C H 
c-amphor-tree ; and nearer to the latter place, a great 
number of the thuya, or arbor vitte tree, which grows to 
an amazing height. During a ftiort temporary obltruc- 
tion to the progrefs of the boats, two young men over¬ 
took them, who were anxious to have a light of the am- 
balfador. They were dignified with the lame office from 
the king of the Lequele ifiands, and were going to pay 
tribute and do homage from their fovereign to the empe¬ 
ror. Their drefs, belides. filk turbans, confilted of a fine 
brownlhawl, the manufacture of their country, lined with 
the furs of fquirrels. They were of dark complexion, well 
bred, and communicative. No European veil'd, it le.ems, 
bad ever been at any of their illands, (at the principal 
of which was a commodious harbour,) though they are 
not prohibited, and would be well received. 
Several excavations were perceived in the fides of the 
contiguous hills, whence had been obtained a lpecies of 
fine granite, called pe-tun-fe, ufed in manufacturing por¬ 
celain. This, with kao-lin, a kind of clay; 'ivba-Jhe, fimi- 
Jar to the Englilh foap-rock; Jhe-kan, the g.ypfum; and, 
it is reported, the inconfumable albeftos fofiile Hone, 
formed its principal materials. A village in the neigh¬ 
bourhood contained three thoufand furnaces for baking 
porcelain ; but the manufacturing of it is, with them, 
rendered uncertain; inafmuch as, for want of fuch a py¬ 
rometer as Wedgewood’s to afcertain the degree of beat, 
the contents of whole furnaces are fometimes baked into 
one folid ufelefs mafs. 
The embalfy had now reached Chan-fan-clien, where 
the river was no longer navigable. During their route, 
as well as on their arrival here, there were feveral inter¬ 
changes of vifits between the viceroy and the ambaffa¬ 
dor, while preparations were making for their journey 
by land. He had almolt a daily correfpondence with the 
emperor, from whom his excellency continued to receive 
expreffions of perional efteena. The oppreffions to which 
foreigners, and particularly the Englilh, were expoled at 
Canton, frequently arofe in the courfe of converfation. 
The benevolence of the viceroy dilpofe.d him to liffcen to 
fuch complaints ; and Chow-ta-zhin, a Haunch friend to 
the embalfy, whom he had honoured with Ins confidence, 
undertook to urge the bufinel's to him in private. Every 
thing being ready, the embalfy purfued their journey to¬ 
wards Canton. On their route they perceived ftages upon 
the Hoping fides of hills, in which were cultivated pulfe, 
grain, yams, fweet potatoes, onions, carrots, turnips, and 
other, culinary vegetables. Upon the top of the moun¬ 
ts in was a relervoir to catch rain-water, which was con¬ 
veyed thence by channels, to irrigate thefe cultivated 
terraces. 
Befides the modes already pointed out for railing water 
from rivers for irrigating their lands, the Chinele make 
tile of a chain-pump, .the chambers of which, inllead of 
being cylindrical, are univerfally fquare. The infide of 
a hollow wooden trunk is divided in the middle, by a 
board, into two compartments; a chain, made to turn 
over a fmall wheel or roller at each extremity of the 
trunk, is fattened to flat and fquare pieces of wood, nicely 
iitted to the capacity of the cavity. Thefe, called lifters, 
move with the chain round the rollers, and raife a vo¬ 
lume of water proportionate to the dimenflons of the 
hollow trunk. The power to work this machine may be 
applied different ways. When it is intended to raile a 
great quantity of water, fets of wooden arms, in the form 
®f the letter T, are affixed to the lengthened axis of the 
rollers, and fmoothed for the foot to reft upon. The axis 
is made to turn upon two wooden uprights, rendered 
fteady by a piece of timber ftretched acrols them. Men, 
by treading upon the projecting parts of the wooden arms, 
iupporting themfelves at the lame time by a crofs beam, 
give a rotatory motion to The chain; and the lifters, 
being attached to it, raife up a conftant and abundant 
ftream of water. But for works of irrigation on a grand 
pud more extended l'cale, the Chinele have invented a 
large water-wheel, moft ingenioufly cohftrnCted of bam- 
Vol. IV. No.2I3„ 
[ N A. 489 
boo, and which railes the venter with wonderful celerity, 
and in vaft abundance; for the manner and figure of 
which, fee the article Hydrostatics. In the courle of 
this ffiort journey by land, no Angle fpot was feen uncul¬ 
tivated where the efforts of labour could avail. In places 
where the loil was poor or fteril, every means was em¬ 
ployed to render it fertile. The Cliinefe are as neat in 
hulbandry as in horticulture, and extirpate every nafeent 
weed or noxious plant. 
I11 the evening they arrived at a town, whence they 
were next day again to embark ; and though inns are not 
wanting on the road, at ail of which tea is fold like ale 
in England, yet there was ndt one of fufficient magni¬ 
tude to receive the ambaffador and fuite ; and they were 
accordingly accommodated with the public hall deltined 
lor the examination of young men previous to taking 
their degrees. Thefe examinations are always public ; 
and the governor and magiftrates who prefide, and the 
numerous auditors who attend, are fuppofed able to fup- 
prefs any inclination to partiality in the judges. Oral 
and written queftions are put to the candidates, as in Eng¬ 
land ; and the luccefsful one, after being eleCted to the 
univerfity, may attain to the higheft offices and dignities 
of the Hate. No perfon is precluded from arriving at 
this honour; it is bpen to all claffes of men. The people, 
thus convinced that authority has been obtained through 
merit, are prompted to pay it refpeCt and obedience, ex¬ 
cept in cales of notorious abufe, again!! which rank and 
learning do not always afford fecurity. A fyftem of go¬ 
vernment like this, holds out many advantages to fociety; 
nor can it fail but when the temptation to do evil pre¬ 
ponderates over the ftrength of principle, and the hazard 
of detection in facrificing it. The poor, and private in¬ 
dividuals of China, who have no channel through which 
to impart the grievances they fuffer from the conduCt of 
their local rulers, may be faid to be left almoft at their 
mercy; and the fame concluflon will apply to foreigners 
when left in the fame predicament. It was under this 
idea, that the ambaffador feized every opportunity of im- 
preffing on the mind of the viceroy, the expediency of 
his protecting the ftrangers at Canton from the extortions 
of the collectors of the cuftoms, and other fubordinate 
officers connected with the commerce of that port. The 
viceroy in return faid, that he was convinced no pains 
would be fpared by the perl'ons lie was about to govern, 
to imprefs him with ideas inimical to the Britiffi nation; 
but that he fully faw the neceffity of a change of conduCt, 
as well out of a principle of juftice to the Englilh, as for 
the honour of his own country. And though his influ¬ 
ence was coniiderable, and his footing apparently firm, 
yet his new fituation was not free from difficulties ; that 
befides the officers at Canton interefted in continuing 
thofe oppreffions, and whofe guilt would be implicated in 
a redrels, there were other prejudiced enemies at court, 
who might equally conlider reform as a cenfure upon 
them ; that exclusive of all thefe, another important con- 
lideration had occurred to him, which was, the peremp¬ 
tory manner in which Ho-choong-taung had refufed the 
requifitions of the ambaffador; that if in a reprefentation 
of thefe fads to the court of Great Britain an endeavour 
were made to excite refentment, any fubfequent appear¬ 
ances ofrelentment againlt his country would involve hint 
criminally in the eyes of his government, for favours which 
might be Ihewn by him to the Englilh in the mean time; 
he was therefore anxious to be fatisfied on that head. 
It was not quite clear,to the ambalfador, whether the 
apprehenfion originated with the viceroy, or from a higher 
fource; but at any rate it appeared to indicate) that from 
a conviction of the Englilh armies in India, and of their 
vaft maritime ftrength, the Britiffi nation was I'ufpeCted 
of being too powerful not to require fome delicacy of 
ponduCt even from the haughty empire of China. His 
excellency owned that he was dubious of the difpofition 
of the court or min liter of Pekin towards his country; 
but from the explanations which Sun-ta-zhin, as well as 
* 61 • he? 
