Formerly only a limited number of merchants, called the hong or security merchants, were allowed to trade with foreigners. They were commonly men of large property, and were famed for integrity in their transactions. All foreign cargoes passed through the hands of these merchants, and by them also the return cargoes were furnished. They became security for the payment of customs duties, and it was criminal for any other merchant to engage in the trade with foreigners.
Accounts are kept at Canton, in common with the rest of China, in taels, mace, candarines, and cash,—ten cash being one candarine, ten candarines one mace, ten mace one tael, which last is converted into English money at about 6s. 8d. The coin called cash is of base metal, cast, not coined, and very brittle. It is of small value, and varies in the market from 750 to 1000 cash for a tael. Its chief use is in making small payments among the lower classes. Spanish and other silver coins are current, and are estimated by their weight, every merchant carrying scales and weights with him. All the dollars that pass through the hands of the hong merchants bear their stamp; and when they lose their weight in the course of circulation they are cut in pieces for small change. The duties are paid to Government in sycee, or pure silver, which is taken by weight. In delivering a cargo, English weights and scales are used, which are afterwards reduced to Chinese catties and peculs. A pecul weighs 133⅓ ℔ avoirdupois, and a catty 1⅓ ℔. Gold and silver are also weighed by the tael and catty, 100 taels being reckoned equal to 120 oz. 16 dwt. troy.
The foreign trade at Canton was materially damaged by the opening of Shanghai and the ports on the Yang-tsze, but it is yet of very considerable importance, as the subjoined table of the total value of the foreign trade with Canton between the years 1861 and 1874 inclusive is sufficient to show:—
| Year. | Total Value of Imports. |
Total Value of Exports. |
Total Value. |
| Dollars. | Dollars. | Dollars. | |
| 1861 | 12,977,353 | 15,811,512 | 28,788,865 |
| 1862 | 10,580,928 | 17,742,590 | 28,323,518 |
| 1863 | 9,505,285 | 16,083,062 | 25,588,347 |
| 1864 | 8,192,795 | 13,659,177 | 21,851,972 |
| 1865 | 10,556,602 | 18,054,557 | 28,611,159 |
| 1866 | 14,171,101 | 18,832,622 | 33,003,723 |
| 1867 | 14,090,581 | 18,403,154 | 32,493,735 |
| 1868 | 12,991,266 | 18,491,156 | 31,482,422 |
| 1869 | 11,487,679 | 20,010,626 | 31,498,305 |
| 1870 | 12,053,394 | 19,857,543 | 31,910,937 |
| 1871 | 15,661,889 | 23,612,439 | 39,274,328 |
| 1872 | 16,802,553 | 25,691,712 | 42,494,265 |
| Shanghai Taels. | Shanghai Taels. | Shanghai Taels. | |
| 1873 | 9,843,819 | 16,156,437 | 26,900,256 |
| 1874 | 9,499,447 | 16,640,525 | 26,139,972 |
Although it is in the same parallel of latitude as Calcutta, the climate of Canton is much cooler, and is considered superior to that of most places situated between the tropics. The extreme range of the thermometer is from 38° to 100° Fahr., though these extremes are rarely reached. In ordinary years the winter minimum is about 42°, and the maximum in summer 96°. From May to October the hot season is considered to last; during the rest of the year the weather is cool. In shallow vessels ice sometimes forms at Canton; and so rarely is snow seen that when in February 1835 a fall to the depth of two inches occurred, the citizens hardly knew its proper name. Most of the rain falls during May and June, but the amount is nothing in comparison with that which falls during a rainy season in Calcutta. July, August, and September are the regular monsoon months, the wind coming from the south-west with frequent showers, which allay the heat. In the succeeding months the northerly winds commence, with some interruptions at first, but from October to January the temperature is agreeable, the sky clear, and the air invigorating. Few large cities are more generally healthy than Canton, and epidemics rarely prevail there.
Provisions and refreshments of all sorts are abundant, and in general are excellent in quality and moderate in price. It is a singular fact, that the Chinese make no use of milk, either in its natural state, or in the form of butter or cheese. Among the delicacies of a Chinese market are to be seen horse-flesh, dogs, cats, hawks, owls, and edible birds'-nests. The business between foreigners and natives at Canton is generally transacted in a jargon known as “Pigeon English,” the Chinese being extremely ready in acquiring a sufficient smattering of English words to render themselves intelligible.
The intercourse between China and Europe by the way of the Cape of Good Hope began in 1517, when Emmanuel, king of Portugal, sent an ambassador, accompanied by a fleet of eight ships, to Peking, on which occasion the sanction of the emperor to establish a trade at Canton was obtained. It was in 1596, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, that the English first attempted to open an intercourse with China, but ineffectually, for the two ships which were despatched on this mission were lost in the outward voyage, and it was not till about 1634 that English ships visited Canton. Unfortunately at this time a misunderstanding having occurred with the Chinese authorities owing to the treachery of the Portuguese, a rupture and a battle took place, and it was with difficulty that peace was again restored. In 1673 China was again visited by an English ship which was subsequently refused admission into Japan, and in 1677 a factory was established at Amoy. But during an irruption of the Tatars three years later this building was destroyed, and it was not till 1685 that the emperor permitted any trade with Europeans at that port. Upon the union of the two East India Companies in London, an imperial edict was issued, restricting the foreign commerce to the port of Canton.
