China and the Chinese: their religion, character, customs nd manufactures; the evils arising from the opium trade; with a glance at our religious, moral, political and commercial intercourse with the country

Front matter

jM'ifJWJs'ifflS. JDi? A MMsm^MUSf^ IMSJIMMB*,, CHINESE RESEARCHES, ANECDOTES, AND REFLECTIONS, Commercial anfc political. " A chiel was 'mang ye takiu' notes, And now he 'II print them." CHINA AND THE CHINESE: THEIR RELIGION, CHARACTER, CUSTOMS, AND MANUFACTURES : THE EVILS ARISING FROM THE OPIUM TRADE: WITH a glance at our RELIGIOUS, MORAL, POLITICAL, AND COMMERCIAL INTERCOURSE WITH THE COUNTRY. BY HENRY CHARLES SIRR, M.A., of Lincoln's inn, barrister-at-law. VOL. I. LONDON: Wm. S. ORR & CO., AMEN CORNER, AND 147, STRAND MDCCCXLIX. totfDOs : PEIHTED 1!Y STEWART AND HURRA ¥*, DEDICATED, BY PERMISSION, TO THB HONORABLE HENRY FITZROY, M.P., LIEUTENANT-COLONEL OF THE HONORABLE ARTILLERY COMPANY, $C, $c, $C. The following pages are inscribed to the Honorable Henry Fitzroy, with the fervent hope, that they will induce him to exert his powerful energies, and brilliant talents in the Legislative Assembl}** of his country, to suppress the trade in Opium, and in token of respect and esteem, By his obliged and faithful friend, THE AUTHOR.

Preface

. This Work was commenced in 1846, and about fifty of the following pages appeared in a series of papers, published in the Dublin University Magazine, under the same title ; and feelings of diffidence might have prevented us from launching our bark upon the troubled sea of public opinion, did we not hope to be instrumental, in some measure, in awakening the Legislature of Great Britain, to the disgrace and iniquity of connecting the name of a Christian country, and powerful nation, with the opium trade. Should the fruit of our labors meet with the disapprobation of some, we shall neither be surprised, nor disappointed, all we solicit is the kind indulgence of our perusers, disclaiming other motives than an anxious desire to be useful to our fellow-men, by the diffusion of simple truth, and drawing attention to the nefarious traffic in Opium.

PREFACE.

. There is much in these pages relative to this hateful trade, which must prove distasteful to the British merchants in China, and, although Ave have some valued friends amongst them, we consider it a duty we owe to the religion we profess, and the sovereign to whom we have sworn allegiance, to declare publicly, the sentiments which we have inva riably expressed on this topic in private. To prove that we are not singular in our views, connected with this nefarious traffic, and other im portant and interesting subjects, we quote authors of standing and celebrity. The object has been, to convey as much useful information as practicable, relative to this peculiar country, and, at the same time, to render it as entertaining as possible to the general reader. Some information, it is believed and trusted, may be found beneficial to the trader, b\ whom, comparatively, little appears to be generallv known, of the articles of commerce adapted to the trade of China ; and, consequently, consignments are frequently made, wholly unsuited to the wants of the inhabitants of the empire. We have endeavoured to show and prove Hong-

PREFACE.

. Kong to be an unhealthy, pestilential, and unprofit able, barren rock, whilst Chu-san is both productive and salubrious, and, from its geographical position, it would be most eligible and advantageous, for our political and commercial interests, to obtain the latter for a British colony. Although we cannot coincide with a literary friend of ours, in saying, that " Chu san is the Great Britain of China," still manifold would be the advantages, which Avould accrue to the parent country, could a British colony be formed upon the island of Chu-san. 3, New Square, Lincoln's- Inn, London, March, 18*49. ERRATA TO VOL. I. Note to p. 14, line 13, for "fineness" read " fierceness." Page 42, line 31, for "purus" read " puris." 60, — 11, /or "mandarins" read "mandarin." 05, — IS, for " this year" read "1847." „ 171,— 16, for "purus naturabilis" re«rf"puris naturalibus, „ 224,— 1 6, for" kennell " read" cannel." „ 336, — 9, for « full-green " read " full-grown." CONTENTS TO VOL. I.

Chapter I

Hong-Kong — Insalubrity and worthlessness— Want of firmness evinced by our local Government, Anecdote of Poll-tax — A. E. and the Chinese robbers, or the biter bit — Typhoon — House rent — Price of provisions — Extracts from a letter written in Hong Kong in September 1848 page 1

Chapter II

Chinese pirates — Mode of boarding — A Major-General's wrath at pirates presuming to attack his son's schooner — A Lieutenant-Colonel, denuded — Melancholy act of piracy — Inactivity of our men-of-war — Scene on board a hired schooner . 40

Chapter III

Visit on board a war-junk — A Mandarin proposes to purchase an English lady — Description of war-junk, guns, and weapons — Mode of invoking the Deity for fair wind and successful undertakings . . .48

Chapter IV

Mandarin of the fifth class visiting Victoria— Account of the procession — Visit to Cowloon— The mighty man at home — Description of the town, inhabitants, theatre, and joss-house — Warning to curious ladies, being an anecdote connected with a Begum's household CONTENTS.

Chapter V

Canton— Description of the river, town, and population — Hog-lane — New and Old China streets and shops— Lantern vendors— Description of lanterns— Ornithological specimens— The beggars' square, and place of execution — Temples — Curious account of a Joss house — Faa-tee gardens — Our jolly tars "'

Chapter VI

Visit to the Atelier of Lum-qua, the Sir Thomas Lawrence of China — His idea of an English beauty — Seven Ages of Man, depicted — Opium Smugglers' fate— Opium Smokers' progress — Lum-qua's opinion of English artists' misrepresentations .106

Chapter VII

Macao — Description of Macao — Its churches and public buildings — ■ Government of the city — Jesuit cathedral — The half-caste beauties of Macao — Their toilette — Camoens' Cave — English burial-ground and tombs — Roman Catholic procession of saints, angels, and devils. 116

Chapter VIII

Amoy — Fortifications — Grandiloquence of the Chinese — Taking of Amoy ■ — Town — Arsenal — Trade of Amoy — Opium traffic — Joss-houses at White Stag Hill — Roman Catholic village — First traders of Amoy — Koo-lung-soo — Sickness of troops — Burial-ground— Old tombstones — Extraordinary rocks — Traditions — Mandarin's house and grounds — Barbarian ghosts 132

Chapter IX

Chinese cooks — Gastronomes — Mode of sending an invitation for a grand feast or entertainment — Reception of a guest — Code of etiquette — Tea — The arrangement and accessories of the dinner-table — Courses — Birds'-nest soup — How made— Edibles of various kinds — Theatrical entertainment — Pyrotechnic display — Cum-shaws, or presents . CONTENTS. XIII

Chapter X

Foo-chow-foo— Bohea Tea district — British Consulate — Anecdote— Her Majesty's steamer — Trade at Foo-chow-foo— Mr. Fortune's discovery of Tea Farms close to Foo-chow-foo — Opium traffic and smuggling 163

Chapter XI

Jugglers — The Emperor of Necromancers — The basin of water and the fish — The growth of a shrub — The production of edibles from a plate of unboiled rice — The murder and resuscitation of a child — Analogy between the Chinese and Indian Jugglers — Glance at the gymnastics of the Chinese 177

Chapter XII

Ning-po — Bridge of boats — Chin-hae ; formerly the Military Station of Ning-po — City — Pagoda, triumphal arch, and temple — Events connected with the war — Local government of Ning-po — Number of inhabitants and houses — Manufactures — Character of local population — Climate— Trade of Ning-po — Chinese statement of trade at Ning-po in the seventeenth century — Articles of Import and Export— Banking establishments — Curiosity-shops — Inlaid furniture-shops — Residences and gardens of the wealthy— Ice-houses — Methods of catching fish by men and birds — Appearance of the country — Hospital . .195

Chapter XIII

Shang-hae — Woo-sung River and forts — City of Shang-hae — Warm baths— Shops — Population — Irishmen of China — Soo-chow-foo, the Paris of the Celestial Empire — Local government, climate and temperature—Roman Catholics, number, and bishop — Ruins of Romish Church— Plain of Shang-hae — Cemeteries and groves — Public and benevolent institutions — Triumphal arch — Joss-houses — Opium smoking-shops — Commerce of Shang-hae — Number of vessels — Articles of commerce — Coal mines — Hatching ducks . . . CONTENTS.

Chapter XIV

Chusan— Situation— City of Ting-hae — Chops and extraordinary announcements — Character of the inhabitants — Population — War and troops — Conduct of our men — Joss-house turned into an armoury — Climate — Anstruther's valley and dream— Interior of the Island — Canals — Tombs — Bays — Approach to Chusan— Consumption of Opium — Opinions of various authors— New Treaty proposed— Why Chusan ought to be re-obtained — Opinion of the French Ambassador concerning Chusan — Intercourse that might arise with Japan — Price of Provisions — -Mandarin fishery synonymous with the herring fishery — Poultry — Hatching-shed — Vegetables — Fruits — Game . . 226

Chapter XV

Opium — Gambling— Dishonoured merchant at Shang-hae — Dishonesty in traders — Moral and physical effects of the trade — Punishment for violation of law — Opium clippers — Opium a revenue to Hong-Kong — Consumption and cultivation of Opium — Religious and moral obligation of England . . . . . . . . .251

Chapter XVI

False policy in our diplomatic relations with China — Entry of British subjects into City of Canton postponed for two years — Our murdered countrymen in 1847 — Anecdote connected with the capture of Chap-pu — Interchange of Ambassadors most desirable — New Treaty suggested — Trade with China — Furs — Naval force generally unemployed 281

Chapter XVII

Description of the Chinese— Personal appearance— Dress of the men, women, and children ......... 307

Chapter XVIII

Dwellings of the Chinese— Houses of the Mandarins and wealthy — The Hall of Ancestors — Coffins— Library — Reception rooms— Furniture — Taste for articles of vertu— Jaed-stone sceptres— Sleeping apartments —Grounds— Mode of laying them out— Abodes of the middle and poorer classes . . . , . . . _ . gjg CONTENTS. XV

Chapter XIX. Agriculture

Chinese an agricultural people — Account of the origin of the Agricultural Festival solemnized annually by the Emperor — Laws connected with Agriculture — Encouragement — Chinese method of cultivating, irrigating, and manuring the earth — Trees peculiar to China — Dwarfed and distorted vegetation — Dyes — Vegetables of China — Fruits of China— Beauty of the orange groves — Plague of locusts 329

Chapter XX

Tea — Varieties — Modes of preparation adopted in roasting Black and Green Teas — The price of Tea — Brick Teas — Finest Teas never exported, but frequently curn-shaws are made of them — Mode of preparing the infusion — When introduced into England — Price — Consumption 345

Chapter XXI

Silk — Italy first supplied from Greece — Mons. de Herbelot states Greece supplied from Persia, and silk-worms brought to Persia from China — Discovery of silk-worms — Legend of the Empress Si-lin — Rearing silk-worms — Feeding them — Silks, Satins, Crapes, and Velvets . 367

Chapter XXII

Arts and Manufactures of China — Gold and silver tinsel — Embroidery — Filagree work — Chasing and enamelling on silver — Glass-blowing- Manufacturing trinkets from glass — Carvings in ivory, tortoise-shell, and sandal-wood — Mandarin boat in carved and perforated ivory- - — Concentric carved balls — Lacquer-ware — Copper-ware — Shoe - shops 384

Chapter XXIII

Manufactures — China-ware — Description of earth used — Legend — Preparation of colours — Moulds — Method of painting porcelain — Rose porcelain invisibly painted — Art now lost — Incombustible earth found near the Fang-tsze-Kang, or Yellow River .... CONTENTS.

Chapter XXIV

Names of the Empire — Geographical position and extent of China — Boundaries — Great Wall — Provinces; number, geographical position, extent, and population of each— Also their produce and climate — Together with an account of the Mineral wealth of the Empire — Suggestions for English capitalists — Wealth and advantages to be derived from working the Mines of China 407

Chapter XXV

Summary of the History of China — Fabulous and doubtful history — Certain history — Emperor Fo-hi supposed to be Noah — Alphabetical characters invented — Earliest European records given by Marco Paulo — The Yuen dynasty founded by Chi-tsow, in 1278 — Marco Paulo's opinion of the Emperor — Ming Dynasty, founded by Chu-y-wen-chang — Anecdote of conjugal fidelity and filial piety — Court removed to Pe-kin from Nan-kin, by Tching-sow — The Tsing, or Pure Dynasty, founded by Shun-che, in 1644 — Tartar rule established — Continuation of history down to the present Emperor Taou-kwang, or Reason's Glory — Table of the Ming and Tsing Dynasties — European sovereigns — Number of Emperors and Dynasties — Length of reigns . .

Chapter I

Hong-Kong — Insalubrity and worthlessness — AVant of firmness evinced by our local Government, Anecdote of Poll-tax — A. E. and the Chinese robbers, or the biter bit — Typhoon — House rent — Price of provisions — Extracts from a letter written in Hong Kong in September 1848. At the commencement of the year 1841, Hong-Kong Avas ceded to Her Britannic Majesty by the Emperor of China, and immediately afterwards British merchants, who Avere induced to settle there by the libe ral offers of land, made by the local authorities, com menced buildingspacious houses and Avarehouses ; and thus Hong-Kong from beinga mere fishingvil lage, populated scantily by the most depraved and poor of the Chinese nation, became a British Colony, inhabited by many of Great Britain's merchant princes of the East. Hong-Kong is an abbreviation of Heang-Keang, Avhich, in the Chinese language, signifies the valley of fragrant Avaters, and it is one of the group of Islands Avhich lie north of the estuary leading to VOL. I. B Canton, in latitude 22° 17", and longitude 114° 12" East, and is distant from Macao 42 miles, and from Canton 105 miles.

Hong-Kong is about ten miles in length, and four and a half in breadth ; the noble harbour is nearly four miles in length, and rather more than one and three quarters in Avidth. There ride at anchor many of the wooden Avails of old England, manned by brave hearts of oak ; merchant vessels freighted with valuable commodities, affordinghonorable means for the acquisition of wealth to the British merchant; and too frequently fast -sailing clippers may be seen laden with opium, China's curse. By the sale of this pernicious drug Great Britain's sons gain gold ; and earn opprobium for dealing destruction around them, bringing into derision the name of a Christian country, by enabling* the Chinese to violate the laws of their oavii nation, in obtaining" the prohibited and accursed poison ; the use of which entails destruction, mentally and bodily on its infa tuated devotees.

Hong'-Kong is one of that cluster of Islands, called by the Portuguese the Ladrones, or Piratical Islands, and is a barren region, which although in many parts cultivated with persevering industry by the Chinese inhabitants, scarcely repays the agriculturist for his labor, as vegetation will not thrive in this "insalubrious colonial possession of the British." A rocky sterile mountain rises from the shore, the height of which is from 1000 to 2000 feet above the level of the sea, on whose side the town of Victoria is built, where houses of every variety of form have sprung up, Avith continuous ranges of buildings, interspersed DESCRIPTION OF HONG-KONG. Avith detached, and enclosed villas, where lately revelled the venomous serpent, and poisonous centipede. The Island has been held in ill repute by the Chinese nation from time im memorial, as one most unhealthy, and from beingthe resort of pirates, thieves, and de praved characters of every description j and when taken possession of by us, the Avhole population, Avhich Avas under eight thousand, consisted prin cipally of this disreputable class ; and although many have left, still the insecurity of property in Hong- Kong is proverbial, and daring acts of piracy occur continually near to, and in the harbour of Victoria, within sight of our men of Avar.

A road extends from the east to the Avest point, the Avhole length of the harbour, and throughout the AA'hole extent many handsome and commodious dwellings, Godowns, or Avarehouses, and private wharfs have been built by the merchants; these, together with Government store houses, barracks, an hospital, and a club house, all bear honorable testimony to English perseverance, industry, and energy. The extreme eastern and western parts of Victoria are composed of Chinese streets and bazaars, where articles and curiosities essentially Chi nese are to be found, as Avell as those of European origin or manufacture. Some feAv villages are distributed over the Island, but Chuk-choo, a military station on the southern side, is the largest, the popu lation of which does not amount to seventeen hundred.

Sai-Wan, a smaller village on the east, is also occupied as a military station and sanitorium for our troops, the native population of which does not amount to five hundred. B It would be impossible for us to find language which Avould express our OAvn sentiments more con genially, in describing the appearance of Hong-Kong, than those used by the Reverend George Smith in his most excellent work on China, entitled, " A Narra tive of an Exploratory Visit to each of the Consular Cities of China, &c, &c." Page 505 we read, " only small portions of soil are under tillage, the Island being formed of one huge cluster of towering cliffs, which divide it in the centre and rear their barren summits to the clouds. A partial vegetation of green herbage after the rainy season, clothes the sides of the ravines, Avhere the glittering cascades pour along their rolling torrents, and descend into the sea through the valleys below."

Wong-nai-chong, or happy valley, AA'hich might Avith more propriety be called the valley of death, is the most picturesque portion of the Island ; cascades, which dash cIoavii from the arid grey time-Avorn rocks, meander in a pellucid stream through the valley, and as the waters meet with resistance in their course, from fragments of rocks which act as nature's dams or locks, accumulate and accumulate, until overfloAving the opposing obstacles, they dash over in a stream of Avhite creamy foam. The Chinese cultivate these barren rocks, canyingup earth to form terraces, manuring and irrigatingthis artificial soil, from Avhich they procured paddy, or rice, and the exquisite bright brilliant green of the young paddy presented a most beautiful contrast to the aged rocks ; pleasing alike to the artist or admirer of the handiAvorks of bounteous nature.

Alas ! sickness and death lurk amid this picturesque scenery, APPEARANCE OF THE ISLAND. for the exhalations arisingfrom the water produce fever and ague, which too frequently terminate fatally, and some individuals, attracted by the beauty of the scenery, erected some apparently desirable residences, the successive inhabitants of each of these Avere seized with fever and died. The goodly dwellings are noAv all deserted and fallinginto decay ; doors and Vene tian blinds are dropping off their hinges, Avhilst rank dense tropical weeds are springing up in Avhat had been laid out as floAver gardens ; the Avitheringsense of desolation and death, Avhich flickers before the mental vision of the spectator, is overpoAvering-, when he gazes on these tenantless dwellings. The mind reverts to the occupants Avho arrived in this distant clime full of health and hope.

Where are they iioav 1 — Tenants of the cold grave, Avhere no kindred dust commingles with their oavii, their earthly remains being devoured, before decomposed, by the disgusting land crab. The road to Chuck-choo passes through this valley, and winds up the mountain side, many picturesque views of the harbour and shipping may be obtained by the loA'er of nature as he pursues his Avay ; broken rocks relieved by stunted trees, clad in dark green, with occasionally a noble mangoe or lei-chee tree, the branches drooping under the weight of the delicious fruit, give interest to this panorama of nature. But the vegetation is scant, and the rocks sterile, and all around appears to impress on the senses, that Death is the presiding genius of Hong-Kong-. This island is as deficient in resources, and insalubrious in climate, as it is insignificant in size, and it is entirely dependent on Cow-loon, a village situate on the shore of the opposite mainland, for supplying its markets Avith fruit, vegetables, poultry, and the principal part of live stock, Avhich is consumed by the population of Hong-Kong.

In fact, the island con tributes but little to the support of its inhabitants, if we except the quantity of manure which is returned to Cow-loon, and enables the cultivator there to rear fruit and vegetables for the consumption of the popu lation of Hong-Kong. It is but natural then to conclude, that should the Chinese authorities, at any time, choose to stop the supplies, Avhich they once did in 1845, and Avhich they constantly do (up to the commencement of 1848) at Macao, we should either be obliged to submit to their terms, be they what they might, or our Colony Avould experience inevi tably the horrors of famine, unless an extraordinary amount of provisions chanced to be in store. The climate of China is, in no part of the empire, salubrious or adapted to the European constitution, but, of all parts of China, Hong'-Kongis the most insalubrious, and the variability of the seasons and temperature are exceedingly injurious, and test the strength of the most robust constitutions.

It would convey an inadequate idea of the rainy season, merely to speak of the torrents of rain ; for the flood-gates of heaven appear to open, and pour forth torrents of Avater, apparently threatening the earth with a second deluge. The rainy season continues through the months of May, June, and occasionally July, and INSALUBRITY OF CLIMATE. 7 Avhen these rains cease, miasmata arise, and the most unhealthy season of the )'ear commences. The summer has been admitted, by all the Anglo-Indians, Avhom AAre met in China, to be far hotter, and more fatally injurious to the constitution, than the hot months in India, and Ave haA'e found continually the thermometer, standing in the shaded verandah of our dwelling, at 100°. The mortality AA'hich has prevailed amongour troops, from the first landingin Hong- Kong, in 1840, up to this time, the end of 1848, will fully bear out the assertion ; and, in despite of commodious barracks, and hospitals, our poor fellows fall victims to the pestilential climate of Hong-Kong, in a fearful manner.

The Avinter is exceedingly cold and piercing, and a north-east Avind blows, Avhilst a burning sun scorches the head, and the transition, from the burningheat of summer, to the cutting blast of winter, injures the most robust. The in tense heat of an almost vertical sun, Avhose rays are reflected by an arid rock, must necessarily prove injurious to health ; but when this is combined Avith nights of piercing cold, Avhen the thermometer falls below freezing point, and water freezes in the eAver, placed in a bed-chamber, the effect upon a European constitution must be disastrous. In fact, the winter in China is felt much more severely than in Russia, Avhere the internal arrangements of the dwellings are such as to exclude all cold ; in Russia, warm clothing Avill suffice to protect those who take exercise in the open air, which it will not do in China, for neither furs nor cloth will exclude the cutting: north-east Avind, Avhich chills, and seems to penetrate the very marrow of the bones.

Although, as before remarked, the climate of China is in no part salubrious, yet the north is the most healthy portion of the empire, but fever and dysentery prevail through the whole land, and the sudden changes from heat to cold, produce rheumatic fevers and catarrhs of a severe nature, AArhich too frequently prove fatal. The scourge most dreaded in China is the fever termed the Hong-Kong fever, which has proved more fatal than cholera morbus, and at the time Ave now write, November 1848, so terribly has this fever pre vailed among our troops, and proved so fearfully fatal in its character, that our men were ordered to live on board ships, moored in the harbour of Victoria, in the hope of arrestingthe progress of this scourge. A new symptom has developed itself in this disease, namely, that of an eruption, resembling the smallpox, accompanying the fever, and our most skilful medical officers are baffled in their endeavours to save the victim upon Avhom the harpy, Hong-Kongfever has cast a Avitheringglance.

The temperate and intem perate become alike the victims of this dreadful fever, Avhich generally commences Avith slight head-ache, gradually increasing until the Avhole head is so tender that no part can bear its oavii Aveight or pressure on the pilloAV Avithout agony. The eyeballs are in such extreme pain, that light can be ill endured, yet the suffering produced by the closing of the eyelids is intolerable ; the frame becomes weak and enervated, and the patient finds himself unable to assume an erect posture, Avhilst the fever is raging to an in credible degree ; the symptoms increase hourly, and THE HONG-KONG FEVER. the patient usually sinks under its violence about the third or fifth day. Hong-Kong fever has these peculiar features, that the patient Avill, apparently, become much better, and rally considerably a short time before death ; instances have constantly oc curred of the sufferer sitting up in bed, or, if allowed rising from it, Avhen suddenly delirium Avould become manifest ; frequently in a violent degree, and if opposed injudiciously by force, the violence of the patient Avill increase, until he expires, apparently from exhaustion.

In other cases, the patient, after rallying, will be seized Avith frightful convulsions, the features and eyes becoming distorted, fixed, and rigid, and after some hours of painful suffering (dis tressing in the greatest degree to the medical atten dant, because his knowledge is insufficient to alleviate the agony he Avitnesses, or save the life of the patient), the stricken being will cease to breathe. If blood be taken from the arm at the commencement of the fever, the case is generally sure to terminate fatally ; this fearful disease appears to have baffled all medical skill, for treatment which has proved successful in one case will be ineffectual if adopted in another ; and medical men admit that medicine is of little service in this fever. All that can be done is to administer aperients, febrifuges, and apply cooling lotions to the head ; local bleedingis also adopted, and beneficially, by the application of leeches to the burningtemples.

The patient should be kept in a horizontal position, with the head depressed ; light nutriment should be constantly given, the utmost kindness, and most soothing manner used, Avhen delirium appears ; a medical man can therefore do but little towards the recovery of his patient, and the only chance of recovery, humanly speaking, is from constant, careful, judicious, and tender nursing, AA'hich men can rarely receive in Hong-Kong, or China, being generally left to the care of servants or male friends, unhabituated to act the part of nurses. Of the value of a good nurse Ave can speak feelingly, havinghad, ourselves, a most fearful attacks of fever, from Avhich, by God's gracious mercy, Ave recoArered, and our restoration to health, under Providence, Ave OAve, principally, to the tender and anxious nursing bestOAved upon us, day and night, by one of that sex Avhose peculiar characteristic it is, — " AA'hen pain and sickness wring the brow," to perform the task of ministeringspirits of good, and who Avill clingto man AA'hen deserted by all others.

Duringthe recovery from fever, the great danger to be apprehended arises from the extreme debility, and dysentery Avhich invariably follow, in the feAv cases Avhich have not terminated fatally; and the inroads and ravages upon the constitution, AA'hich are made by this fever, are terrible, the general system is shattered, and febrile attacks frequently recur, the limbs and joints feel debilitated and unable to support the weight of the body ; in fact, Ave conscientiously affirm, and believe, speaking from experience, that the con stitution never regains its pristine vigour after an attack of Hong-Kong fever. Hong-Kong is as insalubrious to the Chinese as it is to Europeans, although comparatively few of the CAUSES OF INSALUBRITY. former die in the Island, for the instant they feel the approach of illness, they quit the place.

But the Chinese, as a nation, are an unhealthy people, as scrofula, ophthalmia, leprosy, and cutaneous diseases are found to be prevalent in their most virulent forms. To prove that Ave are not singular in our belief and report of the insalubrity of Hong--Kong, Ave Avill quote from the ReA'erend George Smith's Explora tory Visit, page 507 ; " on the disadvantage of the climate the author is indisposed to d .veil, because to comparative salubriousness of the last summer, 1845 has been a happy exception to the generality of such seasons in Hong-Kong-.* Only a more lengthened experience of the climate can, hoAvever, fully divest the mind of serious apprehensions on this point, which the previous mortality on the Island has not un reasonably excited. The Geological character of the Island — the obstacles to free ventilation — the un healthy evaporations produced by the powerful heat of the sun on the saturated soil after the rains, and the glaring heat reflected from the burning mountain sides in, the hot season, present physical causes sufficient to account for the existence of a very insalubrious climate." * In this summer (1845) graves used to be dug daily in the morning, without knowing who was to fill them at night — knowing too surely they would be occupied at sunset.

Of the natural insalubrity of Hong-Kong there can be no better proof than that now (1848) our troops, who are well lodged, and carefully tended, are dying by scores ; and those who escape death are so debilitated by disease that they are unfit for duty, and our Government have chartered vessels for the men to live at sea. A pleasant position the English in China would be placed in, were the Chinese to attack them ! McPherson Avrites, page 168 (War in China), " Malaria, alwa}'S present in marshy and certain jungly districts, caused by the decomposition of vege table and animal substances, is on the Island of Hong-Kong to be found, where no vegetable is to be seen, and Avhere no marsh exists. Fevers appear an epidemic disease on the coast of China, to guard against Avhich, even the poorest peasant spares no expense or trouble to make his dwelling comfortable, and thus protect him from those frequent and sudden transitions from heat to cold, so frequent in this climate.