Page:China- Its State and Prospects.djvu/87

Rh columns. The estimate brought home by Sir G. Staunton tends in some measure to the same end, though as a round statement, it cannot be expected to exceed in accuracy; and is merely introduced to shew the general opinion entertained by Chinese officers, respecting the population.

We are sorry, however, to observe, that we cannot derive so much advantage from the censuses in the first and fourth columns; inasmuch as, in several points, they differ from every other account of the population, and from what is known of the state of the country. In the first column, it will be observed that no inhabitants are assigned to Shan-tung, though that is so near the seat of government, and has always been considered a fertile and populous region; while, however, the first column exhibits Shan-tung as entirely destitute of inhabitants, the fourth column, derived from the same authority, presents the same province as swarming with more than 25,000,000 of inhabitants. During all this time, however, the province of Canton, which for the last century has been the seat of foreign commerce, has been nearly stationary; both columns exhibiting that province as containing little more than a million of inhabitants; when it is well known that Canton is one of the most populous regions of the empire, and possesses between the provincial city and Macao more inhabitants than are assigned to the whole province. Again, Yun-nan, which is known to be deficient in population, and which was at the beginning of the present dynasty but imperfectly subjected to the Tartar yoke, is said in the first and fourth columns to contain more than double the population of Canton; while the neighbouring province of Kwei-chow, which