To little is known in England of this quarter of the globe that I may be expected to take this opportunity of submitting a brief account of Macao. It will be recollected that this is the most ancient European settlement in the Far East, for the Portuguese first founded it in A.D. 1557. For nearly three centuries, Macao continued to be the centre of European trade and the residence of the principal European Merchants in the China seas. But the foundation in 1843 of the English Colony of Hongkong and its rapid progress during the last forty years, with its more commanding position and deep and spacious harbour, have reduced Macao to little more than a shadow of its former importance. Its port is shallow, and is filled with sand and mud so as to be no longer accessible to the large ships of modern commerce. It is indeed a striking change to pass, in a voyage of four or five hours, from the vigorous life, from the glare and bustle, from the crowded harbour
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