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Tim
C*1 E4E REPOS ITOKY.
Voi.. VII. — DiX'EMBKU, 18:58. — No. 8.
Art. I. Notires in Natural History: 1, the ma or horse; 2,
the loo or ass; 3, the lo or mule; and 4, the lb or kumiss.
Selected from Chinese authors
Seventeen pages of the Pun Tsnou are filled with an account of ‘he
horse, treating of the uses of the \ rious internal and external pari?
of nis body in medicine, and the mode of their exhibition in diseases
The manner in which the subject is here treated affords a good
instance of the usual order pursued by the compilers of that work, in
their descriptions of the numerous articles included in Chinese ma-
teria medica, — and we will far once follow them, as well to show our
readers this order, as to tell th,.m what the Chinese say of that favorite
and noble animal. To do this, it will not, however, be necessary to
enter into all their minutire regarding pills, boluses, &,c , but simply
to give the principal points under eacli section.
Sec. i. “ Name explained. Le Shechin says, ‘Gan Hen remarks,
the horse is a warlike animal ; tne character ma represents its figure,
head, mane, tail, and legs.’ What was originally written, in outline
plied to stallions and mares, and to colts of various ages and colors
which are very numerous; for which see the f’rli Ya.
See. it. “Gan King says, ‘There are horses of many colors, but
for medicine the pure white is the best; though if the animal has a
few spots, as in his eyes, mouth, and hoofs, they need not be regard-
ed.’ Le Shechin says, ‘ Wild horses are found in Yunnan and Shan-
se; generally speaking those found in the north and west are superior
VOL. VII. NO. VIII. 50
now reduced
394
Notices in Natural History.
Dec.
to those in the south and east, which are small and weak. The age is
known by the teeth, which at first are small, but increase as the ani-
mal grows older. Its eye reflects the full length image of a man If
he eats rice, his feet will become heavy; if rats’ dung, his belly will
grow long ; if his teeth be rubbed with dead silkworms or black
plums, he will not eat, but this is removed by rubbing them with mul-
berry leaves ; if the skin of a rat or wolf be hung in his manger, he
will not eat. He should not be allowed to eat from a hog’s trough,
lest he contract disease; if a monkey is kept in the stable, he will
not fall sick.’
Sec. in. “ The flesh of a pure white stallion is the most whole-
some ; if it is bitter or cold it is noxious.” Many authors are quot-
ed with regard to the wholesomeness of horse-flesh, whose opinions
differ. One says, “that of those who eat the flesh of diseased horses,
nine out of ten die; it should be roasted and eaten with ginger and
pork.” Another remarks, “To eat the flesh of a black horse and
not drink wine with it, will surely produce death.” Le Shechin recom-
mends eating almonds, and taking a rush broth, if one feels uncomfor-
table after a meal of horse-flesh.— It may here be added, that we have-
seen this article of food for sale in the shambles of Canton, and it is
probably eaten more frequently in the northern provinces than in
this region.
Sec. tv. “ The fat lying on the top of the head is sweet, and un-
wholesome in only a slight degree. It will cause the hair to grow ;
brighten a dark visage, and cure flabby skin on the hands and feet.”
It is a general principle in Chinese pharmacy, of which this is an
illustration, that any part taken from an animal affects the same part
in the patient.
Sec. v. “ Le Shechin says, ‘ In the Han dynasty, a spirit was
made from mare’s milk.’ The milk is sweet and cooling; when
made into kumiss its nature is bland ; and drinking it reduces the
flesh.
Sec. vi. “The heart of a white horse, or that of a hog, cow, or
hen, when dried and rasped into spirit, and so taken, cures forgetful-
ness: ‘ if the patient hears one thing he knows ten.’ "
Sec. vii-vin. The lungs, and liver, are here described. “ The
liver is very poisonous. Woote of the Han dynasty says, 'When
eating horse-flesh, do not eat the liver.’ ‘ He who eats liver of a horse
will die,’ says another.” The Chinese ascribe the noxious properties
of the liver to the want of a gall-bladder, which is known to be
wanting in the anatomy of the horse. The gallbladder they suppose to
1638.
Notices in Natural History.
391
lie the seat of courage; and in ridicule say to a poltroon, “ I'll send
you to buy a horse's gallbladder. ” In Kanghe’s dt« t ion ary there is
a inode of demonstrating the noxious properties of a horse’s liver,
peculiarly Chinese : “ The horse corresponds to lire, and as lire can-
not produce wood, (which is the province of water,) therefore, the
horse has a liver without any gallbladder ; and as the gallbladder is
the effluence of wood, (w hich corresponds to the liver,) and is not
complete in the liver, therefore if one eat it he wiil die.”
Sec. ix— xi. “The kidnies,” says Le Shechin, “contain an inky
fluid which is allied to the bezoar of the cow, and calculi of the dog,
but its properties were unknown to the ancients.” The placenta ol
the colt as a remedy in obstructed menstruation.
Sec. xti. “Above the knees, the horse has night eyes [warts],
which enable him to go in the night. They are useful in the
toothache.”
Sec. xm. “The teeth and grinders are to be burned to ashes,
and if mixed w ith spittle and administered to children, the dose will
cure their shivering tits.”
Sec. xiv— xvii. “The bones of the body, head, and legs, and the
hoofs are efflcacious.” “ If a man is restless and jolly when he
wishes to sleep, and it is required to put him to rest, let the ashes of
a skull be mingled with water and given him, and let him have a
skull for a pillow, and it will cure him.” The same preservative
virtues appear to be ascribed by the Chinese to a horse’s hoof hung
up in a house, as were supposed by our ancestors to belong to a
horse-shoe when nailed upon the door.
Sec. xviii-xx. “The skin of a bay horse will hasten dilvery .”
The mane and tail are useful.
Sec. xxi-xxiv. The brains, blood, perspiration and excrements,
are prescribed; the first three are highly poisonous. “ Whoever has
any of the blood of the living horse enter his flesh, in one or two days
it will become a large swelling, and gradually joining his heart, kill
him ; if in cutting a horse, he w’ounds his hand, and the blood enters
his flesh, that same night he will die.”
In this manner are the various subjects, treated of in the Pun
Tsaou, discussed ; and by means of general indices, and the use of
different sizes of type, the student can quickly refer to any topic he is
investigating. Wild horses are said to exist in Kansuh and Leaou-
tung, and also beyond the w estern frontiers ; they are smaller than
the domesticated animal. The skin is in demand for making gar-
ments, and its flesh (so the Chinese say) has the same flavor as that
of the common horse.
396
Notices in Natural History.
Dec.
Although the Chinese cannot be said to have carried the culture
of the horse to very high perfection, judging from the sorry looking,
ungroomed, animals, with large knots in their tails, which we see in
this part of the empire, still they have not entirely neglected the
veterinary art. We have now lying before us in the Ma King,
a work in four volumes octavo, containing about 400 pages entirely
devoted to this subject ; the treatment of the camel and cow is ap-
pended in a fifth volume. The work was written in the first part of
the J7th century, in the reign of Wanleih, by the brothers Yu Yuen
and Yu Hing; and afterwards corrected by Tung Ke. It contains
112 plates, 150 songs, and directions for making 300 prescriptions.
It is divided into four parts. The first part consists of 12 essays and
as many metrical pieces, explaining the mode of feeling the horse's
pulse, which is placed in his breast; describing the different parts of
his body ; and giving the accounts concerning him transmitted from
antiquity. The vriters have sometimes chosen the form of poetry to
convey their researches, and many of the essays are thrown into
the form of conversation, in order to enliven a dull subject. The
second part gives the diagnosis of the seventy-two diseases to which
the horse is subject, comprising oirections how to ascertain what
part is affected from the pulsations. The third part contains eight
sections on the eight states of health (as cold, hot, empty, solid, &,c.)
of the horse, with plates illustrative. There are also reports of 74
conversations held between Tung Ke the correcter, and Yu Yuen
the author, concerning the m >de of treatment to be pursued when
the symptoms were thus and thus: and the reasons for certain peculi-
arities about the horse. The fourth part describes the kinds of food
he should have, among which pulse, grass, grain, tea, soup and water,
are mentioned ; and the whole concludes with directions for com-
pounding the medicines and the mode of administering them.
We have time only to give this author’s criteria of a good horse, but
should think from the hasty examination of its contents that the Ma
King might afford some interesting notices to one well acquainted
with the veterinary art. “ There are thirty-two marks, of all which
the eye is the pearl ; next you must see if the head and face are pro-
portionate, but he who wishes to know how to distinguish a good
horse, and does not examine the books of former ages, is like a blind
man going in a new road. The eye round as a banner-bell, oolor deep ;
pupil bean-shaped, well defined, with white stri® ; iris with five
colors, — he will be long-lived: nose with lines like the characters
kung and fL ho, — he will see foity springs : the forehead higher
1838
Notices in Not urn l History.
397
than ihe eyes; mane sofi with ten thousand delicate hair* ; face and
chops without Hush; ears like a willow leaf, neck like a phoenix's, nr
cock’s when crowing; mouth large and deep, with lips like a box
close joining; incisors and molars far apart; tongue like a two edged
sword and of good color; the gums not black, — he will have long life:
lean as to flesh, fat as to bones; never starting at sounds nor fear-
ful of sights; the tail elevated is reckoned a good sign ; head inclined
and neck crooked, with three prominences on the crown ; sinews like
a deer’s; bones of legs small, and hoofs light ; fetlocks shape of a bow ;
breast and shoulders broad, but little projecting forward ; head long
and loins short; belly hanging, and the hair on it growing upward;
hoofs strong and solid; knees high and joints uniform; flesh on the
back thick, making it round as a wheel; scapula like a pe-pa, and
femur inclined ; and tail like a flowing comet, hairs all soft.”
Such the Chinese give us as the principal characteristics of a good
horse.
2. The ass is called loo, because its strength lies in the breast.
He is described by authors, “as having long cheeks, a broad fore-
head, sharp ears, slender tail, and being an animal whose voice is
heard in the night answering to the watches. By nature he is adapted
to the carrying of burdens. There are those of a dark yellow, white,
and black color. In Leaoutung, w ild asses are found of a piebald
color, with flowing tails and manes, and large bones; the flesh is like
that of the domestic ass.” Writers also mention “ hill asses,” with
horns like the ibex, which are probably deer of some sort ; and “sea
asses,” whose skins do not become wet in the water, which are most
likely a species of seal.
The flesh af asses is said to be sweet and wholesome. The mar-
row is recommended as a cure for deafness of long standing; “that
in the fore legs is the best ; the bones are to be pounded fine, and
the marrow separated, and pat into the ear while the patient is
asleep.” “ If an infant cries obstinately, and w ill not stop, order three
women, (whose surnames must be unlike,) to take the babe between
them, and sleep in an ass’s manger, and it will cease; but no mau
must know it. The ode says, ‘ tie up the shell of a crab and suspend
it from the door, and it will expel a malignant sickness: picture an
ass upon the wall, and the child will cease crying. ” The medical
books of the Chinese abound m w himsies of this nature, showing
how partially antiquity has enlarged then knowledge ; their practice
of medicine, however, is rather more sensible and useful than then
theories.
396
Notices in Natural History.
Dec.
3. “ The lo or mule,” says Le Shechin, “ is larger than an ass and
stronger than a horse, its strength lies in its loins. In its rump, there
is a locked hone that cannot be opened, which prevents it bearing
young and suckling them.” The Chinese have crossed the breeds
of domestic animals, and produced mules unknown to us. “ There
are five sorts of mules : an ass and a mare produce a lo or mule; the
offspring of a horse and she-ass is a keue tc ; that of a jackass and
cow is a lo mill ; of a bull and she-ass is tsih tsung ; and that from a
bull and mare is called /ecu heu: but vulgarly all are called lo or
mules.” This animal is not often seen in this part of the empire,
but both it and asses are said to be common in the middle and north-
ern provinces. In the Spring and Autumn Record it is related, “that
Chaou Reentsze had a white mule which he highly prized ; once on
a time his minister fell sick, and the doctor said, if he eats the liver
of a white mule he will recover ; otherwise he will die. The prince
hearing of this said, ‘ to kill an animal in order to save a man will
surely be benevolent?’ He accordingly killed his mule, and took out
the liver, which when the sick man had eaten, cured him.”
4. The Chinese describe a preparation made from the milk of
various domestic animals, that resembles the kumiss found among
the Tartars. It is called Id and is both wet and dry ; it is made in
the following manner. “ Put a quart of milk into a boiler, and sim-
mer it for some time, when another quart is to be added, and the
whole boiled till many boiling bubbles arise to the surface, all the
while stirring it about with the ladle; now pour it into a vessel and
wait till it is cold, when the pellicle that forms upon the surface is to
be taken off, to form the soo. Now add a little old lo, and cover it up
for a while with paper, until it is completely made.* To make the
dry Id, take the new and evaporate it in the sun’s rays, continually
skiming off the pellicle, until none forms; then put these pellicles
into a pan and simmer them a little till the whole is dry, and can be
cut into slices.” The best is made, according to our author, from
the milk of the buffalo, mare and camel ; that from the cow and ewe
is not so invigorating. The soo, spoken of in making the lo, is a kind
» The mode of making kumiss among the Kalmuk Tartars, is “ to put a sixth
part of warm water with any given quantity of warm milk (generally mare’s),
which in summer must have stood twenty-four hours, and in winter three or four
days; to this is added a litlte old kumiss by way of yeast, when the mass is agi-
tated; and sometimes artificial heal is applied to produce the vinous fermenta-
tion. From this substance a spirit called rock or rackij, resembling brandy in all
but its strength, is distilled, of which the Kalmuks are extremely fond.” Brctc-
stcr's Enryc.
I NllS.
Diifu-ion of l iff a l l\ noirhdge in Chinn.
3! HI
of oil made from milk “The milk is put into a vessel and warmed
just to boiling, when it is poured into a tub, and the pellicle taken
otT ns it cools ; this is again simmered until the oil is all expelled,
when the residuum is thrown away, and the oil carefully kept. An-
other way is to till a tub with milk, and stir it about with a stick
half a day ; then take off the froth, and simmer it until it forms a dry
mass, from which the soo is made.” W.
Art. II. 1 'onrt/i annual report of thr Society for the Diffusion
oj Useful Knowledge in China: read at a general meeting,
Nor. 21sf, 1838.
When last this Society was assembled to receive the yearly report
of it.’ committer, the occasion was embraced, to show in what de-
partments of knowledge the people to whom our labors have refer-
ence are deficient, and what is the extent of their deficiency. It
was, at that time, the endeavor of your committee, to exhibit the im-
perfections of Chinese science and literature, in their general scope.
A detailed enumeration of defects and errors in distinct branch-
es of knowledge was reserved for future opportunities. Such an
opportunity now occurs: and your committee cannot, they think,
better call to mind tbe utility of the labors in which we are mutually
engaged, than by pointing out specific wants which it is in our power
to supply.
Historical and geographical treatises have, up to this period, chief-
ly employed the pens of those who have furnished your committee
with works tor publication. It is not, however, to the destitution of
knowledge in these departments, that allusion will now be made.
There are two classes of publications, which, from the almost univer-
sal demand for them among all classes of Chinese, merit a prior at-
tention. The first of these comprises the numerous forms of Year
books, or Almanacs, with which the book-stalls, at this period of
the year, begin to be crowded. The second comprehends, under
multifarious forms. Collectanea of elementary and useful information,
intended chiefly for the young, but often employed also as books of
reference by men of imperfect education. To show what is the cha-
400 Diffusion of Useful Knowledge in Chinn. Dec.
racter of these works, as at present existing in China, it will be well
briefly to analyse a specii '.an of each class.
In the Almanacs of the Chinese, nearly as much diversity exists
as in those of western nations. But in one thing the Chinese alma-
nacs are all alike, and in this they resemble too the older almanacs of
the west, — we mean, in the astrological ascription to each day of
auspicious or baneful influences over the actions of men. In this
character, the imperial almanacs, circulated by the government
through all its dominions and tributary kingdoms, shares in common
with books addressed to the most superstitious of the people. The
government of China thus gives the full weight of its authority to the
idle belief, that the planets, of which in its astronomical works it
acknowledges the earth to be a companion, can exert so powerful
and mysterious an influence over the world, as to affect the success
of the undertakings and actions of every individual. It sanctions a
belief, involving this absurdity, that two persons engaged in like
undertakings, having selected each the same auspicious period, and
acting, consequently, under the same astral influences, may neverthe-
less come off, the one fully successful, the other utterly foiled. But
the government has not alone given the weight of its own authority
to such unreasonable notions: has, when European astronomers
were yet in employ at Peking, required of them to attach their signa-
ture to the astrological (as well as to the astronomical) tables of the
almanac. This was acknowledged by one of these Europeans to Mr.
Barrow, when at Peking, during lord Macartney’s embassy, and de-
rives confirmation from the fact, that much greater faith is placed by
the Chinese in astrological predictions worked according to the “Eu-
ropean method,” than in any others, and that to a superiority of this
nature several of the popular almanacs consequently pretend.
The imperial almanac contains, in its smaller form about twenty,
in its larger form about fifty, leaves. Upon the first leaf of the larger
edition, is a table of the twenty-four Zodiacal periods observed by
the Chinese, marking the moment of the sun’s passage over the first
and the fifteenth degrees of each sign of the Zodiac, calculated for
the meridian of Peking. The second leaf is occupied by a table of
the more important stellary aspects, as auspicious, or the reverse, to
particular acts or undertakings. Thus one is auspicious to all acts,
and destructive of every baneful influence; a second is auspicious to
the presenter of memorials, to the officer newly entering upon his
duties, to the happy couple contracting a marriage ; a third and a
fourth are baneful to the same parties ; a fifth is prejudicial to the
I sw.
401
Diffusion of I'srful Kitoielttlge in (' hinit
bather; a sixth to the general who leads out his army; and a seventh
to the gardener who plants or grafts, under its influences. The third
leaf contains an astrological diagram, intelligible, as M. Klaproth
has remark, oidy to those who may choose to be at the pains of
exploring deeply the astrological reveries of China. After these fol-
low two large tables, occupying thirty-one leaves, which show, the
moment of sunrise and sunset, and the times of commencement of
the zodiacal half-monthly periods, in each province and dependency
of China. The ephemeris follows next, occupying twelve or thirteen
leaves, according to the number of lunar months into which the cur-
rent year may be divided. The details of the ephemeris comprise,
the cyclic characters by which each day is distinguished, the moon’s
quarters, the places of several stars, the anniversaries of births and
deaths of emperors and empresses during the reigning dynasty, and
finally the particulars of what ought and what ought not to be done
on each d.iy. A table of l'il) years, to show the age of an individu J
born in any year of the cycle, — to which is joined another table of
astral influences, completes this book, of which the Chinese govern-
ment is so proud, that it cannot confer on any nation a more gracious
gift than a copy of it.
The popular almanacs, besides a very much larger amount of as-
trological detail, contain, sometimes, a few items of useful informa-
tion, such as a map of China, maps of the stars, a very imperfect
tide-table, &.c. These items are however so few, that they are hard-
ly worthy of notice, except as an example of what may be introduced
in a purified almanac, intended like “ the British Almanac,” of the
English Society whose name we bear, to supply, gradually, the place
of the year-books already existing among the people. The prepara-
tion of such a work was contemplated by your committee shortly
after the establishment of this Society, and the hope was held out,
two years ago, that a purified almanac for the Chinese might be pub-
lished by it at the commencement of the succeeding year. The
hope then entertained is yet unfulfilled, but vour committee is led to
believe that no further delay will take place in preparing for the press
a year-book, in which astronomical facts shall be so conjoined with
useful and interesting information, as to ensure a good measure of
acceptableness. But so habituated as the Chinese are to the selec-
tion of auspicious days for every undertaking, it must be very long
ete they will be induced to abandon altogether their own almanacs,
however, disposed they may be to join to them one of a different
character.
VOL. VII. NO. VIII.
r,t
402
Diffusion of Useful Knowledge in China.
Dec.
In proceeding to analyze a specimen of the popular Collectanea of
elementary and useful information, we will take up one of the most
inferior in execution, — for two reasons — because it embraces a wider
field than any other common book of the same class, — and because
from its small size and cheapness, it has a more extensive circulation
among the people. The little book which has been selected is enti-
tled “ Miscellanies from the Eastern Gardens.” A very roughly exe-
cuted picture of an officer with his attendants occupies the frontis-
piece, where it is placed, no doubt, in order to stimulate the juvenile
reader, to strive for an elevation to honor and power such as that of
the personage depicted before him. Maps of the heavens and of
China follow, still more roughly designed and executed. The work
is then divided into two parts, which are carried on simultaneously in
parallel columns. Advice to children occupies the first place ; and
on the column parallel to it, a list of the principal disciples and suc-
cessors of Confucius. Next succeed lists of celebrated ministers of
particular periods, of the four princes of the contending states, the
three heroes of the Han dynasty, &c. Then the surnames of the
Chinese, commonly called the hundred family names, but actually
about four hundred in number. The classic of a thousand charac-
ters, intended to make the pupil well acquainted with a large number
of words, — admonitions to the age, m verse, designed to afford some
knowledge of moral principles, — and arithmetical tables, introducto-
ry to the elements of calculation, succeed. These complete the first
section. The second section is devoted to a child’s dictionary, on
a small scale, with pictorial illustrations in the roughest possible style.
This is a portion which it would be peculiarly in our power to im-
prove. The third section continues the dictionary, but without pic-
torial illustrations. It contains, also, instructions for the writing of
visiting cards, on ordinary and special occasions, with the forms
requisite among relatives, according to the degree of relationship, — a
table of degrees of consanguinity, with reference to the mourning
prescribed by law, — examples of notes and letters, forms of bonds and
agreements, &ic. The whole ends with some astrological tables, a
chronology of the sovereigns of China and a rhyming enumeration of
them from the creation to the end of the last dynasty.
There is a work, in the same style as the one just analyzed, and
containing much of the same information, called “ Miscellanies from
the Western Gardens.” Though upon the whole inferior, it may
yet afford some additional hints to any one who may undertake the
preparation of a more accurate and more complete publication.
1838.
Diffusion of Useful Knowledge IN China. 403
Improved works of ilicsc two classes, from the demand that cxisst
for such books among the people of China are likely to meet with a
more ready circulation than the works which your committee has
already published or sent to press, and hence may well serve to intro-
duce these last to the attention of readers. These considerations
have induced your committee to give them this public recommen-
dation.
Another kind of publication, very acceptable to the Chinese, is the
short tale, covering a moral lesson, or reflection, such as the excel-
lent fables of .Esop. A portion of these fables has recently ap-
peared in a Chinese dress, and has been well received ; and the pub-
lication has, with the kind permission of the proprietor, been placed
upon the list of the works of this Society.
Of the works mentioned in former reports, the View of Universal
History is about to be published, an edition of 300 copies having
been ordered. The publication of the History of England has been
accidentally retarded. The Description of the United States of Ame-
rica, and the History of the Jews, have been sent to press. The in-
troduction to Universal Geography, with the treatises on Geography
and on the Being of a God — the two latter by the late Dr. Morrison,
are not yet fully prepared for publication. The Chinese Magazine
has been continued, and four half-yearly volumes, in addition to the
two published by Mr. Gutzlaff in 1833 and 1834, will soon be com-
pleted. It is intended to render the succeeding volumes more attrac-
tive by the insertion in each number of pictorial illustrations. This
would have been done before now, but the difficulty of having such
illustrations well executed in China, and the expense of obtaining
plates from Calcutta, have tended to prevent it. These hindrances, it
is hoped, your committee will for the future be enabled to surmount.
Two new works have been commenced during the past year, one
of which is already in the press, — the other, under the title of No-
tices of the Indian Archipelago, has been but very recently undertaken.
The former work, spoken of as being already in the press, is a Chres-
tomathy of the Canton dialect of the Chinese language, by Mr. Bridg-
man, designed to serve the double purpose of facilitating to the Euro-
pean the acquirement of the means of personal intercourse with the
Chinese, and of diffusing among the latter a knowledge of the English
language. For these purposes, it will form, it is believed, the best
elementary book that has yet been published.
Difficulties of a temporary nature have hitherto hindered the cir-
culation, in Canton, of the Society’s publications. These have nearly
Dec.
404
Diffusion of Useful Knowledge in China.
ceased to exist; a portion of the works already published may at
once be put in circulation; and a regular supply of future publica-
tions, for distribution among the members as well as for sale to the
Chinese, will, it is hoped, be henceforward secured. At various places
in the Straits of Malacca, and on the outskirts of China, the Socie-
ty’s Magazine has been distributed to a considerable extent. There
have as yet, however, been very few copies purchased, a circumstance
attributable perhaps, not merely to a want of that thirst after knowledge
which it must be our endeavor to excite; but also, in some degree, to
the too great readiness that has been shown to give books to those who
decline to purchase them. This excess of gratuitous distribution, your
committee have already taken measures to arrest; and it is hoped
that those who have before received our publications as gifts, will, by
the perusal of them, be induced to seek after and pay for them. To
facilitate this, the publications of the Society should continue to be
exposed for sale at so low a price as will not be likely to deter any
who may be desirous of purchasing.
The progress of the Society in publication has involved a much
larger expenditure this year, than in any previous one, while as yet
no returns can be reckoned upon. The Treasurer’s account shows
a balance, however, of $179.
The number of members has been considerably increased. The
whole number is now eighty-three, — eight of whom are honorary,
and sixteen are corresponding members. We feel encouragement
in the honorable notice that has been taken of our — at present
feeble — labors, by public bodies and individuals in the west. But far
more are we encouraged by a deep conviction of the importance of
our object, and an assurance of its ultimate success. In the words
of the preamble, written at the time when this Society was organized —
“The end of our course is far distant; the barriers high; the ways
rough; and the passes difficult; our advances, therefore, may be slow.
Yet, prepared for all contingencies, and aware that it is not the work
of a day, we are glad to engage in a warfare, where we are sure the
victors and the vanquished will meet only to exult and rejoice to-
gether.”
After the reading of the report, the Chairman made a few observa-
tions on the present condition and prospects of the Society, as therein
shown.
The Rev. E. C. Bridgman then rose, and, in few words, spoke
1«W.
Diffusion oj t’srful Knoirlerfgt in Chinn. 4M.'»
respecting llie character, object, position, iunl operations, of the So-
ciety, nearly as follows :
“ Every one in the east (he observed), or who is conversant with
the history of events in India, and in the foreign settlements on tins
side of it, lias seen very great improvements unde during the last ten
or twenty years. By education — by the ditfusion of knowledge — by
the intioduclion of useful arts and inventions, such tor example as
the steam-engine — affairs have taken a new and happy direction,
and received in that direction a powerful impulse. The age of mo-
nopolies is now gone — the spirit that upheld them is passing rapidly
away. In its stead, a better spirit is abroad in the minds of men —
one more liberal, more generous, more active. In this spint, the
Society for the Diffusion of Useful knowledge in China was institut-
ed— has been, and will continue to be, sustained.
“ As to the character of the Society, it is purely benevolent, having
in it nothing that can give offense, or that can be the occasion of
offense, to any one. With politics and religion, it does not intermed-
dle; without their spheres it has a range wide enough for all its ener-
gies and all its resources.
“ Its sole object is to make the people of this country acquainted
with those things — historical facts, arts, sciences, and such like — of
which they can both appreciate the value and understand the uses,
but of which, without friendly and gratuitous aid, such as this Socie-
ty affords, they must long remain ignorant. You know, sir, and all
the gentlemen of this Society know, that there are in the possession
of western nations a great many things capable of being turned to
good account in these regions. But the Chinese, while continuing
ignorant of all these things, cannot advertise for them, and will not
seek them. However useful a thing may be here, until its value be
understood, it must come gratuitously, if it come at all. So it was
with the fire-engine, which was first brought to China only a few
years ago, and which is now so well understood here that its use is
extending from this to other cities of the empire.
“ The position of the Society is on the boundary line between
the great regions of light and darkness. With one hand its members
may gather up the richest fruits of modern invention and discovery
throughout the whole western hemisphere, and with the other they
may scatter them far and wide among the inhabitants of these eastern
nations. At first, when the Society commenced its course, its works
were retarded and stopped, and some pecuniary losses were meur-
aed , but on the score of useful experience much has beeen gained in
498 Diffusion of Useful Knowledge in Chtna. Dec.
consequence. The mode adopted, and the site fixed on, for the me-
chanical portion of its duties, are different from what they then were,
and the whole business is now carried on out of the reach of the na-
tive authorities. Our position, therefore, has become, in this respect,
safe and secure; and the manufacture of books beyond the boundaries
of this empire may be pushed to any extent you please, provided the
requisite means are at command.
“The operations of the Society, limited as they have been, afford
just ground of encouragement. The Treasurer’s report, now lying
before you, is some evidence of what has been done during the past
year: though it shows a large disbursement, without any returns
from sales, it affords no cause of concern as to the future. If good
works are prepared for the press, we may be assured that means for
their publication will not long be wanting.
“ To these remarks, I will only add, that it is a pleasure and an
honor to cooperate in labors so useful as those in which you and the
Society are engaged. And, for one, I assure you, that whatever of
time can be secured for their accomplishment shall be most cordially
given.”
The Rev. P. Parker, in moving the first resolution, said: “It
seems unnecessary to dwell upon the peculiar obstacles which the
Society, as it has been mentioned, has had to encounter. They
are well known to every gentleman present. — This is especially the
time to prepare the ground, and scatter the seed. Some fruits have
already appeared — many more are in different stages — all are ad-
vancing, as fast as the nature of the case will admit, to a full maturi-
ty, which we may yet live to see. But a still more abundant harvest
will be witnessed, no doubt, at a remoter period, by our successors.
The object is great, and the time and means for its attainment must
be proportionate. As happily expressed in the report of the commit-
tee, the obstacles, though great and numerous, are not insurmounta-
ble. I most cordially subscribe to those sentiments, and desire that
the report may be published.”
He then moved, Edmund Moller, esq., seconded, and it was
unanimously —
Resolved , That the interesting report which has just been read be
accepted and published.
G. T. Lay, esq., rose to support the resolution. The following are
some of the remarks made by him.
. “ Mankind are often taxed with thinking too highly of their own
merits, and perhaps with justice, but if there be in us a natural ap-
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Diffusion of I si ful Knmrhiljri in Chinn.
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tilude which leads iis to overrate what we have done, there is also
a proneness to underrate our capabilities, or what we can do, especi-
ally when we meditate the advancement of any object that has some
reference to the good of others. M my a golden vein of talent, pa-
tience, and courage, might be discovered in the minds of men, to
which the possessor himself was altogether a stranger. How few
of us husband all oui resourses, or improve all those opportunities
which providence has put within our reach. We lightly esteem our
own endowments for action, we slight those advantages which God
has given to us, because, forsooth, our talents do not happen to he
five or ten instead of two. Now as it fares with individuals, so it
often fares with societies at their commencement. At first, the
ground must be prepared, obstacles removed, misconceptions rectifi-
ed, the scheme of operation ascertained and defined, and means not
only secured hut even made. This requires time, which is not more
a function in astronomy and dynamics, than it is in the prosperity of
a public institution. In the mean while nothing serins to have been
accomplished, the subscribers begin to marvel at the tardiness of its
progress, and ask with impatience what has been done; and, because
a copious return of great achievements cannot be made out at once,
they are filled with despondency, which by a sort of contagion commu-
nicates itself to the committee, and sometimes takes such a hold, that
the hands of the sanguine among its members begin to hang down.
“ In such cases it is proper to look aside from present discourage-
ments, and solace the mind by reflecting upon the excellence of the
object, and the purity of purpose with which it was at first under-
taken. In the history of this society we see that difficulties have been
surmounted as an earnest of better things, but much more labor must
be bestowed before we may expect any great and striking results.
Let us then call to mind the scope and intentions with which it set
out, and some of its principal features, and the position and the rank
it ought to hold, not to make us proud, but to stir us up to activity
and perseverance. As to the rank of this society, we shall soon per-
ceive that it lays claim to no mean relationship and affinity. If the
Bible Societies hold the first place, because they propose to give the
word of God to every human being; if missionary societies take the
second, because their object is to send men to teach all nations the
way of salvation ; societies like this may fairlv come into the third,
because they labor to diffuse among all classes of a community that
knowledge, which is the best of all worldly gifts — as it is the grammar
and inteipretatiou of God's works, an analytic and synthetic account
408
Diffesion of Useful Knowledge in Cnina.
Dec.
of those very lessons which they teach. If we consider these three
kinds of associations we shall find, that they have at least one impor-
tant principle in common. For the Bible society aims to give the whole
Bible to all without any reservation whatsoever, all who are willing
to read are by it deemed worthy to do so. The missionary society
commissions her servants to preach the whole truth to every man, not
to deal out one sort to the clerical and the learned, and another sort
to the laic and the unlearned, but, as far as possible, to make all
share alike. The useful knowledge society is laboring to give, no:
one kind of information to the high and another to the poor, nor to
disseminate instruction merely, but to make all classes welcome to
the choicest treasures of learning and science, without any difference
or respecting of persons whatsoever. The recognition of a common
principle, with societies of such honor and importance, bestows a
dignity and value upon this society, and we may well rejoice in our
affinity, a likeness of features so benign, so liberal, and so like the
character of Him, who is ‘ good to all.’
“ After the two special means just alluded to, the distribution of
the scriptures and the preaching of the gospel, there is no second or
instrumental cause, no human means, that can vie in utility with scat-
tering in a kind and beautiful manner the varied stores of useful
knowledge, nor tend so successfully to bring about that consummation
we all long to see, when every man shall in his place acknowledge the
one true God and Jesus Christ, whom he hath sent. As an indivi-
dual, I may not have it in my power to aid this society directly, but
on my return to England, I shall devote all my leisure to the interests
of China, shall endeavor to create sober and enlightened views of her
condition, and, as opportunity shall serve, strive to awaken feeling and
sympathy in favor of the praiseworthy and truly excellent undertak-
ing which we are now met to consider.”
On the motion of the Rev. E. C. Bridgman, seconded by James
Matheson, esq., it was —
Hi-solved, “ That in place of the fourth Regulation, as it now stands,
the following amendment be adopted : The resident members shall
include native and foreign gentlemen. Any individual wishing to
cooperate in the grand object of the Society, and conforming to its
regulations, may become a member.
On the motion of J. Matheson, esq., seconded by G. T. Lay,
esq., it was —
Hi-solved, That, as the transient nature of European communities in
the east renders it difficult to maintain the efficiency of this Society,
INK
Dijf miun of L stfui Kiiuttlnlg * tit ( 'It inn.
without the constant accession of new members, especially ol those
who have it knowledge ol the Chinese language, it is deemed highly
desirable that the junior portion of the cominunity he invited to co-
operate w ith us, and that they be earnestly recommended to give their
attention to the study of the language, as a pursuit conducive no less
to individual interest, than to the noble object ol advancing this
great empire in the scale of civilization.
Mr. Lay, in seconding the resolution, made remarks nearly to the
following effect :
‘The usefulness of this society must bear a certain ratio to the
number of its helpers, and their qualifications for promoting the spe-
cific objects, which it contemplates. One of these qualifications is a
knowledge of the Chinese language, joined with an insight into some
department of literature or science. Now, ns many young men come
hither with the view of staving several years in the country, it seems
highly desirable that this society should, by some public expres-
sion of its sentiments, ins ite all such as have healili and leisure to
turn their attention to this subject, ami in the issue to qualify them-
selves for acting a part, that will redound to their own credit, the
comfort of their friends, and the welfare of mankind.
‘ Among those (Mr. Lay observed) who engage in designs for the
common good, we generally tind two kinds of persons — some act
from impulse and feeling, while others act from principle. The
e!f>rts of one sort are desultory and unequal, of the other steady and
uniform. With the latter class are oftentimes such as have begun in
early life to cultivate an interest in public institutions, by frequent-
ing their meetings and making themselves acquainted with their
object and history. By subscribing to their funds, however small
the contribution might be, they learn to feel that they have some-
thing at stake, a sort of lien hi t heir prosperity. In virtue of early
association, a permanent affection for their peculiar objects is fastened
in the mind, a well-grounded conviction of their importance secured,
and, withal, the requisite skill and experience, to follow tin? example
of those who have gone before them in I alters and enterprises for the
benefit of others. The mover of this resolution has done well in ex-
pressing his opinion, that a special intimation should be given by the
society, that it looks to young men for subscribers to its funds, for stu-
dents in the Chinese language, and for successors in the management
of its affairs. He (Mr. Lay) rejoiced to learn that the number of
those who bestow their leisure upon the Chinese language is increas-
ing, and intimated his belief, that literary and scientific men at home
VOL. VII. NO. VIII. O'i
410
Diffusion of Useful Knowledge in Cnina.
Dec.
will take up the stud}', when they shall have found, that its difficulty
lies mainly in the preposterous manner in which it has been pursued,
the want of European teachers, and the discouragements that have
been thrown in its way. He believed that the literature of China
presents a most curious and interesting field for antiquarian research,
where the origin and first principles of many sciences may be found,
which, while they will furnish a nomenclature adequate for all pur-
poses of definition, will also afford stocks for the engrafting of western
arts and discoveries.’
On the motion of J. Matheson, esq., seconded by G. T. Lay,
esq., it was —
Resolved, That, Mr. Morrison’s official engagements often calling him
away from Canton, and sometimes standing in the way of the perform-
ance of his duties as Secretary, an officer be added to the commit-
tee, under the designation of Joint English Secretary ; and that, as a
necessary consequence, the following alteration be made in the ninth
Regulation, viz., in place of the words “three Secretaries, two Chi-
nese and one English,” — these words, “ four Secretaries, two Chi-
nese and two English,” be substituted.
On the motion of Alexander Matheson, esq., seconded by E.
Moller, esq., it was —
Resolved, That the following gentlemen be appointed office-bearers
for the ensuing year.
President, John C. Green, esq.; treasurer, James Matheson, esq.;
others members, H. H. Lindsay, esq., Robert Inglis, esq., Charles
W. King, esq.; Chinese secretaries, Rev. E. C. Bridgman, Rev. C.
Gutzlaff; English secretaries, J. R. Morrison, esq., and Robert
Thom, esq.
On the motion of .T. Matheson, esq., seconded by G. T. Lay,
esq., a vote was passed of thanks to the Secretaries for their services
to the Society.
On the motion of A. Matheson, esq , seconded E. Moller,
esq., a vote was passed of thanks to Mr. Turner for his services in
the chair and as President.
The meeting was then dissolved.
Richard Turner, President
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Mi du al Missionary Society
411
Art. HI. First report of the .Medical Missionary Society's Hos-
pital at Macao, for the quarterly term beginning at It July,
and miling Is! Oct., IK3';. Hy the Rev. I’. Pakkck. m. u.
In accordance with ;i desire expressed at a general meeting of the
Society in May last, the Hospital at Macao was opened on the 5th of
July. Previous engagements to return to Canton, and the absence
of any other medical gentleman to take charge of the establishment,
rendered it necessary temporarily to close it on the 1st of October.
It is with great pleasure that the report for this term is now submitted
to the Society and its friends.
Often has the sincerest gratitude been felt towards the benevolent
members of this Society, who have procured such an asylum for
the afflicted Chinese, and to the respected President by whose judg-
ment the spot was selected, when, — walking through us capacious
and numerous apartments, — I have witnessed the comfortable accom-
modation afforded to the inmates, to many of whom it seemed al-
most a palace, in comparison with the narrow cells which they call
their homes. The building is capable of accommodating two hun-
dred patients. It has nineteen spacious rooms on the second story,
well ventilated; and as many corresponding ones on the ground floor;
a garden, and extensive compound, with three wells of water — in
the rear ; and a yard in front. The building is of brick, strongly
built; and the whole of the ground (say a third of an acre) belong-
ing to it, is surrounded by a substantial wall. It is in a healthy
locality, overlooking the inner harbor, and has good access both by
land and w ater.
It is delightful to contemplate the yearly augmenting relief that
may here be afforded to the suffering Chinese. It is cheering and
encouraging to regard the facilities that here exist, for the instruction
of the young men of China in the principles of rational medicine and
surgery. May the institution prosper every way — may there be no
lack of men to conduct its operations, or of means to support and in-
crease its usefulness — may it be the fruitful parent of many like
institutions, under the conduct of Chinese, who shall have acquired
the skill and science of the west, and shall have imbibed the benevo-
lence and purity of the gospel.
Seven hundred patients were received into the Hospital during
412
Medical Missionary Society.
Dec.
the term, towards the close of which many had to be sent away, from
the inexpediency of receiving them for a few days only. Fewer im-
portant surgical cases presented themselves, in proportion to the
whole number, than had previously been the case at Canton. With
a few exceptions, the task of gaining the confidence of the people
had to be commenced de novo The suspicion and reserve at first
manifested were greater than ever at Canton. The arrival, however,
as patients, of gentlemen from Canton, and occasional visits of some
who had been cured there, and of others personally acquainted with
previous operations, tended very much to alter the feeling of the peo-
ple. An unexpected auxiliary in effecting this change was found,
too, in sundry of their idols, who, according to the interpretation of
the Chinese priests, encouraged a large number of their votaries to
apply to the foreign physician with assurance of success.
The following is a tabular statement of the numbers of each of the
diseases that came under observation during the term.
Fevers -
4
Diseases of the Liver and
its
Inflammatory disorders: —
connected parts:
Abscesses, chiefly about the
Hepatitis
-
2
head -
27
Enlargement of the spleen
1
Carbuncles - - -
10
Diseases of Generative organs,
Fistula (in ano) -
2
and the connected parts.
Rheumatism - - -
25
Amenorrhea -
.
1
Thrush (ulcerated mouth
Ovarian dropsy
.
2
and lips) -
2
Prolapsus vaginae -
-
1
Ulcers, chiefly of lower extie
Urinary calculi
-
2
mities -
or,
Diseases of the Nervous system
Whitlows -
5
Neuralgia
-
1
Spasmodic diseases : Asthma
S
Paralysis
-
5
Constitutional diseases:
Diseases of the Ear :
Dentition -
o
Cerumen deficient -
-
8
Dropsy - - - -
4
Deafness
-
1 1
Opium mania - -
4
Meatus auditorius wanting
l
Scrofula - - »
12
Otorrhea
.
9
Diseases of the organs of Cir-
Polypus of the ear -
-
1
culation : Aneurism »
1
T umor of the ear -
-
2
Diseases of Respiratory organs
Ears rent by heavy ear-rings
7
Pneumonia -
12
Diseases of the Eye :
Diseases of Digestive organs,
Ophthalmia, Acute
-
28
and the connected parts .
— Chronic
- 100
Diarrhea -
7
Neorum
-
2
Dysentery *
o
<*•»
— Purulent
-
10
Dyspepsia - - -
2
— Rheumatic
1
Icterus -
5
Ophthalmitis
r
2
Worms - - -
4
Granulations -
r
20
isik
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•1 1 :t
Pterygium ...
Kutropiu ...
Ektropia -
Trichiasis ...
Lippitudo ...
Hordeolum -
Mucocele - - -
Staphyloma (including 2 of
the sclerotica)
Nebulte ...
Onyx ....
Glaucoma *
Iritis -
Cataracts -
Amaurosis - - -
Night blindness
Muscat* Volitantes -
Complete loss of one eye
— of both eyes
Tumor of the conjunctiva
.'hi Preternatural and diseased
-10 growths :
I Polypi of the nose It
I Tumors, Cutaneous - I
2G — Sarcomatous 10
if
1 2
•>
4
t>
10
9
1
( hilaneoiiB diseases :
Elephantiasis 4
Various - - - 4(j
Injuries :
Curvature of spine - 1
Dislocations — of femur on
dorsum illii, 1, — of astra-
galus, 1 - - - 2
Various (i
Congenital defects and injuries:
Dumbness 5
Hare-lip 12
Nevus materna, horribly
affecting the expression
and form of countenance, 1
No. 30. July 12lh. Cataracts. Osteo-medullary-sarcoma, and
nasal polypus. Woo Iloo, aged 41, a semstress of the village Pih-
shan, was grievously afflicted with this singular complication of disea-
ses. The nucleus of the malady commenced, seven years since, in
a small hard prominence, at the internal angle of the right eye, just
under the superciliary arch, accompanied by pain in both eyes. It
is now four inches and a quarter in circumference at its base, and
nearly of a globular form, projecting about two inches. The eye is
concealed by it; the puncta lacrymalis of the lower lid is drawn out
of its place one inch and a half to the right. The base of the
tumor is defined on three sides hy an osseous projection. A milky
white cataract exists in the right eye, and a soft polypus completely
fills the right nostril. Several times the tumor has burst, and the
patient says , she has cut olf portions of the medullary fungus that pro-
truded, and much hemorrhage followed. The constitution was impair-
ed. Her tongue was while and bloodless. It being impossible to
determine the extent of disease, — though probably it communicates
with the antrum, and desceuds deep into the socket of the eye, and
back to the posterior nares, — it was deemed inexpedient to attempt to
remove it, notwithstanding the urgency of the patient and her relatives,
and her threat, if others would not do it for her, to nprratr herself.
No. 32. July 13th. Cataracts. The history of this man’s case
is introduced in his own words. “ l ing Hw antsitng, aged Go, of the
414
Medical Missionary Society.
Dec
district. Tahing, in the department Shunteen, of the province of
Cheihle, has been on the civil list of this province for 39 years, and is
now m expectation of the appointment of assistant magistrate. — I am
at present residing in the street Teenkwan, within the city of Canton.
On the 1 9th I embarked, and early on the 22d arrived at Macao, and
I now earnstly beseech the D >otor to heal my blindness. In the 15th
year of Taoukwang (1835), and the seventh month, my right eye be-
came diseased, and at this time I am unable to see light. In the second
month of the present year 1 was grievously afflicted, by carelessly
taking cold. Under medical treatment my disease ceased, but after-
wards the eye became daily more and more blind, and now only a
glimmering of light remains. I earnestly entreat the Doctor to heal
me; iny gratitude will then be boundless.”
The gentleman had Cataracts completely formed in both eyes, and
upon the cornea of the right eye was a slight nebula. The cataracts
were depressed in both eyes. No inflammation followed in either,
the lens in the left eye partially arose, and, a fortnight from the first
operation, was re-depressed with success. At the expiration of three
weeks the patient was told he might return to his family whenever
he chose. He wished to remain longer, and it was not till the first
of September that he left. Previous to his return, he dined with me
in European style, after which he was delighted to see the ships in the
harbor from the terrace and pointed out the elevations on the oppo-
site side of the inner harbor, and said that “ his heart dilated with
gratitude in proportion as his eyes were opened to the light.” This
man was attended by a son 40 years old, and three servants. His
deportment was uniformly that of a gentleman, and he was always
ready to communicate intelligence, upon whatever subject interrogat-
ed. Being from the vicinity of Peking, it was interesting to learn
from him the customs, and to gain local information, of that part of
the country, and in return to answer his numerous and intelligent
inquiries respecting the nations of the west.
Since my return to Canton, he has called and reported himself in
excellent health. He informed me that since recovering his sight he
had received a new appointment from government, and was immedi-
ately to go to the part of the province in which he was to enter upon
the discharge of the duties of his new olfice, rejoicing in a second
youth. His case is mentioned, not for any thing worthy of especial
notice in a medical light, but as an example of the advantages the
hospital will afford for free intercourse with Chinese of respectability
and intelligence.
I "its
Uh/kiiI \Ii Sorirti/.
41',
No 2-V7. Anir ^th N isal |hiIv|»iis cured l*v sulphate of zinc
Hwang I .till of Macao, aged 2d, had a polypus that descended from
los nostril a third of an inch, being attached to the superior turbinated
bone. It just tilled the nostril, was of a soft character, and had oc-
casionally bled. The sulphate of zinc in substance was applied to
the polypus. The next day the patient complained of much pain
and soreness. A strong solution of sulphate of zinc, one scruple to
two ounces of w iter, was substituted. The next dav the sulphate of
zinc in substance was again employed and the patient directed to
use the solution twice daily. On the fifth day he returned and said
he was cured ! The excrescence had sloughed away, except a small
portion of its attachment. The same treatment was continued, and
on the ninth day the whole Ind disappeared. The patient presented
himself some time after, and there was no return of the disease. This
is the most remarkable case of the efficacy of this mineral in nasal
polypus that I have witnessed, but not the only one.
No. 341. Aug. 10th. Hypertrophy of the arm. Woo Sliing
aged 27, a laborer of a village in the neighborhood of Macao, had a
great enlargement of the left arm, which commenced at birth. It
resembled elephantiasis of the lower extremities, except that it was
confined chiefly to the muscles and integument of the inside of the
aim. At the bend of the arm it was eighteen inches in circumference,
and thence it gradually diminished upwards to the opposite side of the
insertion of the deltoid muscle, and downwards to the wrist. A hard
glandular mass appear to he attached to the hones at the elbow, dis-
tinct from the general disease. The surface was excoriated and red,
and there was constantly a limpid discharge. This and the weight
of the tumor was the chief inconvenience. The patient was languid,
tongue white and glossy, and the vital powers enervated.
Aug. 21st. In consultation with Dr. Lindsey, surgeon of II. M.
ship Wellesley, and Mr. Anderson, surgeon to t he Superintendents
of British Trade, it was resolved to test the efficacy of iodine, both
internally and externally, and should this not succeed, as a ‘ dernier
ressort’ to amputate the arm. The tincture of iodine was applied,
gradually increasing the quantity from half a drachm to a drachm
daily, and the arm was bandaged and suspended. Lugol’s tincture
of iodine was administered internally, beginning with ten drops, three
times a day, and gradually increasing the quantity to twenty drops.
As the pulse was quickened and some epigastric uneasiness was pro-
duced, the tincture was omitted for a few days, then resumed.
Blue pill and lvxt. colocynth, was taken- occasionally, as the symptoms
410
Medical Missionary Society.
Dec.
required. The arm became softer and considerably diminished, but
upon omitting the Iodine and bandage for a short time, it returned
to its former size. I'he same treatment was resumed and continued
till the close of the hospital, when the patient was provided with the
same medicines to carry home; but was told that amputation would
probably be the only means of permanent cure, and whenever he was
prepared for that he could coine to Canton.
No. 457. Aug. '47th. Cbaou Tihkwei, aged l year. The child
was of a fair compaction, and delicate skin. Her lower extremities
were covered by warty excresences, some single, others in clusters,
many of them of the figure and size of a mulberry. At first hyd. cum
creta 5 grains at night, and cal. mag. in the morning were ordered,
and the sulphur ointment applied externally. On the 4th September a
solution of nit. argent, four grains to the oz. was applied by a feather
to the excresences, some of which were ulcerated. In one week the
mother returned with the child, saying that the lotion was very good
and desiring more. The disease was fast healing ; the same treat-
ment was continued, and in about three u'eeks the little girl was well.
An unusually large number of cutaneous affections of every variety
has presented.
Hare-lips. Twelve patients with this malformation have been
received, and in several instances in one week from the operation the
patient has been quite cured. The fortitude of these little children
has been very noticeable, they appearing, often through the whole
operation, almost insensible to pain.
The nevus materna, in the table of diseases, was of a dark crimson
color, affecting the upper lips and extending over the nose and fore-
head. His profile as viewed from the left side resembled a hog’s,
the snout being large and well defined ! The man, aged 27, and also
his mother, regarded it as a great mortification.
Abscess of the thigh, supervening upon fever. Hwang Yucme, aged
17, of the district of Hwuychow, a student resident at Mongha village,
near Macao. About the first of September, when called to this young
man, he was a mere skeleton, excepting his thighs, which were very
large. He was filthy in the extreme, and large sores had been formed
on the sacrum and elbows from his long confinement. Fluctuation
was very distinct in both thighs. Feeling unable to be removed to
the hospital he was prescribed for at his house, and the next day he
reported that one of the abscesses had burst and discharged about 4
quarts of puss, and he felt much relieved. The second day i revisit-
ed him and opened the abscess of the opposite side, which discharged
I tew.
Medical Missionary Society.
417
an equal quantity of puss with the other. The next day lie was re-
moved to the hospital on a litter, — being informed of the severity of
his illness, but that everything should be done for his comfort and
for his recovery, — though the latter was scarcely to be expected,
lie and his father were grateful for the offer.
The daily discharge was very great Tonics were administered
duiing the day, and opiates at night. The abscesses were carefully
dressed once or twice daily, and bandages applied. In about four days
after the bursting of the abscesses his longue and the roof of his mouth
became coated with a thick yellow crust, which, after the lapse of
about one week, came off and left the surface quite smooth and red.
His pulse was still small, and quick, and ranged from 100 to 120.
The father was told that a fatal crisis was last approaching, lie went
to a fortune teller, who cast the horoscope. He came back delight-
ed— exclaiming, he will not die now, and presenting a paper, show-
ing that a man born upon the day Ins sou was would not die then.
He still lingered on, the discharge becoming daily more fetid, and
his body more loathsome. The day previous to his decease he seem-
ed bewildered at times, cried saying his aged grandmother in his
native place had been dead more than a month, and grieved that he
had not been present to administer to her comfort, filial feeling being
the ‘ruling passion strong in death.’ On Sabbath morning, just a fort-
night from entering the hospital, his immediate release seemed certain.
At 4 o'clock p m., it was manifest he could not survive many hours.
He had his senses fully. He wras reminded that one could feel but
little regret at leaving an old house just ready to bury its inmates in
its ruins, provided a new and commodious one were presented in its
stead, a comparison he full well understood, for it was a change he
had experienced. He listened attentively. He was then informed
that he must in a few hours experience a still greater change, but
that there were mansions prepared on high, to which the Saviour
(of whom he had previously heard) would welcome all that trust in
him. He seemed pleased with the idea, rather than agitated at the
fact that he must die so soon. I did not leave him till he breathed his
last, at about 9 r. m The father w as less reconciled to the event,
and when told his son was dying he could not believe it, but insisted
upon giving him some “strong medicine.” His son being already
unable to swallow, he was authoritatively told that he should not in-
crease his sufferings by so doing In a little time his sufferings were
all ended. His father then attempted to administer the strong medi-
cine; but convinced by the attempt that all was over with his son,
VOL. vti. NO. VIII. 53
418
Medical Missionary Society.
Dec.
lie prepared a potion for himself, which he swallowed quickly, excit-
ing in us the apprehension that he had taken opium. It proved how-
ever to be otherwise. The body was intered in the course of the
night, without much troubling the hospital.
Aneurism spontaneously cured. A girl, 16 years old, a fortnight
previously to entering the hospital, received a blow from a playmate
with a Chinese pillow (which is a cylindrical apparatus of bamboo),
upon the left temporal artery, high on the forehead. There was at
the time a flat tumor extending nearly to the ear, to the outer angle
of the eye, and down upon the cheek. A fluctuation was felt, but
no pulsation except a very slight one in the temporal artery, extend-
ing about an inch from the wound. There was neither pain nor
redness. Aware that if necessary the artery could be readily divided
or taken up, a small incision was made through the integument at
the most prominent point, and a small probe introduced, upon an
elastic membrane, which yielded to pressure, but immediately resum-
ed its place as that was removed. A lancet was introduced perpen-
dicularly just sufficiently to puncture the membrane. Arterial, mixed
with streaks of coagulated, blood escaped. Sponges of cold water
were applied to the surface and styptics to the puncture; the hemor-
rhage stopped without difficulty. Three days after this the aneurism
was carefully examined, and was not a little handled. It was con-
cluded on the next operation day to take up the artery, but on
entering the ward early next morning, several patients exclaimed
that the tumor was half gone. A very perceptible diminution had
taken place, and a small hard ball, formed an elevation above the in-
jury of the artery. An evaporating lotion was applied during a few
days, and the swelling gradually lessened. A compress and bandage
were then substituted, and in a fortnight, when the hospital was clos-
ed, the whole had disappeared, except the remains of the ball, now
less in size than a tamarind stone; and no inconvenience was felt.
No external ear. A third case of a Chinese without an external ear
or meatus auditorius has presented. The lad was 16 years old. His
hearing was good in the right ear only.
Asthma of children. The eight cases of asthma were mostly of
children under 10 years, living in small boats, and from infancy ex-
posed to every variety of weather.
The disappointment of patients, who came in numbers up to the
dav of leaving, increased the regret felt, that no medical gentleman
had arrived from England or America to continue the operations, as
there had been encouragment to expect, a physician of Glasgow hav-
IKI8. ,)lt tin al Missionary Satiety. 4 III
ing been reported in private letters to be alnnit to embark from Lon-
don in April. The addition and repairs to the Ophthalmic Hospital
at Canton having been completed, and the period having arrived
when, according to public notice previously given, it should be re-
opened, it was impossible to prolong the term ai Macao, and the hos-
pital was accordingly closed on the 1st of October. It is with much
pleasure, however, that letters have been received, stating that a sur-
geon of experience was on the point of embarking from London for
China, in August last.
It is learned with much satisfaction, that the object of this Society
has been favorably regarded both in England and Scotland. Sir
Henry Halford, President of the London College of Physicians, in
an address before the College, reported in the London Medical Ga-
zette for February last, in exhibiting some of the results of successful
medical practice, took occasion to allude to the operations of this
Society with approbation of its principles. Among the individuals pre-
sent were — * H. R. II the duke of Cambridge, the archbishop of
Canterbury, the duke of Wellington, sir Robert Peel, and many dis-
tinguished members of the Church, the Bar and Senate.’ The ad-
dress is said to have been listened to with great attention, and to
have excited general interest. What will be the result remains to be
disclosed. It is occasion of gratulation that the subject has thus been
commended to the attention of men who have it in their power in
various ways to promote our objects, and we anticipate a result favo-
rable to those objects and to the welfare of the vast population of
China. — From a widely circulated Scottish Journal, it appears that
our objects have also been auspiciously commended to the attention
of the enlightened and philanthropic public of that country.
Arp. IV. First annual report of the Medical Missionary Society
in China, rtad at a public meeting, in the llall of the. Gene-
ral Chamber of Commerce, Canton, Nov. 20th, 1S3S.
Litti.f. more than half a year having elapsed since the ‘suggestions,’
first published in 18B6, were fully acted upon in the formation of this
Society, your committee, in this their first report, have but few re-
marks to offer. From the great interest taken in the objects of the
4-20
Medical Missionary Society.
Dec.
Society, both by those resident here and by passing strangers, as
evinced by the pecuniary support afforded, and by the frequent visits
paid to the hospitals, they feel assured, however, that in future re-
ports there will be no want either of topics for reflection or themes
for rejoicing and thankfulness.
In compliance with the request of the Society, made to Dr. Parker
at its last meeting, the House at Macao, recently purchased for a
Hospital, was opened to patients during the past summer, and remain-
ed open from the nth of July to the 1st of October. In the interim
the Hospital House at Canton was thoroughly repaired, and three
new rooms were added, by which the means of affording accommo-
dation to in-door patients have been greatly increased. These
repairs and alterations having been completed, and the time which
had been named to the patients in Canton for Dr. Parker’s return
being elapsed, it became necessary to close, for a season, the Hospital
at Macao. Hopes had been entertained that the arrival of a physici-
an from England or America would have averted this necessity.
Though these anticipations have been disappointed, your committee
nevertheless have cause to believe, that the means of re-opening the
Hospital at Macao will shortly be afforded. They have credible in-
formation, that a medical gentleman of experience would embark
from England, in August last, for this country, by way of Batavia,
under the auspices of the London Missionary Society.* His arrival
in China may therefore be looked for ere the close of the present, or
at an early period in the coming, year.
The report of the quarterly term, during which the Hospital at
Macao was open, is now in the press, and will shortly be published.
The number of patients during the term was 700, which added to
the number during eight quarterly terms in Canton, affords a total of
more than 6000 persons, who, by the pecuniary aid of this Society,
and the personal exertions of the senior Vice-president, have, with
but few exceptions, received permanent relief from suffering, — while
a large number of them have been restored from partial or total blind-
ness to all the blessings of good and useful sight. The almost uniform
success of the medical and surgical treatment at the institutions of
the Society, the growing confidence of the Chinese, which is the
natural result of this, their grateful sense of the benefits conferred
upon them through the skill and philanthropy of foreigners, — are so
many powerful encouragements to perseverance in the pursuit of the
* While the report has been passing through the press, information has been
Received of that gentleman’s arrival oft' Java.
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noble objects for which we are united. And so persevering, we may
look forward with confidence to the time, when, having afforded to
the intelligent youth of China a good medical education, we shall no
longer confine our effoita to the small circle within which our resi-
dence is now circumscribed, but may be enabled first to send forth
our practitioners, and ultimately perhaps to follow them ourselves,
through the length and breath of the empire. It cannot be requisite
to do more than merely allude to the advantages that must result from
the impressions which will thus be everywhere made in our favor —
advantages affecting us all alike, whether engaged in mercantile
business, or in the pursuit of science, or in conveying to the ignorant
and the debased, principles of knowledge, calculated to elevate, to
enlighten, and to benefit both in this life and in the life to come.
Having alluded to the report of the Hospital at Macao, it may be
appropriate to draw attention to two passages in the prefatory and
concluding remarks that accompany it. Dr. Parker, in referring to
the house, which was purchased, and put into repair by Mr. Colledge,
with a direct view to its being occupied as an institution of this So-
ciety, thus speaks : — “ Often has the sincerest gratitude been felt
towards the benevolent members of this Society, who have procured
such an asylum for the alllicted Chinese, and to the respected Presi-
dent whose judgment first selected the premises, when, — walking
through its capacious and numerous apartments, — I have witnessed
the comfortable accommodation afforded to the inmates, to many of
whom it seemed almost a palace, in comparison with the narrow
cells they call their homes. The building is capable of accommodat-
ing two hundred patients. It has nineteen spacious rooms on the
second story, well ventilated ; and as many corresponding ones on
the ground tlo^r ; a garden, and extensive compound, with three
wells of water, — in the rear ; and a yard in front. The building is
of brick, strongly built, and the whole of the ground (say a third of
an acre) belonging to it, is surrounded by a substantial wall. It is
in a healthy locality, overlooking the waters of the inner harbor, and
having good access both by land and water.”
In concluding his report, Dr. Parker remarks; “ It is learned with
much satisfaction that the object of this Society has been favorably
regarded both in England and Scotland. Sir Henry Halford, Presi-
dent of the London College of Physicians, in an address before the
College reported in the London Medical Gazette for February last,
in exhibiting some of the results of successful medical practice, took
occasion to allude to the operations of this Society with approbation
Flora dt Filippinos.
Dec
4-2-2
of its principles. ‘Among tlie individuals present were II. R. II. the
duke of Cambridge, the archbishop of Canterbury, the duke of Wel-
lington, sir Robeit Peel, and many distinguished members of the
Church, the Bar, and the Senate.’ The address is said to have been
listened to with great attention, and to have excited general interest.
What will be the result remains to be disclosed. It is occasion of
gratulation that the subject has thus been commended to the atten-
tion of men who have it in their power in various ways to promote it,
and we anticipate with confidence a result favorable to the advance-
ment of our objects, and promotive of the welfare of the vast popula-
tion of China. — From a widely circulated Scottish Journal, it appears
that our objects have also been auspiciously commended to the atten-
tion of the enlightened and philanthropic public of that country.”
It remains only to refer to the Treasurer’s accounts, whereby it
will appear, that, notwithstanding the necessarily heavy outlay, arising
from the purchase and partial furnishing of the Hospital at Macao, a
balance of $780.. 71, still remains to the credit of the Society. This
balance will not, however, be sufficient to meet the current expendi-
ture of the Hospital in Canton alone. And our hope being, speedily
to resume operations at Macao (the Hospital in which place must
ultimately, from the difference of situation and extent of premises,
afford the best school for the medical education of young Chinese),
as well as to continue and extend our operations in Canton, — the aid
of a benevolent public is looked to for the requisite means. The in-
creasing interest taken in our objects affords sufficient assurance that
an appeal to that public will not be made in vain.
Art. V. Flora dc Filippinos. Segun In sistema seiual de Lin-
nea, por el P. Fr. Manuel Blanco. Aug ust i no calzado No. 37
pp. 887. Reviewed by G. T. Lav, esq.
The preface of P. Fr. M. Blanco, a short and ingenuous occount of
the author’s plan, the discouragements he met with, &.c., shall serve
as an introduction to my own remarks. He says:
“ It was never my intention to form a Flora worthy of the public eye.
Under the impulse of mere curiosity I went on describing what appeared to
me interesting, and the instance of some friends, who had notice of mv
I-.!'
I 'lorn ilt I 'lli/ifiintt.'
4-2U
lultoni, ui length led to tins step, the publication of the fruits of my inves-
tigations. With ui I the augmentations ami corrections, which my circum-
stances have permitted, my work must come far short ot perfection: it will,
however, servo to give some idea of the immense botanical richness of this
most fertile and umene country, as well as stimulate others to take up and
prosecute the suuie line of labor. That my august sovereign should have
deigned to encourage me to publish, has ut the same time vanquished my
repugnance and covered me with confusion.
•• The Flora of the Philippine Islands should have been undertaken bv a
professed Liotamst, whose work could have been submitted to an enlightened
public as meriting their entire confidence. As for myself, I had neither
masters, nor herbarium, nor scarce a book, when I was first attracted to this
delightful study. The Systema Vegetabilium of Linmeus was for may years
niv only guide, to which 1 was at length able to add, the Genera Pl&ntanim
of Jussieu, and some other botanical instruction. My own case has not been
a singular one ; for it is in fact attributable to the great scarcity of books and
cost of publishing, and not to sloth or indifference, and more than all to the
extreme stupidity of the natives, that the lovers of this study have hitherto
made so little progress, in these islands. Nevertheless, there actually exists
an amount of inedited manuscript, on various subjects, both in Spanish and in
the numerous and difficult dialects of these islands, far beyond the conception
of strangers. For instance, there have been as many as 40 grammars of the
Tagalog (the dialect spoken around Manila), as well as many copious voca-
bularies. and a quantity of devotional compositions. In other dialects, much
has also been w ritten ; and l doubt if there be one, which has not its gram-
mar, vocubularv, and helps to devotion.
“But to confine myself to the subject of natural history, the labors of the
1*1*. Clam, Delgado, Mercado, and !Sta. Maria, in this department, entitle them
to the most last ng gratitude. The first of these, a Jesuit, after having com-
posed some admirable devotional works in Tagalog, published a Manual of
medicine, which, with some modifications and the substitution of Spanish for
native names, would be a useful work even in the peninsula.
“ The P. Juan Delgado, a Jesuit also, and a man of singular talent, wrote a
voluminous work, still unpublished, on the government and natural history
of the islands.
•* The P. Ignacio de Mercado prepared a most useful volume in 4to. on the
virtues ofmauy of the plants of the island, illustrated by beautiful drawings, of
which unhappily only some fragments can now be found. The curious work of
the F. Fernando de Sta. Maria, an indefatigable investigator of the vegetable
kingdom, is still m general use and estimation. Had these students of naturCj
and others whose names might be given, been in possession of proper helps,
and fallen on happier times, u ■ should now want no further instruction in
the treasures of the vegetable kingdom of the Philippines.
“ It must not, however, be inferred that the royal patronage has been with-
held from all such investigations. I well remember to have seen, among the
424
Flora de Filip pin as.
Dec.
MSS. of the Augustine Library (at Manila), a royal order of very old date,
for the collection of the shells of these seas ; and at a later period, the begin-
ning of this century, the learned Botanist Dr. Antonio Pineda, was sent out
by the king, but died in the midst of his labors. To these evidences must be
added the very useful observations of Don Luis Nee, and others, on the plants
of the Archipelago.
“ As to the work now offered to the student, it must be said, that great care
has been taken to verify the native names; but entire certainty on this point, so
important as a guide to the knowledge of their virtues possessed by the natives
themselves, cannot be secured, from the facility with which they exchange
and confound them. For this reason I have, as often as possible, marked the
place where the plant is found, as well as the name there given it. So great
however is the sloth of the Indian in these matters, that whoever pursues
them must prepare himself for innumerable annoyances, nor will he seldom
find himself compelled to yield entirely to insuperable difficulties in the way
of obtaining specimens. The effort to obtain them is by a great majority
regarded with wonder, and by not a few with utter disdain. A thousand
times, have I been disgusted with these oppositions, and have passed whole
years while my botanical studies have been suspended.
“ The short vocubulary of the science prefixed to this work, is of course a
mere compilation for the use of students in a country where helps of this kind
are hardly obtainable. It will be understood, that the place and time of
flowering assigned to any plants, indicate only the particular cases I have
myself met with.
“ After the botanical description of each plant, I have added all that I have
been able to collect as to its medicinal and practical uses, not only in order
to lead to their more general appreciation, but also because this information,
though unnecessary perhaps in other countries, is here by no means imper-
tinent.”
The execution of this work is highly creditable to the care and
industry of the author, who seems to have spent, during several years,
his hours of leisure and recreation in collecting materials for it. It
would be well if the missionaries on the Protestant side of the ques-
tion were to devote some spare moments to a systematic study of
nature, and the laying by of some of her more curious productions
for the improvement of others. The mind would be expanded by
such a converse, the spirits would kindle afresh, the countenance
would bloom again with the glow of health, and the whole outward
and inward man would be advantaged by it.
The author follows the sexual system of Linnaeus, and arranges
his plants in classes and orders by a reference to the number and
situation of the parts immediately concerned in fecundation. He
seems no stranger, however, to natural affinities; but as the orders
ISIS
i'luru dr Filippinos.
4£>
rounded upon llic consideration oftlicm require more botanical team-
ini' and experience than fall to the lot of most students, he has pre-
ferred the arithmetic of the Swede to the geometry of the French-
man. The one regards a plant as to the number and situation of
the parts more obvious to the human eye; the other looks at the in-
terna) structure of the seed and its investments, ns the starting point
for characteristics, but neglects not a contemplation of the leaves
ami all the more showy parts of the plant. For nature has not al-
ways stamped her diagnosis upon the same part in every plant, but
has varied its position to break up the sameness of uniformity ami to
quicken our researches. The Creator distributed plants according
to the nature of their seed, and therefore the natural system is com-
mended to us under the highest kind of warranty. Moses, taught of
God, knew, what was always a secret to herbalists till within a cen-
tury, that the distinguishing features for grouping plants into assort-
ments should be sought for in the seed. “ Herb seeding seed after its
kind,” in the original, or as it is praraphrased in the Greek, K xrx yf»os
kxi ‘according to the genus and affinity is a summation
of the principal objects that engage the mind of a scientific follower
of nature. Small discoveries are sometimes ushered in, like Agrippa,
to try Paul, furx sroAAr? ipxtTx-ixf , ‘with great |>ouip,’ but it is the
manner of the sacred Scriptures to tell us very great truths with very
great plainness. The author of the work before us has given a very
faithful account of many plants found in the Philippines, with no freer
use of technical terms than was absolutely necessary for the accuracy
of description, lie has added the native names and set down the
uses as understood by the islanders, and has thus deserved the thanks
of every friend of this engaging study. No botanist visiting the
islands should be without a copv of it ; and every visitor, who takes a
delight in the works of nature, should treat it as a manual, for the
provincial names are given in an index, so that he has only to learn
the common appellative from some native and then refer to his book
for its systematic name, botanical character, uses, &.c. We shall
draw a few observations from it, and mingle them with the results of
our own experience, that this article may prove instructive to the ge-
neral reader.
Diospyros, or Persimmon, or Date Plum. Our author describes
four species of this genus, which, as they go by native names, we may
presume to be indigenous in these islands. The most common term
in the Tagala is Tatung. During the mtumnal months they are
very abundant in the Chinese markets, and at M icao are hawked
>4
VOL. VII. NO. Mil.
4-20
Flora dr Filippinos.
Dec.
about the streets by costermongers under the call of Icnlci, the name
for one species in the Japanese language. In the Philippines the
fruit of the Diospyros kaki is very large, round, and covered with a
fine down. Its smooth spherical contour, its pulpy texture, its dilute
red color, and the loose calyx that adheres to the base, will at once
distinguish this fruit from all others. It belongs to the same family
as the ebony, and like that tree furnishes a very hard wood, which
it would seem was in former times much used in China, for carving
and writing, before the invention of paper. The wood is at first red,
but by drying turns black. The leaves of most of the species are
said to be somewhat caustic, and serve to cure the tetter and other
kinds of cutaneous disorder. The fruit of one species is poisonous
and has the reputation of intoxicating fish, and even of making the
crocodiles suddenly leap out of the water in a fit of convulsive agony.
'I’he properties of the leaf may reside also in the fruit; in other in-
stances they are dissipated by the heat and the mellowing effect of
the sun, but in this they remain. Wholesome berries sometimes
grow on the most poisonous trees, as is the case with the yno tree ;
and the most nauseous tasted plants will sometimes secrete the sweet-
est honey, as in some species of Lobelia.
Morinda Citrifolia. This is the tinctoria of modern writers, for in
India the Citrifolia is cultivated for the sake of its fruit, and has a
leaf that differs somewhat from the former. It may, however, turn
out by a mutual comparison of the specimens from different places,
that the species, as they now stand, are merely varieties of one. The
fruit of the Philippine tree is said to have bad odor, so that no animal
will eat it. We have seen the tree many times in the islands of the
Pacific ocean, in Singapore, and other places of the Straits, where it
is not unfrequent, especially in spots in which the soil is moist and
rich. The fruit is about the size and shape of an hen’s egg, but of an
irregular contour. The smell resembles that of a rancid cheese,
and the flavor is very near akin to the perfume. The Durian
has the odor of rotten onions, the Morinda of decayed cheese,
and yet the former is eaten with the most bewitching fondness by
many foreigners, anti the latter is devoured with a happy acquies-
cence by the natives of the Archipelago. “There is no accounting
for taste” is a trite apothegm, and in despite of this grave saw we
know that habit and early acquaintance will reconcile us to almost
anything, in virtue of a principle implanted in the human constitu-
tion hv the Creator. It has been so ordained that the coarser enter-
tainments of nature's board shall find enters, as well as her daintier
IS38.
Flora dt Filippinos.
ill
and more enticing morsels. “ Filthy smell,” said the writer, as he
threw away the fruit of the Morinda, without staying to gratify a bo-
tanical curiosity by inspection; “very good” replied a native, who
was chewing a large mass of the same with every mark of satisfac-
tion. . This is merely a specimen of the verv common difference
between a stranger and a home-born nursling of the same soil in
which the tree grows.
The leaves of this tree are large, oblong, and very smooth, with a
very short footstalk. They stand opposite to each other, and have a
minute leaf or scale on each side ot the joint, from which they pro-
ceed. This, though a small, is a very important, feature, and at once
leads the system itic student to the family, whereof this or any shrub
or plant, with the same character, is a member. The flowers are
white and stand upon a thick fleshy head or knop, which ripening
and enlargment turns to the fruit in question. It is curious to ob-
serve the enchaining of dialects in the names of this tree. In the
Malay is is called Bangkuda, which is the same, with slightlv differ-
ent orthography, and perhaps a less guttural sound, in the Tagala
Bankuila. Again we have among several other names of this tree, in
the same language, nino, which is the name for it in the Society
islands. This tree then becomes a kind of philological curiositv, and
reminds us that the inhabitants of the islands, belling the earth about
the equator, resemble each other in vocal sounds, as they do in the
shape of their head and the lineaments of their face.
The red dye is obtained from the root by the following easy pro-
cess. The women select trees, which grow at some distance from
the sea shore, cut away their roots, and pull off the bark. This they
wash in water, to cleanse away the dirt that adheres to the pieces, and
then leave them to dry in the sun. When, by having parted with
their sap, they are become crisp and brittle, the same careful house-
wives pound them in a morter, and then pass the finer parts of the pow-
der through a sieve, and return what is left into the morter, to be bea-
ten a fresh, till the whole is reduced to a fine powder. A dye is then
prepared by burning the sterculia, or a species of euphorbia, collected
also at a good distance from the sea, for when these shrubs grow near
the strand, their salt has more the nature of Barilla, and in conse-
quence is less fit for the object required. The powder is put into this
ley, and allowed to remain for a night. In tf5e morning the liquor is
still clear, and is decanted off into a wide vessel. A quantity of an
oil, called the oil of ajanjoli. is poured upon it by little and little, till
the liquor assumes the color and consistence of milk. If clothes,
4-28
Flora <1< I'ilijipinas.
Dec.
especially those of cotton, are dipped into and rolled in this milky
preparation, they take the red dye in a most permanent manner.
Polyscias digitata. The Polyscias belongs to the same family as
the ivy and the plant that yields the ginseng. All its menbers are
distinguished, at first sight, by their inflorescence, or mode of flower-
ing, which is in what hot mists c til an umbel. In this all the little
stalks that bear one flower each proceed from a single point, and the
flowers collectively form an even surface. Of this the ivy is a very
good example in the west, and here in China one or two of the arali-
as that grow in the thickets and hedges will furnish an illustration.
The members of this family are generally shrubs, that produce many
clusters of berries, which have with the rest of the plant a strong
resinous, but not a disagreeable, taste. In the shrub, mentioned at
the head of this paragraph, the leaves are in divisions that spread like
the rays of a fan, and are said to be digitate or fingered. The
berries are round, and are crowned with the remnants of some parts
of the Ho ver. The number of central points or styles is about four,
which correspond to the number of cells within the berry. The Ta-
gala name is Tagima.
Polyscias odorata. This species, like its kindred shrub the ivy,
embraces the trunks of trees with a stem, that is roughened by points.
The leaves are in five divisions, and are cleft at the base so as to
embrace the stem. The umbels contain numerous flowers set in
many lesser umbels, each one having several small scales at the
point, from which the flowerstalks diverge. This reminds us of the
umbelliferous family composed of the p irsley, coriander, and many
other similar plants, where we usually find a few small leaflets at the
paint of divergence, which is called the involucre. In the mode of
flowering there is a very strong resemblance between the two fami-
lies, the araliacem, now' under consideration, and the umbelliferm; but
the former are shrubs, and bear berries, with two or more cells; the
latter are always herbs, and produce a fruit, that is dry and may be
split with ease into two corresponding halves. In sensible properties
there is a similarity in the resinous smell. The shrub before us has
a stem, about, in thickness, three inches, and is well known to the
Indians under the name of lima lima, in allusion probably to the five
divisions of the leaf, which resemble the five fingers upon the hand ;
for in the Malay, and the Hawaiian, lima means five, a word that ori-
ginally denoted the hand, the first swan ptcan, or calculating table,
that was used in palpable arithmetic. A decoction of the leaves is used
by the natives to cure the itch ; the method of applying it is to pour
lS$r\
i'luru ( li I'ilippiiuis.
l\JO
(lie 1 i>|iior upon the body with a small cup This makes the eruption
break out with new vigor lor a tune, but it soon after disappears.
A non a reticulata. ’I'liis is called, in the Tagala language, anonas
front the Malay nona, a word that lias been applied to the custard
apple tril>e, and by extension to all the different genera, that belong
to the family of which it has become the type ami representative.
The germens that stand in a collected head, which we call fruit, are
so affected by lateral pressure that the lines tint part them resemble
the meshes of a net, and have given rise to the specific name of n-
ticulutu. This fruit is not eaten as a dainty, but is said to be an
admirable remedy in the diarrhea and other disorders of the primie
via:. The fruit is gathered before it is ripe, dried in the sun, and
then reduced to powder, to be administered with some mild altera-
tive, and probably owes its effects to its warm and astringent nature;
as we know that the seeds of several kinds of Uvaria, which belongs
to the same family, are aromatic, and are of good use in drying up
irregular secretions. It may seem a question whether tins shrub be
a native of the Archipelago, which might be answered by consider-
ing, whether it be ever found beyond the traces of m in’s habitation.
For though many shrubs and plants brought from the continent of
America succeed here, as well as they do in their native regions,
steal out of gardens, and grow without human culture, yet they do not
extend to the hills and more retired parts of the country, but seem to
delight in the neighborhood of those spots where they were first
planted. This is the case with the Jatropha curcas, which is found
on almost all the islands and shores in this part of the world, and yet
we many times examined its situation, and found, that it stood hard
by a spot formerly marked out for cultivation, and not (infrequently
that two or more individuals were ranged in a line, as if had been for-
merly employed as a fence. The reticulata was brought at an early
period, from the West Indies, and obtained from the Malays the name
of btiah nona or the lady fruit. The a, at the beginning, the Malays
omit or use in many of their words at pleasure.
The custard apple, Anona squamosa, is cultivated in the Philippines
as in China, and it is reckoned one of their largest and best kinds
of fruit. There it is called pates or atrs, which is perhaps a word of
extraneous origin, as we do not find anything like it in the a voca-
bulary of the Tagala language. We saw it in the gardens at Macas-
sar, where it went by the M day name of Serikaya, — a term that
seems to be compounded of sen, denoting in Sanscrit the gloss and
bloom of a healthy countenance, and from thence happiness in gene-
Flora dt Fillipinas.
Dec.
43U
ral, and kaya a tree. An epithet that is very appropriate, for the
young leaves, just undoubling and spreading out at the end of the
branch, are of a soft and subdued red color, which may serve to jus-
tify the first sense of srri, and the fruit is not a little remarkable for
its delicious nature, which would account for the bounty and happi-
ness implied in the second. As the fruit goes on to dry with great
rapidity as soon as the process of ripening is complete, it is important
to gather it at this precise point of time. The mode of budding, to
which we have alluded, is not peculiar, neither in the color, nor the
manner in which each leaf is at first doubled upon itself, but is ex-
tended to other species, and may be regarded in some sort as a fami-
ly mark.
Our author describes several species of Unona, another genus of the
same family, all of which have native names as they are indigeuous
in the islands, and are remarkable for the fragrance of their flowers.
Among them is the Unona odoratissima or the alangilan, which is a
very fine tree, and bears leaves that are nearly half a foot in length.
The odor of the flowers has such an effect upon the nervous system,
that a small posy of them cannot be allowed to remain in a room all
niwht, without occasioning a v iolent head ache in some of the inmates.
While living in the Sandwich Islands, the writer awaked one morning
with some of the horrible sensations felt by those that have taken
poison, but suspecting the cause he threw up the window-sashes, and
cast out with most industrious haste all the flowery honors, with which
his servant had taken the pains to decorate the walls the day pre-
vious. The shrub was of a very different kind from the alangilan ,
but it had a still more powerful effect, though it ceased soon after the
exciting cause was removed. The Unona is not more engaging for
its beauties, than curious in conformation of its fruit. This consists
in a cluster or tuft of necklaces or beaded threads, for each of the
cells or carpels is elongated so much that it resembles in nature and
appearance the pod of some leguminous or pulse bearing plant. A
sample of this may be seen in the Unona sinensis, found in the grove
beyond Mongha (in Macao), which is a beautiful shrub with a
pointed yellow flower suspended by a delicate stalk, succeeded by a
most elegant bunch of beaded carpels.
Ficus laccifera. This kind of fig tree is called Lagnob by the na-
tives, and is chiefly confined to the islands of Cebu and Negroes.
The fruit is of a roundish form, as in most instances with which we
are acquainted, and is diversified by a number of small ribs, that
radiate from the opening in the top, as the li.ics of longitude do from |
/'lorn i/i I'llippiiius
4:11
I
ili<‘ |K)lr of a -phere. It seem- in In? a secret to all l»iit botani-ts, dial
tin- fruit 1- liui a development of the general receptacle, ami contains
within it a ninneroiis crop of little flowers, which hlooni and rij»«*!i
their seeds in a sort of dark and gloomy sequestration. This may he
seen bv cutting a tig, just plucked in a recent state from the tree,
from the top to bottom, and laying one of the sections under a good
magnifier.
The author lays great emphasis upon the value of this tree, Ltgnob,
because it is the resort of the Lac insect. It is about the size of the
cochineal insect, and of a beautiful red. The head is furnished with
a small pair of horns or antennae, and the body is very slender. It
belongs to the Hemipterous order of insects, or such as have their
wings covered by cases that are imperfect either in size or structure,
and to the genus corrus of Linmeus. The insect invests the bark of
this fig tree w ith a peculiar varnish, in order to form a point of attach-
ment for the female, and a nest for her young. The parent dies in
the act of laying her eggs, and it is so contrived, that her body be-
comes the cradle of her future offspring, as it contains the eggs till
they are hatched in a kind of shell. The lac is spread in patches of
one or two inches in breadth, and two or three lines in depth. The
w hole surface is pitted by cells like the comb of the bee. In each
one of these a mother is entombed with her brood, and is shut in by
a door of the same resinous substance. The interior or the cell is
filled with a rosy colored honey, laid up for the nourishment of the
voting from the time they are hatched till the cell is opened, and they
burst forth in a host of tiny creatures.
The lac when analyzed was found to contain a vegetable resin, a
peculiar principle or Laccin, gluten, and an acid that bears the name
of the insect, w ith coloring matter. The resin and the gluten, which
resembles that obtained from wheat meal, are derived from the tree,
on which the lac is found, and are drawn from it by the punctures
made by the female, w hich like many hemipterous insects is provided
with a beak for that purpose. The coloring matter is from the bodv
of the insect, and shows its relationship with the cochineal, which we
know is one mass of dye as sold in commerce. Three different kinds
of lac were analyzed bv Hatchett, stick-lac, seed-lac, and shell-lac,
and were found to contain different proportions of the ingredient just
mentioned. It would be interesting to have a set of experiments
made upon the various sorts of lac, w ith a reference to the kinds of
tree from which they were taken, for as the juices are different, we
may e.\|>ecl a corresponding variety. The various members of the
43J
l'lora ih Filippinos.
Dec.
tig kind yield a resin, and this is the reason why the insect prefers
some of them, as a qn irry for material and a foundation for its shin-
ing edifices.
Coix lacryma, or Job’s tears. This is called Tigbi in the Tagala
language, and grows upon the margins of swamps and watery places
in the Philippines, as it does in China The distinguishing feature
of this grass is a hollow bead at the base of the spike, which the
author very appropriately calls a receptacle. The common term,
“ossified calix” is by no means happy, either in a systematic sense
or the latitude of popular description. This bead is hard and polish-
ed, and is for that reason gathered by the natives of the Philippines
and strung for necklaces and similar ornaments. It contains a fer-
tile or seed bearing floweret, and the unfinished rudiments of one or
two more. The chaffy husks that invest the seed are four in number,
and are of a delicate filmy texture, which suits very well with their
retired lodging in the polished bead like receptacle. The seed is
surmounted, as usual in grasses, by two feathery threads, which are
of a deep red, and emerge from a hole in the top of the bead to be
displayed upon its shining surface. From the same aperture issue, a
short spike of barren florets, which have each of them two pairs of
chaffy husks, the inner of a thin filmy consistence. The anthers or
little knobs upon the three threads in each are yellow, and have their
cells of unequal length. It attains the height of six feet in the Phi-
lippines, which is higher than we commonly find it in this part
of China, which may be owing to the barren nature of the subsoil, as
it delights in a rich loamy earth. It attracts the eye by the abun-
dance of herbage, the leaves being broad and long, and grow closely
together. The Chinese, in parts of Lu^onia, gather the seeds and
prepare a kind of flour, which is said to be very excellent for conva-
lescents and persons in delicate health.
Calius lactescens. This genus belongs, we presume, to the same
family as the mulberry, hemp, fig, Bread-fruit, &c. The calius is
the latinized form of calios, its appellative in the Tagala language.
The stamens, or the four small threads crowned by aglets, unbend
themselves with an elastic spring, se desarrolnran clasticame.ntr , as in
many others of the same family. The fruit is covered by the natural
cup, and contains a small nut, that is eaten by boys. The tree is
about twenty-four feet high with the branches so interlacing and
mutually adherent, that you may give the top any figure you please.
In this respect it shews its relation to the fig, of which many species
clasp hold of any object they meet with, so that the writer of this
1838.
Flora (It Filii>i>in(is.
|:«
article has .seen the trunks sometimes cleaving to the sides ol a rock,
or embracing another tree so as to emulate the Siamese twins. 1 1
two branches happen to cross eaclt other they are said to inosculate,
and form a point of junction. From this circumstance we get now
and then a puzzling and contradictory mode of growth. We have a
specimen, for example, in which a branch seems to produce two other
branches much larger than itself. The smaller branch, in climbing
up the side of a rock, met the larger crossing its path, and uniting
with it made, by its inferior position, the two ends of the other to ap-
pear as springing from itself. When fodder is scarce, the islanders
give the leaves, which are rough and of a lance-shape, to their buf-
faloes. The wood is white and serves for no purpose while young,
lint the heart is said to turn to stone in the dead tree, that is, it be-
comes hard enough to strike liie with steel. It is variegated with
black spots, and would present a beautiful surface with a good
polish. The bark when pounded, and mixed with the juice, is said to
be a prophylactic against the bites of serpents and the stings of veno-
mous insects.
Cariota onusta. A beautiful palm, called Cavong by the islanders.
It belongs to a genus that is distinguished by a bunch of flowers,
which ranged on fine strings depend in graceful length from the top
of the tree. These clusters of flowers arc succeeded by long neck-
laces of betries, which are beautiful to the eye, but are not safe to the
touch. If the seeds are put into water and allowed to remain till
they are rotten, the liquor becomes so caustic as to create an intole-
rable smarting whenever it falls upon the body. It is said that the
Indians defend themselves with this against the assaults of pirates
and robbers. It is a pity that raja Muda, and other sleek looking
thieves, who kidnap women and young men to fill the harems and
swell the trains of the pangerans at Bruui, do not get a dose of this
self same juice every time they make a descent upon the poor Philip-
pine islanders. A sweet drink is obtained by cutting the bud that
contains the nascent flowers, which is called by the same name, tuba,
as that which is produced by the cocoa-nut palm. After the indurat-
ed or outer part of the trunk Ins been removed, (for palms have no
hark as the growth goes forward within,) the softer portion is cut up,
and beaten in a canoe with water, in order to separate the cellular
fVom the fibrous tissue. In the Nibong palm, or Cariota urens, much
used for building among the Malays, we find the trunk consists of
two substances, one in long threads, which in the old tree are easily
parted asunder, and the other in a soft spongy pith, which unites
55
VOL. VII. NO. VIII.
434
Flora dr. Filippinos.
Dec.
these fibres to one another. This pith-like, or cellular, substance
is similar to that obtained from the Cavong, and by comparison may
serve to explain its nature and situation in that tree. The Sagu is
of the same origin in its proper palm, and has its representatives in
the Cavong of the Philippines, though the latter is said to be of a
very inferior sort, and only resorted to by people who regard the labor
of dressing the ground as the greatest of all moral evils.
The ripe seeds are said to be fatal to dogs, and an infusion of
them is sometimes used to intoxicate fish. A sort of Palypodium
grows upon this palm, which is of the greatest efficacy in some pul-
monary complaints, and therefore confers a new value upon it, for
though that plant be found upon other trees, the parasite of the Ca-
vong excells all the rest.
Menisperinum cocculus, called in the Tagala, and some other
dialects in the Philippines, Lactang. The genus Menisperinum has
given its name to a family of plants and shrubs, remarkable for their
climbing habits, and the intensely bitter taste of their juices. The
Petro, or Ratna wali, a shrub with heart-shaped leaves and a twin-
ing stem full of little protuberances, well known in the Straits, and
the islands of the Archipelago, belongs to this family, under the name
of the Cocculus crispus. A solution of epsom salt was given by the
writer of this article to a pangeran in Borneo Proper, who as he sip-
ped the mixture, as if it had been some pleasant drink, was asked if
he found it bitter; sedildt sedikit, very slightly he replied ; after the
bitters of Bruni this is hardly disagreeable. He alluded to some of
this family among others, for we saw the shrub just referred to while
staying at the palace of the sultan.
The Menisperinum cocculus is used in the Philippines for obstruc-
tions, remittent fevers, and dropsical disorders in their early stages.
It would seem that the juices of the plant when taken in this way
permeate the body of the patient, and issue forth by the pores of the
skin, for the perspiration is yellow. This juice is in all likelihood a
peculiar secretion and gives a yellow tinge to the woody stein, which
is about the thickness of a man’s arm.
The natives destroy the caimans by putting the fruit into the en-
trails of a dead animal and throwing them into the water, for these
voracious creatures will eagerly devour their own bane, as they swal-
low their food without chewing, like lizards and serpents in general.
The natives rub the seeds with the crabs they find about the strands
and throw the pieces into the sea, as they stand upon the margin of
the shore. In about twenty minutes the fish, that have eaten the
IKH
/'lorn (h /\li)iftlnas.
4:to
bait thus* prepared fur them, are seen near the surface of the water
either dead or dying. When they have eaten much the intestines
hurst and the eyes start from the head, as our author lias often wit-
nessed himself. This seems to show that the drug must have a violent
effect upon the nervous system, when such a spasmodic action is pro-
duced, that the inwards are rent and the eyes spring trom their
sockets. This view is supported by trials with the cocculus from the
Levant upon dogs. Three or four grains of the powdered nut were
given to the animals, which died in half an hour in the most frightful
convulsions. When the stomach was examined no traces of indam atiou
could be discovered upon any of the tissues, so that its whole force
must have been exerted upon the nervous system. The cocculus
was analyzed by Boullay, and found to contain, among other sub-
stances, a hitter principle of a peculiar sort, which he called Picroto-
xine. To this the poisonous effects were attributed.
Menispertnum rimosum. Macabukai. The leaves of this are also
heart-shaped, but they have near their base a number of little glands
upon the upper surface, with corresponding cracks and crevices be-
low. This comes very near in description to the cocculus lacunosus
found upon the rock near the shore in the Celebes and the Spice Is-
lands. The Spaniards, as well as the Indians, set a great value upon
this plant, as they allow it contains many excellent qualities and is
of great efficacy in many disorders. Pills formerly prepared from the
juice are affirmed by Juan Delgado to have answered tlie particular
purpose better than those made of aloes. A piece of the wood in de-
coction may be used in intermittents instead of the Quina or Peruvi-
an bark. It is said to cure the scroiuia and every kind of edematous
tumor. The same kind of preparation is applied warm to the s arnn
or itch, and herpetic disorders of the skin with good effect. The ex-
pressed juice mixed with wine is salutary to persons bitten by ser-
pents, who do not perceive the bitter taste till they ate out of danger,
so that the first good omen of recovery is the unpleasant savour of the
medicine. The term Macabukai implies life-giving, and alludes to a
property of the stem, which, when cut off from the stock and even
hung up by a wall in a room, will continue to grow and throw out
branches as if nothing strange had happened. This is a piece of
nature’s foresight, for the stem is apt in climbing up trees, to be se-
vered by some accident at the bottom which may take place without
injury to the plant, for the top will flourish while its stem hangs pen-
dant from some tall tree, as we have ourselves seen in other instances
of the same family.
436 Flora de Filippinas. Dkc.
Cissampelos Pareira. Calacalamayan. The common or officinal
name of this plant is parrira bravo , or wild wine, from its climbing
habits and the cluster of small berries that adorn the fertile plant.
The leaves are peltate, that is, they have the leaf-stalk set some
distance within the edge of the leaf, so as to resemble some kinds of
target, that were carried by a small handle in the centre instead
of a brace. It is of great service in the bites of venomous reptiles,
which in the tropics of both east and west has rendered it famous
among the natives. In the Philippines the Indians chew or pound
the leaf and lay it upon the wound, and at the same time give the
patient a few cups of a decoction made fron the root. When analy-
zed it is found to contain a bitter principle, of a yellow color ; in this
resides perhaps the particular virtue of the plant. But it does not
seem to be very clear in what way it counteracts the effects of the
poison, unless we suppose that it acts upon the nervous system in a
peculiar way so as to naturalize the excitement occasioned by the
deleterious matter. In some places the boys called this plant S insao,
a corruption of some Chinese word for jelly, because they gather the
leaves while fresh and squeeze them in water. In this way a thick
and mucilaginous liquor is obtained, which by evaporation in the
sun leaves a jelly, that is never eaten, and seems only to have been
made in sportive imitation of one of the poor Chinaman’s f ivorite
morsels.
Tremella. The productions of this family oftentimes appear first
upon the suface of old wood, like a drop of jelly. Afterwards the
growth takes place in different points, and they are developed into
lobes and plaits of various shapes and sizes. Their consistence is
nearly homogeneous, the internal and the external textures being
alike simple. The buds or points of reproduction are diffused over
the surface, and may be seen when the plant is far advanced in age
under a good magnifier. The one refered to by our author is of a dull
green or yellowish color, and covers the stones upon the sea beech
in certain places like a mantle. It seems that he had often seen it
without regarding it, till one day, he was very much struck at
the copiousness with which it overspread and mantled all the stones
within the wash and spray of the salt water, by chance his staff
st uck upon one of the. specimens, which as if hurt by the blow curl-
ed up and darted forth many jets of water from the pores and crevices
in its substance.
Pucus Gulaman. A kind of sea weed, that grows in the pools of
salt-water near the sea. The steins are long and round, elastic and
I Suspension of Truth'. 4!w
translucent, like glue ami j»*lly . ami tinged w itli a violet color
They are covered with small branches, wherein the seeds or buds
are imbedded. Front the short description it seems to belong to the
modern genus chondria. It is described as about a font in length
and two lines in thickness. The Indians art; not strangers to its
value, for they wash the stems and dry them in the sun, and after
this process is complete sell the result to the townsmen of Manila By
decoction and the adding of sugar a very agreable jelly is prepared,
which will keep any figure that the mould may have impressed upon
it. In this st ile it is said to be of great use to hectic patients w hen
mixed with a small quantity of the Lichen pulmonarius. In several
parts of the world sea-weed, of different kinds, is reckoned among
the aliments of the poor, and sometimes of those who have food in
choice and plenteousness. In the Sandwich Islands several of the
red colored sorts were formerly preserved in saline pickles and eaten
as a relish and accompaniment to their favorite pottage, the par. We
remember seeing one of the most distinguished among the chiefs eat-
ing one of these with much apparent satisfaction In China a species
of Rhodomela, a sea-weed of a dark red or purple color, with long
stems thickly covered with short branches, is gathered at certain sea-
sons of the year, and forms an item in the wide ranging bill of fare
of a native. In Ireland (he Laminaria saccharina yields a sugar-like
substance when dried in the sun, and in Scotland another species of
the same genus is eaten under the name of Badderlocks.
Art. VI. Suspension of truth', occasioned by thr smuggling of
opium, within thr Hogue, on thr river nt Whampoa, anrl into
the foreign factories at Canton, with notices of public execu-
tion, riot, <S'< ■, connected therewith.
Fully to understand the facts recorded in this article, it is necessa-
ry to revert to the principal causes which gave them birth and cha-
racter. Nearly two years ago, in consequence of severe edicts received
by the local government from Peking, a large (loot of ‘ scrambling
dragons,’ and other native craft, that had long been engaged in
smuggling opium into Canton, was ‘annihilated.’ A short stagnation
m the traffic ensued which was succeeded by the employment of
Suspension of Trade.
Dec.
438
the foreign passage boats (cutters, schooners, &.C.), in a manner and
to an extent quite incredible. In the course of a few months these
boats inereased in number from eight or ten to thirty or forty, — in
some instances yielding to their owners thousands of dollars per week.
They now nearly ceased to be employed as 1 passage-boats,’ though
with only occasional interruptions they were allowed to pass the
Bogue. In a few instances they were lired on and brought to ; in
others they returned fire, yet escaped with impunity. Several ships
also brought opium within the Bogue ; and in June last the Hospital
Ship, charged with being concerned in the traffic, was, owing to the
opposition of the government raised against her on that account, sold
to the Chinese and broken up.
Against these modes of smuggling repeated edicts were issued,
threatening heavy penalties and punishments. A few seizures were
made of opium in the boats; and, on the plea of more carefully ascer-
taining that the vessels had no opium on board, the time for obtaining
securities for ships was extended to ten days.
In this condition affairs stood, when receutly an edict came from
emperor, reprimanding the local authorities for their leniency and
negligence. By this edict the authorities were exasperated ; procla-
mations, seizures, and executions followed. The foreign boats conti-
nued, however, to pass with impunity, until Monday afternoon, the
3d instant, when twelve small boxes, containing 203 catties, were
seized, while being landed in front of the foreign factories. The fol-
lowing documents refer to this seizure.
No. t.
Letter from the hong merchants, dated December 5th 1838, conveying an edict
from tiie governor and lieutenant-governor, requiring the hatches of the Thomas
Perkins to be closed, and that vessel, with Mr. Talbot her consignee, and Mr.
Innes, to he driven out of the port.
To Mr. Talbot. Sir, We respectfully inform you that we have
received from their excellencies, the governor and lieut.-governor,
their honorable commands, of the following tenor :
“ An officer on the preventive service, with police and soldiers of the dis-
trict having ascertained that there was a tea-boat, in the river before the
Thirteen Factories, containing opium, thereupon seized two men. Lew Aying
and Chin Ahe, with 12 boxes containing 203 catties of the drug. An officer
having been deputed to examine them, these two men both testified, — 1 That
they were hired coolies in the Elio (or Creek) factory ; that on the 1st inst.,
Hwang Aseiin, a merchant belonging to a broker’s shop in New China
street, brought money to [lines to purchase opium ; and that Innes wrote a
letter, and hid them go to Whampoa, to Talbot’s Indian ship Ke-le-yun (the
IS:{8. Sit spin nun of '/'nidi. -Pill
Thomas Perkins,) uml bring the opium.’ On examination we find that, when a
foreign ship cut. r- the pori with carpi, the hong merchants are required, by
law, to become security for the same, and to report her to the superintendent
of customs, who, alter her examination gives permission for her being unload-
ed. In the present case, the ship Thomas Perkins, was reported by the
hong merchant Pimhoyqiia, of the Jinho hong, who gave his bond that she
had no opium on board. Now from the proved testimony of the two coolies,
it seems that the said merchant must have given his bond without having made
any examination — a most irregular and mischievous procedure ! We, there-
fore, have commanded him to be exposed in the pillory, and have written on
the subject to the superintendent of customs. Furthermore, we find that
lunes resides in the Creek factory, mid Talbot in the Kwangyuen (or Ame-
rican) factory The hong merchants being owners of these factories, how is
it that they have neither seen nor heard anything of such transactions, and
have allowed the men to remain at pleasure ! They have acted in a most
blind and stupid manner, worthy of the utmost detestation ! Dealing indul-
gently with them, however, we confine ourselves to requiring the said hong
merchants, in obedience to instructions they will receive from the superin-
tendent of customs, immediately to seal up the hatches of the Thomas Per-
kins, and to expel her, as well as limes and Talbot, within three days.”
In compliance with the preceding edict, it becomes our duty, sir,
to send this letter, begging that you will act in obedience to their
excellencies’ commands, and within three days leave the port; there-
by you will avoid being driven out by the government, and free us
from being involved in difficulties. With the hope that you will do
thus, we write this letter, desiring you to examine and obey the com-
mands. With our best compliments, &,c.
(Signed) Ilouqua, Mowqua, Ponkequa, Kingqua, Gouqua, Ming-
qua, Saoqua, Punhoyqua, Samqua, Footoy, and Oancheong.
No. 2.
.Mr. Talbot’s firs! address to the governor.
The memorialist, an American merchant, respectfully addresses his excel-
lancy, the governor, &c , for the purpose of removing a misunderstanding
involving his business. A letter has been received from the hong mer-
chants containing theiollowing commands. [The above is here quoted.]
On the receipt of this the memorialist was greatly astonished. During
the time of his residence in Canton, he has always conducted his business in
a peaceable manner, buying and selling according to the regulations. The
American ship Thomas Perkins, on her recent arrival, laden with foreign
rice, was consigned to him. She brought no cargo except rice ; and the
master and men have carefully attended to their proper duties, in no way
infringing the prohibitory regulations. With respect to opium, which is so
strictly interdicted, the memorialist gave the strictest injunctions, on no ac-
440
Suspension of Trade.
Dec.
counl to engage in the traffic, — it being in open violation of the laws, and at-
tended with disgrace. The testimony of the two coolies is utterly false — so
far as it relates to the ship in question ; and if your excellency will be pleas-
ed to examine the case to the bottom, he will find, that the ship is not an
Indian, but an American, vessel ; that neither coolies, nor tea-boat, from
Canton, have ever been to the ship to receive anything from her; and that
she had not on board any cargo belonging to Mr. Innes. Nothing surely can
be more unjust than that lawless men, like the two coolies, who have pre-
sumed to carry contraband goods, should be allowed, by false testimony, to
involve those who have no connection with this matter. If thus they are
permitted to deceive, by deposing whatever they please, and such false depo-
sitions are to receive your excellency’s full belief, it will be impossible for
those, who conform to the laws, to enjoy any security.
The memorialist, therefore, earnestly and respectfully requests that your
excellency will be pleased to direct a thorough investigation; and will have
the justice to allow the ship to proceed with the discharge of cargo, and to
reverse the injunction requiring departure within three days, so that he may
not suffer innocently either loss or disgrace. For this purpose he presents
tins memorial, begging that his request may be granted.
Canton, December 5th, 1838. (Signed) W. R. Talbot.
No. 3.
The governor’s answer to Mr. Talbot’s address.
Tang, a presiding officer of the Board of War, governor of Kwangtung
and Kwangse, &c., issues these commands to the senior hong merchants,
with which they are required to make themselves fully acquainted.
On the Gill instant an address was received from the American merchant
Talbot, presented for the purpose of obtaining the removal of difficulties
involving his business. (It here follows as above.)
This address having come before me, I have examined the case. I find,
that Whampoa, on the inner river, being forbidden ground, the said foreign-
er yet presumed to bring opium in thither, hoping and intending to sell it ;
and that Innes, for the broker Hwang Aseen, sent two coolies to the said
ship and purchased several boxes. This crafty combination in villainous
conduct was a gross violation of the laws. When the two coolies, seized
with the opium, were examined by an officer whom I sent for that purpose,
their depositions, on this matter, were carefully taken, and corroborated be-
yond a doubt. They were, in consequence, delivered over to the commis-
sion of justice, to be dealt with as the law' directs; and the hong merchant,
Punhoyqna, who so rashly secured the ship, w’as placed in the pillory and
exposed at Whampoa, as a warning. I find too that, for the men, out of the
pale of civilzation, who transgress, the celestial dynasty has ordained severe
laws. But I, the governor, looking up to and imitating the profound benevo-
lence of the great emperor, towards people from afar, have only required the
hatches of the said ship to be closed, and, together with the said foreigners,
to be driven out of the port — in great leniency forbearing to make deep in-
ISJH
III
Suspension of Trails.
to bo driven out of the port — in great leniency forbearing to make (loop in-
vestigation. This was an act of favor beyond the laws. The said foreigners
are fortunate in so escaping the net. Will they not, then, reform and re-
prom- 1 1 themselves ! Nay, will they, on the contrary, by repeatedly talking
about false evidence, endeavor to impugn my commands ! This is the per-
fection of stupidity, most worthy of detestation !
It is right, therefore, to issue these clear commands, which l now send to
the senior hong merchants. Let them act faithfully according to the previous
edict, and seal up the hatches of the ship ; and let her, with the consignee
anil Innes, be driven out of the [>ort, within the limited period. If they delay
bcvoud the time, not only shall the owners of the factories, m which the said
foreigners reside, be put in the pillory and punished, but the senior hong
merchants will find it difficult to screen themselves from punishment.
Communicate this edict, as before, to Talbot, that he may understand and
act accordingly. Let none oppose. These are the commands.
Taoukwang IStli year, 10th month, 21st day. (December 7th, 180s.)
It should be remarked here, that the whole foreign trade — so far
as it regards the loading and unloading of cargo — was suspended
immediately after the occurrences of the 3d instant.
It is imposssible for us to explain in what manner the testimony of
the two coolies was distorted into its present shape. We have heard it
said, that the tidewaiter, stationed at the place where the opium was
lauded, furnished a tale, to certain of his friends in the city, ‘just like
that’ which appears above, in the governor’s edict, as the evidence
of Lew Aying and Chin Ahe.
On petition being made to the governor, from the hong merchants,
the period of three days, for effecting the expulsion, was extended to
eight. In the mean time, the following correspondence took place
between the hong merchants and the Chamber of Commerce. The
translations Nos. 4-8, were made by Mr. Fearon, intepreter to the
Chamber : we copy them from the Canton Register of the I Ith inst.
No. 4
A respectful communication, to the honorable Chamber of Commerce.
By the ancient laws and repeated edicts from the governor, the large
decked boats are prohibited coming to Canton ; copies of these edicts we,
your younger brethren, have again and again sent to you, several gentlemen;
but you thinking them ot no importance have cast them aside without giving
the least alt mtion to them. A seizure has just n«w been made bv government,
ot some opium which Innes was endeavoring to smuggle, in consequence of
which a security merchant has been sentenced to the punishment of publicly
wearing the cangue, and his landlords were also sentenced to a similar punish-
ment, but prevailed on II. E. by their entreaties to remit it. You, gentle-
VOL.V1I. NO. fill. oG
442
Suspension of Trade.
Dec.
men, have all seen or heard of this. We have established hongs for trading
with you, gentlemen, in the hope of making a little money, and that all
things may go on peacefully and to our mutual advantage ; but by the foreign-
ers smuggling opium, we are constantly involved in trouble. Ask your-
selves, gentlemen, whether in our places you could be at ease 1 There are
surely some reasonable men among you. Now we have been forced to de-
mand some new conditions ere opening the trade, being determined no longer
to suffer for others’ misdeeds. We have resolved that, hereafter, not one large
decked boat shall come up to Canton, and all small uncovered boats, whether
coming from or going to Whampoa or JVlacao, shall, according to law, ap-
ply at the custom-house stations for passports and examination. As the
security merchants and landlords are made answerable for any smuggling of
opium, &c., these conditions are absolutely necessary, and we must request
you, benevolent elder brethren, to give public notice, that all gentlemen, who,
on consideration, determine to accept our terms for opening the trade, must
give us a signed i)ajier to that effect, when the trade shall instantly open,
and we will continue to rent you our factories.
Hereafter, if any foreigners attempt to smuggle up opium or any other
contraband article into the factories, we shall immediately petition the go-
vernment that such may be dealt with according to law, and that the offen-
ders may be turned out of our houses. If you consent to this, and give us a
bond to that effect, we will continue to trade with you as usual ; but if you
refuse our conditions, we truly dare not continue to trade with you or to rent
you our houses. You cannot say we have given you no warning. On receipt
of this letter, we must beg you all to let us know whether you accept or re-
fuse our terms, that we may frame the new agreement, after which chops
shall again be granted. For this we write, &c. ( Dec. 5th.)
No. 5.
A respectful communication, to the honorable Chamber of Commerce.
Seeing the large decked schooners have, latterly, in defiance of the prohi-
bitions, persisted in coming to Canton in continued and quick succession,
bringing up opium which is removed up into the foreign factories, by which
the security merchants and landlords are involved, we, your younger brethren,
requested you by letter to make known to the several foreign gentlemen the
facts for their guidance, entreating them to carry on their business in a
peaceful and regular way for our mutual advantage. Now on the 3d inst.
the foreign merchant Innes secretly brought up some opium to Canton, which
was seized by goverment on the river, in front of the Thirteen Factories, by
which he has involved in punishment a security as well as his landlords, and
has aroused universal indignation. We, your younger brethren, in conse-
quence of the unbecoming conduct of this man, have placarded him in every
direction, of which placard we send you a copy, requesting you, after perusal,
to send it to the newspapers for publication, that every reasonable man may
be informed of the circumstances. It is for this we write, &c. (Dec. 5th.)
1*3*.
Susprnsion oj I'radr
4(3
Mo. <>.
Copy ot'the placard.
By the ancient laws the large decked boats are prohibited coming to ( nn-
ton, and the small open boats, which are allo.ved to come, nre obliged to apply
at the custom-house stations to obtain passports and undergo a strict examin-
ation. Of this wo have given repeated intimations to the several foreign
lrnders for their guidance; nevertheless, latterly, the large decked boats have
been arriving in constant and rapid succession, some from Macao, others
from Whampoa, doubtless for the purposes of bringing up opium and smug-
gling. The contraband goods, being taken up to the factories, are seized, and
wo, the security merchants and landlords, nre involved in punishment. W e
have frequently written (.to the foreigners) begging them not to infringe the
prohibitory laws, and to carry on their business in a peaceful and regular
manner. But amid the mixture of good and bad men, our warnings are ren-
dered useless. On the third of this month the foreign merchant Innes,
with a daring disregard of the laws, clandestinely brought opium tip to Canton
in one of the boats, which was seized by government, involving in punish-
ment a security, and also the landlords of his factory ; truly, such conduct
merits universal indignation. He openly defies the imperial mandates, and
displays the most supreme contempt for his own reputation. We decline
therefore, to do any more business with him, and shall not suffer him to dwell
in our houses: we accordingly placard our resolves in the- most explicit man-
ner, that every reasonable man may be informed thereof, and taketimely
warning. Given in consou. (No date.)
No. 7.
A respectful communication, to the honorable Chamber of Commerce.
The foreign merchant Innes, being a man who clandestinely smuggles
opium into Canton, II. E. the governor has directed, by edict, that he be
driven out by the 7th of this month ; and, in case of his perverse refusal to
leave, we must pull down the house in which he lives, that he may have
no roof above his head. Xo gentleman must give him shelter, lest he him-
self become involved in trouble. We have to request that you will circulate
this amongst the several foreign gentlemen, that each may know how to art.
It is for this we write, and with compliments remain, <fcc. (Dec. 5th)
No. 8.
A respectful communication, to the honorable Chamber of Commerce.
In our letter of the 5th instant (yesterday) we stated lo you, that, should
Innes not leave his house before the 8th, we should pull it down. This was
in consequence of an edict we received from the governor, in which he threa-
tened that all of us, hong merchants, should wear the cangue unless Innes
left Canton by the 8th. We were greatly alarmed at this threat, and resolved
to pull down his house, that, having no place to shelter him, he might be
forced to leave. We therefore invited all you gentlemen to attend at the
Consoo House on the 5th to deliberate on the subject. Now, as after mutual
444
Suspension of Trade.
Dec.
deliberation you all decide that we ought not to pull the house down, we have
determined not to do so. But, in consequence of Innes having clandestinely
smuggled up opium, H. E. the governor has ordained that he must quit Can-
ton by the 7th instant, failing which, we, the hong merchants, are to wear
the cangue. However stern and severe this edict of H. E. may be, it is
certain to be acted upon, and should we be obliged to wear the cnague, our
reputation will be indelibly seared ; and, with tainted characters, how shall we
be able to carry on trade either with native or foreign merchants 1 By the
obstinate defiance of this one man, Innes, to the governor’s edicts, the whole
foreign trade is involved in difficulties, the consequences of which may be
truly great. We earnestly beg of you, gentlemen, to endeavor by reasonable
arguments to make Innes leave Canton today, that the trade may again be
put on its usual quiet footing. It is for this we write, &c. (Dec 6th.)
No. 9.
To the hong mArchants.
Gentlemen, — We now do ourselves the honor to acknowledge receipt of
your various letters under date 5th and 6th December ; but before entering
upon the general subject contained in them, it was imperatively necessary
that we should draw attention to the threat contained in one of them of forci*
bly pulling down one of the foreign factories ; we therefore verbally pointed
out to you the dangerous consequences which might result from such an act ;
the inviolability of our personal dwellings being a point imperatively neces-
sary for the security of our persons and the property under our charge ; we
have now much satisfaction in seeing, by your letter received yesterday even-
ing, that you disclaim any such violent intention.
As regards the subject of your other letters, we must in the first place inform
you, that Mr. Innes is not a member of the Chamber, nor have we any control
or influence over his actions, even if he were. The chamber of commerce is
purely a commercial body, and has no authority over persons residing in Can-
ton. We have heard with deep feelings of regret, the treatment you have
all experienced, and are threatened with, on account of the discovery of an
attempt to smuggle opium into Canton, more especially as the severe pun-
ishment already inflicted on Punhoyqua, security merchant of the Thomas
Perkins, originated in an accusation entirely devoid of all fouudation. We
think it, however, our duty here publicly and clearly to express our disappro-
bation of acts such as are now forced upon our notice.
In reply to your request, that we as a body should give you some pledge
respecting the foreign boats coming to Canton, we regret that we are unable
to comply with it, — those boats belong to a variety of persons, over whom
we can exercise no authority. It is however essentially necessary, that
the community of Canton should have means of conveying letters, and of
going backwards and forwards to and from Macao. We shall be happy to meet
with you, in order to concert some plan for the purpose, so as effectually to
prevent boats thus employed, from engaging in illegal transactions, and thus
involving all parties in trouble. I remain, &c.
Dec. 7th. (Signed) H. 11. Lindsay, chairman Gen. Cham. Commerce-
Sii-'i/imsion of Truth .
II'.
Oil the I *2l li, about II o’clock \ m., preparations were commenc-
ed, by the Chinese authorities, for the public execution of an opium
dealer, in front of the foreign factories, directly before the door of
the Swedish hong, near the American flag-statf. Foreigners had no
notice of the intended execution, until the officer had taken up his
position with a lent, a cross, and other implements, requisite for an
ignominious death — to which llo Laoukiu had been sentenced.
Scarcely h id the ollieer given directions for the erection of the tent,
when the foreigners, getting wind of what was on foot, began to as-
semble. By order of the American consul, his flag was struck. As
the Chinese attempted to raise the tent, it was pushed down, trampled
on, and one of the poles broken ; and the otlieer was told, in very loud
accents, that he should not execute the man on that ground. The
otlieer and his people, in all not more than ten or fifteen in number,
were unarmed ; aud seeing the pass to which affairs had thus unex-
pectedly come, they hastened away without making any resistance,
taking with them their tent, poles, &.C., to a new site, in Chaouyin
street, where the man was executed. In the mean time several gen-
tlemen went to the hong merchants to protest, and induced the senior
hong merchant to proceed into the city to use his influence, against
the exhibition of such a spectacle, as that intended by the authorities
w ho had ordered the execution, before the doors of their factories.
By 12 o’clock crowds of Chinese had collected, showing, however,
no marks of disapprobation or ill-will towards the foreignerns, many
of whom now retired to their houses, supposing the allair at end It
is believed, and we think with good reason, that had all the foreigners
gone to their factories when the officer went away, the unpleasant
rencounters which succeeded, would have been avoided. Word,
however, was given out to ‘clear the square! Not having been on
the spot at the moment, we quote the testimony' of others. ‘That
day’s riot was simply occasioned by the rash behavior of various indi-
viduals, who struck and drove hack the Chinese crowd with sticks;
had the foreigners retired to their houses immediately after the imple-
ments of execution had been removed, there would not have been
any disturbance.’ [Canton Register.] ‘ When rashly and unfortu-
nately, some blows were given, in trying to drive back the mob, w ho
then began to hoot, and some foreigners, armed with sticks, charged
Ithe multitude and drove them to some distance from the houses,
tilings began to wear a more serious aspect.’ [Canton Press ] Much
excitement now existed m both parties — the Chinese numbering
probably eight or ten thousand, and some few foreigners were dash-
446
Suspension of Trade.
Dec.
ing pellmel) among them, beating every one that came in their way.
In return for all this, vollies of brickbats and stones were hurled
back, in like manner without any discrimination of persons. At
this lime the scene might indeed have been ridiculous, had not
the uplifting and clapping of hands and angry shouting of the
populace shown that the excitement had gone too far, and that the
square was not so easily to be cleared. Notwithstanding all these
indications of tumult, the ‘ few,’ alluded to above, continued their
rash conduct, while some few others made every endeavor to restrain
them — all to no purpose. However, by half past one o’clock, the
mob were left sole masters of the square. Efforts were made to quell
their rage by a small party of police and by some of the hong mer-
chants. Still matters grew worse and worse. The populace, believ-
ing that those who had just been so fierce against them had taken
refuge in the factories, and in one instance supposing that two of
their own parly had been seized and dragged into one of the houses,
hurled showers of stones against the doors and windows, pulling
down the brick wall before one factory, and stripping to pieces the
railings before three others.
Thus matters stood at three o’clock. Repeated applications to the
hong merchants, and through them to the local authorities, brought
no relief, till about 4 p. m,, when the magistrate of the district (Nan-
hae), with three or four other officers, attended by a small body of
police and soldiers, entered the square from Old China Street. As
soon as his honor appeared, and„ stepping very deliberately from his
sedan, had cast a look over the immense concourse, some three or four
among the most active of the mob were pounced upon, the free ap-
plication of the rattan and of the bamboo followed. Carefully watching
to see what effect this summary treatment would have on the crowd,
it was soon evident to us that the storm was over. The soldiers,
about twenty in number, armed with swords and spears, took their
stand in a conspicuous quarter ; and the magistrate and his friends
seated themselves near the centre of the square, leaving the hong
merchants and the police to disperse the crowd at their leisure. The
foreigners, who had returned to the square, were assured by the ma-
gistrate that all should be kept quiet during the night. At sunset
the whole ground was cleared, and two of the mob were led off in
chains. A guard, with lanterns, was set, and the novel scenes of
the day closed.
We have been thus minute in detailing the occurrences of the day,
chiefly for the purpose of showing the character of a Chinese mob.
ls;H
Suspension of Trade. 44 1
For a short time before the magistrate arrived, the aspect of affairs
was, we confess, somewhat unpleasant — principally, however, Irom an
apprehension that the magistrate would not arrive till after nightfall,
and that, in the mean time, recourse would be had to fire-arms on
the part of foreigners. Taking it all in all, the mob was a very order-
ly one, and the riot moderate — compared with what is very often
exhibited in this line on the other side of the globe. Some of the most
active of the crowd, in throwing stones, wore beggarly urchins;
though there is no doubt there were also many old well-practiced vil-
lains among them, w ho, if they could have done it with hope of impu-
nity, would have quickly ‘gutted our houses,’ and scoured the vaults
as a reward for their valor. The occurrences of the day, unpleasant
as they were, teach every foreigner to be ware how he exasperates the
fury of the people. Fervently do we hope the local authorities will
never again attempt to repeat the awful spectacle, they designed to
exhibit before us this day. But that they will not, we have no assu-
rance, but rather the contrary, as will be seen in the sequel. We see
no prospect that the traffic in opium will be soon given up, or the ef-
forts against it relaxed for any great length of time. To what new
events it will give rise, time will disclose.
The occurrences of the day w ill be further explained by the follow
ing address to the governor, with his reply thereto.
No 10.
Address to the governor from the Chamber of Commerce.
“ We beg leave respectfully to address your excellency on a subject of
the highest importance, and which has greatly endangered the lives and pro-
perty of all the foreign residents in Canton.
“ During the forenoon of the 17th day of the 10th moon, no previous inti-
mation having been given, a party of mandarins and police suddenly came
and commenced raising tents in the front of the foreign factories. On
inquiring what was their object, we were informed by the officer in command
that it was for the execution of a criminal. Foreigners have now resided in
Canton for more than 100 years, and it has always been recognized and
allowed that the ground between the factories and the river belonged to the
houses rented by them. In former times, until the great fire in the 2d year
of Taonkwang, it was surrounded and enclosed by walls. In fact it apper-
tains to the factories for which we pay a yearly rent. In proof of which we
beg to point out, that above and below on both sides of the river the ground in
front of a hong belongs to the same and is enclosed ; as regards the Dutch
and English factories this is the case, but in front of the others it Ins been
kept open for mutual convenience, and to afford some place on w hich we
might take exercise in peace and safety ; such an event as its being turned
into a public place of execution was never heard of or contemplated.
*
448
Suspension of Trade.
Dec.
“ On hearing, therefore, what was to be done, we could view the matter in
no other light than as a direct violation of established tenures. The minds
of all foreigners were greatly excited ; they assembled in the square, and
there plainly but peacefully pointed out to the officer in charge that such an
occurrence could not be tolerated, and that we could not answer for the con-
sequences if it were persisted in. No violence of any sort was committed,
and the officers of government desisted, in their preparations, and withdrew.
“ At the same time representations of like purport were made to the hong
merchants, who promised without loss of time to lay the matter before the
proper authorities ; it was also pointed out to them most strongly that the
square was filled with many thousands of the lower classes of the people, and
that it was apprehended a disturbance might take place, unless a body of the
police was immediately sent to disperse the people and prevent disorder.
“ This precaution was neglected, and though all the senior residents exert-
ed themselves to prevent disturbance, yet when multitudes are assembled
confusedly together, and are ignorant of each others language and customs,
it is difficult, if not impossible, to prevent collision, and some trifling disputes
arose. Serious affrays must now inevitably have occurred, had we not all
withdrawn into our factories, on the assurance that the police should instant-
ly be sent for, and from the most earnest wish to prevent I he fatal conse-
quences which might have arisen from any conflict between the foreigners
and the populace.
“ No efficient police was, however, sent ; and for more than two hours the
square in front of our factories was in the possession of an excited and
lawless multitude, many thousands in number. The walls and railings in
front of our houses were pulled down and demolished, our windows were
broken in with stones; at length, grown daring by impunity, they commenced
with beams to batter down the gates of several factories. That of the
Lungshun, or old English factory, was beaten in ; had the populace endeavor-
ed to force an entrance, the inmates must, in self defence, have used fire-arms
to repel them, and a scene of bloodshed and violence must have occurred,
thereby involving all the high officers of government in the most serious
responsibility. At this critical moment the military arrived, and the mob
was dispersed.
“ We beg your excellenecy to give this matter your most serious attention ;
and we also take leave to remind you that the crowd by which these outrages
were committed was drawn together by the novel spectacle of a public execu-
tion in a square hitherto exclusively appropriated to the uses of the foreign
residents.
“ In conclusion, we respectfully request your excellency will favor us, as
early as possible, with such a reply to these, our representations, as may
relieve us fro::: all fear of the recurrence of similar, and even more serious,
difficulties.
“ We remain, with great respect, Your &c. H. H. Lindsay.
“ Chairman of the General Chamber of Commerce. (Dec. 14th)
♦
IMS.
Sus/irHsion uf Trade.
U'J
No II
The governor’s reply to the Chamber of Commerce.
Tang, Governor of Kwangtung, and Kwnngse, &-c., Ate., requires
the senior hong merchants to render themselves fully acquainted
herewith.
On the With of December, the foreign merchants Lindsay and
others presented the following address. (As above.)
Upon the receipt hereof, I gave the subject my attention. Regard-
ing the execution of convicted prisoners, 1 find the law directing,
that they shall be led, bound, to the public market-place, and there
shall undergo punishment. 1 find, too, that Conton has its appointed
place lor this purpose. The object of such institutions is, that all
may see, and that offenders against the laws may be warned.
In the present instance, the criminal Ho Laoukin had opened a
store-house for the sale of opium, and kept a tavern for the purpose
of inducing persons to buy and smoke the drug. Having been ap-
prehended, he was tried, and condemned to suffer death by strangula-
tion. The imperial commands for the immediate excution of the law
were requested, and duly received through the medium of the Board
of Punishments. I, the governor, with the lieut-governor, having
taken into consideration that the penalty of death to which Ho
Laoukin had subjected himself, was the result of the pernicious
introduction of opium into Canton by depraved foreigners, com-
manded, that the criminal should be led out to the ground of the
Thirteen Factories, adjoining the foreign residences, and should
there be executed. Thus it was designed to strike observation, to
arouse careful reflection, and to cause all to admonish and warn one
another; in the hope that a trembling obedience to the laws and
statutes of the celestial empire might be produced, — that the good
portion of the foreign community might thereby preserve forever their
commercial intercourse, — and that the depraved portion might be
prevented from pursuing their evil courses. Those foreigners, though
born and brought up beyond the pale of civilization, have yet human
hearts. How should they then have been impressed with awe and
dread, and self-conviction ! Can they yet put pen to paper to draw
up such insane winnings?
The ground, whether in the front or in the rear of the foreign fac-
tories, is all the territory of the celestial empire, and is merely grant-
ed by the great emperor, from motives of extraordinary grace and
clemency, as a temporary resting place for all the foreigners who
have been permitted to engage in trade here. What have von, fo-
reigners, to do with the question, whether convicted persons shall be
executed there or not? Say you, that the ground is used as a place of
exercise by all the foreigners? And is it not then a place of con-
course also for the people — the natives of the land ? No daring
presumption, no absurd complainings, can exceed these! They are
execrable in the extreme !
I am led to issue these commands to the hong merchants, which,
as soon as they receive, let them immediately obey. Let them most
VOL. VII. no. vm.
Ol
450
Suspcnsioti of Trade.
Dec.
strictly explain to the said foreigners my directions, and declare to
them my commands. Now that zealous and diligent proceedings
are in operation for the suppression of the clandestine traffic, it may
be presumed that the executions, which will take place, on the 'spot
referred to, of criminals convicted under the laws against opium, will
not in future be few. Though the spectators may be numerous, how-
ever, there will always be civil and military officers there to keep
them under control, so that there need be no apprehension of distur-
bance arising. The foreigners, in place of troubling themselves over-
much on this head, should apply themselves to exhort and dissuade
their fellows — to refrain from making the pursuit of selfish gain, by
the injury of others, their business.
If, hereafter, at the execution of a criminal, any presumptuous and
perverse foreigners dare to push themselves forward to hinder atj,d
impede the proceedings, the said senior merchants are authorized to
represent the facts, in order that the needful information may be had
for proceeding to expel with severity such individuals. They must
be careful not to connive and conceal the facts, lest they involve
themselves likwise in the consequent investigation. Let these com-
mands be earnestly enjoined on Lindsay and the other foreigners,
that they, knowing them, may act accordingly. Let none oppose.
These are my commands. (Dec. lGth.)
(True Translation.) J. Robt. Morrison, Chinese Secretary and
Interpreter to the Superintendenst of British Trade in China.
No. 12.
The Chamber’s reply to the Hong merchants : Gentlemen,
We beg to acknowledge having received, through your hands, the reply
from his excellency the viceroy, to our representation under date of 14th inst.
We have read this document with deep and painful feelings of regret, and
though we do not intend to address H. E. again on this subject, yet it is our
duty respectfully to represent to your body, and, through you, to H E., that
the assent of the foreign community can never be given to the execution of a
criminal, no matter what be his crime, in the front of our factories, and we
accordingly now record this our solemn protest against such an act, and
should it ever again be attempted, we shall consider it as an insult of the
gravest nature to the united body of foreigners of all nations dwelling in Can-
ton, and as a direct violation of ancient customs sanctioned by the practice of
more than 150 years. In future we trust and hope that, by mutual forbearance,
and a decent, respect for the opinions and customs of each odier, confidence,
which recent events have so seriously shaken, may be reestablished, and that
our commercial affairs may be conducted in a manner satisfactory and benefi-
cial to us all. We remain, your &c., II. H. Lindsay, Chairman G. C. C.
We now revert to the correspondence respecting the Thomas Per-
kins, from which it will be seen that the false charge of having been
engaged in smuggling has been revoked. It is proper to state here,
that, Mr. Innes, as soon as it came to his knowledge that the ship
was implicated by the testimony of his coolies, made declaration, in
writing, to the hong merchants, that the men had never been to that
vessel, and that he himself had had no caigo of any description
on board of her. Mr. Innes left Canton for Macao on the loth.
1838.
Smjiritsioti of 'I'radr.
I'.f
No 13.
Mr. Talbot’s second address to t ho governor.
The memorialist, an American merchant, again respectfully addresses his
excellency, the governor, earnestly requesting a reconsideration of the diffi-
culties involving his business.
On the 7th instant, he received your excellency’s reply to his former ad-
m dress, declining to grant his request, and requiring his departure within a pre-
scribed period. His surprise at this was great : for all the particulars stated
m Ins lorim r address are true ; while, by the false statenie.it that he, with
the ship Thomas Perkins, had been engaged in the opium traffic — by the
unfounded evidence of the two coolies, and by your excellency’s ready mid
implicit belief thereof, he has been involved innocently. The ship Thomas
Perkins entered the port with rice, and no other cargo, on hoard. She is an
American vessel, and the master and men are all Americans; and, contrary
to the evidence of the two coolies, they have had no connection with any
Indian ship. In these particulars your excellency may at once perceive
that the testimony of the two coolies is false, and so judge of all the rest,
besides, the boats of the gov< rnment, hat ing guards in tn m, have b sen sta-
tioned continually on both sides of the ship; by inquiries from them, it can
likewise be ascertained whether any opium has been taken from the ship.
Under these circumstances, this second address is presented, earnestly
requesting your excellency again to consider the condition in which the memo-
rialist’s business is piaced, and to order further and can ful investigation to be
made. By this means the truth will be disclosed ; no loss will be sustain' d
in reputation, nor injury accrue to the ship’s cargo; while the nieoriahst will
b ■ greatly obliged by your excellency’s favorable consid nation. He there-
fore again earnestly presses the subject, hoping that a favorable answer will
be granted. (December 13th.)
No 14.
The governor’s answer to Mr Talbot’s second address.
Tang governor, &c., to the senior hong merchants. On the 13th instant
the American merchant, Talbot, presented the following address (as above)
earnestly requesting a reconsideration of the difficulties involving his business.
This address having come before me, I have examined the subject. It
appears that he having b tore present) d a memorial, I on the one hand repli-
ed to him, and on the other instructed the senior hong merchants to make
inquiry and report within a given time. The permission, granted to foreign-
ers of every nation, to carry on commerce at Canton, originated in the bound-
less and all-pervading nmniticence of the celestial dynasty, whose benovolent
and virtuous government views all (people) alike. But very perverse and
cratiy are the dispositions of foreigners; and, ever ready to alienate from
themselves the nourishing and perfecting care of the empire, there is no vio-
lation of the laws, no kind of smuggling, of which they are incapable. Re-
cently an edict has been received from the great emperor, sternly commanding
search to be made fertile seizure of opium. If any have transgressed the
laws, they are not to be treated with the kindness which is usually shown to
foreigners, nor to be confounded with those who are innocent. It is the
determination, in maintaining the laws, to seek the truth, there being at the
same time no wish to involve good foreigners in difficulty. In order to de-
termine whether the reiterated statements of the memorialist be correct, it is
necessary to wait for the reports, from the hong merchants, and from the
examiners of the coolies — which have been ordered. On the receipt of
those reports the truth must appear, and the offense revert to its author. Most
assuredly upright foreigners, who attend peaceably to their own business,
shall not be involved on account of others.
452
Suspension of Trade..
Dec.
Accordingly it is right to issue these commands, which let the hong mer-
chants obey; and without delay ascertain — who was the owner of the opium,
which Innes sent the letter to purchase ; to what nation he belongs ; and in
what ship it was brought. Let them forthwith report the particulars, that
action may proceed thereon. Also let them communicate this order to the
foreigner, that he may know and obey it. Let none oppose. These are
the commands. (Dec. 14th.)
No. 15.
Edict reversing the charge against the Thomas Perkins.
Yu, by imperial appointment, superintendent of customs in the port of
Canton, &c., gives this mandatory reply. According to a report, respecting
Innes, from the hong merchants, they have once and again made inquiries ;
the whole foreign community has censured his conduct; and he himself has
confessed, without concealment, that the opium in question was brought
clandestinely from Hongkong to Canton in the large foreign boat Ke.-le-fal
(Crawford?), which had no connection with the ship Ke-le-yun (Thomas
Perkins). And, after repeated examinations, they confirm his statement,
the correctness of which seems unquestionable.
Accordingly, the ship Thomas Perkins, consigned to Talbot, has not been
concerned in bringing the opium ; and he has acted the part of an upright fo-
reigner. It is proper, therefore, that the hatches of the ship be unsealed,
for the discharge of cargo.
The hong merchant Punhoyqua, in like manner, did not acted negligently
in securing the said ship ; and it is, therefore, right that he should be im-
mediately released.
As to Innes, who has requested a passport to Macao, let the said hong
merchants order and instruct his immediate expulsion and return to his own
country, as a warning (to others).
Moreover, I have communicated the above to their excellencies, the gover-
nor and lieut. -governor, for inspection and approval, that action thereon may
proceed, and commands be issued for obedience.
Given the ISth year of Taoukwang, 11th month, 2d day. (Dec. l*th.)
Yet still further to illustrate the subject of this article, we subjoin
the following documents. The remarks in No. 1G, were made at a
public meeting on Monday the 17th instant in the Hall of H. B. M.’s
superintendent, — who being at Whampoa when the riot on the 12th
was reported there, came the same evening to Canton, followed by
armed boats, for the purpose of affording succor to the residents.
No. lfi.
Captain Elliot observed, that the events of last week must have necessarily
engaged the anxious consideration of the whole foreign community in China,
and he might therefore waive any forms of excuse for trespassing upon their
attention. To the other foreigners, who had done him the honor to attend
the meeting, he had in tiie first place to return his sincere and respectful
thanks, for the countenance they had afforded his own countrymen in the
firm and judicious resistance which had been made to the menaced destruc-
tion of Mr. Innes’ house ; and he begged the whole meeting to assure them-
selves that he regarded the outrage upon their feelings, by the attempted
execution of a criminal before their doors, with the same feelings of indigna-
tion by which they had been excited. Seeking, however, for the immediate
source of this critical interruption of the usual course of events, he felt bound
to say that he found it in the existence of an extensive traffic in opium,
conducted in small boats upon the fiver. The present results of that traffic
1838.
Sits i>< nsion nf I'riitlr.
4 "»:l
should be shortly stated and considered ; the ac'unl interruption of the legal
trad-, the seizure and imminent joopardy of innocent men, the daily exposure
of every native connected with the foreign rs to similar disastrous conse-
quences, the life and property of the whole foreign community at the mercy
of an immense mob for the space of at least two hours, the distressing degra-
dation of the foreign character, the painful fact that such courses exposed us
more and more to the just indignation of this government and people, and
diminished the sympathies of our own ; of its futurity it might be safely
predicted, that it would tall into the hands of the reckless, the refuse, and
probably the convicted, of all the countries in our neighborhood : attentively
considering these, and other points, captain- Elliot felt that it became him to
explain the course which it was his purpose to pursue with the view to the re-
establishment of a safer and more creditable condition of circumstances. He
should forthwith s rve a notice upon the bouts in the river to the eff:ct that, if
they were British-owned, and were either actually or occasionally engaged in
the traffic, they must proceed outside within three days, and cease to return
with any similar pursuits; that failing their conformity with those injunctions,
he should place himself in communication with the provincial government,
and frankly and fully express the views of his own, upon the necessary and
perfectly admissible treatment of so serious an evil, lie could not, however,
help indulging the hope that the general reprobation of the whole community
would have the effect of relieving him from the performance of a duty on
many accounts extremely painful to him. And captain Elliot concluded by
anxiously conjuring the community to lend him their hearty support and co-
operation on the present occasion. To the other foreigners present he would
use the freedom to observe that lie was the only agent in this country whose
pursuits were unmixedly public ; and so long as he w’as advocating the prin-
ciples of truth and justice in our relations with this government and people
he might lake the liberty to say that he was in some sense the representative
of their honorable countries as well as of his own.
No. 17.
Public Notice to British subjects in China.
I Charles Elliot, chief superintendent of the trade of British subjects in
China, moved by urgent conisderations immediately affecting ttie safety of the
lives and properties of all her majesty’s subj-cts engaged in the trade at Can-
ton, do hereby formally give notice and require that all British-owned schoon-
ers, cutters, and otherwise riggnl small cratY, either habitually or occasionally
engaged in the illicit opium traffic within the Bocca Tigris, should proceed
forth of the same within the space of three days from the date of these pre-
sents, and not return within the said Bocca Tigris being engaged in the said
illicit opium traffic.
And I, the said chief superintendent, do further give notice and warn all
her majesty’s subjects engaged in the aforesaid illicit opium traffic, within
the Bocca Tigris, in such schooners, cutters, or otherwise rigged small craft,
that if any native of the Chinese empire shall coine by his or her death by
any wound feloniously inflicted by any British subject or subjects, anv such
British subject or subjects, being duly convicted thereof are liable to capital
punishment, as if the crime had been committed within the jurisdiction of
her majesty’s courts at Westminster.
And I, tne said chief superintendent, do further give notice and warn all
British subjects being owners of such schooners, cutters, or otherwise rigged
small craft, engaged in the said illicit opium traffic within the Bocca Tigris,
that her majesty’s government w ill in no way interpose if the Chinese go-
vernment shall think fit to seize and confiscate the same.
And 1, the said chief superintendent, do further give notice and warn all
45(3
Journal of Occurrences
No. 20.
The governor’s reply to the English superintendent Elliot.
Choo, the prefect of Kwangchow foo, and Han, commandant of the same
department, jointly issue commands to the English superintendent, Elliot.
On the 25th of December, 183^, we received from the governor of Kwang-
tung and lvwangse, Tang, the following official dispatch.
“ [ received, on the 23d of December, 1838, the subjoined address from
the English superintendent, Elliot. [See above.]
“Upon the receipt hereof, the document being authenticated, 1 have given
it due consideration.
“ The said superintendent came, I find, to Canton, in obedience to com-
mands received from his sovereign, to exercise control over the merchants
and seamen, to repress the depraved, and to extirpate evils. Having such
commands given to him, he must needs also have powers. It is very inex-
plicable, then, that these boats,- having in violation of the la;*? enterred the
river, he should now find it difficult to send them out again, owing to his not
having the confidence of all.
“ But, seeing that he has now addressed me as above, and that in his ad-
dress he has plainly stated, that ‘ the government of the British nation will
regard these evil practices with no feelings of leniency, but on the contrary
with severity and continual anxiety’ — seeing this, it is clear that he yet has
a distinct understanding of his duty as a represser of the evil and protector of
the good. Nor has he sought to excuse the difficulty he meets with, by plead-
ing inability. It is not then befitting in me to adhere obstinately to the letter
of the law, and so to isolate him from the object for which he has come hither.
“ The request is therefore granted ; and the prefect and commandant of
Kwangchow shall be directed, in the adoption of modified measures suited to
the occasion, to give you sealed commands, so that you may have authority
for proceeding in obedience thereto.
“The superintendent, aforesaid, must faithfully order away every one of the
said boats, and must never permit them to return ; should any dare perversely
to disobey, or make sport of his commands, he is authorized instantly to re-
present the case, that proceedings may be thereon taken.
« I, the governor, having under my sway the whole land of Yue, and hav-
ing on occasion to make most vigorous exercise of power, it may well be
conceived that these boats trouble me not one iota.
“ As soon as these boats shall have sailed, the merchant-ships may at once
have their trade reopened, as usual. There has been no intention to cause
any protracted stoppage of it. And there is therefore no ground for anxiety
upon that point. ******
The prefect and commandant, having received this document, proceed to
give commands, as above, <fcc.
Taoukwang 18th year, 11th month, 10th day. (Dec. 23th. )
True translation J. Hobt. Morrison. Chinese Secretary, &c., &c.
Note. January 1st 1839. The trade of the port, by command of the local
government, was reopened this day.
The party who are opposed to the admission of opium have gained the
entire ascendant in the imperial councils. Three princes of the imperial blood
have been deprived of their honors, and otherwise punished, for bad practices, of
which opium-smoking was the principal. Heu Naetse, for proposing its admission
is dismissed from the public service, after having first been degraded to the sixth
rank. The representations of the several provincial governments on the subject
have been laid before the cabinet, the general council, the imperial house, end
the Board of Punishments, for final consideration.
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