( II I X A. 



T*de. mean wrr to raie the price of their furs, of 



- . -i- extremely fund ; but they arc sel- 



dom bie to out-Jo I lie-so trader* in cunning and c.mt 

 In thit trade the Ilusuan article* are chiefly fur*, cloth*, 

 hardware, and lire cattle, tuch a< horses, camel*, fee. ; 

 and tl.r Chinese commodities arc tilk, cotlon, porccla'n, 

 rhubaib, mink, &c. By a calculation of exports and 

 imports at Knkhta in 1777. the amount of this com- 

 merer between Russia and China was estimated at 

 . .ig | and including the contraband trade, 

 .cry considerable, and making allow- 

 ance ; :icirncic of tint year, which is said to 

 l.ave been less abundant than this preceding, the gross 

 mount may be calculated at 800,000 sterling. It has 

 grwtly declined, however, since that period ; and about 

 the year 1788, wa completely at a stand, waiting for 

 the confirmation of a new treaty. It is the opinion of 

 M. Le*ep, frm whose travels in Kamtschatka the 

 above information is <! :...!, that the taxes and rcitric- 

 tiuni upon tlu- traders would require to be greatly redu- 

 ced ; an 1 that it would be the interest of the Russians, 

 ins'Ci.'. of pursuing thin overland traffic, to tit out ships 

 from Okotsk or Kamtschatka, and to trade directly wttli 

 M.-.cao or Canton.* 



'* The foreign trade of the Chinese, as carried on by 



rade by t ^ c ; r own gapping, j, extremely limited ; and the equip- 

 ment of vessels for that purpose is confined to the three 

 ports of Canton, Emouy, and Ning-po. They generally 

 j 4OUfc tail to Japan in the month of May or June, with a mon- 

 toon from the south-east, and return in October by fa- 

 vour of the north winds. In this trade, they export 

 rhubarb, ginseng, silk-stuffs, strings for musical instru- 

 i 4 5, eagle and sandal wood, leather, cloth, and sugar; 

 and bring back pearls, gold, red-copper, sword-blades, 

 paper, and varnished articles : making great profit, espe- 

 cially upon their sugar, and supposed to gain upon the 

 whole cent, j-.cr cent. 



Their trade to Manilla is account) d only about or."- 

 half as gainful, and con i-ts in exchanging silk-stuffs 

 and stocking 1 ;, embroideries, tea, porcelain, varnish, and 

 drugs ; for piastres, rice, birds' nests, f pearls, and dye- 

 ing matt i 



To Batavia their traffic is more considerable than to 

 any other quarter, and is greatly encouraged by the 

 Dutch. They sail thither in the month of December, 

 with cargoes of porcelain, tea, toutenago, J copper ves- 

 els, rhubarb, and other drugs ; and take, in return, sil- 

 ver, tin, pepper, nutmeg, cloves, tortoise shells, birds' 

 nests, sandal wood, red wood, amber, and European 

 cloths. 

 V To Cochinchina they export linen and woollen stuffs, 



ar.d receive in exchange, gold, areca, and cinnamon. 

 Malacca. TI Malacca, Siam, and Cambodia, they bring home 



rcsii., tin, camphor, birds' nests, elephants' teeth, and 

 the In rn- of the rhinoceros. 



Commerce That specie* of the foreign trade of China, which is 

 carried on by the thips of other nations, is confined en- 

 "*" tirely to the port of Canton ; and may be said to be a 

 branch of traffic, which i barely tolerated by their go- 

 vernment. The court of Pek-n, indeed, has frequently 

 indicated a disposition to shut the port of Canton, and of 

 consequence all their other p >rts, against foreign ve-sels ; 

 and, except the loss of the customs, drawn by the em- 



peror, and the injury, which the city of Cantos would 

 stiMain, it has been ', whether the Chinese na- "^~ 



tion in general would lose much by the exclusion. The 

 principal articles, which they receive by this European 

 commerce, and which may be viewed as most npproach- 

 ing to necessaries, arc tin, which is chiefly employed in 

 making tea boxes, and which w-.uild bcco:ne Uss neces- 

 sary were the European demand for that article suspend- 

 ed, or which they might procure as formerly from Bs- 

 tavia and Malacca ; lead, winch is used chiefly for the 

 same purpose, and which would become equally unne- 

 cessary from the same cause; spites, of which the 

 nese do not make great use; cotlon, of which they could 

 themselves produce abundance, by resuming the culture 

 of the cotton plant, instead of the tea tree, which th-y 

 have in a great measure substituted in i:s place; and 

 broad clollm. which are principally used by the wealthier 

 classes, but for which they might easily find proper sub- 

 ititutee. 



On the other hand, nothing but the importance of the 

 trade to Europeans, especially the valuable and universal 

 commodity of tea, could induce the merchants of other 

 countries to tolerate the usage, which they experience at 

 Canton, from the very lowest officers of the Chinese go- 

 vernment. They arc not only received with the utmost in- 

 difference, but are often treated with the greatest rude- 

 ness, and daily exposed to the grossest extortions. They 

 ar compelled to trade with a limited number of Chinese 

 merchants, seldom exceeding eight, who have the sanc- 

 tion of government to treat with foreigners ; and wh 

 are responsible, on their part, for the conduct of those 

 with whom they have deal'tigs. With these men, and 

 their deputies, the strangers transact business in a kind of 

 mixed jargon of English, Portuguese, French, and 

 Chinese ; and, beyond this communication, they have 

 scarcely one indulgence or privilege of any kind. They 

 cannot extend their walk a tew hundred yards beyond 

 the limits of the factory, without danger ot insult ; and 

 are always watched and suspected at every step which 

 they take. The very meanest of the natives are in a 

 manner prohibited from serving them ; and almost ac- 

 count themselves degraded by their employment. The 

 import and export duties, ought, by the law of the coun- 

 try, to be levied according to the value of the cargoes 

 or si/.e of the vessels ; but are, for the most part, arbi- 

 trarily fixed at the fancy of the collector. The Chinese 

 government, indeed, are ready to pnni-h, with confisca- 

 tion of property, those officers, who are guilty of extor- 

 tion, and have often shewn great justice and moderation 

 in cases, which were duly represented ; yet its vigilance 

 is generally evaded, and its threatenings silenced by the 

 potency of presents ; while the foreign merchants, from 

 their ignorance of the language, are unable to bring 

 their grievances to the knowledge of the viceroy, which 

 it would be vain to attempt to transmit through the 

 petty officers or Hong merchants, who are all interested 

 in keeping such things from the ear of their superiors. 



These Hong merchants, also, though generally dis- 

 tinguished by the liberality and accuracy of their deal- 

 ings, have the foreign trader wholly at their mercy, a 

 they possess the complete monopoly of the commerce. 

 They alone are entitled to receive the in ported goods, 

 and to furnish the return cargoes. With them the fo- 



Farther pcninilnn of thin commerce may be found in Coxc's /toman Ditcmtria, p. 197; nnd in Pallas':- ' P- ' 



t Thee neU arc nude by upedci of (wallow, md nro composed of nea worms of the mollusca class, IMH. ,,tt.i ! Can- 



toned to the rock, by mean* of a ulimy milter which iuuei from the bill of the bird, or which, as others MI|>I> .,-, it ' 

 vurfjc* of UK water. They are mull aud tough, resembling the half of a lemon-rind, j ud those arc accounted, tlie best, which ate 

 Vfehc, clean, and free from feather* J See p, 297, Js'otc, 



