Nov; 22, 1858.] AND THE PEIHO RIVER. 85 



fined to any quarter, changing without warning from south-east to north-west, 

 and blowing at a force of 7. After the month of May, or when the south-west 

 monsoon had fairly set in, the weather became much more settled, sea-breezes, 

 or those from east and south-east, setting in soon after noon, and continuing 

 until the next morning. 



Generally south-east, south-west, and westerly winds carry the lowest 

 barometer, and north-west and northerly the highest. 



Stephen Court, Master k.n., 

 H. M. S. Furious. 



The President, in proposing a vote of thanks to Captain Sherard Osborn, 

 said : We always receive any *' stray leaves " which come from our friend 

 Captain Osborn with gratitude ; and I am quite sure that he has never sent 

 any communication to us, whether from the Arctic regions or the Sea of Azof, 

 which has excited greater interest among the Fellows of the Geographical 

 Society than this vivid and striking description of the bay and river which 

 lead to the metropolis of China. There are, I know, persons present who are 

 well capable of throwing additional light upon the subject. 



Capt. W. H. Hall, r.n., f.r.g.s. — I may just mention that I was in the 

 Gulf of Pecheli, when a youngster, in the Ijyra, and that I quite coincide with 

 all that Capt. Sherard Osborn has said of that interesting part of China ; in 

 fact, 1 have been much gratified and edified in hearing such a good account of 

 that part of China from one who has gone over the same ground as myself. I 

 certainly did not go up the river ; but as a midshipman, with Lord Amherst's 

 embassy, 1 entered the mouth of the Peiho in a boat, and I was glad to find 

 that the last expedition got up so much farther than we did, and that they 

 did so much good service. 



Mr. Wm. Lockhart, f.r.g.s. — -With much pleasure I have heard the paper 

 read from Captain Osborn, and I hope it will be the prelude to many papers of a 

 similar kind regarding the north part of China, which has hitherto been an 

 entirely unknown region. It is to be hoped, now that we are about to have 

 large intercourse with the coast of China, that it will be one of the first efforts 

 of our Government to institute an inquiry into the nature of that coast. We 

 have no good charts, and there are no means of forwarding commercial enter- 

 prises beyond Shanghai. There are imperfect charts of some portions of the 

 coast ; and it is of great importance that the whole coast should be carefully 

 investigated. As to the Gulf of Tartary — a very important region — we 

 know little about it ; for when our ships were there in 1856 there was 

 little time or opportunity for extensive surveys to be made. It was with great 

 {)leasure I heard the remarks of Captain Osborn as to the increasing trade of 

 Shanghai. It is astonishing that within fifteen or sixteen years so much 

 should have been done in that place. When we went there in 1843 there was 

 nothing on the banks of the river but a few mud-hovels and shipyards. Now 

 it is an extensive and handsome city of ]3alaces, along the edge of the river for 

 about a mile or a mile and a half. 



This place, with Fu-chow for black tea — Shanghai being for silk and 

 green tea — and the lar^e town Han-kow, up the Yang-ze-kiang, for the 

 sale of European goods, will be the three important places for foreign trade 

 in future. It is true we have access, or shall have access, in the next 

 year to large portions of China, especially on the northern coast, which we 

 have hitherto not visited. But the other ports in the north of China are of 

 little commercial consequence compared with these three places. Fu-chow 

 was at one time of little importance ; but in consequence of the disturbances 

 in the south of China, consequent upon the breaking out of the rebellion, 

 immense quantities of black tea for exportation have been sent to that i)lace. 

 Shanghai, from the time of our British merchants going there, has ever been 



