Canton river. The number plying to each particular port is regulated by the traffic and transit of passengers, which seems to have neither materially increased or fallen off during a period of upwards of two years past, in which I have received lists of these boats furnished periodically by the native police officers, and continues the same.
The second class, which I have named "Casual visitors," consists chiefly of junks on their way to Canton or the western coast; a few large Singapore traders with cargo for Amoy or further in the Yellow Sea, which on occasion of rough weather outside or through want of water or provisions, or at times while waiting for a favorable wind, come to anchor in this harbour. There are also Portuguese lorcha boats, and occasionally freighted from Macao to Canton by Europeans, besides a few Chinese junks bringing flints, saltpêtre, camphor, alum, coarse cloth for the consumption of the poorer classes, crockery, fire-wood, oil, charcoal, and sundries, from various districts on the coast, and they purchase opium in return.
Large boats putting in with sugar from the district of Toong koon and Tin-pak, and other ports on the western coast, have lately increased in number. The sugar trade promises to become one of much importance to the Colony; some of these boats, I understand, are regularly employed since the establishment of the trade, in the transport of sugar, and might perhaps be more properly included in the class "Regular traders." The only other description of vessels in this class which may be deemed worthy of mention, is the fishing craft which swarm on our coast, making the villages of Stanley and Aberdeen, the latter particularly, their winter quarters. I have frequently seen several hundreds of large junks, and in one or two instances probably from twelve to fifteen hundred fishing boats of all sizes congregated there.
During the winter months, the population...