C H I 
have previoufly fubfifted between a warlike people ever 
endeavouring to invade, and a civilized people always 
struggling to exclude, their neighbours. It is (till a com¬ 
mon laying in the provinces of ©hina where thofe inva¬ 
ders raoft abound, that no half dozen of natives are af- 
lembled together for an hour, before they begin to cla¬ 
mour againft the Tartars. The fovereigns of the pre- 
fent dynafty have, hitherto, oftenfibly conformed to, ra¬ 
ther than exclufively adopted, the Chinefe manners, 
laws, and language. It is, perhaps, fcarcely to be ex- 
pefted, that it will continue long enough upon the 
throne to melt entirely into Chinefe. Sir George Staun¬ 
ton fays the mandarins averted, that a feft had for ages 
fubfifted in the country, whofe chief principles were 
founded upon an antipathy to monarchy, and who nou- 
rilhed hopes of at laft fubverting it. Their meetings 
were held in the utmoft fecrely, and no man avowed any 
knowledge of them; but a fort of inquifition was laid to be 
eftablilhed in order to find them out. Thole who were 
proved to hold or to avow filch fentiments, were fentenced 
to be cut in a thoufandpieces; and thofe only fufpefted 
of it, were hunted out of fociety. It is a fingular fait, 
that in the French zeal for propagating principles of de¬ 
mocracy, their declaration of the Rights of Man had 
been tranllated into one of the languages in India, and 
circulated in Hindoollan ; from whence it had found its 
way into China. It is not, indeed, likely to caul'e any 
fermentation in the tranquil, fubmiflive, and refigned, 
minds of the Hindoos, who are of a weak and delicate 
conftitution ; but it might be otherwife among the Chi- 
nefe people, who are more lufceptible of fuch impref- 
fions, their difpofition being more confonant to enter- 
prize. They are a more bold and hardy race. Their 
more northern climate tends to render them able as well 
as refolute. They are abundantly more hulbandmen 
than manufacturers ; and, by being expofed to the open 
air in all feafons, are apt to feel a more undaunted fpirit. 
The minds of many of them, alfo, are not altogether fa- 
tisfied with their condition, nor with the tribute claimed 
for the emperor, which is always the fame whether the 
harveft be fcarce or plentiful, which lays them perpetu¬ 
ally, both as to their fortunes and their perfons, at the 
mercy of the mandarins. Yet it lhould feem that the 
Chinefe have in truth but little to complain of on the 
fcore of taxation, fince they are obvioully more favoured 
than any fubjefts are in Europe, fuppofing filver to re- 
prefent property, and to bear the fame proportion to 
the confumable productions among the former which it 
does : among the latter; for in this way, fays Sir George 
Staunton, if the whole revenue were to be reduced to a 
capitation, it would not amount to more than five Shil¬ 
lings a head on the population of the empire; whereas, by 
an analogous computation, the people of Ireland, be¬ 
fore the union, would pay to the government eight lhil- 
Jings a head; thofe of France, under the monarchy, fix- 
teen Shillings a head ; and each individual in Great Bri¬ 
tain, at leall, thirty-four Shillings ! 
The propagation of the gofpel, under the Roman ca¬ 
tholic miflionaries in China, confidering the many cen¬ 
turies they have been employed, has certainly made no 
great progrefs. Not above one hundred and Sixty thou¬ 
sand Chriftians are calculated to be l'pread over all the 
Chinefe empire; where both they and their prielts are 
watched with ilriftnefs, and are expofed occafionally to 
perfecutions. The missionaries every where, except per¬ 
haps at Pekin, lead a laborious, indigent, precarious, and, 
as to this world, a hopelefs, life. Their pittance from 
Europe is truly trifling; and this pittance they divide 
frequently with their flock, more miferable, fometiines, 
than themfelves. The chief comforts of the former are 
dervied from a confcioufnefs of the perfonal attachment 
and veneration of thofe dil’ciples towards them. Some 
of the miflionaries may, indeed, prefer this independent 
mode of life, l'uch as it is, to the cloiffers, to which they 
had been formerly confined; but, in general, their con- 
Vol.IV. Mo.ziq.. 
N A. 497 
duft implies fentiments and maxims rarely to be found, 
and fcarcely fufpefted to exilt, by the more worldly- 
minded portion of mankind. 
The city of Canton, at which the enibaffy finally ter¬ 
minated its route, being the only Chinefe port allotted 
for general commerce, it has in confequence a number 
of foreigners mixed with the natives. The factories be¬ 
longing to different European nations, each of which has 
its peculiar flag flying, are handfome buildings, arranged 
in a line along the river, without the city walls; and 
around the neighbourhood are warehoufes for the recep¬ 
tion of articles for fale, as well as for Chinefe merchan¬ 
dize for exportation. Whatever purchafes are made for 
theEnglifli Eaft-India company, is done by agents, whofe 
liberal emoluments place them above the temptation of 
fraudulent or difhonourabie practices ; and who are bred 
in the habits of method, punftuality, and probity, the 
charafteriflics of a good merchant. Befides all which the 
fuperiority of their returns, over and above every com¬ 
petitor, fails not. to gain them relpeft and efteem, even 
in fpite of malevolence and envy. The prefent ftate of 
the trade between England and China, as ftated by fir 
George Staunton, is as follows:—A few years ago, the 
exports to China, on the company’s account, in Englifh 
goods and in Englifh bottoms, fcarcely exceeded ioo,oool. 
per annum. The private trade was nearly as much. The 
balance for teas and other goods was paid in filver.'Since 
the commutation aft, the exports have been gradually 
riling, but are yet far from having reached their highelt 
point. There were imported into Canton in 1792, from 
England, in flxteen company’s fliips, to the amount of 
nearly i,ooo,oool. in lead, tin, woollens, together with 
furs, and other articles of private trade. The order for 
woollens only the following year, was 250,000!. higher 
than the preceding year. The value of exports from China 
to England in 1794-, was above 1,500,000k prime colt, 
befides freight and charges of merchandize, and will have 
probably produced above 3,000,000k The legal trade 
from the Britifli dependencies in India to Canton, in 1792, 
amounted to very near the fum of 700,000k befides opium, 
which is clandeftinely imported there, to the amount of a- 
bout 250,cool. The articles legally imported confided of 
cotton, tin, pepper, fandal-wood, elephants teeth, and 
bees-wax. The exports from Canton to India, amounted 
only, in 1792, to 330,000k leaving a valt balance in fa¬ 
vour of India, which is paid in cafli. The articles pur- 
chafed for India, confift chiefly of raw and wrought filk, 
fugar, and i'ugar-candy, tutenag, alum, porcelain, cam¬ 
phor, Nankeen cloth, quickfilver, and turmeric. The 
total imports from foreign European nations to Canton, 
in 1792, amounted to 200,000k and their exports to up¬ 
wards of 600,000k Many of the imports were of Britifh 
manufacture. 
From a recent regulation at Canton, three commiflion- 
ers have conftant refldence at the Englifh faftory, exclu- 
five of the former number of fupercargoes and writers. 
They were delegated by the company to notify, in form, 
at the court of Pekin, the embaffy intended from Great 
Britain, as well as to fuperintend and direft the compa¬ 
ny’s affairs at Macao and Canton. Thefe gentlemen 
having furnilhed the ambaffador with a particular fiate- 
ment of the oppreflions and perfonal indignities exper¬ 
ienced by their agents, enabled him to add to the re- 
monftrances before prefented to the viceroy. In confe¬ 
quence of this, two edifts were forthwith iflued againft 
the frauds praftifed on foreigners in their commercial 
tranfaftions, as well as the intuits offered to their per- 
fons 5 in virtue whereof feveral offenders were feverely 
punifhed. Among the grievances dated by the commiri 
fioners, and which was included in the remonftrance of 
the ambaffador, was that of the natives being prohibited 
from inftrufting Europeans in the Chinele language. The 
viceroy was at a lol’s to judge on what principle fuch a 
prohibition could have taken place, which deprived fo¬ 
reigners of the means of tranfafting their own affairs, as 
6 L well 
