[ { "id": 204719, "series_id": 26, "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine", "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊", "series_use_hku_proxy": false, "document_key": "RAS-1964", "page_number": 22, "title": "RAS-1964", "content_text": "JOURNAL OF OCCURRANCES AT CANTON\n\n13\n\nOn the evening of the 19th affairs looked so squally that Mr. Hunter who had returned to Canton a day or two before ordered all the books and papers packed up and started with them at 2 A.M. the next morning for Macao. At 7 Mr. King started Mr. Spooner and myself off in Mr. Hunter's sail boat with a load of baggage, and books that Mr. H. could not take. We were towed down by Captain Endicott's boat and arrived safer after a passage of 6 hours on board the Naraganset. On our arrival we received a chit from Mr. Hunter stating that a number of transports and men of war were on the way up and advising us to get out of Canton as soon as possible. This I forwarded to Mr. King, but he did not get it as he had already left with the remainder of R and Co's Establishment.3\n\nExplanatory terms\n\nIn China the factory was a multi-purpose building. The lower floor usually was used for office space, storage, and the like, the second floor for dining and lounging, and the third for sleeping. Broad verandahs around the building gave it a spacious and airy quality. In Canton the factories of the various nationalities, American, Danish, French, Dutch, and Swedish faced the river. The British factory was truly magnificent for it contained a huge and lavishly furnished dining hall with terrace, library, chapel and numerous private rooms.\n\nHong was sometimes used interchangeably with factory but specifically it referred to all the buildings of a commercial establishment, i.e., the factory and subsidiary buildings such as living quarters for servants and workers and large storage areas for cargos of ships.\n\nHong merchants had formed an association in the early eighteenth century; in 1839 the Chinese merchants numbered thirteen and they had a monopoly of trade with foreigners. The most powerful and wealthy Hong merchant was Howqua, spelt by Hunter Houqua.\n\nConsoo House was the property of the Hong merchants, and in actuality was a series of buildings in the Chinese style. The main building contained lavish reception rooms and a series of courtyards.\n\n3 James Duncan Phillips, editor, \"The Canton Letters 1839-1841 of William Henry Low,\" The Essex Institute Historical Collections LXXXIV, 1948.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1964.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/qz20zx09r", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 204739, "series_id": 26, "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine", "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊", "series_use_hku_proxy": false, "document_key": "RAS-1964", "page_number": 42, "title": "RAS-1964", "content_text": "JOURNAL OF OCCURRANCES AT CANTON\n\n31\n\nposted off to Captain Elliot and told him he considered his life in danger and begged protection. Captain E immediately gave a warrant to Mr. Youle, an officer belonging to the Reliance (at Whampoa), and despatched him with four sailors belonging to the Larne, to bring the two who attacked Mr. Goldsborough before him. On reaching the Factory they were refused admittance and threatened to be fired into if they tried to attempt an entrance. Mr. Youle and his men, who were unarmed, went back with this to Captain E who told them not to arm but to go once more and try persuasion. When Mr. Y reached Knock's Factory it appears he supposed Youle and his men were armed and consequently surrendered. On going into the room they found two pair of loaded pistols, a couple of cutlasses, and a loaded musket lying on the table quite ready to be used. They were seized at once and are now lodged prisoners inside Captain E.'s Factory.\n\nWe have farce and tragedy alternately. This morning Captain E received a Chop from the Commissioner which stated that smuggling was going on outside the Bogue and contained much abusive language. The Kwang Chow Foo, Nam Hoy, and Pwan Yu also came out to the Consoo House with another Chop from the Commissioner insisting upon the bonds which we hoped had been forgotten43. The orders for them were addressed to Elliot, Snow, and Van Basil. They all refused to grant them. Elliot was so enraged at this that before Houqua's face he tore the Commissioner's Chop into a thousand pieces and threw it into the fireplace.\n\nTho' matters begin to look gloomy again we had a bit of fun in the Square. The officers who came out to the Consoo House were attended by several on horseback. These alighted at the Consoo House and their horses were led into the Square. The groom of one, having no idea that it would be accepted, offered it jokingly to an Englishman named Glenn for a ride. Glenn immediately jumped on his back and off he went all full gallop around the Square. The Chinese were frightened half to death and utterly incapable of action. The scene was ludicrous in the extreme, the high saddle, immense basket stirrups and Glenn in a white jacket, cap and stick flying from one end of the Square to the other made us quite a good bit of fun.\n\nToday the compradore, cooks and coolies, Mr. Green's, Mr. King's and my own servant came and remained all day.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1964.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/qz20zx09r", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 207293, "series_id": 26, "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine", "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊", "series_use_hku_proxy": false, "document_key": "RAS-1975", "page_number": 61, "title": "RAS-1975", "content_text": "INCIDENT: H.K. MERCHANTS & B.E.I. CO.\n\n53\n\nIn all my intercourse with the Chinese I had observed that, however much they were inclined to oppress, a steady and temperate resistance had never failed to succeed in obtaining redress.\n\nIn Canton strangers are strictly prohibited from entering the city, being only permitted to live in the suburbs; I had, however, frequently observed in my walks, that the guards at the gates were very remiss in their duty, and that in the morning, during the time of breakfast, there was seldom more than one man there. I also knew that the streets in the city, like those in the suburbs, were so narrow that not more than three persons could walk abreast; and I had learned from the Chinese that the Viceroy's palace was about a mile from the great gate, but whether in a direct line or diverging I did not know.\n\nOn leaving Mr. Brown I sent orders to the commanders of the fleet to meet me at eight o'clock next morning, at the Company's factory, with all their officers who were in Canton; and I directed that they should be in full uniform, but without sidearms.\n\nAt the time appointed we assembled,—sixteen commanders and their officers, making in all about sixty persons. I informed them that I had received orders from the chief supercargo to proceed to the great gate of the city to present a petition for the sailing of the fleet, that Captain Craig, Mr. Perry, and myself would lead the van, and that the rest of the body should follow, in files of three abreast, keeping close order.\n\nAbout eight o'clock in the morning there are few Chinese in the streets, we therefore had no difficulty in proceeding to the great gate, and, as I expected, found the guard (one soldier excepted) in the guard house at breakfast. The soldier, on my passing, attempted to stop me, but, on my giving him a push forward, he ran on before me; our party then immediately got through the gate and beyond the guard house before the guard could get out to stop us, in consequence of the narrowness of the street, our files of three filling it completely, they could not pass us, their efforts to do so only pushing us on faster. On, therefore, we went—no one before us attempting to impede our progress.\n\nIn a short time I discovered the soldier who was at the gate, a little way in advance, watching our proceedings; it then occurred to me that, as he could not pass us to return to the guard, he would go on to the Hoppo's palace to give information there of our entry", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1975.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/j0995146d", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 210602, "series_id": 26, "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine", "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊", "series_use_hku_proxy": false, "document_key": "RAS-1985", "page_number": 209, "title": "RAS-1985", "content_text": "190\n\nANTHONY FARRINGTON\n\nlight on Chinese junk traffic. It fell into two groups. Firstly, voyages between Tongking and Nagasaki by resident Chinese, mainly represented by a ‘Captain Nitthoo'; secondly, voyages by mainland Chinese, originating at Canton and calling at Nagasaki and Batavia.\n\nFor example, on 6 September 1672 Captain Nitthoo departed for Japan with a cargo of 500 peculs of raw silk, “a great quantity of refuge silk” and 43,400 pieces of silk textiles. During his absence the English rented his house at Hien. Back again in March 1673, he left for Japan in July, mainly carrying raw silk, and returned in February 1674. Similarly, in April 1675 the English learnt that a newly arrived Cantonese junk had first taken in a cargo at Batavia, disposed of it at Nagasaki and had now brought into Tongking 16 chests of Japanese silver, 3 million Japanese copper cash and 93 chests of Japanese copper bars.\n\nIt would be tedious to rehearse the pattern all the way through to the 1690s. However, I am sure that a collation of these incidental references would prove a significant addition to our knowledge of Chinese inter-Asiatic wholesaling operations before the period of European dominance. A full transcript of the factory diary, with its endless repetitions of present giving and attendance upon mandarins, would make heavy reading. My intention is, rather, to issue a summary calendar with selected verbatim extracts, which should provide the necessary raw material for economic historians.\n\nNOTES\n\n'Une factorerie Anglaise au Tonkin au XVIIe siècle (1672-1697)', Charles B. Maybon, Bulletin de l'Ecole Francaise d'Extrême-Orient 10 (Hanoi, 1910) 159-204 gives a summary list of sources for the history of the factory. “Les Anglais au Tonkin (1672-1697)', P. Villars, Revue de Paris Nov/Dec 1903 262-86 gives a brief narrative of life in the factory.\n\n2 The 1630s and 1640s saw attempts to achieve quick profits through a variety of separate ventures (eg, to Persia) organised alongside the longer-term joint stocks. At the same time rival 'interloping' groups (eg, the Courteen Association, formed 1635) became more successful in obtaining royal or Council of State approval for their own trading ventures, culminating in the opening of the eastern trade to private merchants between 1654 and 1657. In the background, of course, were the political upheavals of the Civil War and the Commonwealth.", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1985.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/gt54s866x", "rank": 0 }, { "id": 211619, "series_id": 26, "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine", "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊", "series_use_hku_proxy": false, "document_key": "RAS-1989", "page_number": 34, "title": "RAS-1989", "content_text": "recounts that the crew of the Sulphur landed on Hong Kong island on Monday 25 January” and as 'the bona fide first possessors' drank the health of Queen Victoria on Possession Mount. Then 'On the 26th the squadron arrived; the marines were landed, the union hoisted on our post, and formal possession taken of the island, by Commodore Sir J. G. Bremer, accompanied by the other officers of the squadron, under a feu-de-joie from the marines, and a royal salute from the ships of war'.\" Bremer himself was no more expansive. In his official despatch to R. More O'Ferrall M.P. at the Admiralty, written on 24 February but received only on 8 June 1841, Bremer reported that on 26 January he proceeded to Hong Kong ‘and took formal possession of the island, and hoisted the colours on it, with the usual salutes and ceremonies'.\n\n12\n\nNews of the acquisition of the island of Hong Kong became public knowledge in England on the morning of Friday 9 April 1841, but yet again there was no description of the ceremony of possession. On this day Elliot's circular of 20 January was printed in The Times, and it was discussed in an optimistic editorial: it was considered good news because Hong Kong was much more convenient for trade than Macao and a settlement there would be able to maintain itself independently of the Chinese.\" By the following day the tone of the editorial had changed. Its author wrote that 'the nominal cession of the island of Hong Kong to the British crown, though apparently promising considerable advantages to our mercantile interests, has been clogged with conditions which in practice may substantially defeat them', and then referred to the island as an 'insulated and unfrequented locality'. One factor which may have been decisive in settling on Hong Kong in the negotiations was, as the merchant James Matheson noted, the Chinese language, for such, he felt, is its ambiguity that it is difficult to fix in it a definite meaning.\" Matheson believed that, when Ch'i-shan remarked in one of his communications ‘as we have granted you territory you do not now require another port', Elliot in consequence gave up thoughts of British access to a port in northern China in the hope that he could hold Ch'i-shan to an interpretation of the Chinese characters which meant that the British had been granted the territory of Hong Kong rather than merely being given a trading factory there.'5\n\nTwo letters to The Times published in the same week expressed dissatisfaction with the new British acquisition. The first was dated Macao, 22 January and was presumably written by a merchant: 'Regarding the terms of Captain Elliot's treaty with the Chinese, I have", "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1989.txt", "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/8336pm92h", "rank": 0 } ]