204 
LOCKHART ON THE Y AN G-TSE-KI ANG, &c. [April 26, 1858. 
than a more expensive article. In the city of New-Chang, north of Pekin, 
the people can scarcely bear the severity of the winter ; and no doubt if 
they could get a cloth cheap, such as they obtain in a roundabout way from 
Russia, they would be glad to make use of it. With reference to the trade of 
the Yang-tse-Kiang, it would be well to take notice of the impediments to it 
caused by hordes of pirates, who have been assisted by renegade Englishmen 
and Americans. When the value of the trade is discovered (I have found 
junks laden which the natives themselves estimated to be worth 30,000 and 
40,000 dollars), I have no doubt that the extreme peril to which that trade is 
exposed will be taken more notice of, and that the pirates will be entirely 
suppressed. I had the honour of belonging to the expedition which went as 
far as Nankin in 1842, and I can bear testimony to what Captain Collinson 
says as to the immense quantities of coal piled up by the Chinese, which our 
steamers made use of. 
Mr. Consul Alcock. — Mr. Lockhart has drawn the attention of the Society 
to that part of our relations with China which I think certainly most interest- 
ing and important — that is, to the geographical features of the country, and its 
influence on our commerce. I think it was Professor Owen who some time ago 
remarked that the physiological and geographical condition of a country had 
more to do with its character, its liberty, its commerce, than perhaps any other 
feature. It is an observation which I think we too often lose sight of. In 
China particularly is this remarkable. By referring to the map it is very easy 
to demonstrate this truth. There is a great chain of mountains running down 
from Ningpo to the southern coast, which renders it quite impossible for any 
extensive trade to be carried on from those ports intervening between Ningpo 
and Canton, inasmuch as the rivers throughout that extent of country take 
their rise from opposite sides of the mountains. But by obtaining access into 
the interior by means of the Yang-tse-Kiang you come in contact with an 
extensive tract of the finest country in the world. The banks of this noble 
stream are thickly covered with populous cities, and thousands of junks are to 
be seen sailing up and down its waters conveying the produce of one part of 
the country to another. The Yang-tse-Kiang stands unrivalled by any other 
river in the world as regards its population, its wealth, and the enormous 
traffic that takes place. It is difficult to bring statistics to bear upon matters 
connected with trade, or with any other subject, even with population, in 
China ; but I am quite satisfied from what I have seen and from all the know- 
ledge that has reached me, that we have no conception in England of the vast 
extent of the inland traffic of China. There is a greater trade carried on 
between the eighteen provinces of China than between all Europe and the rest 
of the world. If we wish to have a share of that trade, and to carry on a 
commerce that shall be mutually beneficial, we must get the right to traverse 
that great stream, the Yang-tse-Kiang, to which Mr. Lockhart has so ably 
drawn our attention. We must go up to Hang-chow, a city which extends 
some twenty miles along both sides of the river. There alone we should find 
a new market for our manufactures, and a means of distributing them in the 
interior among millions who have never heard of them. Although some of 
our goods may go up the country, I am certain the great bulk do not extend 
a hundred miles beyond the ports where they are landed. In my opinion we 
shall never make any progress until we have gained these two points — free 
access to the tea and silk districts and the central marts there, and the right 
to traverse the Yang-tse-Kiang and to enter the great cities on its banks. As 
regards our political relations, I think until we have direct relations with the 
court of Pekin, based upon a rational footing, that we shall always be met by 
anomalies and contradictions. With these points gained, the whole of China 
would be opened to us, and our commercial hopes, which have hitherto been 
doomed to disappointment, would I believe in a few years be more than realised. 
