About thirty gentlemen were present, including Mr. Bletterman, chief of the 'Maatschappay;'[14] Mr. Hollingworth Magniac, of the 'licensed' house of Magniac & Co. (predecessors of the present firm of Jardine, Matheson, & Co.); Mr. Thomas Dent, of another 'licensed' firm, Thomas Dent & Co.; and several of my own countrymen, including Mr. Benjamin C. Wilcox and John R. Latimer.
But the days of the Honourable East India Company were now unconsciously drawing to an end. It had existed for 250 years! It ceased as a 'commercial' body in 1833. Many members of the 'Factory' were then removed to India and there took up civil appointments. Messrs. Astell and Clarke alone remained at Canton to close up outstanding affairs, and finally left in December 1839. Twenty-five more years were accorded to the Company after 1833 to transfer to the Crown the splendid empire those enterprising merchants had founded in India, and in 1858 its sun set—politically.
Few now remain who witnessed the final breaking up and departure of 'the Factory' from Canton; personally, there was much regret, as it had always been a marked feature in the community. The 'Outside' Merchants, unshackled from licenses, hailed it as an auspicious day, opening up to them visions of prosperity, which soon assumed the form and substance of reality. As an event to be placed 'on record' as the Chinese say, the first 'free ship' with 'free teas' was loaded at Whampoa and despatched for London on March 22, 1834, by the still existing house of Messrs. Jardine, Matheson, & Co. The vessel was named the 'Sarah,' Captain Whiteside.
The principal teas shipped by the Company were Bohea and Congo. One may judge of their qualities by their selling in England from 'two shillings and sixpence up to sixty shillings per pound, while sound common Congo is selling to-day at sixpence farthing'! (Messrs. J. C. Sillar & Co's tea circular of February, 1881.) The Company imported English-made woollens and cottons and raw cotton from India. The most important of the licensed houses in 1825 were Magniac & Co., Thomas Dent & Co., Ilberry, Fearon & Co., Whiteman & Co., and Robertson, Cullen, & Co. (Colonel Fearon, who commanded the detachment of troops on board the East India Company's ship 'Kent,' burnt in the Bay of Biscay, 1825, on her way to Calcutta, was a brother of the Mr. Fearon just named.) Their transactions were with India, and in the aggregate on a very extensive scale. They received raw cotton from the three Presidencies; opium from Bombay and Calcutta; rice, pepper, tin, &c., from the Straits of Malacca. The local name for their business was the 'Country Trade' the ships were 'Country Ships' and the masters of them 'Country Captains.' Some of my readers may recall a dish which was often placed before us, when dining on board these vessels at Whampoa, viz., 'Country Captain.' The ships were 'Country' built as well, and of teak; they were not fast sailers, but comfortable and substantial. They made one voyage annually, rolling up the China Sea before the south-west monsoon and rolling down again with the north-east. Some of them, as the 'Sulimany,' the 'Fort William,' the 'Futty Salaam,' were not far from their eightieth birthday.
The Hong merchants (collectively, the Co-Hong) as a body corporate date from 1720. From that year, except for a short interval before 1725, they were the monopolists of the foreign trade. The principal ones, in 1825, were Houqua, Mouqua, Pwankeiqua, Pwansuylan, Chungqua, Kingqua, and Gouqua. The affix qua, which is usually supposed to be a part of the name, is simply a term of civility or respect, and is equivalent to Mister or Sir. The word means literally to 'manage' or 'control.' The number of the 'Co-Hong' was limited to thirteen.
Their establishments commenced on the creek already referred to, and extended eastward on the riverside, whereby the shipping off and landing of cargo were attended with great facilities. They were the 'warehouses' in which were received all the teas and silk from the interior, and in which these articles were repacked, if necessary, weighed, matted, and marked, before being sent to the ships at Whampoa. The boats in which they were conveyed were of a peculiar build, with circular decks and sides, and from their resemblance to a melon they were called 'water-melons' by the Chinese, but by foreigners they were always referred to as 'chop-boats.' They were of the capacity of 500 chests of tea, or 500 piculs of weight. The orderly and intelligent despatch of business at the Hongs was characteristic of the Chinese, as were the neatness of all packages and the dexterity with which they were handled.
The Hong merchants were the only ones officially recognised by the Government, and no goods bought of 'outside' Chinese could be shipped off except through one or the other of the 'Hongs,' which received thereon a tax, and in whose name they were reported to the Hoppo. The 'outside' merchants had, however, become of great importance, their transactions were on an immense scale annually. As manufacturers of silks, of floor-matting, nankeens, crapes, grass-cloth, and a host of less important articles, many of them had amassed great wealth; at the same time, they were always assumed, officially, as confining themselves strictly to such things as were necessary for the 'personal use' of foreign residents. In fact, it was 'custom' from time to time for the authorities to remind them of this, and even to enumerate the things which they were only allowed to furnish. As a curiosity they may be recorded—clothing, umbrellas, straw hats, fans, shoes, and so on!
The Hong merchants were responsible to the Hoppo for the duties on all exports and imports. They alone transacted business with that officer's department—viz., the 'Customs'—by which foreigners were spared trouble and inconvenience. It may be as well to mention here that the 'Hoppo' (as he was incorrectly styled) filled an office especially created for the foreign trade at Canton. He received his appointment from the Emperor himself, and took rank with the first officers of the province. The Board of Revenue is in Chinese 'Hoo-poo' and the office was locally misapplied to the officer in question.
As controllers of the entire foreign commerce of the port of Canton, which amounted annually to many millions of dollars, if the benefits derived therefrom were of vast importance, the responsibilities were also great. For infractions of 'regulations' by a ship or by her agents they were liable. It was assumed that they could, or should, control foreigners residing in the Factories as well as the vessels anchored at Whampoa. In both cases they were required to 'secure' due 'obedience.' Every resident therefore had his 'sponsor' from the moment of landing, as every ship had hers, and hence the Hong merchants became 'security merchants.' My own was Houqua, who of course represented some others also, and in view of these mutual relationships we would jocularly call them 'our horse godfathers.'