Provisions and refreshments of all sorts are abundant, 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 birds’-nests. The business between foreigners and natives at Canton is generally transacted in a jargon known as “pidgin English,” the Chinese being extremely ready in acquiring a sufficient smattering of English words to render themselves intelligible.
The intercourse between China and Europe by the way of the Cape of Good Hope began in 1517, when Emanuel, king of Portugal, sent an ambassador, accompanied by a fleet of eight ships, to Peking, on which occasion the sanction of the emperor to establish a trade at Canton was obtained. It was in 1596, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, that the English first attempted to open an intercourse with China, but ineffectually, for the two ships which were despatched on this mission were lost on the outward voyage, and it was not till about 1634 that English ships visited Canton. Unfortunately at this time a misunderstanding having occurred with the Chinese authorities owing to the treachery of the Portuguese, a rupture and a battle took place, and it was with difficulty that peace was again restored. In 1673 China was again visited by an English ship which was subsequently refused admission into Japan, and in 1677 a factory was established at Amoy. But during an irruption of the Tatars three years later this building was destroyed, and it was not till 1685 that the emperor permitted any trade with Europeans at that port. Upon the union of the two East India Companies in London, an imperial edict was issued, restricting the foreign commerce to the port of Canton.
Tea was first imported into England about the year 1667, and in 1689 a customs duty of 5s. per ℔ was for the first time imposed. From this date to 1834 the East India Company held a monopolv of the trade at Canton, and during this period the prosperity of the port increased and multiplied, notwithstanding the obstructions which were constantly thrown in the way of the “barbarians” by the Chinese government. The termination of the Company’s monopoly brought no alteration in the conduct of the native authorities, whose oppressions became before long so unbearable that in 1839 war was declared on the part of Great Britain. In 1841, while the forces under Sir Hugh (afterwards Lord) Gough were preparing to capture Canton, Captain Elliott entered into negotiations with the Chinese, and consented to receive a pecuniary ransom in lieu of occupying the city. Meanwhile the war was carried on in central China, and finally resulted in the conclusion of the Nanking treaty in August 1842, under the terms of which four additional ports, viz. Shanghai, Ningpo, Fu-chow and Amoy, were thrown open to foreign trade, and foreigners were granted permission to enter the city of Canton, from which they had hitherto been excluded. This latter provision of the treaty, however, the Chinese refused to carry out; and after endless disputes about this and other improper acts of the Chinese government, war was again declared in 1856, the immediate cause of which was an insult offered to the British flag by the capture of certain Chinese on board the “Arrow,” a small craft trading under English colours. The outbreak of hostilities was followed by the pillage and destruction of the foreign “factories” in December 1856 by a Chinese mob, and twelve months later Canton was taken by assault by a force under Sir Charles Straubenzee, which had been sent out from England for the purpose. From this time until October 1861 the city was occupied by an English and French garrison, and the administration of affairs was entrusted to an allied commission, consisting of two English officers and one French officer, acting under the English general. Since the withdrawal of this garrison, the city of Canton has been freely open to foreigners of all nationalities, and the English consul has his residence in the Yamun formerly occupied by the allied commissioners, within the city walls.
On the conclusion of peace it became necessary to provide a foreign settlement for the merchants whose “factories” had been destroyed, and after some consultation it was determined to fill in and appropriate as the British settlement an extensive mud flat lying to the westward of the old factory site, and known as Sha-mien or “The Sand Flats.” This site having been leased, it was converted into an artificial island by building a massive embankment of granite in an irregular oval form. Between the northern face of the site and the Chinese suburb a canal of 100 ft. in width was constructed, thus forming an island of about 2850 ft. in length and 950 ft. in greatest breadth. The expense of making this settlement was 325,000 Mexican dollars, four-fifths of which were defrayed by the British government and one-fifth by the French government. The British portion of the new settlement was laid out in eighty-two lots; and so bright appeared the prospect of trade at the time of their sale that 9000 dollars and upwards was paid in more than one instance for a lot with a river frontage, measuring 12,645 sq. ft. The depression in trade, however, which soon followed acted as a bar to building, and it was not until the British consulate was erected in 1865 that the merchants began to occupy the settlement in any numbers. The British consulate occupies six lots, with an area of 75,870 sq. ft. in the centre of the site, overlooking the river, and is enclosed with a substantial wall. A ground-rent of 15,000 cash (about £3) per mow (a third of an acre) is annually paid by the owners of lots to the Chinese government.
The Sha-mien settlement possesses many advantages. It is close to the western suburb of Canton, where reside all the wholesale dealers as well as the principal merchants and brokers; it faces the broad channel known as the Macao Passage, up which the cool breezes in summer are wafted almost uninterruptedly, and the river opposite to it affords a safe and commodious anchorage for steamers up to 1000 tons burden. Steamers only are allowed to come up to Canton, sailing vessels being restricted to the anchorage at Whampoa. There is daily communication by steamer with Hong-Kong, and with the Portuguese colony of Macao which lies near the mouth of the river. Inland communication by steam is now open by the west river route to the cities of Wuchow and Nanking. The opening of these inland towns to foreign trade, which has been effected, cannot but add considerably to the volume of Canton traffic. The native population is variously estimated at from 1,500,000 to 2,000,000, the former being probably nearer the truth. The foreign residents number about 400. Canton is the headquarters of the provincial government of Kwangtung and Kwangsi, generally termed the two Kwang, at the head of which is a governor-general or viceroy, an office which next to that of Nanking is the most important in the empire. It possesses a mint built in 1889 by the then viceroy Chang Chih-tung, and equipped with a very complete plant supplied from England. It turns out silver subsidiary coinage and copper cash. Contracts have been entered into to connect Canton by railway with Hong-Kong (Kowlun), and by a grand trunk line with Hankow on the Yangtsze. It is connected by telegraph with all parts. The value of the trade of Canton for the year 1904 was £13,749,582, £7,555,090 of which represented imports and £6,194,490 exports.
(R. K. D.)
CANTON, a city of Fulton county, Illinois, U.S.A., in the W. part of the state, 12 m. N. of the Illinois river, and 28 m. S.W. of Peoria. Pop. (1890) 5604; (1900) 6564 (424 foreign-born); (1910) 10,453. Canton is served by the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, the Toledo, Peoria & Western, and the Illinois Central Electric Interurban railways. About 1 m. from the centre of the city are the Canton Chautauqua grounds. The city has a public library. Canton is situated in a rich agricultural region, for which it is a supply point, and there are large coal-mines in the vicinity. Among the manufactures are agricultural implements (particularly ploughs), machine-shop and foundry products (particularly mining-cars and equipment), flour, cigars, cigar-boxes, brooms, and bricks and tile. The municipal water-works are supplied from a deep artesian well. Canton was laid out in 1825; it was incorporated as a town in 1837 and as a village in 1849, and was chartered as a city in 1854.
CANTON, a village and the county-seat of St Lawrence county, New York, U.S.A., 17 m. S.E. of Ogdensburg, on the Grasse river. Pop. (1890) 2580; (1900) 2757; (1905) 3083; (1910) 2701. The village is served by the Rome, Watertown & Ogdensburg division of the New York Central & Hudson River railway. Canton is the seat of St Lawrence University (co-educational; chartered in 1856; at first Universalist, afterwards unsectarian), having a college of letters and science, which developed from an academy, opened in 1859; a theological school (Universalist), opened in 1858; a law school, established in 1869, discontinued in 1872 and re-established in Brooklyn, New York, in 1903 as the Brooklyn Law School of St Lawrence University; and a state school of agriculture, established in 1906 by the state legislature and opened in 1907. In 1907-1908 the university had 52 instructors, 168 students in the college of letters and science, 14 students in the theological school, 287 in the law school and 13 in the agricultural school. The Clinton Liberal Institute (Universalist, 1832), which was removed in 1879 from Clinton to Fort Plain, New York, was established in Canton in 1901. The Grasse river furnishes water-power, and the village has saw-, planing- and flour-mills, and plant for the building of small boats and launches. The village corporation owns a fine water-supply system. Canton was first settled in 1800 by Daniel Harrington of Connecticut and was incorporated in 1845. It was for many years the home of Silas Wright, who was buried here.