95S 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1804. 



" bred at home in idleness and 



" riot, 

 " Ransack for mistresses th' unwliole- 



'' some stews, 

 *' And never know the worth of virtuous 



" love—" 



fly sometimes iri search of fresh en- 

 joyment in the detestable way here 

 alluded to.* 



" I have already observed that 

 the state of domestic society in 

 China was ill calculated to promote 

 the affection and kindness which chil- 

 dren not only owe to, but really feel 

 for their parents, in many countries 

 of Europe. A tyrant, in fact, to 

 command, and a slave to obey, arc 

 found in every family ; for, where 

 the father is a despot, tlie son will 

 naturally be a slave ; and if all the 

 little acts of kindness and silent at- 

 tentions, that create mutual endear- 

 ments, be wanting among the mem- 

 bers of the same familj', living un- 

 der the same roof, it will be in vain 

 to expect to find (hem in the enlarg- 

 ed sphere of public life. In fact, 

 they have no kind of friendly so- 

 cieties nor meetings to talk over the 

 transactions and the news of the day. 

 These ean only take place in a free 

 government. A Chinese having fi- 

 nished his daily employment, retires 

 to his solitary apartment. Tlu^re 

 are, it is true, a sort of public- 

 houses where the lower orders of 

 people sometimes resort for their 

 cup of tea or of seau-tchoo (a kind 

 of ardent spirit distilled from a mix- 

 ture of rice and other grain), but 

 such houses are seldom, if at all, 

 frequented for the sake of compa- 



ny. They are no incitement, as 

 those are of a similar kind in Eu- 

 rope, to jovial pleasures or to vul- 

 gar ebriety. From this odious vice 

 the bulk of the people are entirely 

 free. Among the multitudes which 

 we daily saw, in passing from one 

 extremity of the country to the 

 other, I do not recollect having 

 ever met with a single instance of a 

 man being disguised in liquor. In 

 Canton, where the lower orders of 

 people are employed by Europeans, 

 and necessarily mix Avith European 

 seamen, intoxication is not unfre- 

 quent among the natives, but this 

 vice forms no part of the general 

 character of the people. When- 

 ever a few Chinese happen to meet 

 fogether, it is generally for the pur- 

 pose of gaming, or to eat a kettle of 

 boiled rice, or drink a pot of tea, or 

 smoke a pipe of tobacco. 



" The upper ranks indulge at 

 home in the use of opium. Great 

 quantities of this intoxicating drug 

 are smuggled into the country, not. 

 withstanding all the precautions ta- 

 ken by the government to ])rohibit 

 the importation of it ; but it is too 

 expensive to be used by the com- 

 mon people. The officers of the 

 customs are not beyond a bribe. 

 After receiving the sum agreed upon 

 between the importer and them- 

 selves, they frequently become the 

 purchasers of the prohibited article. 

 Most of the country ships from 

 Bengal carry opium to China ; but 

 that of Turkey sent from London 

 in the China ships is preferred, and 

 sells at near double the price of tlis 



" * I should not have taken notice of this odious vice, Iiad not the truth of its 

 existence in Cliina been doubted by some, and attributed by others to a wrong 

 cause. Professing to describe the people as I found them, I must endeavour to 

 draw a faithful picture, neither attempting to palliate iheiir vices, nor to exaggerate 

 their virtues." 



other. 



