THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 
43 1 
A Chinefe houfe, undoubtedly, occupies more fpace than 
is ufually taken up by houfes in Europe : but the propor¬ 
tion fuggefted by M. Sonnerat, of four or five to one, cer¬ 
tainly goes much beyond the truth. To this fhould be 
added, that a great many houfes, in the fuburbs of Can¬ 
ton, are occupied, for commercial purpofes only, by mer¬ 
chants and rich tradefmen, whofe families live entirely 
within the city. On the other hand, a Chinefe family ap¬ 
pears to confift, on an average, of more perfons than an 
European. A Mandarin , according to his rank and fub- 
ftance, has from five to twenty wives. A merchant, from 
three to five. One of this clafs at Canton, had, indeed, 
twenty-five wives, and thirty-fix children; but this was 
mentioned to me as a very extraordinary inftance. An opu¬ 
lent tradefman has ufually two; and the lower clafs of peo¬ 
ple very rarely more than one. Their fervants are at leaft 
double in number to thofe employed by perfons of the fame 
condition in Europe. If, then, we fuppofe a Chinefe family 
one-third larger, and an European houfe two-thirds lefs, 
than each other, a Chinefe city will contain only half the 
number of inhabitants contained in a European town of 
the fame fize. According to thefe data, the city and fub¬ 
urbs of Canton may probably contain about one hundred 
and fifty thoufand. 
With refpedt to the number of inhabited Satnpanes , I 
found different opinions were entertained ; but none placing 
them lower than forty thoufand. They are moored in rows 
clofe to each other, with a narrow paffage, at intervals, for 
the boats to pafs up and down the river. As the Tygris, at 
Canton, is fomewhat wider than the Thames, at London; 
and the whole river is covered in this manner for the extent 
of at leaft a mile; this account of their number does not 
3 appear 
* 779 - 
December. 
