea was first imported about the year 1667. The commerce with Canton has in the course of the last century progressively increased, though it has occasionally met with interruptions; as in 1784, and in 1801 when two of the Chinese were killed by shots from British vessels; and in 1806, when Macao was occupied by British troops. At that time the trade was stopped; but the troops being withdrawn, harmony was restored, and the trade placed on its former footing. Disagreements have also occasionally taken place between the select committee and the Chinese functionaries; but no material interruption to the trade has ever arisen from this source. The Europeans in Canton know little of the interior, being rigidly excluded from all intercourse with the inhabitants. A great number of troops are said to be quartered in the province of Canton, as a precaution against any danger from the great influx of foreigners. The sea-coast has been so much infested with pirates, as to threaten the almost total extinction of the Chinese coasting trade. No correct estimate of the population of Canton has ever been obtained; but it is known to be very great, probably equal to Calcutta, or any other of the great cities of the East. Long. 113. 14. E. Lat. 23. 7. N. (Milburn's Oriental Commerce; Barrow's Travels in China; Ellis's Journal of the Proceedings of the late Embassy to China; Staunton's Embassy to China; Hamilton's East India Gazetteer.)