When this memorandum has been received, and examination has verified its accuracy, the goods in the boat are released and landed. The next day, the proper statement of duties claimed on them is sent to the eonsignee from the Customs, and the duty collected. If an attempt is made to land them direct from the steamer, they are liable to confiscation, under the 39th article of the British treaty. These memorandums, signed by the consignee, are regarded as promissory notes binding for their Native passengers and others, landing small lots of cargo at the jetty inspection-office, pay the duty charged upon them before they remove their goods. If the above form is not handed in by the foreign merchant, his goods are detained until all charges are liquidated, the same as if they came from ships at Whampoa.

amount.

In order further to expedite the business in the steamers, a special office is opened for the examination of cargo exported or imported by them. The facilities furnished in this way for bringing produce in and out from the shipping and warehouses at Hongkong is shown in the amount of the tonnage entered at Canton in 1861; it was 200,668 tons in steamers, and 143,370 tons in sailing vessels; this disparity may be less during coming years, if peace continues in the province at large, and the transit of produce is not interfered with.

Duties are paid to the government, both by foreigners and natives, in sycee silver. The merchant sends his comprador to the government bank with the silver, which he has purchased in the market for the purpose. If foreign coins are sent in, Art. 33 of the British treaty provides that they shall be received according to an assay made at Canton in 1844, under the supervision of proper officers to determine their value.

to equal 100 taels of

Amount of coin to be paid y

109 7 9 0 11 4 5 5 111 9 0 0 112 1 5 0 112 520 113 207

pure sycee,.

89 7 2 2 89 3 7 1

89 1 6 7

38 8 7 0

88 3 3 4

8915 10 277 10 6 29 10 8 3 3

11 1 3 0

11 6 6 6

At an assay made at Shanghai in 1855, the results were, for the last line, somewhat different; viz., Amount of coin to be paid to equal 100 taels sycee-Mexican dollars, Ts. 112.1.1.0; Peruvian, Ts. 111.9.5.7 ; Bolivian, Ts. 111.2.5.5; Carolus, Ts. 110.6.2.2; French 5 francs, Ts. 113.1.5.0; Rupees, Ts. 110.7.2.0. Neither of these assays are such as would be passed by the mint masters in Europe, but the object in view at the time was rather to decide on some standard of payment at the custom-house, and by the adoption of this table of values no dispute has

The charges for melting, remelting, &c., formerly estimated at 1 t. 2 m. for every 100 taels, were abolished by Rule IX. of the Commercial Rules; but there is a small percentage demanded for the difference of scales at the custom-house and those used by the shroff, which ranges between 3m. 3c. 5c. and 3m. 4c. per 100 taels. In estimating the actual duty to be paid on goods, therefore, the rate of sycee at the time must be known; and then other charges can be calculated. In paying 1000 taels' duty, for instance, the amount in dollars would be thus estimated :

The influences which affect the price of sycee in the markets in China are not fully understood, but the fluctuations seem to be owing chiefly to the speculations of the private bankers and assayists, who control the market, or have the power to put the rate up or down as suits them. It does not appear that the abolition of the meltage fee has influenced the price of sycee, or been practically of the least benefit to foreigners in the payment of duties; for as long as they can buy it under 10 or 11 per cent. premium, it is a more advantageous medium than dollars. The rate of premium for it is two per cent. and upward higher at Canton since the meltage fee was abolished; fluctuating in 1861 from 8.1 per cent. in January, to 9.5 per cent. premium in November. In 1856, the average was 7 per cent.; and in 1834, about 3 per cent. less. The greater sums paid into the custom-house during the year 1861 over the preceding would partly account for the rise.

The qualities of sycee silver chiefly current and most known in this market are four. Gold is never received by the Chinese government in payment for any dues, nor can it be said in any degree to enter into the currency of the empire.

1st. The Fán-kú ting, or bars of silver from the Púching sz' treasury.

2d. The

Yuen-páu ting, or large shoe-shaped ingots of

sycee. (These two kinds are received as pure silver.)

3d. The

Kwán-hiáng ting, or hoppo's sycee, which is commonly at a small discount, varying from 1 mace to 5 mace per 100 taels, or to 10 per cent. on pure silver.

4th. The Yen-hiáng ting, or salt commissioner's sycee, which is commonly at a small discount, varying from 5 mace to I taeĺ per 100 taels, or to 1 per cent. on pure silver. Other kinds and qualities are met with in small parcels, but the above four kinds are the principal.

The name of the government bank where the duties are taken is Hangmau, and Hopshing. The shop Kwonghang, , at which the above assay was made, is within the city.

Since the difficulties which occurred with the English at Canton in 1856, and resulted in the destruction of the old Thirteen Factories and the extensive hongs or warehouses near them, there has been less merchandise stored there than previously. The character and honesty of the natives in whose hands large amounts of goods owned by foreigners were left, when the English forces retired from the city in January, 1857, was shown by the returns of sales made from time to time during the ensuing months; and though there were some exceptions, the general trustworthiness of these agents at a time when hundreds of natives lost their lives from connection with foreigners, was highly creditable, and deserves to be recorded.

Goods are occasionally landed at Canton before they are sold to the dealers, but the facilities for sending up such as are needed from Hongkong diminishes the amount in comparison with former years. The best sort of native warehouses are merely a succession of substantial brick tiled roofs supported on brick pillars, and lighted by narrow openings. The ground is chunamed, or made with a hard finish of sifted sand, mixed with fresh lime and wood oil, beaten smooth. Goods of delicate nature are liable to mold in them, but merchandize generally is kept securely. The old hongs were the same sort of buildings. Goods are stored, packed, and shipped off from the hongs, while the chán-fong, or packhouses, are used for manufactories or workshops, where workmen prepare the tea, silk, or other articles for market. Owing to the great risk in Canton from fire, the high rates of insurance, and the difficulty of saving property in times of danger, foreigners have avoided holding many of their own goods there; but when the settlement on Shameen is prepared, and houses are erected for the mercantile firms, this will probably not be so much the case.

In loading teas, the captain of the ship should keep a good oversight upon the native stevedores, lest they place the dunnage carelessly, deface or mar the chests, or get the ship out of trim; though their skill and care are not small, and they will stow a cargo as well as in most parts of the world. The ballast should be of small stones (always obtainable at Whampoa), and covered with boards so as not to touch the teas, while boards or split bamboos should be placed between the chests and the ship's side. If the boards on which the chests are slid into the hold are too greasy, or the coolies use the maul to drive them into their places without a board to ward off the stroke, or walk over them, the chests are liable to be marred and rendered less saleable. Sometimes the cargo can be taken in so as to put the heaviest teas, as Gunpowder, Imperial, or Hyson at the bottom, and Flowery Pekoe or Oolong at the top. It is well for the cargo to be ventilated all it can be while being taken in, lest some of the chests sweat. The sample chests, marked "muster," should be laid aside until the cargo is all in, and then stowed where they can be reached as soon as the ship arrives in her destined port. Silk goods in American ships generally pay a freight nearly double to that on teas, and are stowed in a sort of trunk formed by the coarser cargo in the hold near the main hatchway, in order to protect them from leakage, and save them from injury as long as possible, in case the ship is stranded or springs a leak. Raw silk is also stored more carefully than less valuable cargo. Anise or cassia oil and cam

phor are always carried on deck in tea ships, secured as safely as possible; matting, rattan-ware and fire-crackers are stowed upon teas; cassia in mats is stowed in with the chests to fill up the corners.

In taking in cargo, the receiving officer should not be interrupted, for he has need of all his carefulness to see that the coolies in the chop-boat do not slily pass up a chest with two tallies stuck in it, or slip a package off sideways from the board after it has been reckoned. He should also see that the cases have not been broken open on the way down from Canton, and patched up again.

Transhipping goods at Whampoa was formerly done stealthily, or attended with great expense; for whatever merchandize was thus transferred was charged with the same duties as if it had been brought to Canton, the Chinese government looking upon the transaction in the light of a sale by one ship to the other; such a rule brought about its own violation, and was easily evaded by feeing the Whampoa tidewaiters.

The rules, forms, and details here given for the business of a ship at Canton include many which are also applicable to other open ports in China; and in truth the comparative honesty and activity of the native merchants of Canton have been felt in the management and modeling of the foreign commerce at all those places. They have gone there with the foreign merchants as interpreters and pursers, have aided in conducting business, and settled themselves there as members of the community. The aptness of the workmen at Canton in making articles for foreign use and demand, has not been hitherto equaled elsewhere in China, and their skill will always gives the port a superiority for certain articles. The shops at Hongkong are supplied from Canton, while large amounts are shipped to other ports too, for sale to foreigners, so that the peculiar fabrics of the place have nearly as great a sale as before. The country accessible through the rivers which debouch near Canton includes an area of more than a hundred thousand square miles, reaching far into Yunnan province along the south of the Nan-ling. As it is opened up to commerce, the importance and trade of the city as the mart of southern China will gradually increase. Steamers will become better known, and then be employed on the West River as far as Wú-chau in Kwangsí, on the East River beyond Hwui-chau fú, and likewise on the North River to Sháu-chau fu, thereby bringing the inhabitants of the valley of the Pearl river and its great branches into better acquaintance with each other.

Section 2.

PORT OF CHAUCHAU OR SWATAU.

THE city of Chauchau is the capital of a large and populous department, which forms the southeast part of Kwangtung province; it is divided into nine districts, two of them, Háiyáng and Fungshun, unite to make the prefect city of Chauchau, or Tié-chiú as it is called on the spot. This town was inserted in the treaties of 1858 among the ports open to foreign commerce, although no foreign vessels had yet gone up to it, in the expectation that the inhabitants would gradually participate in the trade at the mouth of the river. Such has, however, not yet been the case; on the contrary, they have shown a decided repugnance to foreigners residing, or even entering the gates of the city, and the trade is still carried on at Swatau. The channel leading up to Cháu-chau is very shallow, owing to the waters of the River Hán losing themselves among several streams; and it is only at high tide that large vessels could reach the city; under favorable circumstances, therefore, the traffic with it would be carried on in lighters and small craft. The people of this part of Kwangtung province are enterprising, industrious, and turbulent, and have the reputation of rendering such sort of allegiance and such amount of revenue to the imperial authorities, as it may suit their interests and fear of the Emperor's power to grant. Myriads of them have emigrated to Siam, where they constitute the largest portion of the Chinese population, and add much to the prosperity of that kingdom by their industry and traffic; others go to Borneo, Singapore, Malacca, and contiguous regions, every where carrying habits of independence and self-government that make them troublesome to the weaker natives. The people living inland, north of Chauchau prefecture in Kiaying-chau, are popularly known as Hakka people, a term which answers nearly to squatters; these have emigrated to the same regions through Swatau, and are known by their dialect, which differs very considerably from the people on the coast.

The present port of Cháu-chau, Swatau, (or with a nasal twang, Swratau, the local pronunciation of Shantau ) is a small village situated on a sandy spit three or four feet above high water mark, at the mouth of the river Hán; it lies in the district of Ching-hai distant about two miles from the town of that name. Foreign vessels anchored in this region when the port of Amoy was opened in 1843; and even before that time opium vessels laid off Namoh I., a few miles north of Swatau. The natives then came down to Double I., or 孖嶼 Ma-sü, bringing their goods in native boats and transacting their business on board ship. Houses for the accommodation of all parties gradually arose on Double I., so that when the trade was legalized by the treaty, a settlement had already been formed. The custom-house and foreign consulates will erelong be removed to Swatau, and Double I.