CO129-034 - Sir Bonham - 1850 [9-12] — Page 336

per month on that particular merchandigar

I have taken these two extremes tow ands pointing out the advantages it affor

the local houses,

all parties enge

to

and we thus see that to

ed in that trade here,

engaged

on

whatever scale, it is a source of considerable

pecuniary gain

in

the shape of saving.

its such Firms as have no share in the

Serves as a

Indian trade the colony merely a pleasanter residence

residence than Canton; They

could

Carry

it had never

on their home trade as well.

been founded

if

The retail trade in Opium

here I estimates at about 250 chests a =

month; A

good deal of this

is goes.

down

unbroken to the West coast and is paid

for in Sugar

and

Sycee, but a proportion

Curious

of it leaves the Colony in the following

The migratory character of our

An année.

population keeps up a constant stream of

communication between this island and those populous districts on the main out of which it was peopled ___tu

ich places

ad

Hwei-shin,

Kursinskin, Sunson, Peonryu, Hienghen

The passage boats ply) ..

easingly, carrying

to

Ana

fro the

shopkeeper, the artizan, the coole,

the adventures, together with those endless small wares which a chinese population. Regnicos. The capital upon which the shopkeeper is trading here is probably borrowed at interest in his native village, and in paying up either the interest or principal, he remits opium instead of some of all the other working

money . the classes as to the

mode

home their savings :

they prefer of sending

; and the same of the

remittances for the small wares alluded

to above _ This

This is by far the most productive.

branch of our local traffic, because it passes

hands from the highest to

through to

so many

to the lowest — The Merchant or the Agent

sells two three or four chests to the broker-

the broken lets these out one.

by one to the retailer and refiner, who boils it down, and

sells the Coolie a pennyworth of prepared

opium