472 CHINA. 
flrumcnt for taking an obfervation. The Chinefe r o ne- 
times carry with them rough drafts of their intended 
track, (ketched out or engraved upon the back of an 
empty gourd, its globular form correiponding, in fome 
degree, to the rotundity of the earth. But as the Chinefe 
feas are narrow, and every where interfered with iflands, 
they have lefs occafion for charts, and they depend chiefly 
on the polarity of the needle. The compafs, however, 
though here of little avail, is in univerfal u(e among them. 
The Chips entered the Yellow Sea on Tuefday the 9th 
of July, in dark cloudy weather. Vatt quantities of the 
yellowifh mud were dillurbed by the fliips'motion through 
the water, when they were failing in about fix fathoms, 
as appeared in the fliips’ wakes at a confiderable diftance. 
On the morning of the 10th of July, being in from thirty 
to thirty-feven fathoms water, they difcovered the iflands 
of Tchin-fan and Shoo-tong-yeng, which bore about 
north-weft by weft, diftant nine or ten leagues. On the 
nth they del'cried two iflands, called Pa-tcha-fan and 
Te-tchong. Friday, the nth of July, they had a thick 
fog, which increafed much in the morning. Guns were 
fired, during the fog, to keep the l’quadfon together; not- 
withftanding which the Hindooftan loft company, Sun¬ 
day the 14th, the fog was dil'pelled. The Hindooftan, it 
afterwards appeared, had this day fallen in with the En¬ 
deavour brig, belonging to the Eaft-India company, com¬ 
manded by captain ProClor, on-board which veffel was a 
young man, mailer of the Spanilh and Chinefe languages, 
who meant to offer liimlelf as an additional interpreter to 
the embafly. On VVednefday the 17th of July, the whole 
fquadron again joined company. Two capes or head¬ 
lands were this day difcovered. Thefe, with an ifland 
lying in the track from the l'outhward to the gulf of Pe¬ 
kin, being likely to be the firft iflands made by future 
European navigators, their exaCl fituations were afcer- 
tained, and the following names given to them by fir 
Erafmus Gower: Cape Macartney, N. lat. 36. 54. E. Ion. 
1 22.12. by fun and moon ; 122. 20. by time-piece. Cape 
Gower, N. lat. 36. 57. E. Ion. 122. 15. by fun and moon ; 
122.23. by time-piece. Staunton’s Ifland, N. lat. 36. 
47. E. Ion. 122. 9. by fun and moon; 122. 17. by time¬ 
piece. There was an inlet within Cape Macartney, 
where feveral fmall craft were feen lying at anchor. 
This cape may be eafily known, if it is brought to bear 
north-north-eaft to north-well, by a Angular appearance 
of Ax pointed peaks. From hence the fquadron failed 
along the coaft in various directions, till they got into 
the bay of Ki-fan-feu. The harbour of Mi-a-tau was in 
an ifland, diftant ftfteen leagues farther to the wellward, 
though the latitude differs but a few miles only to the 
northward. The bay of Ki-fan-feu is very fpacious, ex¬ 
tending about ten miles from eall to well, and nearly the 
fame diftance from north to fouth. It is Iheltered from 
every wind except from eaft-north-eaft to eall-fouth-eall, 
the direction of the entrance into it. The fquadron re¬ 
mained one day in this bay, having procured new pilots; 
but on Sunday the 2tft of July, they made fail through 
the paffage between Cape Zeu-a-tau and the ifland, keep¬ 
ing rather clofer to the former than the latter. There 
was a bay, a little,to the wellward of the mod northerly 
point of Zeu-a-tau, in which feveral velfels were feen 
to enter. This has been laid down by fome miffionaries 
as a fife and convenient harbour. After clearing the eall 
point, they fleered a courfe from north to north-weft, 
keeping the coaft pretty well on-board. On the evening 
they hauled round a projecting head-land, which, with 
a bluff point due weft from this, diftant about eight 
miles, form the entrance of Ten choo-foo bay, in which 
the fquadron anchored in feven fathoms water. The an¬ 
chorage being foul, by reafon of Ihells and hard ground, 
the Clarence was immediately ordered to proceed to Mi- 
a-tau, to examine its harbour. In the interim, an offi¬ 
cer was lent to the governor of Ten-clioo-foo, to notify 
the arrival and purport of the fquadron ; who, when he 
heard the ambalfador was on-board the Lion, inllantly 
lent off a prefent of frelh proviftons and fome fruit, and 
z 
went afterwards in perfon to compliment his excellenc/. 
The governor did pot fail to invite the v amball'ador and 
his Ante, in the moll prefling manner, to entertainments 
and plays on flrore. He willied for an opportunity of 
(hewing his excellency, on a fmall fcale, what a magnift- 
cent reception was preparing for him by his fovereign, 
againll his arrival at the court of Ptdrin. 
To a nation like File Chinefe, among whom fubordina- 
tion in the various ranks and degrees of fociety is ob- 
l'erved with unremitting ItriCtnefs ; who look up to the 
throne with the profoundell veneration, and whole minds 
were about to he imprefl'ed, from the example of their 
fovereign, with the highell degree of conlideration for 
the Englifh nation, heretofore held, if not in contempt, 
at lealt in difefteem; it was a matter of the highell im¬ 
portance, that the individuals who compofed the em- 
bafly (liould adopt fuch a cautious and circutnlpeClive 
conduft as (liould avoid giving offence where it was fo 
eaflly taken; and all'o endeavour to root out their pre¬ 
judices, and conciliate their elleem, by examples of ci¬ 
vility, courtefy, and moral reClitude. As the fquadron 
was now pretty far advanced in the Yellow Sea, and 
likely foon to arrive at its place of deilination, his excel¬ 
lency judged it expedient to caufe a paper to be dilperfed 
throughout the fleet, tending to put thofe perfons, who 
compofed the embafly, on their guard with refpeCl to 
their general demeanour. This paper,, which was pub¬ 
licly read to the crews and pall'engers of each fliip, pur¬ 
ported, that the fuccefs of the embafly depended on gain¬ 
ing the good-will of the Chinefe; that this might alfo 
depend on the ideas entertained by them of the dilpoli- 
tion and conduCl of the Englifh nation, now to be judged 
of by their behaviour ; that the unfavourable imprefiions 
retained by the Chinefe againll the Englifh for irregu¬ 
larities heretofore committed at Canton, damping them 
as the worft of Europeans, could only be effaced by a 
conduCl diametrically oppofite ; and fucli a conduCl only 
was likely to eradicate that fettled enmity; that the 
meanell of the Chinefe were fupported by their fuperiors 
in all their differences with foreigners; and, if neceffary, 
were ready to avenge his blood, of which a fatal inllance 
had happened to the Englifli gunner, who molt inno¬ 
cently, and very unintentionally, deprived a Chinefe of 
life : he therefore recommended particular caution and 
mildnefs in every intercourfe or accidental meeting with 
the pooreft individual of the country. 
His excellency, who was convinced there was no ne- 
ceffity for recommending to fir Erafmus Gower to make 
fuch regulations, as prudence might dictate on the occa¬ 
fion, for the perfons under his immediate command, nor 
to captain Mackintolh for the officers and crew of the 
Ilindollan, trufted all'o that the propriety and expediency 
of maintaining the credit of the Englifli name would l'e- 
cure their voluntary obedience; and that the fame in¬ 
centives would produce fimilar effeCls on every perfon 
concerned in the embafly. His excellency declared, that 
as he (liould be prompt to encourage and report the good 
conduCl of thofe who merited commendation, fo he 
fliould be equally ready, in cafe of mil'conduCl, to report 
with equal exaClitude, and to ful'pend or difmifs the vio¬ 
lators ; and that, fliould injury be offered or done to a 
Chinefe, or a mil'demeanor of any kind be committed, 
punilhable by the laws of China, they were not to expeCt 
him to interfere with a view of mitigating or warding 
off their leverity. 
The next objeCl of importance was, to know whether 
the fquadron could be lafely fheltered in the harbour of 
Mi-a-tau. The officer who had been thither in the Cla¬ 
rence to reconnoitre, foon after returned, and reported 
that that harbour did not afford them a fecure retreat, 
on account of a dangerous reef of rocks that lay off the 
eall end of the eafternmolt of the Mi-a-tau iflands, called 
Chan-fan, which could not be approached by the fqua¬ 
dron nearer than where they were nine fathoms water. 
The Clarence, however, anchored in feven fathoms, in 
clayey ground, within a mile of the fliore. The ifland 
was 
