THE FRIEND OF CHINA AND HONGKONG GAZETTE.
ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE-
SIAM.
THE H. E. I. Co's, armed steamer Memnon, left our anchorage yesterday morning, having on board Admiral Sir Thomas Cochrane, K., B., for a re- connoissance of the
of the Canton river. The Cruizer and Wolverine were dispatched yesterday on the same errand. We consider this visit very necessary this Country. Among the animals are Elephants, The following are some of the productions of and timeous. Much good we think will result from Tigers, Leopards, Bears, Deer, Monkeys, Buffa the personal inspection by the Admiral of the pre-loes, Cows, Horses, Hogs and Goats, the last men- sent state of the Canton river.
According to the tioned is not a native of the Country. Of birds Macao papers, attrocious acts have been recently there are Vultures, Owls, Bats, Crows, Pigeons, Pat- committed by crews and individuals belonging to riges, Wild ducks; Geese and Ducks are common the smuggling fleet at Whampoa (hoisting the British and Fowls are found wild in the jungle in abun- flag) which call imperatively for rigid investigation, dance. Among the reptiles and insects are Serpents, it is commonly believed condign punishment. Scorpions Centepedes, Leeches, Lizards, Aligators If within the jurisdiction of the Admiral, we are and a variety of ants among which are the des- sure all pains will be taken to bring the alleged tructive White-ant. Fruits are abundant, such as offenders to justice. We hope no ill judged clem- Oranges, Plantains, Pumeloes, Pomegranates, ency may prevent the infliction of a severe but Mangoes, Mangosteens, Durians, Rambutans &c; righteous judgement on the criminals in question,
and vegetables including Yams, Sweet Potatoes, Pumpkins, Cucumbers, Melons, Beans, Peas, Tur- nips, Cabbage, Onions, Tomatoes &c. are equally abundant," Mines of Gold, Silver, Lead Tin and Iron are found in the Country some of which furnish articles of export to other Countries.
Sapanwood, Stic-Lac, Silk, Salt, Rice, Cocoa-nut THE Chief articles of Commerce are Sugar, Oil, Indigo, Elephants Teeth, Betelnut, Beeswax, Deers-Horns, Tigers-Skins &c.
We are glad to learn (as will be seen by the following extract) that it is likely the abolition of the system of hypothecating produce, by the East India Company, will soon take place. The East India & China Association have succeeded, it seems, in convincing the Court of Directors, that the only expedient means of obtaining the neces- sary funds for their payments in England, is by the sale in London, of Bills on the three Presidencies for the required amount. The undue enhance-of teak timber could furnish materials for a profitable ment of the prices of India produce, and other dis- advantages which result, are so obvious and gene- rally acknowledged, that we need only reiterate our hope of the early termination of the existing
system.
THE committee of the East India and China Association have just printed their annual report, the most interesting portion of which is a section devoted to the "Remittance of the Indian re- venue." Four years ago the committee had paid attention to the subject, returns have been subsequently made to Parliament of the monies supplied from the revenues of India towards the expenses of England chargeable on those revenues, and within the last two months the directors of the East India Company or dered that they (the committee) might be furnished before the departure of the Indian mail with the amount of bills drawn up to the evening of the 3d of each month on the Fresidencies by the Company. The amounts already drawn from the 4th of last December to the 4th of January, February, and March, were respectively £96,822 £122,918 and £154,779. There are two methods of obtaining the supplies one by the sale of bills upon India in this country; and the other by advances in China and -India, secured by the hypothecation of produce. The Court of Directors and the merchants represented by the East India and China Association have, it seems, concurred in the opinion that the sale of bills in this country is the only advantageous method,
and that great evils arise from leaving two channels open.
Monthly Times.
Ir is worthy of notice that the extensive forests trade with the rising English settlements on the Coast of China. The trees are large being four or five feet in diameter near the ground and rising to the height of eighty or a hundred feet. These may be procured with little expense more than cutting and floating them down the river, which is done by Chinese who would gladly fade their junks with spars or planks for China if they could be sure of a market for such cargo. The port duties for a junk are but a small sum but a European vessel pays a measurement duty of one thousand dollars for every fathom in breadth if taking both an import and export Cargo, but if an export Cargo only it is to pay nine hundred dollars for every fathom in breadth measuring across the Ship's deck.
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him to frighten the mandaring by a display of English power, and if necessary by the use of force: this is the way to calm the political fears of the Chinese gove
doubt, that such a mission, if given, not to a priggish lord. No one who is acquainted with that government can ernment. And to destroy it likewise, we may add
of the bedchamber,but to a man (a ¤xan, said BONAPARTE 18 WANTED IN CHINA), would be entirely successful; that it Englishmen and English ships. But this object accom. would open the whole coast of China to the
presence of plished in this way, what would be the other couse. government to its own subjects and to foreign nations ↑ quences of thus exposing the weakness of the Chinesa
work in this way lang ago, if the English Hong had not been interested in preserving every bar to the extension Look to it, Jonathan ! John Bull would have gone to
end. Be alive, Jonathan! of free trade in China. The English Hong is at an the China-man is in dangere
Your smug-pigeon with
though couched as no doubt they would be, in the form Even mere threats from the English government, of a demand for redress of grievances, would, if they traders in China, be viewed with jealousy by several had for their object the particular advantage of English governments of Europe, and still more by the United States. Suppose, however, that disregarding the jealousy of other nations, the English had compelled the man- darins to establish the trade of Englishmen in China on a satisfactory basis, would not the Dutch, the Rare sians, the French, and above all the Americans, demand, each nation for itself, as with equal facility they all might obtain, similar concessions from the feeble man. of those nations, would, it seems hardly doubtful, be the darins ? Such demands on the part of some, at least, inevitable consequence of the successful use of force or threats by the English government Thus the weakness of the government of China would be exposed in more than one instance, to its own subjects and to other nå tions. Other exposures of the sanie kind could not but ensue. Foreigners of all nations would enter China, and further expose to the people not the weakness only, but the iniquity also, of the government. Next, the foreignors of each nation, having obtained some footing in China, would, if we conjecture from experience, seek to obtain privileges, each party striving to gain more than its rivals, and to injure them as much as possible. Either the nature of man is not always the same, or
also that each party of foreigners in China would be so the history of European settlements in distant countries is false, if this would not be the case. Considering
far removed from the control of its own government as to act almost without reponsibility, there is reason to would not be confined to trade, but would extend, as expect
that the rivalry among those foreign adventurers
soon as it had been shown that the mandarins were un able to resist aggression, to interference between the people and their masters, to the excitement of revolt and civil war, and finally to territorial acquisition. In this way, contests must arise between some of those parties of foreign adventurers; and by degrees each party would, propably, enlist its distant government in the quarrel, until, at length, the miserable government of China being dissolved, or rather dissolving, as soon as
amounted to fifty or sixty annually but from fear of THE junks trading from Siam to China have the English Ships of war the number has been considerably diminished during the last year or two. These junks are owned in part by Siamese and Chinese residing in Siam and partly by persons residing in China. They sail from Macao, Amoy, Sua-ka, and Ningpo, and its vicinity, and bring back Sugar, Sapanwood Ivory &c. Should an export of teak timber be encouraged a sawmill of water or steam power might be established which would effect the work of a hundred men and furnish plank better suited for house or Ship building than by the present mode of sawing by hand. The men now engaged in the saw pits instead of being thrown out of employ might be sent into the forests to cut and float the trees down to the head of ship navigation. Thus these forests 58. In another part might prove a source of revenue to the Country rejecting, as they would have avoided contact with the
We see the importers of Bengal Rice, are be- ginning to cry out at the anticipated ill conse- quences which they foolishly fear, will result from the diminution of the duty on Foreign grown rice, As our landed aristocracy are only indirectly, and to a very small extent affected by this question we confidently believe Sir Robert Peel will not yield to such unwarranted importunities. He proposes to continue the present duty of 1s per Cwt on Bengal and Colonial, and he reduces that on Foreign Rice from 15s to of our Print we give the allegations of the Mer- chants against this change, We would ask them, what is to prevent the cultivation and extensively too in India of the finer quities of Rice! Especially the large grained sort which would command the preference in England and the German Markets. We know no reason why the same skill, industry and mechanical ingenuity which is bestowed in Carolina on the sorting, cleaning, and preparing of Rice, should not be transferred to India: where with free labour (and even without a preferential duty) they could very soon supersede the use of Carolina rice in England. We are disposed to think the large gramed, white, t table rice of China would under the revised Tariff, pay to send home. We make out it could be imported into London and sold paying all expenses and duty at about 11d per lb. We much question whether for some few years, Rice of such quality will not command at least 2d per lb. in the home Market as we deem it superior to the best Carolina and would we think be generally preferred.
We note our Translations from the Pe- king Gazettes, &c. are copied into sundry papers, without mention of the source from whence they were taken. We have attributed this to inadvertence, but we were certainly surprised to find one of our translations, transferred to the Singapore Free Press of the 30 June without any acknowled
whatever although the far as to say "We give us position
it under his leading
jeciable a Print
be quite
a greater number of the poor might be furnished with profitable employ, and valuable material provided for dwelling houses and Ship building in the rising settlement of Hongkong. ***
DEDICATION OF THE
YOURS &c. W. D.
FIRST PROTESTANT HOUSE OF WORSHIP IN CHINA
The new edifice to be known in future by the name of "The Queen's Road Chapel, Hong Kong," name was formally dedicated to the worship of Almighty God on Lord's day last, the 17th instant, in the presence of an attentive and respectable congrega
tion. The order of services were as follows: 1. Invocation, Rev. Mr. Shuck. 2. Reading of the 90th Psalm, Rev. Dr. Bridgeman. 3. Hymn and Prayer, Rev. Mr. Dean. 4 Hymn, Rev. Dr. Bridge- man. 5. Sermon, subject, the Divine Revelation, Rev, Mr. Shuck. 6. Prayer, Dedicatory, Rev. Dr. Bridge. man. 7.- Hymn and Doxology, Rev. Mr. Shuck. 8. Benediction, Rev. Dr. Bridgeman.
The following remarks though written some eight years since by Mr. P. G. Wakefield, (the discoverer of the modern sytem of colonization) are yet in many points so singularly applicable at the present juncture, that we hesitate not to claim the attention of our readers thereto,
WHAT then is it that prevents the free trade from reading to the whole coast of China, a
beyond any assignable limit. The
of the Chinese government. Therefore, says gushman send another embassy to
assador to swear like Lord
objects, that commerc
ma
its weakness had been made conspicious, China would become, as Hindostan has been in modern times, a theatre of war for foreign nations. What has preserved China, from the fate of India. The constancy of the mandarins in plague, every proposal from foreigners for the establish ment of friendly intercourse. Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes has been the never-failing answer of the Chinese government to offers of friendship and advantage from. other governments. In vain did the Dutch ambassador Titzing, a fat man, crawl upon all fours into the im« perial presence, and remaining in that posture, best his head nine times upon the ground; in vain did the lords Macartney and Amherst exhaust the arts of their craft to wheedle the lords of China into a belief that it was for the advantage of the great emperor to be on termos of friendship with the illustrious king; in vain have been selfabasement, rich presents, flattery, coaxing, prayers, lies, and remonstrances, when employed by the governments of Europe in order to obtain such a footing in China as might have furnished pretexte for measures of another kind. The existence of the government of China has been preserved by the constancy of the man- darins in rejecting offers of foreign friendship. The utter impractibility of the Tartars is their only defence. Break through that single barrier, and they must be swept away by a flood of internal revolt and foreign
pretension.
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nathe art of lying him to talk of English