MISCELLANEOUS. 235 



that the ascent for the first time of an unknown river for a distance of upwards of 

 600 miles is a great achievement. In absence of information as to tbe breadth of 

 the river and the nature of its channels, and as some of the principal cities -were 

 known, and several of the fortified places were suspected, to be in the hands of the 

 rebels, it was deemed prudent to proceed with an efficent squadron ; accordingly, 

 Her Majesty's ships Retribution, Furious, and Cruiser, and gunboats Dove and Lee 

 were selected for the purpose ; the Retribution, however, owing to her great draught 

 of water, was left at Kew-Shien, about 90 miles above Nanking, and the remainder 

 sncceeded in ascending the river — overcoming all obstacles in the shape of rebels 

 and shoals — to Han-kow. Within the last few years the channel of the river up to 

 Nanking is so entirely changed, shoals existing where the charts indicated deep 

 water, as to neutralize the advantages derived from the experience of former sur- 

 veyors; nor is this transformation confined to the bed of tbe river — the same occurs 

 with its banks, and former landmarks had either disappeared altogether, or were 

 BO completely altered as to be undistinguishable. The direction of the current fol- 

 lows the same law of change, and to such a degree, in the opinion of the author, 

 as to render, in our altered relations with China, an extended survey essential to 

 the interests of commerce. Passing the Imperialist fleet, which was blockading 

 Nanking, then held by the rebels, the latter fired on a flag of truce which was hoist- 

 ed, the result of which was the silencing and partial demolition of their batteries. 

 Continuing the ascent, and leaving behind several towns, here, held by the Impe- 

 rialists and there by the rebels, the squadron entered the comparatively narrowed 

 passage by the Eastern and Western Pillar Hills ; the former rising to a height of 

 from 300 to 400 feet out of the water, crowned with a crenellated wall with batteries 

 — the latter shaped like Gibraltar, on a smaller scale, and covered with fortifications 

 extending some distance along the shore, effectually commanding the passage, and 

 rendering such a position, in the hands of a European Power, impregnable. Leav- 

 ing Kew-Shien, the expedition proceeded on their voyage — the hills on the banks 

 rising to a height of 2,000 feet, richly wooded — and reached Ta-Keang, where this 

 range winds rapidly away in a southerly direction, the river following an opposite 

 course, and widening into noble reaches of great depth ; and a range of hills to the 

 north then commences. Up to this point the navigation is unattended with any 

 great difficulty, and the soundings are regular. Continuing their course, large lakes 

 were visible from the mast-head on both sides ; in summer they are filled by the 

 overflowing waters of the Ta-Keang, and are subject to annual inundations. The 

 author here notices the principal towns and villages, and the chief features and the 

 character of the country on either bank. With the exception of the Tsung-yang 

 river which joins a lake a little above Nanking, all those tributaries marked as such 

 in the maps were mere ditches, almost dry in the winter ; but here the Great Lake 

 meets a mighty feeder in the Poyang Lake, discharging into it the whole drainage 

 of the province of Keang-si. Throughout the whole length of the voyage to Han- 

 kow the banks, and the cultivation on them, retain much of the same character. 

 The cotton of the district of Kin-kwoh is celebrated. There can be little doubt that 

 the natural advantages Han-kow possesses must always render it of great impor- 

 tance in a commercial point of view, and it is not easy to estimate the effect which 

 the concentration of a foreign community, and the accumulation of foreign capital 

 may produce upon the river traffic generally. 



