SO* 



CHINA. 



Importtrf 



Cinnamon 1-J _'. per pic. 



Camphor 2O 28 



Musi 3037 per ctii or lb 



QfcMq Ill IS prrtarloroz. 



Turmeric 3_ 4 per pic. 



Rhubarb 36 JO 



Dragon's blood 25 4O 



Anite iced 9 10 



Alum 2 3 



Borax 2030 



Toulenago 6 7 



O.uickilver SO-150 



Cold, which as an article of commerce it ,'.'-- in qua- 

 lity, and in the form of plates or ingots, of which 

 that from Tonkin and Cochinchina is the best, and 

 is generally formed into long square pieces. 



Nankeens, of which there are two kinds, the one in 

 broad pieces, 18 cobbs in length, 100 of which are 

 told for a price from 66 to 89 taels ; and the other 

 in narrow pieces of 14 cobbs, sold from 3* to 65 

 tacls per hundred. 



The principal articles of importation are, 



taels. 



Amber from 14to22 per pic. 



Areca nut . 2{ 5 



Aufoctida 6 8 



Azure 18 36 



Cotton of Surat 9 13 



Tin 1416 



Wax 20 40 



Clove buds 102-160 per catis or Ife 



Cochenille 200-600 per pic. 



Tortoise shell 50-105 



Copper from Japan 12 20 



Gold and silver thread . . . 15 30 



Nutmeg 100-400 



Ebony 1H 3$ 



Pepper from Bencoolen or Batavia, at from 11 to 15 

 taels per pic ; from the coast of Malabar, at 14 

 to 16. 



Sandal wood, of the best quality, sells from 20 to 30 

 taels per pic ; of the second, from 12 to 25; and of 

 the third, from 10 to 16. 



Tobacco, from the coast of Brasil, at 70 piastres per 

 pic, even for the inferior kinds, and in 1797 rose to 

 150 piastres. 



Ivory sells from 20 to 72 taels per pic, according to 

 the size of the tusks. 



Camphor from Borneo, of the first quality, from 1100 

 to 2000 tarls per pic ; of the second quality, from 

 600 to 1300 ; of the third quality, about 400. 



Coral, in small grains about the size of a pea, sold in 

 1797 at 40 to 50 taels per catis or tt> ; but in pieces 

 of a tael and a half in weight, and of a rose colour, at 

 1400 piastres per piece, and of two taels in weight 



taooo. 



Steel, which sells best in China, when in pieces of nine 

 or ten inches in length, or about one inch square, at 

 four to seven taels per pic. 



Ginseng of Canada, which formerly sold at 500 taels 

 per pic ; but, having now lost its quality and cha- 

 racter, only brings from 30 to 45, which scarcely 

 pays the doty upon it, and it can therefore be sold 

 only ai smuggled goodi. 



Birds nests f * articles of food, sell at a price from 1600 



to 2500 taels per pic for tfcose of the first quality, Trad* 

 from 900 to 1800, for the second j and from 800 to V^ 

 1000, for the third. 



Opium, which in 1810 was more strictly prohibited 

 by an edict of the government, has generally been 

 ecretly sold at a grrator or less price, according to 

 its quality, and the quantity in the market ; but al- 

 most always with great pn>tit. 



Rabbit and Otter skins, and other furs, were wont to 

 be in considerable demand, but the market has fre- 

 quently been overstocked. 



Glass, mirrors, pearls, gold watches, are all very gain- 

 ful articles of merchandise at Canton. 



As soon as a foreign vessel is moored in the roads of Manner of 

 Macao, the Captain must go ashore to give information p r cdim 

 of the nation to which he belongs, of his own name and J"^, at 

 that of his ship ; and then procures a pilot, who is intrust CantoB. 

 ed with the further navigation of the vessel. When the 

 trader has arrived at the Bocca Tigris, or mouth of the 

 river of Canton, the mandarins send a soldier on board, 

 who remains in the ship till it reaches Wampoo, and till 

 the boats of the custom-house at that place are fairly 

 along side. From this period, no article enters or leaves 

 the ship without being first examined, and having paid the 

 duties, except provisions, which pass free. At this place 

 the ships generally begin to unrig ; and the Chinese soon 

 erect on the shore sorts of shades or tents of bamboo 

 covered with matting, for the reception of the rigging, or 

 the accommodation of the sick on board. About three 

 or four days after the arrival of the vessel, the Ho-poo, 

 or collector of the customs, comes onboard with the Hong 

 merchants and interpreters ; and proceeds to take the 

 measurement of the ship before permission is granted to 

 land the cargo. This measurement is made first along 

 and then across the deck, and the amount of theae two 

 quantities, multiplied together, is the result required. If 

 this surface exceeds 154 Tchang, eah of which is equal 

 to ten Chinese feet, the vessel is ranked as a first rate, 

 and pays for each Tchang seven taels four mas, four con- 

 doreens, and eight deniers ; if it exceeds 120 Tchang it 

 is accounted a second rate, and pays for each of these 

 measures, six taels, eight mas, four condoreeni. ; if below 

 120 Tchang, it is regarded as a third rate, and pays for 

 each, four taels, seven mas, eight condoreens, eight deniers. 

 Besides the duty upon this measurement, every foreign 

 trading vessel indiscriminately pays to the Ho-poo by 

 way of present 19/50 tai*l=L. (WO ; and hence, in the 

 commerce with China, it is evidently more advantageous 

 to employ one large ship, than two of a smaller tonnage. 

 The articles on board are then conveyed to Canton in 

 Chinese boats, at the expence of the foreign trader ; and 

 being carefully noted, as they are put into these boats, 

 are marked at every custom-house on the route, and fi- 

 nally examined at Canton in the European factory, or in 

 the warehouses of the Hong merchants ; but it is recom- 

 mended to the foreigner to have one or two sailors from 

 the vessel on board of each boat, both in loading and un- 

 loading, as the Chinese are remarkably dexterous in com- 

 mitting depredations, and substituting false chests or bale* 

 in the place of those which they purloin. The money for 

 the purchase of the cargo is tent up in the ship's boat ; and 

 as none is allowed to be again withdrawn, when once land- 

 ed in the country, it is necesary to retain on board 

 whatever is not intended for this purpose. Copper and 

 iron are subject to the same refutation ; and, though 

 destined solely far the use of the vessel, yet, if once leit 

 ashore, are not easily recalled on board. 



' See article CAKAM, Vol V. p. 841. 



t See p. 300. Note 



