CHAPTER LXXXVI

THE CHINA COMMAND

[Sidenote: 1867. Hong-Kong, April 30.]

On the 30th April found myself once more entering Hong-Kong by the Lyemoon passage. Commodore Oliver Jones’s broad pennant was flying in the _Princess Charlotte_, a huge three-decker, painted yellow and white, and looking shorter and higher than any Ning Po junk. A small fleet of gunboats looking very like business. Stopped on board to receive the usual official visits.

[Illustration: _The Commodore._]

[Sidenote: May 1.]

At noon the shore guns fired a salute, which was cleverly returned by the gunboats firing in succession. The Governor having sent to know the time when I landed, at 2 P.M. was received by Colonel Guy and a guard of 73rd Regiment. His Excellency, Sir Richard MacDonnell, having sent his carriage, I went, accompanied by the Commodore and Flag-Lieutenant, at once to get visit of ceremony over. We found His Excellency and charming wife. Took up my quarters with old friend John Dent at the palace of Dent and Co.; a room was allotted for Harry Stephenson, as well as for W. H. Read. The flag was transferred to the _Princess Charlotte_.

[Sidenote: Hong-Kong.]

The Opera company small, but for a beginning very fair, and included three French ballet dancers. My conveyance was a chair with four bearers, good-tempered fellows whom no work could tire. Was made an honorary member of the Artillery and Engineers, as well as of the 73rd Mess. The wife of Colonel Guy was the eldest daughter of my old chief Admiral Plumridge, as was also Mrs. Cumming in the same regiment, by his second wife.

[Sidenote: May 4.]

Read, Stephenson and self went to Macao, in an American-built steamer running between Macao and Hong-Kong. Nothing could be cleaner or more comfortable than these vessels.

[Sidenote: May 5.]

We left Hong-Kong at 10 A.M. and entered the inner harbour three hours and a half later. We put up at the house of Dent and Co., provisions and servants having been sent with us. Considerable improvement had been effected by the last governor in roads, cleanliness of streets, etc. A lighthouse had also been built, but as these improvements required money that might otherwise have been remitted to the mother country, the governor was not allowed to remain. After dinner we visited the gambling-houses, recently licensed, curious to see, but too hot to remain in for many minutes.

The rules of the game appeared to me less unfair for the player than most games of the sort. A small square cloth in the centre of the table is marked 1, 2, 3, and 4 on the sides. Before placing your stake, a heap of small pice is placed by the dealer or keeper before him on the table, which is partially covered by a cup, the pice are then withdrawn by a pointed stick or long steel needle. As each four are separated they are swept into the original heap from which the handful had just been taken. Four at a time are so withdrawn until the last lot, under five, remain. It is according to the number left whether 1, 2, 3 or 4 win.

For instance, if three remain, and you put your money on, you get three times your stake. I was next an American gentleman who had had a dream in which No. 1 was the winning number; in backing his dream he had lost $1400.

[Sidenote: May 6 to 14.]

On Sunday 5th the English mail arrived at Hong-Kong. Our letters were sent to us in one of the gunboats, the first letters we had received since leaving home. All good news with the exception of the death of Sir Phipps Hornby, removing one admiral from the active list, and rendering the probability of my completing my three years less.

[Sidenote: Hong-Kong.]

Returned to Hong-Kong in time for Dent’s breakfast. Tuesday, visited the new docks, which are being excavated at Aberdeen, magnificent docks, 400 feet long, capable of holding any ironclad likely to be sent to this station.

One afternoon, partly walking and partly being carried in chairs, we went over the island by the gap to Dent’s house at Pokofolum, which must be a delightful residence in the S.W. monsoon: it has both a vegetable and flower garden. Some Formosa fallow-deer were thriving in a secured place. Being pressed for time, we returned in our chairs, Overbeck on foot, and reached the town-house in forty-seven minutes! Six miles. I had to dine at Government House, a large party. Commodore Jones entertains lavishly. He gave me an excellent dinner the other day. His quarters on board the _Princess Charlotte_ are roomy, airy, and most comfortable. Dined also a large party, with Mr. Whittal, Jardine and Matheson’s representative. They have a very nice house prettily situated on a hill. The table, furniture, etc., were as good as money could procure. Around the rooms were some superb race cups, such as I fancied were only to be seen on the front of the stand at Goodwood.

[Sidenote: Whampoa, May 14.]

Harry Stephenson and I started by packet steamer for Whampoa. Fine boats, American build, leave Hong-Kong and Canton every morning, meeting somewhere about the Bogue Forts. They now belong to a company, and fly the English flag. They perform the journey generally within eight hours, carrying cargo, many Chinese passengers and a few Europeans, seldom more than ten.

We got out at Whampoa to see the _Pearl_ and _Salamis_ in dock. _Pearl_ but little damaged, a small portion of her fore-foot and false keel. More serious the _Salamis_: four-and-twenty of her timbers fractured, and damage to keel; necessary to take out two foremost boilers, both of which required repair. Advantage of this opportunity was taken to have accommodation on deck improved. All the work well superintended and conducted by Mr. Gillies, a most useful servant to the Dock Company.

Went on in the _Banterer_, commanded by my old shipmate Pringle, to Canton, but even this small vessel could not keep off the bottom while I was on board--passing the second barrier she bumped heavily, and, as I found afterwards, rubbed copper off.

[Sidenote: Canton, May 15.]

We anchored off, what I recollect as a densely populated floating street of flower boats. All that portion of the river has since been walled and filled in, forming an island on which were the foreign consulates and residences. The island retains the name of Shaimen. On landing I was received by the Consul-General, Robertson, and, after looking over the buildings, we, Stephenson and self, got into chairs, and proceeded into the city of Canton, the Consul’s residence being within the Tartar quarter and interior wall, inside this great walled city, closed for so many centuries against all foreigners.

We traversed nearly three miles of narrow, densely-populated streets before we reached the Tartar yamun. Robertson had the good taste not to alter anything beyond the addition of a little European furniture. The building was old, and I occupied a bed which had most likely been slept in by some Tartar general when they captured Canton from the Chinese in the seventeenth century. At the back of the house were a court and out-buildings, and the remains of a large building which caught fire, nobody knew how, when occupied by our troops in 1861.

Beyond this again was a park-like enclosure, containing small hills, trees, and deer. Although not more than 15 acres, the extent was great when you consider that it was in the heart of a densely-populated walled city. The weather was bad, and we did not see half of what we might had we had more time.

Nothing, however is more curious than the city itself, the shops and the narrow streets along which our chairmen travelled at what appeared a reckless pace, bellowing to make people get out of the way, but somehow hurting nobody. We visited some of the prisons containing culprits under sentence of death; they appeared indifferent as to their fate, looked and laughed at us. Others at work making or embroidering clothes--not for themselves. About 1500 are executed annually! At the entrance gate to the Tartar General’s yamun are large figures of nondescript animals carved in granite and of great antiquity.

[Sidenote: May 17.]

My friend Robertson bore a strong resemblance to Lord Nelson and Lord John Russell. Whether he had guests or not he sat daily at the head of his dinner-table in great form. A row of servants on the right, with several dogs in front, all looking equally solemn. On the left was a long sideboard variously ornamented; plates and cups of silver.

After dinner, when everything was quiet, I noticed rats playing about, picking up crumbs the Consul had thrown out during dinner. I drew his attention to them and proposed to set the dogs on; to which Robertson objected, saying they did no harm, and that if frightened they would throw out such a stench of musk no one could stay in the room. The deer in his park would scarcely move out of his way.

Took leave of our kind host, who would accompany us to the steamer, lying ready alongside a wharf built in front of the site of the old factories, where, some quarter of a century before, when in command of the _Dido_, I had passed many pleasant days. Not a vestige remains to indicate the site.

Accompanying the captain round the decks and among the various groups of Chinamen, some gambling, others opium-smoking, we came to the women’s department, old and young, with children of various ages--some at the breast. In the fore part of all I observed three old hags of repulsive aspect; some had three or four infants slung around them, varying in age from two months to a year. These, I found, were for sale, a ready market being found among the less poor Chinawomen of Hong-Kong; the price asked me for the finest was four dollars, but that was an exorbitant demand. How the old hags came by the children is all conjecture.

[Sidenote: Hong-Kong, May 18.]

Returned to Hong-Kong. In the afternoon accompanied the Governor to visit Stone Cutter’s Island, on which his predecessor had built a magnificent prison, but which, owing to the energetic measures lately adopted for ridding the island of bad characters and marking the worst in the face and publicly scourging those that return, crime has so much diminished that the prison in Hong-Kong is found sufficient to accommodate those that require such lodgings.

His Excellency’s visit on this occasion was to ascertain the opinion of the Commodore and myself as to the feasibility of transferring the naval establishment to the island. The position would have been good had it been selected at first, but as £200,000 has been laid out on the one in Victoria the Board of Admiralty would not be likely to sanction the extra expense. There is no doubt that the naval and military establishments in Victoria are considerable obstructions to the improvement of the city, and prevent the continuation of a sea or harbour frontage and sea wall, with a road, or praya, which is intersected for more than 3000 feet at the part occupied by us and the military.

[Sidenote: May 23.]

_Pearl_ being ready for sea the flag was shifted from the _Princess Charlotte_ to her.

[Sidenote: May 24.]

Being Her Majesty’s Birthday the ships were dressed with masthead flags, and at noon a general royal salute was fired, batteries and ourselves, the reports sounding with great effect under the high land. Soirée at Government House, everybody attending.

[Sidenote: Flag in _Pearl_, May 27.]

Embarked on board _Pearl_, when I was received with manned yards, to visit different parts of the station. _Salamis_ still under repair. At 2 P.M. returned the Commodore’s salute and steamed out of Hong-Kong by the Cap Sing Moon passage, having been a month most kindly and hospitably entertained by John Dent and his cheery and good partner Oberbeck.

[Sidenote: Swatow, May 28.]

We arrived early off Swatow, but having to wait for water over the bar came to outside. It was 9 P.M. before we brought up off the Consul’s house, on the right bank and opposite side to the town. These Swatow Chinese are a turbulent and troublesome set, hardly yet accustomed to the sojourn among them of the hated barbarian. An attempt made by a Mr. Richardson to establish in a house he had built and furnished a few miles up the river was opposed by the natives, over whom the authorities appear to have little or no control. They damaged the house, carried off the furniture, and ill-treated Mr. Richardson’s servants. The gunboat _Drake_ had gone up to look after other matters. The Consul, Mr. Caine, was absent, and the duty done by his Vice, Mr. Cooper, who hailed from Norfolk, and had a pretty wife and a boy nearly as fine as my Colin.

We exchanged visits, the Consul getting his salute. Swatow is an uninteresting place to the visitor, but an extensive trade is carried on from a large city some distance up, Ch’ao-Chow-fu. In the month of March last the U.S. barque _Rover_ sailed from Swatow, got into a gale off Formosa, struck on a rock, made more water than the pumps could keep under, when the captain and crew took to the boats and saw their ship founder.

The captain had his wife and first mate with him and a Chinese crew, in another boat was a mate and also a Chinese crew. The boats separated, and after a while the captain landed on the southern coast of Formosa, and while preparing a meal was attacked. They retreated to hide themselves in the jungle, and all were supposed to have been murdered with the exception of one Chinaman, who hid himself until dark and then found his way to a China village some twelve miles off.

He subsequently reached Amoy, where he found no American man-of-war, so went to the _Cormorant_ and stated the above facts to Commander Broad, who lost no time in proceeding to the spot; he found the _Rover’s_ boat where her captain had left her, but on attempting a further examination he was fired on from the jungle. His boat was shot through and one man wounded. Unable to see his foe, after sending a few rounds into the jungle he wisely withdrew. The United States Admiral sent a small vessel, which could get no satisfaction, and consequently could give none to the friends of the missing captain and his wife.

[Sidenote: Swatow, May 29.]

During the afternoon of the Wednesday an old American acquaintance of former years at Whampoa, Mr. Botefuhr, came on board to solicit interference and assistance from me, which he stated he had in vain applied for to his own Admiral. Botefuhr’s wife is sister to the wife of the captain of the _Rover_, and although it is known that many were killed there is as yet no positive proof that the captain and his wife were slain. My poor friend clung to the hope that the savages would not have the heart to murder one so fair as his sister-in-law, who was so young, and, as he described her, “only a few months married, comely to look on, and of nice proportions.” It is difficult for me to interfere without causing jealousy on the part of the United States Admiral. My friend, Botefuhr, has already drawn comparisons not complimentary to his countryman.

[Sidenote: May 30.]

Started in charge of a pilot, a European, of whom there are seven, at 10 A.M., having crossed the bar, found the wind fresh from the N.E., and shaped our course inside the Namoa Island, during daylight the pleasantest route; finding the wind freshening we brought up for the night in Tong Sang, a well-sheltered anchorage.

[Sidenote: May 31.]

Weather fine, at 5 A.M. steamed out; performed the 74 miles to Amoy with three boilers in seven hours.

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