Page:Twentieth Century Impressions of Hongkong, Shanghai, and other Treaty Ports of China.djvu/33

 estate and servants at Amoy; where you will see our concerns are very considerable this year and like in our opinion (if not interrupted) greatly to increase in the next."

The Court nevertheless gave a discretionary power to Bantam to send one of the Company's ships already with them to Canton with £3,000 or £4,000 of stock to make a trial of trade there. They further intimated that they would next year consign a ship direct to Canton with liberty to Bantam to divert her to Amoy if her proceeding to the former should be deemed dangerous. Finally the Court directed that if Bantam had disposed of the ships for the season they might hire one to send to Canton.

Before the instructions could be carried out Amoy had been recaptured from the King of Tywan by the Tartars, and the Company temporarily cut off from its principal base in the Eastern seas. In the circumstances the Court proposed that four vessels which were being sent out to Amoy should proceed in company to Macao and that a fifth vessel should voyage to the Lampeco Islands, where the Court were informed the Dutch had in one year "laden twenty vessels with goods of those parts, especially from Canton, and rode there in safety and out of command." Although the arrangements here do not appear to have been carried out in their integrity there is a record of the visit of two of the Company's ships, the China Merchant and the Tywan, to the mouth of the Canton River in 1682. On their arrival becoming known at Canton war junks came out to impede commerce and they were unable to do more than a trifling trade. The supercargoes reported home the reasons for their failure: "That which formerly made the trade of this place to flourish," they said, "was the King of Canton himselfe being a promoter of it and interested therein," but being suspected of holding a correspondence with the King of Tywan he was put to death by the Emperor's orders in 1680, and the most eminent merchants of the place were treated with "much severity." Since then Canton had been governed "by divers great Manderins," who by their vast extortions practised on the merchants whom they privately permitted to trade to the Macao Islands had "much depressed commerce and discouraged merchants from undertaking great matters."

The Tartar admiral, acting, it was stated, at the instigation of the Portuguese, ordered the two ships to leave their anchorage in the river. Subsequently they proceeded to Lampton or Twa, but finding a Tartar fleet there returned to their previous anchoring ground at Tempa Hebreda, near Macao. Here they landed what cargo they could and left early in 1682–83, for Batavia. In October of the same year the ship Carolina was despatched from England with orders to go to Macao and if they were not admitted there to proceed to Tempa Cabrado "where ye merchants of Canton," the instructions said, "will come over and deal with you for ye whole ship's loading." The supercargoes were cautioned to be very wise and circumspect in negotiating "they (the Canton merchants) being a very cunning, deceitfull people." "In standing with them to draw them to the most advantageous terms," proceeded the letter of advice, "pretend that you must speedily go to Amoy or Hockshew, and what other arguments you can think on, to cause them to mend their last rates on both sides of ye account. If you cannot do all your business to your content at Tempa Cabrado, yet if it be possible get admission to settle yourselves a factory at Canton and to have constant residence in ye citty upon ye best terms you can. The more to induce them to grant you a settlement in Canton upon good terms, you may propound our sending them four or six ships of war, to serve them in their wars against any but European nations at ye rate of 12d. per ton p. diem for twelve mos. They paying half of ye ship's freight or hire to you in hand upon the ship's first arrival at Canton.&hellip;The Court would rather send eight ships of war than two, as they would be the better able to cope with the Dutch or any other that might obstruct them." If they failed at Canton they were to attempt to found a settlement at Hockchew or Amoy.

The Carolina, in spite of the obstructiveness of the Portuguese, contrived, by bribing the Mandarins with the war boats sent out to shepherd her, to do some business. It does not appear from the records that any arrangement was made with the Chinese to afford them help in their warlike operations, or that the question was even seriously mooted. The obstinate determination of the Chinese Government to have nothing to do with the foreigner apparently was proof against all representations however attractively presented. At Amoy in 1682 it seemed for a time that the old conditions of trade enjoyed under the rule of the King of Tywan might be restored. A ship, the Delight, sent out by the Company two months later than the Carolina, put into the port, and after a lavish distribution of presents amongst the ruling Mandarins obtained permission to trade. But before the loading was far advanced peremptory orders were issued for the vessel to leave, and the captain had no alternative but to obey, although to do so meant heavy loss to the Company. Before the news of their contretemps could reach home the ship China Merchant was despatched to Amoy to prosecute the trade which it was sanguinely hoped the Delight had opened up. On arrival at Amoy the supercargoes were well received by the Mandarins, who doubtless regarded the ship as another pigeon to pluck. A letter left for the newcomers by the supercargo of the Delight, however, allowed no room for misconception as to the character of the Mandarins—"these rogues," as the writer styled them. "Gentlemen," the communication said, "these are a people of noe courtesy; they will promise you mountains but not perform a molehill.&hellip;They may chance to wheedle you to give a present to ye Poke of Hocchew and ye Booeh and likewise ye Chungisun who is generall of ye military affaires here; he may tell ye a faire story but take this from me, he has nothing to do but give ye Booeh an acc$t$ from whence your ship is and ye like." After giving details of the tortuous dealings of the Amoy Mandarins the writer wound up with a general caution telling them to be careful to prevent disputes between the sailors and the natives, not to sell any goods to the great men without the cash in hand; to open every bundle of silk before they paid for it and never to pay for any commodity until the seller had settled the custom dues thereon.

The China Merchant appears to have profited by this good advice. It got on passably well with the Mandarins, was actively patronised by the merchants, and finally left "chock full." The reason for the contradictions manifested in the policy pursued towards different vessels of the Company at this period was explained by "the great Padre"—a French Jesuit—to the supercargoes of a ship sent out to Macao in 1684. "He