od
houses for Chinese. The population has a better appearance than the
Cantonese. The men powerful and frank-looking, and some of the women
not quite hideous. Our people get on very well with the natives here.
They have no consuls or special protection; so they act, I presume,
with moderation, and matters go on quite smoothly. I went into the
house of one of the 'Shroffs' (bankers or money-dealers) connected
with Jardine's house, and I found the gentleman indulging in his
opium-pipe. He gave us some delicious tea.... The Shroffs here are
three brothers. They came from Canton, their father remained behind.
The mandarins wanting money to carry on the war with us, called upon
him to pay 12,000 taels about 4,000_l_. They used him as the screw to
get this sum from his sons who were in foreign employ. Though the old
man had resolved to leave his home and his patch of ground rather than
pay, his sons provided the money and sent him back. Such cases are
constantly occurring here, and they show bow strong the family
affections are in China.

[Sidenote: Rough justice.]

Another case was mentioned to me yesterday, which illustrates the very
roundabout way in which justice is arrived at among us all here. The
coolies in a French coolie ship rose. The master and mate jumped
overboard, and the coolies ran the ship on shore, where the crew had
their clothes, &c., taken from them, but were otherwise well treated.
On this a French man-of-war comes, proceeds to Swatow, which is fifty
miles from the scene of the occurrence, and informs the people that
they will bombard the place immediately unless 6,000 dollars are paid.
They got the money, but the mandarins at once squeezed it out of these
same Shroffs, saying, that as they brought the barbarians to the spot,
they must pay for the damages they inflicted. Meanwhile, the
'foreigners' have it, I apprehend, much their own way. They are
masters of the situation, pay no duties except tonnage dues, which are
paid by them at about one-third of the amount paid by native vessels
of the same burthen!

[Sidenote: Mr. Burns.]

Hearing that Mr. Burns, a missionary, whose case is narrated in the
series of 'insults by the Chinese authorities' submitted to Parliament
(he having been in fact very kindly treated, as he himself
acknowledges), was at the island, I in