Directory_and_Chronicle_1845 — Page 197

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nests, &c., which the vessels passing under the name of Fuhkien and Canton bring to Shánghái. Some of them however return in ballast. These last mentioned vessels return with cargoes of cotton, earthen ware and porcelain, (especially for Formosa,) salted pork, green tea, raw and manufactured silks, native cotton cloth, blankets, hemp, dried pulse of various kinds, fruits, and part of the goods brought by the vessels from the north.

There is besides an interchange of a vast number of articles con- nected with the coasting trade, such as baskets, charcoal and coal, wood, straw, pipes, tobacco, gypsum, varnish, umbrellas, pats, lan- terns, sacks, sponges, fruits, vegetables, &c.

"There come besides to Shinghái by the Yangtsz' kiáng and its branches, vessels from various ports amounting in all to 5,400 an- nually. These never put out to sea, but convey into the interior the goods brought by vessels from the south and the north, as well as transport from the interior the goods to be despatched by these vessels. In addition to the vessels employed in the inland navigation and those which go to sea, amounting as has been shown to 7,000, there are at Shángbái innumerable boats & barges employed in fishing and in conveying passengers and goods.

"It may be inferred from the foregoing description that Shinghái is not only a point of great trade in imports and exports, but also an emporium where there is an exchange of national and foreign com- modities between the southern and northern parts of the empire.

"It would be an object of great interest to form a complete statement of the imports and exports, but whether it is that they are unwilling to communicate their information, or that they really have none (and I rather believe the latter) I found all the Europeans with whom I was acquainted at Shanghái completely ignorant of this matter.; and so much so that all assured me there came to that port at the least 5,000 vessels annually, solely because this number could be counted in it and even more. But we have seen already that the greater part are only the means of transport into the interior, instead of the carts and mules employed in other countries, or lands less favoured by nature than Shánghái. My

My application to the Europeans being unavailing, I might have turned myself to the rich native merchants and even the vessels anchored in the river, but this required, amongst other matters, a knowledge of the language of Shánghải and of the innumerable dialects which are spoken by the seamen and inerchants who come thither. For such an undertaking I found myself very ill