enjoyment of all the rights
and privileges which the English law confers upon the citizen.

Many of the Europeans settled at Hong Kong were convinced that for
another thousand years one would be justified in using the
expression regarding China: "Thou art what thou wast, and thou wilt
be what thou art." Others again stated that contact with Europeans
at Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Singapore, and the accounts given by the
emigrants returning to China in thousands from California and
Australia are by slow degrees changing the aspect of the world in
the "heavenly empire," and thereby preparing for a revolution less
violent, but as thorough as that which has recently taken place in
Japan. If this comes about, China will be a state that must enter
into the calculation when the affairs of the world are settled, and
whose power will weigh very heavy in the scales, at least when the
fate of Asia is concerned. At Hong Kong and Canton the report was
current that the far-sighted Chancellor of the German Empire had
taken this factor into calculation in settling his plans for the
future.

Already the Chinese took part in the European life. A number of
Chinese names, as I have already said, were attached to the address
that was presented to me; at the Governor's reception many stout,
smiling heads provided with pigtails were seen; and Chinese had
taken part in the meetings at which the Governor's scheme of reform
was under discussion. There have also existed in the country from
time immemorial secret societies, which are said only to wait for a
favourable opportunity to endeavour to link their fates to the new
paths.[386] The observations that I made at Hong Kong and Canton
are, however, too superficial for me to wish to detain my reader
with these matters. I accordingly point to the numerous works on
these cities published by authors who have lived there as many
months or years as I have days, and proceed to sketch the
continuation of the voyage of the _Vega_.

Accompanied by the good wishes of many newly acquired friends, we left
the harbour of Hong Kong on the morning of the 9th November. It was my
original intention to steer our course to Manilla, but the loss of time
during our long stay in Japan compelled me to give up that plan. The
course was shaped, however, not directly for Singapore, but for Labuan,
a small English possession on the north side of Borneo. Its northern
extremity (the coal mine) lies in 5 deg. 33' N.L. and 1