A voyage round the world in the years MDCCXL, I, II, III, IV

by Baron George Anson Anson

But Mr. Anson (who never intended going to Batavia) found on his return to the Centurion that her main-mast was sprung in two places and that the leak was considerably increased; so that, upon the whole, he was fully satisfied that though he should lay in a sufficient stock of provisions, yet it would be impossible for him to put to sea without refitting. Since, if he left the port with his ship in her present condition she would be in the utmost danger of foundring; and therefore, notwithstanding the difficulties he had met with, he resolved at all events to have her hove down before he departed from Macao. He was fully convinced, by what he had observed at Canton, that his great caution not to injure the East India Company's affairs, and the regard he had shown to the advice of their officers, had occasioned all his perplexity. For he now saw clearly that if he had at first carried his ship into the river of Canton, and had immediately addressed himself to the mandarines, who are the chief officers of state, instead of employing the merchants to apply on his behalf, he would, in all probability, have had all his requests granted and would have been soon dispatched. He had already lost a month by the wrong measures he had pursued, but he resolved to lose as little more time as possible; and therefore, the 17th of December, being the next day after his return from Canton, he wrote a letter to the viceroy of that place acquainting him that he was commander-in-chief of a squadron of his Britannick Majesty's ships of war, which had been cruising for two years past in the South Seas against the Spaniards, who were at enmity with the king his master; that on his way back to England he had put into the port of Macao, having a considerable leak in his ship and being in great want of provisions, so that it was impossible for him to proceed on his voyage till his ship was repaired and he was supplied with the necessaries he wanted; that he had been at Canton in hopes of being admitted to a personal audience of his excellency; but being a stranger to the customs of the country, he had not been able to inform himself what steps were necessary to be taken to procure such an audience, and therefore was obliged to apply in this manner, to desire his excellency to give orders for his being permitted to employ carpenters and proper workmen to refit his ship, and to furnish himself with provisions and stores, that he might be enabled to pursue his voyage to Great Britain. Hoping, at the same time, that these orders would be issued with as little delay as possible lest it might occasion his loss of the season, and he might be prevented from departing till the next winter.

This letter was translated into the Chinese language, and the commodore delivered it himself to the hoppo or chief officer of the emperor's customs at Macao, desiring him to forward it to the Viceroy of Canton with as much expedition as he could. The officer at first seemed unwilling to take charge of it, and raised many difficulties about it; so that Mr. Anson suspected him of being in league with the merchants of Canton, who had always shewn a great apprehension of the commodore's having any immediate intercourse with the viceroy or mandarines; and therefore the commodore, not without some resentment, took back his letter from the hoppo and told him he would immediately send it to Canton in his own boat, and would give his officer positive orders not to return without an answer from the viceroy. The hoppo perceiving the commodore to be in earnest, and fearing to be called to an account for his refusal, begged to be entrusted with the letter, and promised to deliver it, and to procure an answer as soon as possible. And now it was presently seen how justly Mr. Anson had at last judged of the proper manner of dealing with the Chinese; for this letter was written but the 17th of December, as hath been already observed; and on the 19th in the morning a mandarine of the first rank, who was governor of the city of Janson, together with two mandarines of an inferior class and a considerable retinue of officers and servants, having with them eighteen half gallies furnished with music, and decorated with a great number of streamers, and full of men, came to grapnel ahead of the Centurion; whence the mandarine sent a message to the commodore, telling him that he (the mandarine) was ordered by the Viceroy of Canton to examine the condition of the ship; therefore desiring the ship's boat might be sent to fetch him on board. The Centurion's boat was immediately dispatched, and preparations were made for receiving him; in particular a hundred of the most sightly of the crew were uniformly dressed in the regimentals of the marines, and were drawn up under arms on the main-deck against his arrival. When he entered the ship he was saluted by the drums and what other military music there was on board, and passing by the new-formed guard, he was met by the commodore on the quarter-deck, who conducted him to the great cabin. Here the mandarine explained his commission, declaring that he was directed to examine all the articles mentioned in the commodore's letter to the viceroy, and to confront them with the representation that had been given of them: that he was in the first place instructed to inspect the leak, and had for that purpose brought with him two Chinese carpenters; and that for the more regular dispatch of his business he had every head of enquiry separately wrote down on a sheet of paper, with a void space opposite to it, where he was to insert such information and remarks thereon as he could procure by his own observation.

This mandarine appeared to be a person of very considerable parts, and endowed with more frankness and honesty than is to be found in the generality of the Chinese. After the necessary inspections had been made, particularly about the leak, which the Chinese carpenters reported to be to the full as dangerous as it had been described, and consequently that it was impossible for the Centurion to proceed to sea without being refitted, the mandarine expressed himself satisfied with the account given in the commodore's letter. And this magistrate, as he was more intelligent than any other person of his nation that came to our knowledge, so likewise was he more curious and inquisitive, viewing each part of the ship with extraordinary attention, and appearing greatly surprized at the largeness of the lower deck guns and at the weight and size of the shot. The commodore, observing his astonishment, thought this a proper opportunity to convince the Chinese of the prudence of granting him all his demands in the most speedy and ample manner: he therefore told the mandarine and those who were with him that besides the request he made for a general licence to furnish himself with whatever his present situation required, he had a particular complaint to prefer against the proceedings of the custom-house of Macao; that at his first arrival the Chinese boats had brought on board him plenty of greens and variety of fresh provisions for daily use: that though they had always been paid to their full satisfaction, yet the custom-house officers at Macao had soon forbid them; by which means he was deprived of those refreshments which were of the utmost consequence to the health of his men after their long and sickly voyage; that as they, the mandarines, had informed themselves of his wants and were eye-witnesses of the force and strength of his ship, they might be satisfied it was not because he had no power to supply himself that he desired the permission of the government to purchase what provisions he stood in need of, since he presumed they were convinced that the Centurion alone was capable of destroying the whole navigation of the port of Canton, or of any other port in China, without running the least risque from all the force the Chinese could collect; that it was true this was not the manner of proceeding between nations in friendship with each other; but it was likewise true that it was not customary for any nation to permit the ships of their friends to starve and sink in their ports, when those friends had money to purchase necessaries, and only desired liberty to lay it out; that they must confess he and his people had hitherto behaved with great modesty and reserve; but that, as his distresses were each day increasing, famine would at last prove too strong for any restraint, and necessity was acknowledged in all countries to be superior to every other law; and therefore it could not be expected that his crew would long continue to starve in the midst of that plenty to which their eyes were every day witnesses. To this the commodore added (though perhaps with a less serious air) that if, by the delay of supplying him with provisions, his men should, from the impulses of hunger, be obliged to turn cannibals, and to prey upon their own species, it was easy to be foreseen that, independent of their friendship to their comrades, they would in point of luxury prefer the plump well-fed Chinese to their own emaciated ship-mates. The first mandarine acquiesced in the justness of this reasoning, and told the commodore that he should that night proceed for Canton; that on his arrival a council of mandarines would be summoned, of which he was a member, and that, by being employed in the present commission, he was of course the commodore's advocate; that as he was himself fully convinced of the urgency of Mr. Anson's necessity, he did not doubt but on the representation he should make of what he had seen, the council would be of the same opinion, and that all which was demanded would be amply and speedily granted; that with regard to the commodore's complaint of the custom-house of Macao, this he would undertake to rectify immediately by his own authority. And then desiring a list to be given him of the quantity of provision necessary for the expence of the ship during one day, he wrote a permit under it, and delivered it to one of his attendants, directing him to see that quantity sent on board early every morning; which order from that time forwards was punctually complied with.

When this weighty affair was thus in some degree regulated, the commodore invited him and his two attendant mandarines to dinner, telling them at the same time that if his provision, either in kind or quantity, was not what they might expect, they must thank themselves for having confined him to so hard an allowance. One of his dishes was beef, which the Chinese all dislike, tho' Mr. Anson was not apprized of it. This seems to be derived from the Indian superstition, which for some ages past has made a great progress in China. However, his guests did not entirely fast, for the three mandarines completely finished the white part of four large fowls. They were indeed extremely embarrassed with their knives and forks, and were quite incapable of making use of them: so that after some fruitless attempts to help themselves, which were sufficiently aukward, one of the attendants was obliged to cut their meat in small pieces for them. But whatever difficulty they might have in complying with the European manner of eating, they seemed not to be novices at drinking. In this part of the entertainment the commodore excused himself under the pretence of illness; but there being another gentleman present, of a florid and jovial complexion, the chief mandarine clapped him on the shoulder and told him by the interpreter that certainly he could not plead sickness, and therefore insisted on his bearing him company; and that gentleman perceiving that after they had dispatched four or five bottles of Frontiniac the mandarine still continued unruffled, he ordered a bottle of citron-water to be brought up, which the Chinese seemed much to relish; and this being near finished, they arose from table in appearance cool and uninfluenced by what they had drank; and the commodore having, according to custom, made the mandarine a present, they all departed in the same vessels that brought them.

After their departure the commodore with great impatience expected the resolution of the council, and the proper licences to enable him to refit the ship. For it must be observed, as hath already appeared from the preceding narration, that the Chinese were forbid to have any dealings with him, so that he could neither purchase stores nor necessaries, nor did any kind of workmen dare to engage themselves in his service until the permission of the government was first obtained. And in the execution of these particular injunctions the magistrates never fail of exercising great severity, since, notwithstanding the fustian elogiums bestowed upon them by the Romish missionaries residing in the East, and their European copiers, they are composed of the same fragil materials with the rest of mankind, and often make use of the authority of the law, not to suppress crimes, but to enrich themselves by the pillage of those who commit them. This is the more easily effected in China, because capital punishments are rare in that country, the effeminate genius of the nation, and their strong attachment to lucre, disposing them rather to make use of fines. And as from these there arises no inconsiderable profit to those who compose their tribunals, it is obvious enough that prohibitions of all kinds, particularly such as the alluring prospect of great profit may often tempt the subject to infringe, cannot but be favourite institutions in such a government.

A short time before this, Captain Saunders took his passage to England on board a Swedish ship, and was charged with dispatches from the commodore; and in the month of December, Captain Mitchel, Colonel Cracherode, and Mr. Taswel, one of the agent victuallers, with his nephew Mr. Charles Herriot, embarked on board some of our company's ships; and I, having obtained the commodore's leave to return home, embarked with them. I must observe, too, having omitted it before, that whilst we lay at Macao, we were informed by the officers of our Indiamen that the Severn and Pearl, the two ships of our squadron which had separated from us off Cape Noir, were safely arrived at Rio Janeiro on the coast of Brazil. I have formerly taken notice that at the time of their separation we suspected them to be lost: and there were many reasons which greatly favoured this suspicion, for we knew that the Severn in particular was extremely sickly; which was the more obvious to the rest of the ships, as in the preceding part of the voyage her commander, Captain Legg, had been remarkable for his exemplary punctuality in keeping his station, and yet, during the last ten days before his separation, his crew was so diminished and enfeebled, that with his utmost efforts he could not possibly maintain his proper position with his wonted exactness. The extraordinary sickness on board him was by many imputed to the ship, which was new, and on that account was believed to be the more unhealthy; but whatever was the cause of it, the Severn was by much the most sickly of the squadron, since before her departure from St. Catherine's she buryed more men than any of them, insomuch that the commodore was obliged to recruit her with a number of fresh hands; and, the mortality still continuing on board her, she was supplied with men a second time at sea, after our setting sail from St. Julians; yet, notwithstanding these different reinforcements, she was at last reduced to the distressed condition I have already mentioned. Hence the commodore himself firmly believed she was lost, and therefore it was with great joy we received the news of her and the Pearl's safety, after the strong persuasion, which had so long prevailed amongst us, of their having both perished. But to proceed with the transactions between Mr. Anson and the Chinese.

Notwithstanding the favourable disposition of the mandarine Governor of Janson at his leaving Mr. Anson, several days were elapsed before there was any advice from him; and Mr. Anson was privately informed there were great debates in council upon his affair, partly perhaps owing to its being so unusual a case, and in part to the influence, as I suppose, of the intrigues of the French at Canton: for they had a countryman and fast friend residing on the spot who spoke the language well, and was not unacquainted with the venality of the government, nor with the persons of several of the magistrates, and consequently could not be at a loss for means of traversing the assistance desired by Mr. Anson. Indeed this opposition of the French was not merely the effect of national prejudice, or a contrariety of political interests; but was in good measure owing to vanity, a motive of much more weight with the generality of mankind than any attachment to the public service of the community. For the French pretending their Indiamen to be men-of-war, their officers were apprehensive that any distinction granted to Mr. Anson on account of his bearing the king's commission would render them less considerable in the eyes of the Chinese, and would establish a prepossession at Canton in favour of ships of war, by which they, as trading vessels, would suffer in their importance. And I wish the affectation of endeavouring to pass for men-of-war, and the fear of sinking in the estimation of the Chinese, if the Centurion was treated in a different manner from themselves, had been confined to the officers of the French ships only. However, notwithstanding all these obstacles, it should seem that the representation of the commodore to the mandarines, of the facility with which he could right himself if justice were denied him, had at last its effect, since, on the 6th of January, in the morning, the Governor of Janson, the commodore's advocate, sent down the Viceroy of Canton's warrant for the refitment of the Centurion, and for supplying her people with all they wanted. Having now the necessary licences, a number of Chinese smiths and carpenters went on board the next day to treat about the work they were to do, all which they proposed to undertake by the great. They demanded at first to the amount of a thousand pounds sterling for the repairs of the ship, the boats, and the masts. This the commodore seemed to think an unreasonable sum, and endeavoured to persuade them to work by the day; but that was a method they would not hearken to; so it was at last agreed that the carpenters should have to the amount of about six hundred pounds for their work, and that the smiths should be paid for their iron-work by weight, allowing them at the rate of three pounds a hundred nearly for the small work, and forty-six shillings for the large.

This being regulated, the commodore next exerted himself to get the most important business of the whole compleated; I mean the heaving down the Centurion and examining the state of her bottom. The first lieutenant therefore was dispatched to Canton to hire two country vessels, called in their language junks, one of them being intended to heave down by, and the other to serve as a magazine for the powder and ammunition: whilst at the same time the ground was smoothed on one of the neighbouring islands, and a large tent was pitched for lodging the lumber and provisions, and near a hundred Chinese caulkers were soon set to work on the decks and sides of the ship. But all these preparations, and the getting ready the careening gear, took up a great deal of time, for the Chinese caulkers, though they worked very well, were far from being expeditious. Besides, it was the 26th of January before the junks arrived, and the necessary materials, which were to be purchased at Canton, came down very slowly, partly from the distance of the place, and partly from the delays and backwardness of the Chinese merchants. And in this interval Mr. Anson had the additional perplexity to discover that his fore-mast was broken asunder above the upper-deck partners, and was only kept together by the fishes which had been formerly clapt upon it.

However, the Centurion's people made the most of their time, and exerted themselves the best they could; and as by clearing the ship the carpenters were enabled to come at the leak, they took care to secure that effectually whilst the other preparations were going forwards. The leak was found to be below the fifteen-foot mark, and was principally occasioned by one of the bolts being wore away and loose in the joining of the stern, where it was scarfed.

At last, all things being prepared, they, on the 22d of February, in the morning, hove out the first course of the Centurion's starboard-side, and had the satisfaction to find that her bottom appeared sound and good; and the next day (having by that time compleated the new sheathing of the first course) they righted her again, to set up anew the careening gear, which had stretched much. Thus they continued heaving down and often righting the ship, from a suspicion of their careening tackle, till the 3d of March, when, having compleated the paying and sheathing the bottom, which proved to be everywhere very sound, they for the last time righted the ship, to their great joy, since not only the fatigue of careening had been considerable, but they had been apprehensive of being attacked by the Spaniards whilst the ship was thus incapacitated for defence. Nor were their fears altogether groundless, for they learnt afterwards, by a Portuguese vessel, that the Spaniards at Manila had been informed that the Centurion was in the Typa, and intended to careen there, and that thereupon the governor had summoned his council, and had proposed to them to endeavour to burn her whilst she was careening, which was an enterprize which, if properly conducted, might have put them in great danger. It was farther reported that this scheme was not only proposed, but resolved on, and that a captain of a vessel had actually undertaken to perform the business for forty thousand dollars, which he was not to receive unless he succeeded; but the governor pretending that there was no treasure in the royal chest, and insisting that the merchants should advance the money, and they refusing to comply with the demand, the affair was dropped. Perhaps the merchants suspected that the whole was only a pretext to get forty thousand dollars from them, and indeed this was affirmed by some who bore the governor no good-will, but with what truth it is difficult to ascertain.