234 VILLAGE OF WOOSUNG. [Cuar. XIf. 
that our Chinese friends had made sail, and gone 
away without waiting to claim the promised 
reward. 
The small village of Woosung, where one of the 
battles was fought during the last war, stands on 
the banks of another river, commonly known as the 
‘‘Shanghae river” by Europeans, and at the point 
where it falls into the Yang-tse-Kiang. This is 
one of the principal stations in China for the 
opium merchant vessels, and I believe latterly 
more of the drug has been sold here than at all 
the other stations put together. 
So much has been said about this trade and 
opium smoking, that a few remarks upon the 
subject will not be out of place bere. It is well 
known that the greater part of the opium which is 
brought to the Chinese coast is grown and manu- 
factured in our East Indian possessions. Those 
English or American merchants who deal largely 
in this production employ very fast sailing vessels 
for bringing it from India to China, and also keep 
up what are called receiving ships in many of the 
bays or harbours along the coast of China. These 
receiving ships are regularly supplied by the fast- 
sailing vessels which bring their cargoes from 
India or Hongkong. The Chinese smugglers come 
out from the adjoining bays and towns, in small 
boats, well manned and armed, in order to protect 
their property, which is generally of great value. 
Silver, in the form of South American dollars or 
Sycee, is bartered for the opium at all those stations 
