CANTON CANUTE. 



high and well built. In every quarter of the town 

 and the suburbs are seen temples and pagodas, con- 

 taining the images of Chinese gods. The populous 

 streets are long and narrow, paved with flat stones, 

 and adorned at intervals with triumphal arches. 

 Shops line the sides, and an unbroken range of piazza 

 protects the occupants of the houses, as well as foot- 

 passengers, from the rays of the sun. At night, the 

 gates are closed, and bars are thrown across the en- 

 trances of the streets. The traders express them- 

 selves with sufficient fluency in the languages of their 

 European and American customers, with whom they 

 deal almost exclusively, selling them porcelain, lack- 

 ered wares, &c. The Americans trade here to a 

 greater extent than any other nation : next to them 

 come the British. The greatest part of the silver 

 which is carried from America to Europe, eventually 

 circulates through China, by means of the ports of 

 Canton and Batavia, to which large supplies of the 

 productions of the empire are transmitted. The 

 principal articles of export are tea, India ink, var- 

 nish, porcelain, rhubarb, silk, and nankeen. A com- 

 pany, consisting of twelve or thirteen merchants, 

 called the Cohong, is established here, by order of 

 the government, for the purpose of purchasing the 

 cargoes of foreign ships, and supplying them with re- 

 turn cargoes ot tea, raw silk, &c. This society in- 

 terferes, undoubtedly, with private trade, but adds 

 greatly to the security of the foreign dealer, as each 

 member is answerable for all the rest. Carriages 

 are not used here, but all burdens are transported on 

 bamboo poles laid across the shoulders of men. All 

 the inhabitants of distinction make use of litters. 

 Chinese women are never seen in the streets, and 

 Tartar women but seldom. The European factories, 

 viz. the Dutch, French, Swedish, Danish, and Bri- 

 tish, are situated on a very commodious quay, on the 

 bank of the river. Nearly a league from Canton is 

 the Boat-town, which consists of about 40,000 barks 

 of various kinds, arranged close to each other in re- 

 gular rows, with passages between them, to allow 

 other vessels to pass. In this manner they form a 

 kind of floating city, the inhabitants of which have 

 no other dwellings, and are prohibited by law from 

 settling on shore. As this is the only emporium in 

 the empire for foreign commerce, which is carried on 

 not only by Europeans and Americans, but also to a 

 great extent by the Chinese themselves, with almost 

 all the ports of India and the eastern Archipelago, 

 the number of vessels frequently seen in the river 

 at once, is said to exceed 5000. An American pa- 

 per, issued twice a month, called the Canton Register, 

 has lately been established at Canton. The British 

 and American commerce with Canton is very exten- 

 sive. The British trade is divided into two branches : 

 that carried on between China and Great Britain, or 

 the Company's trade ; and that earned on between 

 China and the British possessions in India, which is 

 chiefly in the hands of private individuals. The im- 



Grts to China consist of woollens, copper, iron and 

 id, glass and earthenware, and jewellery. Since 

 1824-5, the East India Company have exported no- 

 thing from China except tea, (see Tea Trade). The 

 trade between China and British India is of more 

 value than the Company's trade between China and 

 Great Britain. The chief article of import from 

 India to Canton used to be cotton wool ; but this 

 branch of trade has lately declined, probably owinj 

 to large importations of manufactured cottons and 

 twist from Great Britain. Opium is now the prin- 

 cipal import. The following table gives the amount 

 of imports from Canton into the ports of the United 

 States, also the exports of domestic and foreign 

 goods from the United States to Canton, from 1821 

 to 1827. 



Year. Imports. Dam. Kxp. For. Exp. 



1821, 3,111,951 dollars. 388,535 dollars. 3,902,025 dollars. 



1822, 5,242,536 479,230 5,506,138 



1823, 6,511,425 288,375 4,347,686 



1824, 5,618,502 330,466 4,970,705 



1825, 7,573,115 160,059 5,410,456 



1826, 7,422,186 242,451 2,324,193 



1827, 3,617,183 290,862 3,573,543 



The climate of Canton is healthy, warm in summer, 

 but pretty cold in winter. Provisions, including va- 

 rious luxuries, are abundant. 



CANTYRE, or KINTVRE, the southern division 

 of Argyleshire. Mull of Kintyre, the south promon- 

 tory of the peninsula. 



CANUTE I., king of England and Denmark, as- 

 cended the throne of both kingdoms, A.D. 1015. 

 He was called the Great, on account of his power, 

 as Alfred had been for his virtue. The barbarities 

 committed by the Danes in England excited Ethelred 

 II., the twelfth king of Saxon descent, to a bloody 

 vengeance. In 1002, he caused all the Danes, wo- 

 men and children, to be massacred on the same day. 

 The sister of Sweyn, then king of Denmark, he 

 caused to be beheaded in his presence. Sweyn 

 landed in England, and laid waste the country with 

 fire and sword. Ethelred had escaped to Normandy. 

 Sweyn died 1014, before he had time to confirm the 

 Danish power in the island. This was accomplished, 

 however, by his son and successor, Canute. He be- 

 gan his reign by devastating all the eastern coast of 

 his new kingdom, and causing the English, who were 

 given to his father as hostages, after he had cut off 

 their noses and hands, to be drowned at Sandwich. 

 He then received reinforcements from Denmark, and 

 extended his ravages in the south of England. The 

 valiant Edmund marched against him with an army; 

 and, although he was several tunes overcome, 

 through the treachery of Edric, his brother-in-law, 

 he still maintained himself against Canute, so that 

 the English and Danish nobles, weary of the long- 

 continued contest, sought to bring about a division 

 of England between the two princes. A solemn 

 treaty secured to Canute the north of England, and 

 to Edmund the south. But only a month after this 

 contract, Edmund was assassinated by two chamber- 

 lains, hired by Edric ; and Canute became master of 

 all England. At a general assembly of the states, 

 he induced false witnesses to affirm that Edmund had 

 appointed him heir to his crown, to the prejudice of 

 his two minor children. After the assembly had con- 

 firmed this settlement, Canute sent the two young 

 princes to the king of Sweden, with the request that 

 he would put them to death. The latter, however, 

 sent them to Hungary, where they met with the 

 kindest reception. Canute, who had begun his reign 

 with barbarity and crime, afterwards became humane, 

 and finally pious, and even superstitious. He com- 

 menced a more equitable administration, by punishing 

 the English natives who had betrayed their king, and 

 by causing Edric to be hanged, and thrown into the 

 Thames. He restored the Saxon customs at a general 

 assembly and insured to the Danes and Englishmen 

 equal rights and equal protection of person and pro- 

 perty, so that the horror which had been excited by his 

 tyranny was changed into respect and gratitude. His 

 power was confirmed by his marriage with Emma, 

 Ethelred's widow. He now made two expeditions to 

 the continent, one to conquer Sweden, and the other 

 to reduce Norway. But the most powerful prince of 

 his age was at length brought to feel the vanity of 

 earthly greatness. He erected churches and monas- 

 teries, and even performed a pilgrimage to Rome, 

 where he obtained important privileges for the schools 

 of England. It was this spirit of piety that animated 

 him, when, to confound his flatterers, he seated him- 

 self upon the strand, and commanded the waves to 

 retire. As they advanced, and bathed his feet, Ca- 



