of their
100
Cargoes
it must be regarded as occupying a very high position. Even during the commercial depression of 1866 throughout China, no fewer than 3783 British and Foreign vessels, equal to 12,015,747 tons, entered and cleared from there. I may remark that, large as that tonnage was, the amount does not include the shipping between this port and Macao and Canton. The number only of those vessels is given in the Harbour Master's enclosed Report. This will be corrected in future Returns. Of the above total, 11727 British vessels were an aggregate of 1,047,447 tons.
65. I have already explained that until the passing of the Harbour and Boats Ordinance of last year, there was by no means the least account of the Native craft frequenting the harbour and the Colonial waters. I am therefore much gratified at being enabled now to supply that omission for the first half of the present year, and we may thence approximately infer by allowing double a similar amount for the whole of the year what was the real number of vessels and tonnage resorting to this harbour during that period. I therefore annex a return of Native craft for the first half of the current year.
Your Grace will perceive that during the six months commencing from the 1st January last to