Cuar. II.] STOPPING THE SUPPLIES. 19 
of foreigners, fancied there was more in this than 
met the eye, and that it was done for the purpose of 
squeezing them, and they actually rebelled against 
the decree. A meeting of all the Compradores and 
other great men took place, and one of the results 
was, that the “supplies” were stopped. For 
several days every thing stood still, the Coolies 
would not work, the boats would not bring provi- 
sions, in fact, the Chinese were in a fair way of 
starving the ‘ Legislative Council of Hong-kong” 
into making better laws; and they succeeded at 
last in making them alter the celebrated Registra- 
tion Act into one more agreeable to their feelings. 
From the tops of the mountains the view is 
grand and imposing in the extreme; mountain is 
seen rising above mountain, rugged, barren and 
wild —the elevation of the highest being nearly two 
thousand feet—the sea as far as the eye can reach 
is studded with islands of the same character as 
Hong-kong; on one side our beautiful bay lies 
beneath us crowded with shipping and boats, and on 
the other, the far extending waters of the China sea. 
The climate of Hong-kong is far from being 
agreeable, and up to the present time, has proved 
very unhealthy, both to Europeans and to the native 
Chinese. During the months of July and August— 
the hottest in the year—the maximum heat shown 
by my thermometer was 94° Fahr. and the mini- 
mum in the same time was 80°. The difference 
between the heat of day and night is generally 
about 10 degrees. In winter the thermometer 
c 2 
