CHINA.

New Zealand Colonist and Port Nicholson Advertiser, Volume I, Issue 46, 6 January 1843, Page 4

CHINA.

ORIGIN OR TIIE WAR. (Concluded from No. ASJ A pilot then comes on board, having a pass, a chop, or license, from the pilot Mandarin, to conduct the vessel to Macao. Since the decline of the Portuguese trade, Macao has become a place of comparatively little importance. It is distant from Canton about 96 miles, and Europeans leave their wives and females attached to their families at Macao, as no European female is allowed to proceed to Canton.' A large opium trade was formerly carried on, but the heavy port dues demanded by the Portuguese have drawn it to the Hong Kong and Canton stations. The country around Macao is very romantic and beautiful—large granite rocks, verdant vales, and the cool sea breezes. For this reason Macao is made the summer residence of nearly all the English, some of whom have very beautiful grounds. The Caza de Norta, one of the most romantic spots in the world, overlooking the inner harbour, and containing a grotto, in which the Portuguese poet, Camoens, wrote his “Lusiad,” formerly belonged to two Englishmen connected with the factory. On leaving Macao, and sailing up the Canton River, another pilot comes on board to conduct the vessel to Whampoa, and a license must be obtained before the vessel is allowed to proceed. The forms having been completed, two hoppo men, or custom-house officers, come on board, and fasten their junk to the stern of the ship. Passing up the river to the Bocca Tigris, four small forts are seen. The Chinese speak of these fortifications as very formidable, but Captain Maxwell drove the Chinese from the guns, and laid these forts in ruins. Tiger Island is a little further on, and upon arriving at Whampoa Roads a ship generally anchors between Danes and French Islands. The country around is very beautiful. Hills rise on each side cultivated to the summit, waving fields of rice and

extensive sugar fields, scattered over with villages and pagodas ; an immense number of country boats, curiously rigged and manned; fleets of ships from all parts of the world, lying at anchor in the river, make up a picture such •as is not seen in any other part of the globe. On arriving at Whampoa a shipmaster accepts the service of a comprador, whose business is to supply the ship’s company with their provisions during their stay ; the captain obtains a pass of the Hoppo, and proceeds to Canton. Canton (Chinese Kwang-choo-fou and Chan stands on the eastern bank of the Pekiang river, which flows from the interior in a navigable stream for 300 miles to this town, where it is fully broader than the Thames at London-bridge; and after an additional course of SO miles, falls into the southern sea of China. The town >is surrounded by walls with a broad and deep ditch about five miles in circumference. It stretches about five miles along the banks of the river, and three miles in a contrary direction. It is defended towards the river by two high walls, mounted with cannon, and two fortresses built on two islands ; on the land side it has a strong wall and three forts. These forts and walls, however, would be totally unavailable in case of a regular attack conducted according to European warfare. No correct estimate of the population has ever been obtained, but it is supposed to be fully as great as that of Calcutta, or nearly 1,000,000. The principal street appropriated to Europeans is denominated China-street. Here are to be found the productions of every quarter of the globe. The factories of the different European powers extend a considerable distance along the banks of the river at about 100 yards from the water. They consist of large handsome houses, on which are hoisted the flags of the different nations trading with the country. The British factory far surpasses all others in elegance and extent. For the space of four or five miles opposite Canton, boats and vessels are ranged parallel to each other in close order, many of them occupied by numerous families who reside constantly on the water. In the middle of the river lie the Chinese junks, which trade with the Eastern Islands. Some of the junks are from 600 to 1,000 tons burden. They are extremely ill-built, almost unmanageable except before a wind, and require a crew of at least thirty men to every hundred tons. Canton is the only port in China open to vessels of every European nation.

Rivers. —The Great Hoang-Ho, or Yellow River, and the Yang-tse-Kiang.—They descend from the high table lands of Central Asia, and each of them meets a branch of mountains, which forces it to describe a vast circuit, the first to the north and the second to the south. They are thus described by Malte-Brun : “ Separated by an interval of 1,100 miles, the one seems inclined to direct itself to the tropical sens, while v the other wanders among the icy deserteof Mongolia. Suddenly recalled, as if impressed by the remembrance of their early brotherhood, they approach one another, and wind along together like the Euphrates and Tigris in another Mesopotamia; where, after being almost joined by canals and lakes, they terminate within a mutual distance of 110 miles their majestic and immense course.” The Hoang-Ho derives its names from the colour of its waters, which hold in solution a large quan-

tity of ochreous clay.—This river, the Pe-110, and other streams which disembogue themselves into the Sea of Corea, bring down so large a quantity of earth and mud that the sea is discoloured, and called the Yellow Sea; and as the current sweeps round the shores of the Chantong and the Corean peninsula, there is no outlet for the alluvial matter, and it is deposited in the Gulf of Pe-tche-ti, and among the islands of the Core an Archipelago: so that at no very distant day all this country, now washed by the sea, will become a vast plain, like the alluvial plain of Bengal, or the plains of the northern portion of the South American Continent. The Yang-tse-Kiang, called by the Chinese “Child of the Sea,” is the most magnificient river of Asia. Some of the tributaries of these rivers equal in size the largest rivers in Europe. The Hoan or Si-kiang in the south, after a course of 740 miles, falls into the gulf of Canton, and in the north the Pe-Ho, after receiving the Yanho, falls into the Gulf of Pekin. Most of the rivers and lakes are united by canals deep enough to carry large vessels. These canals have a stone quay all along their margin, but the navigation is slow, as the boats are generally dragged by men. The most celebrated of these is the Imperial Canal, which forms a communication between Pekin and Canton; it is 600 miles long, and 170,000 men were employed for three years in its construction. In a country so completely intersected by canals and rivers, bridges are very numerous. Some are of stupendous magnitude—one near Tchin-tchou is 800 yards long, and built of hewn stones, many of them 22 feet long by 5 feet broad. Along the great canal smaller bridges are very frequent. Van-Braam saw along a single quay no fewer than 30, all of hewn stone, which must have been brought from the quarries at least 50 miles distant. Lakes. —Chains of lakes run along the line of the great canal. The largest are the TaiLalce, about 200 miles in circumferance; the Tung-ting-hou lake, about 250 miles; and the Poyang, about 120 miles in circumference. Within these lakes the curious mode of fishing by means of the leu-tse, or fishing cormorant, is practised. Sir George Staunton says that he observed many small boats upon the lakes, built purposely for this kind of fishing. Ten or twelve birds are placed on the side of the boat, and upon a signal they dive into the water, and in a few seconds rise' to the surface, with fish in their beaks. A ring around the neck of the bird prevents its swallowing the fish, which the fisherman takes from it as soon as it ascends; and after fishing for their masters for a few, hours, the ring is removed, and they are allowed to prey for themselves. . ISLANDS. Haenan. —This island lies to the south of Kwang-tung; and is divided from the main land by a channel about 30 miles broad. Large sandbanks run along the northern and western coasts, and the channel is filled with shoals and sandbanks, so that it is navigable only by junks or vessels of small draft. Several large vessels which have attempted this passage have been lost. There are several good harbours on the southern coast, and the island is well supplied with water from streams that run in the mountains. Frequent rain covers the valleys with vegetation, and rice is produced in great abundance. The Lymon, or Tchican Mountains, run through the centre of the island —-gold and lapis lazuli are found in these mountains ; and extensive forests of valuable wood cover their sides. Small horses are bred in great numbers, and the Chinese carry on a pearl fishery on the shores, and great quantities of salt is made, which is carried to Canton. This island nominally belongs to the Chinese empire, but the Chinese have never possessed any portion but the principal village, the fishing banks and salterns. In the year 1805 it was subject to the pirates who infested these seas; and if the British Government take possession of this island they will do so without an infringement of any right but those of the native inhabitants. The island contains a superficial extent of about 14,000 square miles.

Formosa. —The Island of Formosa, so called by the Portuguese from its beauty, is called by the Chinese Tai-owan, is about 180 miles long and 50 broad, and is distant from the main land about 200 miles. The Dutch and Portuguese at an early period had settlements on the island, and exercised considerable authority. It is most convenient for trading with China, and during the twenty years that the Dutch possessed it, they embarked their teas from that quarter. The tea districts lie nearly opposite it on the main land. The Dutch built the fort of Zelandia in 1661.

.Chusan, or Chowsan, is a large island, about 30 miles in length and 15 in breadth, surrounded by numerous islands and islets of every grade, from about one-fourth the size of the principal island to mere barren rocks just rising above the surface of the water. No description could afford any correct notion of the relative position of islands so numerously scattered in all directions. The largest number is to the south of the principal island. This island lies nearly opposite to the river of Ningpo. On its southern side is a considerable walled town, named Tinghae, in front of which is the principal harbour which the islands afford, in

hit. 30 deg. 36 min. north, long. 121 deg. 41 min. east, according to Ilorsburgh, but somewhat differently by others. The depth of water in the harbour is from five to seven fathoms. It is completely land-locked and sheltered from all winds. A long and narrow neck of land, extending from the main, terminates in Kittow (Ketow) point, three or four leagues to the southward of Chusan harbour. Running along the northern shore of this land we shortly reach the entrance of the river of Tahea. Kintang on the east and Pooto on the west of Chusan are among the larger and more beautiful islands of this extensive group. Pooto possesses a peculiar attraction in the number of splendid temples and picturesque grottoes which cover it. Ningpo is the chief city of a department, and a place of extensive trade. It is situated on the north bank, five or six leagues up the river Tahea, the mouth of which is about nine leagues distant from Chusan harbour. The channel for entering the river is between some small islands and the eastern point, having on the bar from three' to three and a half fathoms, and at the anchorage inside from five to six fathoms. The town of Chinahe is situated immediately within the mouth of the river, and opposite to it is the anchorage, in lat. 29 deg. 54 min. north, lon. 121 deg. 52 min. 30 sec. east.

Directly to the north-westward of this river is a deep gulf, the disemboguement of the river Tseentang. A few miles up this gulf is Han-gehow-foo, the capital of the province Chekang, a place celebrated for its silk manufactures, and the seat of an extensive maritime as well as inland trade. Kanpoo (supposed to be the Canfu of the Mahommedan travellers in the eighth century) was formerly the port of Hangehow, but the gradual accumulation of sands has rendered it necessary to move further out towards the sea, to a place named Chappoo, situated like Kanpoo on the northern side of the gulf. From thence is carried on the trade with Japan, consisting of twenty large junks annually. The embankments raised against the encroachments of the sea, and the extensive salt-works in this neighbourhood, are objects of interest. After a run of about sixty miles from the Tahea river, we pass the northernmost islands of the great Chusan Archipelago, and having entered the province of Kangsoo, steer northwestward, towards the embouchure of the Yang-tze-keang, having the low mainland on our left, and the alluvial island Tsungming on our right. The depth of water here is from three and a half to five fathoms, muddy bottom. About 45 miles further, we turn southward into the Woosung river, one of the numerous streams which in this neighbourhood intersect the country in every direction. The city Shanghae, a large commercial place, is situated on the right bank of the Woosung, about 20 to 25 miles up. The anchorage at the mouth of the river is in lat. 31 deg. 25 min. north, long. 121 deg. 1 min. 30 sec. east. It has been several times visited by foreigners since 1832, when the Lord Amherst first touched there. General Remarks. —One of the most striking features of this empire is its vast population. Each province contains more inhabitants than a European kingdom of the average size, and a couple of them are more populous than the two powerful kingdoms that sway the destiny of the world, France and England. Pe-tche-li, the metropolitan province, for instance, contains 27,990,871 inhabitants, while the United Kingdom has only 25,000,000; and Kiang-tsu maintains within its comparatively small boundaries more people than the whole of France. On looking at this province on the map, one is astonished how the people find room to move past each other; yet with these many millions, a handful of men, from a small island, some fifteen thousand miles distant, have successfully contended, and brought to terms of treaty. The vast rivers, too, conveying the riches of the empire from one part to another, deserve notice, —then the valuable mines, independent of the tea countries, spread along the coast. Not far from Canton are lead and coal mines in abundance; in the West there are mines of gold, silver, and precious stones, and in every direction are large canals, connecting the most distant rivers, cities, and towns. On the south-eastern coast are countless groups of rich and beautiful islands, inhabited by a variety of tribes as industrious as the Chinese, and with whom they carry on an extensive trade.