[24] An account of the capture of two of these scamps was given to me by the chief magistrate, the day before I left Victoria, and was to the following effect:—A China-man in the pay of the police, though never seen by any magistrate, came to the police compradore's house one evening, and said: "If you will send two European constables to a certain spot (which he named) at nine o'clock to night, I will shew them where they will find two robber-chiefs smoking opium and looking over their gains." This hint was immediately communicated to the chief magistrate, who at once resolved to act upon it, and sent the constables to the spot indicated. There, the spy met them, masked, and made signs for them to be silent and follow him. He guided them down past West Point upwards of a mile, when he turned up the hill by a footpath, which, in half an hour, brought the party to a small hut, through the crevices in the wall of which a light was visible. To the door of this hut, the guide significantly pointed, and instantly disappeared without uttering a word. The constables took the hint, and burst the door open, when they found what they had been led to expect; two men smoking opium, the room almost full of European clothing and other stolen property, quite sufficient to convict the smokers of unfair play towards the late owners of it. These men were of course secured; and the day I sailed from Hong Kong, I saw them at work on the roads in irons. Their apprehension caused a complete cessation of robberies for the time being, the sight of the noted chiefs on the roads having terrified their followers.

CHAPTER XVII.
CHINA.

FIRST VIEW OF CANTON—​DESCRIPTION OF THE EUROPEAN QUARTER—​HOSTILE FEELINGS OF THE PEOPLE—​COMMERCIAL PROSPECTS OF CANTON—​AMOY—​FOO CHOW—​NINGPO—​ SHANG-HAE—​MR. MEDHURST—​RESULTS OF THE TREATY WITH CHINA.

The sail from Hong Kong to Canton is very interesting, particularly to a stranger. The numerous islands he passes, and the entirely new scenes that everywhere attract his eye, cannot fail to delight and amuse him. Here, the unwieldy Chinese junk; there, the fast-sailing Chinese passage-boat; now and then, the long snake-like opium-smuggler with his fifty oars; innumerable fishing-boats, all in pairs, with a drag-net extended from the one to the other; country boats of all descriptions passing to and fro, their crews all bent on money-getting, yet, never failing to cast a glance of mingled contempt and scorn at the "Fan qui"; the duck-boats on the river banks, their numerous tenants feeding in the adjacent rice-fields; a succession of little Chinese villages, with groupes of young Celestials staring at him with never-ending wonder; here and there, a tall pagoda rearing its lofty head high above the surrounding scenery, as if conscious of its great antiquity and of the sacred objects for which it was built; the Chinese husbandman with his one-handed plough, drawn by a single wild-looking buffalo; smiling cottages, surrounded with orange and other fruit-trees; the immense fleet of foreign ships anchored at Whampoa;—these and a thousand other objects, all equally strange and new, attract the attention of the stranger as he sails up the "Quang Tung" river. On nearing the city itself, he is still more astonished and pleased with the sights that literally confuse his ideas, making the whole scene to seem the creation of magic, rather than sober reality. Here, the river is absolutely crowded with junks and boats of all sorts and sizes, from the ferry-boat of six feet long, to the ferry-boat of a thousand tons burthen. Long rows of houses, inhabited principally by boat-builders and others connected with maritime affairs, and built on the river, line its right bank. Outside of these, are moored numerous flat-bottomed boats with high roofs: these come from the Interior with tea and other produce, and resemble what I fancy Noah's Ark must have been, more than any thing I have seen elsewhere. On the left bank, the shore is lined with boats unloading and loading cargoes, while the different landing-places are completely blocked up with ferry-boats seeking employment. The space in the centre of the river, is continually crowded with boats, junks, &c. proceeding up and down. The scene altogether is bewildering to the stranger. Busy as the scene is, which the Thames presents at London, its superior regularity and order, in my opinion, prevent its coming up to the scene I have just faintly traced, in the strange and excited feelings it calls up. Amidst all this, there is a constant clatter of tongues strongly recalling the confusion of Babel. A China-man never talks below his breath; and, if one may judge from the loud tones in which the whole community express their sentiments, whether in a house or shop or in the street, the only conclusion that can be come to is, that, in China, the word secret is not understood, or rather, that the idea corresponding to that word has no existence in their conceptions.

Of the immense city itself, the home of a million of souls, what account can a traveller give, who has seen little more of it than the portion inhabited by foreigners? I must say a few words, however, about that part of it which I have seen.

I begin with the foreign factories. These buildings stretch along the left bank of the river about three quarters of a mile, (or, rather, they did so, for one half of them have recently been destroyed by fire,) and extend back about two hundred yards. They are large, substantially built, and comfortable houses; but those situated behind the front row, must be (indeed I know they are) oppressively hot residences in the summer season. The space between the factories and the river, is reserved for a promenade, where foreigners may take a little recreation after their day's work. Although but a limited space, it is invaluable. Here, in the evening, may be seen Englishmen, Americans, Frenchmen, Spaniards, Dutchmen, Portuguese, Parsees, Moslem, and Hindoos; all enjoying the evening breeze, and talking over the affairs of the day or the news brought by the last overland mail, while a crowd of Chinese coolies surround the square, gaping with noisy wonder at the strangers attired in all the costumes of Europe and Asia. The streets principally resorted to by foreigners are, China Street (old and new) and Carpenter's Square. In the former, a very choice collection of Chinese articles may be purchased, either in the way of curiosities or of valuable merchandize. In Carpenter's Square, the new-comer may fit himself out with everlasting trunks, dressing-cases, &c.; or, if in search of furniture, he may here, in half an hour, furnish his house with well-made, substantial articles. The houses in these streets are all of two stories, with very narrow frontage, ground being valuable. A large quantity of timber is used in their construction, which renders any chance fire in this city so very destructive. The streets in Canton are all very narrow, most of those I have seen not exceeding six or seven feet in width: the two China Streets are probably twelve feet wide. The city does not cover half the space which a European one with the same population would do. Its streets, from their want of breadth, always appear, and indeed always are crowded; and the unwary passenger is very liable to get knocked down by some heavily laden porter running against him, if he does not keep a sharp look-out. Like Macao, it is infested with loathsome beggars, who are, if possible, still more clamorous in their demands for charity than those of that place. Here, the stranger will be surprised to see dogs, cats, and rats hawked about, dead and alive. I do not say that these animals form the daily food of the people of Canton, but they are daily and hourly hawked about its streets, and purchased by the poorer classes. The Canton market is, nevertheless, remarkably well supplied with the good things of this life; and the European who cannot live and be contented with the provisions procurable in it, must be hard to please. By nine o'clock at night, this huge city is perfectly quiet, and nine-tenths of its inhabitants are wrapped in sleep. At either end of each street is a gate, which is shut at that hour, and ingress or egress put a stop to for the night. This regulation, as may be supposed, is an excellent check upon night robbers, whose peregrinations can extend no further than the end of the street they live in. Another equally salutary regulation is that which makes the inhabitants of a street responsible for each other's good conduct. Thus, if A's servant steals any thing from B, A must make good the loss. Prowling being put a stop to during the night, I have seen robberies attempted and detected during the day; and I certainly never saw a poor thief treated elsewhere with such unrelenting cruelty. A China-man seems to have no mercy for a thief; nor is this feeling to be wondered at in an over-peopled country, where all have to work for their bread, and where idlers are sure to starve. During the winter, in Canton, the lower classes suffer severely from cold: they are poorly fed and worse clothed: and hundreds of them may be seen about the streets, shivering and looking the very picture of absolute wretchedness. Amongst these, a few old women may be seen sitting by the side of the streets, earning a scanty subsistence by mending and patching the clothes of people as poor as themselves. These poor women, having all undergone the barbarous operation of cramping the feet during infancy, are consequently unable to undertake any thing but sedentary employment to gain their bread. The very small size to which the feet of some of the Chinese females have been distorted by cramping them with bandages during the first six years of their lives, is almost beyond belief. I have seen a full-grown woman wearing shoes, and walking in them too, not more than 31⁄2 inches long. Their walk resembles that of a timid boy upon ice; it is necessarily slow; and, indeed, some of them require the aid of a staff in one hand, while they lean with the other on the shoulder of a female attendant. The smaller the eyes and feet of a Chinese beauty, the more she is admired. I once asked a respectable China-man, what he thought of this custom of cramping their daughters' feet: his reply was, "Very bad custom." On my inquiring further, whether he had any daughters, and whether their feet were treated in the same way, he answered in the affirmative, but asserted, that they had been subjected to the cruel ordeal by their mother, against his will. He added, that, in a China-man's house, where there were young girls, no peace could be had, night or day, for their cries, which lasted till they were six years old. He gave us a reason for the mother's insisting on her daughter's submitting to this long course of pain and suffering:—"Suppose he no small foot, no man wantjee make he number one wife." A respectable China-man, it appears, always chooses a small-footed woman for his principal wife, while, for Number two, three, and four, he contents himself with ladies whose feet are as nature made them, and who are consequently more able to make themselves useful in household matters.

The inhabitants of Canton and its vicinity have displayed, since the war, more hostile feelings towards Englishmen, than those entertained by the natives of any of the northern ports. They still affect to believe, that Sir Hugh Gough durst not attack their city; and it is, perhaps, to be regretted, that he was hindered from shewing his strength on that occasion. Several riots and two extensive fires among the foreign factories, have taken place since that time; and it is the opinion of many persons, that, before long, Canton will require a lesson such as Amoy, Ning-po, and other places have received. That the first of the two fires alluded to was the work of incendiaries, there is no doubt; and so well satisfied were the native Authorities upon this point, that they made good the losses sustained by foreigners on the occasion.

The proposal to grant land to foreigners in the neighbourhood of Canton, for the site of country residences, met with so energetic opposition from the natives, that the Authorities did not venture to carry the plan into execution. Inflammatory placards were posted all over the city, calling upon the people to protect their ancient rights, and threatening extermination to foreigners, and to the local Authorities themselves, in the event of their complying with the petition. It is probable, that the wealthy men and others connected with the commerce of Canton, felt that the arrangements then pending between Her Majesty's Government and that of their Imperial Master regarding the commerce of the two countries, would, if completed, affect their old privileges and monopoly; and that they adopted the measures above-mentioned in order to shew their displeasure. That their commerce will suffer in consequence of the arrangements since brought to an amicable conclusion, there can be no doubt; but it is not less certain, that Canton will continue to be the centre of an extensive trade. Its merchants must be content with a share of the loaf, in place of monopolizing, as heretofore, the whole. The days of Hong merchants and monopoly are at an end; and the benefits derived from Free-trade will shortly convince all but those connected with the late Hongs, that the changes recently effected in the relations of the Celestial Empire with other countries, are not deserving of the abuse that has been so abundantly lavished on them.