Feb. 19th.-A NEW translation, or, rather, a revision of former translations, of the Holy Scriptures into Chinese occupied, at this time, a considerable share of attention. The whole of the Chinese version of the New Testament had been divided into a certain number of parts, which were assigned for revision to the missionaries at the vari-ous stations in China. The Gospel of St. Mark, and the Epistles of St. Paul to the Corinthians, were apportioned to the missionaries at Amoy. The revised translation made at each missionary station was to be sent around to the missionaries at the other stations, for their approval or correction. The revised translation of the whole New Testament, with the suggested corrections of the missionaries at the various stations, were to be sent to some place of general meeting, probably Hong Kong, where delegates, one from each station, would be intrusted with, the important task of final revision. The translation ultimately agreed upon was to be considered a standard edition, possessing the general sanction of the whole body of Protestant missionaries in China.

On this and the following days I was present at the local committee of translation from half-past eleven A.M. to one P.M. The three most experienced missionaries were present with their Chinese teachers, one of whom was a literary graduate. A few old men from among the regular attendants on divine worship were also generally present, and sometimes entered into conversation when any topics of discussion arose. After prayer for the help of the Holy Spirit on the work of making known the word of God in the Chinese tongue, the work of revision commenced at 1 Cor., iii., 5, about twelve verses being accomplished on each day. The original Greek text was first consulted, and rendered into its close and literal meaning. Medhurst's Chinese version was then read aloud; and, being considered, on the whole, as the best of the previous translations, was made the groundwork of the new undertaking. Reference was afterward made to Morrison's Chinese Version, and occasionally, also, to that of Gutzlaff, both versions being read aloud when there was any important variation. The missionaries, after discussing the passage among themselves, and conveying orally the meaning of the sacred text to the Chinese teachers, proceeded to receive the opinion of the latter on its idiomatic expression in the written language. On such occasions it was sometimes painful to me to witness the mirth and levity with which Morrison's renderings were criticised by the Chinese, the most ridiculous misconceptions being conveyed to their minds by the literal and unidiomatic character of that version. Medhurst's version appeared to be a more free translation than that of Morrison, being sometimes paraphrastic, but generally idiomatic. It was esteemed by the natives present as greatly superior in its style of Chinese composition to the other versions extant. Gutzlaff's version was considered an approximation to that of Medhurst, on which it was intended, however, to be an improvement, by being more literal. The teachers generally shook their heads as the last two versions were read, and appeared almost invariably to prefer that of Medhurst, in which, however, some emendations and corrections were occasionally made. These were noted down by the teachers, and a fair copy was afterward made out, at their leisure, of the renderings, as finally approved and adopted, by consent of the whole party.

In the evening all the missionaries proceeded in company to the te-tok's palace within the citadel, where the five high mandarins of Amoy jointly gave a special entertainment to the missionary body.

Hoo Chun, a tax-gatherer, who also acted in the capacity of confidential agent to the mandarins, paid us two or three previous visits, in order to arrange the day and hour according to our mutual convenience, and also to ascertain our wishes in regard to the detailed arrangements of the entertainment. One argument which he employed to induce us to accept the invitation was that our minds should not be shocked by any impropriety or excess; and that, if we wished it, no wine should be placed on the table. Hoo Chun made one of these visits as we were sitting down to dinner, and accepted our invitation to partake of the meal. According to our usual custom after grace was said, each of us repeated a text of Scripture. At the close of this, Hoo Chun, evidently understanding the nature of our words, unexpectedly closed his hands, and, in a low voice, offered up the simple words, To seay Shang-te, "Many thanks, Almighty." In the course of subsequent conversation he frequently expressed a hope that the missionariE1s would make him acquainted with any request or favor which they might wish to obtain from the authorities, as he would manage the matter for them.

At 5 P.M:, we passed within the city gate, and soon arrived at the entrance of the palace, where Hoo Chun and another officer met us, and ushered us into a waiting-room Here we had to wait a few minutes, while Hoo Chun pre pared our Chinese cards, which we had forgotten to bring with us. They were very particular in observing these little matters of etiquette, before our arrival was announced to the great men. Soon after we were conducted in due state through the great central folding-doors, which were thrown open for us to enter. We passed onward, between two lines of attendants, and through a succession of courts and folding-doors, to a flight of steps, at the top of which four of the mandarins came out to offer us their greeting, which latter ceremony they generally performed with both hands. The arrangements for placing us in the most honorable seats occupied about five minutes, at the end of which, the loud discharge of three guns, and the sonorous cries of attendants clearing the way, announced the approach of his excellency the taou-tai. He soon after arrived, in his sedan at the outer flight of steps, with a company of guards and attendants, carrying red umbrellas and the usual insignia of office. All the four officials went out to receive him as he alighted, and escorted him into the reception-hall, where he came and shook hands with us all round. The same ceremony and etiquette was observed among themselves about the honorable seats, till at last each took his place according to his official precedence. They were all attired in costly sable furs, and wore a knob on their caps, and various embroidered badges on their bosoms, indicative of their respective ranks. The te-tok and hai-hong alone wore a peacock's feather, which is a kind of honorary decoration resembling the Order of the Bath. The te-tok had been recently restored to his honors, and now wore a red knob or button on his cap, as a military officer of the first class. Great attention was paid by the rest to the two Manchoo officers, especially to the taou-tai, who alone, with the admiral, enjoys the title of ta jin, or" His Excellency;" the others being styled ta laou-yay, or "His Lordship." After some conversation among themselves about the south-west wind and the weather, tea and pipes were brought in, and each was soon on familiar terms with his neighbor. My seat was next to that of the taou-tai, who took the opportunity of thanking me for a recent present of maps.

The tables were soon after arranged for the reception of the materials of a feast. When the announcement was made that every thing was ready, we had to spend another period of five minutes in arranging our seats, till at last we resigned ourselves to the disposal of our hosts, which had the effect of shortening the time of our standing. Two English missionaries were placed as a president and a vice-president at each end of the table, the rest of the foreign guests occupying the seats immediately on the right and left of the president and the vice-president. Our hosts themselves took the intermediate places in the center of the table, which are esteemed by the Chinese the lowest seats in their guest-chambers. The middle of the table contained little heaps of cakes, pickles, preserved fruits, and sweetmeats. Some chopsticks were placed before us, together with European spoons, knives, and forks, which they had borrowed for the occasion. Our little bowls and saucers were frequently changed, as stews and soups of birds' nests, pork, fish, sharks' fins, ducks, and marrow-bones, were served in rapid succession. Then followed roasted pigs, and a substantial joint of mutton, which they had provided lest we should he unable to make a meal of their Chinese and Manchoo dishes. When we relaxed our endeavors to do honor to their hospitality, they would unceremoniously dip their chopsticks, just issuing from their own mouths, into one of the dishes, and plentifully help us with the contents into our basins. After about twenty dishes, the serving of which lasted nearly two hours, rice was placed before us, as a signal that the festivities were nearly at an end. They frequently drank a small cup of fermented beverage made from rice, with which they repeatedly challenged each other. On each occasion, after swallowing the whole contents, they presented the cup in an inverted position, to show that they had duly honored the challenge. Small glasses of port wine were placed before ourselves, which some of our number, being rigid professors of the principles of total abstinence, omitted to drink. This led to our hosts making several inquiries; and, in explanation, they were informed of the origin of temperance societies. In reply to their questions, it was stated that total abstinence from wine was not deemed an essential point of our religion, but that each Christian judged for himself in the matter, carefully guarding against excess and abuse of God's blessings. Hereupon the mandarins exchanged some sly looks among themselves, and amused each other with some jokes at the expense of the Budhist priests, who, they said, were very strict in abstaining from flesh and wine during the day, but sometimes contrived to overcome their scruples on these points during the night.

The dishes were soon cleared away, and the red varnished tables were wiped with some paper napkins of the same kind as those placed for our own use. Their necklaces with their aromatic scent, which had been laid aside during the meal, were now brought and replaced over their necks by some attendants, about one hundred of whom stood around us. The cham-hoo, being the only officer who understood the local dialect, bore a principal part in the conversation, and generally interpreted to the others, our friend Chun hoo standing by, and sometimes volunteering to offer some remarks. The te-tok ordered his English barometer, which he had purchased from a Chinese at a high price, to be placed on the table before him; and he now seemed greatly annoyed at its supposed failure, as it had not predicted the change of wind which took place during the day. The same functionary expatiated on the dangers of the sea, to which the wife of one of the missionaries present was exposed in her voyage to Europe, in ill health; among which he mentioned the existence of ice-bergs, some of which he had seen in his cruises off the northern coast of China. Concerning the cause of icebergs, he advanced some strange theories, and stated that he was of opinion that they were nothing else than frozen masses of sea-water, and that the waves, when dashing aloft in a storm, were suddenly frozen into a heap! The hai-quan also wished to show us his incipient knowledge of English, by trying to pronounce our English numerals up to ten. He asked several questions about Russia, France, England, and America, especially inquiring whether the English and Americans had the same written character as well as the same spoken language. He also wished to know whether the English could speak the Mongul-Tartar language, or the Russian language; the latter question being probably suggested by his recollections of the Russian linguists at Peking. Tea and tobacco were again brought, and we were soon enveloped in clouds of smoke. They all evinced great refinement and politeness of manner toward each other, and appeared to be on terms of friendly cordiality among themselves. As they performed their civilities toward each other, the thought, however, would intrude itself on our minds of the hollow insincerity and duplicity which lurked beneath the surface of their polite manners and friendly bearing. Each lived on the proceeds of extortion practiced on the people; while each, again, had to disgorge a portion of his ill-acquired gain to his superior officer. The taou-tai, a Manchoo, was stationed at Amoy, principally as a spy on the proceedings of the other officers, and as a check against the influence of those of purely Chinese descent. He had scarcely any duties to perform, but reaped a rich revenue from his connivance at the extortions of the subordinate authorities. It was currently reported among the Chinese at Amoy, that he annually received from the hai-hong, as a douceur, more than double the salary received from the government by the latter. The mode by which? this additional sum is realized receives a ready explanation from the generally prevalent practice of bribery and sale of justice.

We took our departure amid many compliments and apologies; some of them expressing regret that they should have given us such a paltry entertainment, and stating their fear that we had eaten nothing. They accompanied us to the outer court, where the attendants supplied each of us with a flaming flambeau, by the blazing glare of which we passed through the streets to our home. Ponies, strangely caparisoned with trappings and bells, were waiting for the officials in the outer court of the palace. The taou-tai immediately followed as soon as we had left, as the three guns and the pipings of musicians quickly informed our ears. The people in the adjoining streets gazed on us as we came forth from the precincts of the palace, and were apparently astonished by this discovery of the new inroads of foreign influence on the policy of their rulers. The attentions which we received were of the most marked character, no Europeans ever having received similar honor, who, like ourselves, were not indebted for the distinction to the fact of their filling official appointments under the British government. The principal motive which prompted these attentions was, doubtless, a desire to confer a testimonial of respect on the missionaries, although selfish motives may have exerted their influence in the matter.

In a country like China, where foreigners have in past times been systematically depreciated by the ruling authorities, these marks of official respect are calculated to exert a favorable influence on the popular disposition toward missionaries, and to disarm the native mind of any latent fears of persecution by their rulers, on professing themselves converts to the religion of western nations.


CHAPTER XXXIII. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF AMOY.
Early Intercourse with Europe-Commercial Enterprise of the People-Chinese Emigrants-Topography of the City and Island-The" White Stag Hill"-Boundary Regulations-A Roman Catholic Village--Another explanatory Edict of religious Toleration-Attempts at Concealment by the Mandarins-Local Prizes for literary Merit¡ªMoral Degradation of the People-Missionary Aspect of Amoy.

THE city of Hea-mun, or, as it is commonly called by foreigners, from a corruption of the final nasal sound of the local dialect, Amoy, is situated in latitude N. 24¡ã 32', and in longitude 118¡ã 6' E. Even under the old system of intercourse with China, Amoy was better known to Europeans than most cities on the coast. This circumstance arose partly from the attempt made in former times, by the East India Company, to open a trade with the people; but principally from the enterprising spirit of the people themselves, which led them to settle, for the purposes of commerce, in the various countries and islands bordering on the China Sea. At so early a period as A.D. 1676, a ship was dispatched from England to Amoy, with the object of establishing a factory. This attempt was successful; but the trade was afterward interrupted by the civil wars which raged in China. In 1680 the Tartars expelled the, Chinese from Amoy, and destroyed the factory of the company. In 1784 the Tartar general, who commanded the district, permitted the factory to be reestablished. In the following year the company's residents at Amoy declared, in an official report, that, "having had five months' experience of the nature and quality of these people, they could characterize them no otherwise than as devils in men's shapes;" and they further stated, "that to remain exposed to the rapaciousness of the avaricious governors was considered as more detrimental than the trade would be beneficial." "The factory was, however, continued, till an imperial edict, which limited the foreign trade to Canton, compelled the company's officers to withdraw.

The commercial enterprise of the people is to be seen in the fact that Amoy, though possessing only an estimated population of about 150,000, has three times as large a number of trading-junks as the important capital of the province itself. The people emigrate in large numbers to Borneo, Siam, Singapore, Malacca, Batavia, Samarang, and other places in Java; to which parts they resort in the hope of realizing fortunes by commerce, and returning to enjoy the fruits of their industry in their native land. The few who return are generally poor, and excessively vitiated in morals. Their turbulent conduct is often a source of difficulty to the local government; and, as subjects of missionary instruction, they have been generally found to be far less hopeful than those who have never emigrated. A considerable trade exists between Amoy and the island of Formosa, from which junks arrive with cargoes of rice, sugar, oil, and groundnuts. From Shanghai and Ningpo there is an import trade of cotton, vermicelli, furs, and felt-caps. From Foo-chow the coasting-junks bring spars and oranges. Canton supplies cloth, camlet, shoes, and fine manufactures. From the Straits of Malacca there is a large importation of grain, beche-le-mer, Brazil-wood, and a kind of hard wood for making masts and anchors. In return for these articles, the people of Amoy export large quantities of tea, bricks, shoes, umbrellas, crockery-ware, iron utensils, and, lastly, idols. During the past year five European or American vessels have left Amoy with Chinese emigrants, as passengers to the Straits of Malacca. In each vessel there were between one and two hundred natives, each of whom paid a fare of ten or twelve dollars. They are generally huddled together on the deck, and, unless the vessel makes a rapid passage, have to suffer great privations. The difficulty of obtaining a livelihood renders the people willing thus to venture on the unknown trials of foreign lands. The poor, who thus emigrate to other countries, generally find that their hopes are disappointed, and are stated, by the missionaries in those parts, to be the most degraded part of the population. A partial exception exists at Batavia, where there are several wealthy Chinese, two or three of whom ride in fine carriages, after European style.

The island of Amoy extends about twelve miles in length and ten in breadth. It contains one hundred and thirty-six villages and hamlets, the population of the whole island amounting to about 400,000, less than one half of whom are included in the city. Its geological formation consists of one continued ridge of black rocks, which, when recently broken, present a light-gray color; but after being exposed for some time to the atmosphere and rains, resume their original black appearance. Like a stupendous citadel of natural formation, a range of towering cliffs, varying in height, extends over the whole island, leaving, for the work of tillage, portions of low, undulating ground, between their base and the sea. On the top of the ridge there are two or three miles of highly-cultivated table-land. In the northern and eastern parts of the island a few miles of level sandy soil intervene between the hills and the beach, and yield a supply of rice, wheat, and vegetables.

The city of Amoy is built in a long, straggling form, and occupies a promontory, so as to be surrounded on three sides by the sea. The city proper, or citadel, is of small extent, being surrounded by a wall less than a mile in circuit, through which there are four gates leading into the outer city. Very little commerce is transacted within the city proper, the te-tok's palace and gardens occupying a considerable space, and abutting on the wall, so as to interrupt the visitor in his walk around the citadel. The streets of Amoy are very narrow and dirty, and the houses, with few exceptions, are of the poorest description. A few buildings with decent exterior occasionally relieve the general appearance of poverty.

Among the temples there are some remarkable buildings. The collection of temples situated on the hill commonly called the ¡°White Stag Hill" deserves particular mention. They consist of a cluster of buildings perched on overhanging rocks, and present, from the summit, a most romantic view of the city and its busy population, at the distance of a mile. Some of the inscriptions on the temple walls, in this beautiful retreat, are of more than ordinary interest. A tablet, inscribed with the sentence, "The practice of virtue is the principal thing," is soon after succeeded by another, containing the announcement, "If men will pray to heaven's supreme Ruler, there will ensue peace, rest, and happiness."

Another interesting temple lies close to the foot of the hills, in the higher part of the long plain on the southern beach. Being situated only half a mile above the long line of fortifications forming the sea-battery, this temple was exposed to much danger from the fire of the British vessels of war. One large cannon-ball is in the possession of the priests, being presented and exhibited to the visitor as a proof of the sanctity and power of the idol. The walls of the building were perforated, and other serious damage was inflicted by the ball, which, however, they assert, was miraculously arrested in its career of destruction, so as to stop at the foot of the idol.

The city contains but few individuals of great wealth, notwithstanding the commerce of the place. This is accounted for by the fact that Amoy is only of small importance as a city, being included in the boundaries of Tung-hwa heen, on the mainland, one of the districts in the department of Chwan-chew foo. Amoy is a mere outport to the more important cities of Chang-chew and Chwan-chew, in which the native merchants, who have been enriched by successful commerce, live in the enjoyment of the refinements and luxury of wealth. Amoy bears the same relation to Chang-chew, which Shanghai bears to Soochow; and the Chinese diplomatists would gladly have limited the whole proceedings of foreign commerce to cities of this order, so as to exclude Europeans from the real abodes of wealth and manufacturing industry. This may account for the strong objections which are said to have been urged by the Chinese plenipotentiaries, against the opening of Foochow, the capital of the province, to the trade of the British.

The boundaries beyond which foreigners are prevented from extending their visits have been fixed by arrangements with the acting consuls, at the distance of a "day's journey." On this term a very strict construction has been placed, so as to prohibit any foreigners from going more than half a day's journey from the city, and to compel their return to Amoy before sunset. As the day is interpreted as commencing with sunrise and ending at sunset, and as a visit in a boat to the opposite mainland would ordinarily consume the greater part of a forenoon, it will be seen that this regulation virtually limits foreigners to the island of Amoy, even in the villages of which they are not allowed to pass a night, but are under the necessity of returning before sunset to the city.

The Roman Catholics are numerous in some districts of the neighboring mainland.

The French embassador and suite, during their recent visit to Amoy, visited a village about forty miles distant, in which nearly the whole population were Roman Catholics. His excellency afterward spoke of his heart being kindled with the fire of religious enthusiasm, as he beheld the joyous spectacle of the inhabitants coming forth with crosses and medals hanging on their bosoms. About 500 persons in this village, and the same number in some neighboring villages, professed Christianity. The priest, a Spaniard, named Francisco Zea, openly performed his ministrations among them, attired in Chinese costume. At the period of the visit of the French, a chapel, estimated to cost 1800 dollars, was advancing toward a state of completion. It was built of brick, partly in European and partly in Chinese style, and was ninety feet in length by forty in breadth. The interior was adorned by two rows of pillars, and the arrangements of the altar were adapted to the strictest models of Popish architecture. The French plenipotentiary contributed a sum of money toward its erection. The perfect notoriety, among the mandarins, of the priest's residence and employments was established beyond a doubt.

During the period of my residence at Amoy, the intelligence arrived of another explanatory edict of religious toleration having been issued by the Chinese government. In this document a full recognition was contained of the equal privileges of foreigners of all countries; and free toleration was conferred on all the religions of western nations, without partiality or distinction. The second edict, which apparently limited the toleration of the" religion of the Lord of Heaven" to the professors of the Roman Catholic religion, had a short time previously been made a subject of diplomatic correspondence with Ke-Ying by the British governor of Hong Kong; who, with commendable decision, extorted from the former a recognition of the equal toleration of the Protestant and Roman Catholic religions. A promise was made that this public document should be extensively circulated by the Chinese authorities among the people at each of the five consular ports. Although some weeks had elapsed, for a time only one copy of the document was discovered at Amoy. After a few days, however, a second copy was also observed on some remote suburban wall; while at the usual places for placarding government notifications, viz., at the gates of the city, not a single copy was to be seen.

Although the population of Amoy are generally of the poorest class, and fewer external signs of wealth meet the eye than in any of the other newly opened cities of China, there are not wanting those literary institutions which are designed to impart a stimulus to native scholarship. As Amoy is not included in either of the three regular classes of cities, no literary degrees are conferred on the spot. There are, however, about 200 sew-tsai in the place, some of whom have purchased their degree. The candidates for literary distinction have to go for examination from Amoy to the city of Chwan-chew, which is the head of the department. As it has been already intimated, the examinations for the higher degree of keu-jin are only held at Foo-chow, the capital of the province. Of the estimated number of seventy keu-jin in the whole department of Chwan-chew, only three belong to Amoy; while of the higher degree of tsin-sze, there is not one graduate among the natives of the city. Several scholars are said to attend the examinations at Chwan-chew, who have little prospect of obtaining a degree, but who are encouraged by the hope of gaining a pecuniary reward for their composition. In Amoy itself there are forty prizes, of about four dollars each, annually distributed among the resident scholars for the best literary disquisitions on a given subject. Both the sew-tsai graduates and the undergraduates are permitted to compete for these rewards. The prizes, however, are divided into two classes; equal sums of money being given to the first ten sew-tsai and to the first ten undergraduates in the scale of merit under each respective division. A prize of secondary value is reserved also for the ten individuals, who respectively occupy the next place of merit in each class of candidates. One thousand candidates are said generally to attend these annual examinations. An impulse is thus given to the industry of the lowest scholars, a large number of whom can be easily obtained as teachers for little more than half the monthly sum payable in the other consular cities. But the missionaries find that really efficient teachers, deeply versed in the Chinese classics, and willing to bestow diligent attention on their foreign pupils, are not to be obtained without much difficulty.

The local dialect of Amoy, or, more strictly speaking, that of Chang-chew, is the dialect which was principally studied, in former times, by the missionaries among the Chinese emigrants in Singapore and Batavia, and was commonly termed the Fokeen dialect. This term has sometimes produced a misapprehension as to its prevalence throughout tbe whole province. The author has met natives of Foo-chow, the capital of Fokeen, who were unable to exchange a single sentence, in the Amoy dialect, with a missionary who had a perfect knowledge of the dialect of the latter place.

The preceding statements will have been sufficient to convey to the reader a general impression of the character of this missionary field, of the results of present operations, and of the mingled difficulties and encouragements in the path of labor. The facts already recorded will suggest a tolerably correct idea of the frienaliness of disposition, the strict subjection to recognized principles of national law, the close bond5sof family union, the thrifty industry, and the enlightened common sense, which generally characterize this portion of a race of people whom we have been too willing, in former times, on the one band, to regard as semi-barbarous; and whose civilization and refinement we have been too much disposed, on the other hand, to commend and exaggerate. But if we were to stop at this point of the narrative, and to content ourselves with this superficial view, we should be induced to form too favorable a judgment of their real social condition. Facts of daily occurrence, brought to the knowledge of the missionaries, and frequently gained through the medium of the Missionary Hospital, revealed the prevalence of the most fearful immoralities among the people, and furnished a melancholy insight into the desolating horrors of paganism. Female infanticide openly confessed, legalized by custom, and di-vested of disgrace by its frequency; the scarcity of females leading, as a consequence, to a variety of crimes, habitually staining the domestic hearth; the dreadful prevalence of all the vices charged by the Apostle Paul upon the ancient heathen world; the alarming extent of opium-indulgence, destroying the productiveness and natural resources of the people; the universal practice of lying and suspicion of dishonesty between man and man; the unblushing lewdness of old and young; the full, unchecked torrent of human depravity, borne along in its impetuous channel, and inundating the social system with the over flowings of ungodliness, prove the existence of a kind and a degree of moral degradation among the people, of which an excessive statement can scarcely be made, and of which an adequate conception can rarely be formed. Such is the moral and social condition of a population among whom the banner of the Gospel has at length been unfurled, and to whom its life-giving truths are now, in humble faith, proclaimed.

There are only a few peculiar features in the character of this missionary station, and of these a brief recapitulatory sketch is here subjoined. Amoy is the least important of all the ports of China open to foreigners, in respect of size, population, and the class of its inhabitants. It labors, also, under the disadvantage of having but a limited intercourse with other provinces, and of being, therefore, unlikely hereafter to exert any considerable influence on the inhabitants of the interior in the diffusion of Christian truth. The lamented diminution in the members of the missionary families by death, or removal to a more genial clime, suggests, also, the fear of its being less salubrious than the more northerly ports. On the other hand, however, Amoy is in advance of every other missionary station along the coast, in the extraordinary friendliness of the people, the marked attentions and favor of the authorities, and the popularity and moral influence acquired by the missionaries. Much of this is doubtless to be ascribed to the longer period of time during which missionaries have been resident in Amoy, and to the daily intercourse held with all classes of the people for the purpose of oral instruction, without the distracting care of educational institutions. Although matters are progressing toward the same favorable result at the other stations, yet, at the present time, we look in vain elsewhere in China for those decisive indications, which have been enumerated, of a good impression already produced on the native community.

May the fertilizing showers of the Divine blessing descend on the seed thus sown in hope; and may the further and more satisfactory results of real conversion of heart to the Gospel speedily follow in the track of the general moral effects already produced!

CHAPTER XXXIV.   DEPARTURE FROM AMOY, AND THIRD VISIT TO CANTON.
Incidents of last Sabbath at Amoy-Farewell Attentions of Chinese Friends -Voyage to Hong Hong-Visit to Canton-Comparative Review of missionary Openings at Canton and in the Northern Ports of China-Recent Riots at Canton-Difficulties of Ke-Ying-Present Dangers of China-An Apology for the Chinese Government in their Exclusion of Opium-The Duty of the Christian Legislators of Britain.

ON Feb. 22d, being the last Sabbath of my residence at Amoy, I attended the various missionary services, and was requested, at the close of the sermon at the American Mission chapel, to address a few words to the people in the court dialect. I informed them of the circumstances which caused me to return to my native land, and of the probable arrival of other missionaries in my place, concluding with the inquiry, whether the prospect of new laborers coming to re-enforce the missionary body afforded them pleasure. One of the teachers interpreted my parting words, with long comments, in the local dialect, to the people standing around, fifty of whom were soon collected about the pulpit, where they remained for another half hour, offering their farewell greetings and shaking hands. As they did not seem disposed to separate, the missionary who had been preaching proceeded to hold a dialogue with some of their number. Some of them hazarded illustrations of their own on the subjects which they had heard in the sermon. On being asked whether they would welcome among them any additional missionaries, and would rejoice at their arrival, they replied, "Yes." On being again asked why they wished missionaries to come among them, some said, "Because you love us;" others said, "Because you talk so kindly with us.¡± The missionary then reminded them of the consequences of slighting the message of the Gospel, and of the possibility of all the missionaries being removed from among them, as a punishment of their spiritual indifference. Another shaking of hands took place as I left the building, some of my more intimate acquaintances asking at what hour on the next morning I expected to take my departure, and expressing their wish to do me the honor of accompanying me a little distance on my way.

Accordingly, early the next morning six teachers and neighbors came to the house, waiting for my departure. They accompanied me to the loading place, where, on getting into my boat, I bade them adieu. They would, however, insist on hiring a boat, and rowing for two miles, a little astern of my boat, to the outer harbor, till we arrived alongside the man-of-war in which I was to embark. Here, as I ascended the gangway, my Chinese friends exchanged with me a last farewell by waving their hands, and were soon on their way back through the harbor to Amoy. Shortly after we were proceeding on the voyage to Hong Kong, and in a few hours were out of sight of localities, the remembrance of which will ever be endeared to my mind by the kind friendship of all the missionary brethren, and the incidents of my stay of more than six weeks.

During the first two days of our voyage we experienced light head winds, and on the third day we had a strong contrary breeze from the southeast. On the fourth day there sprung up a fresh breeze from the northeast, before which we sailed at a rapid rate. In the afternoon we were already off Pedra Branca, and finding that we were unable to reach the entrance among the islands before sunset, we were forced to heave to for the night, as there was no moon, the wind increasing to a gale. At daybreak on Friday, Feb. 27th, we found that we had drifted a few miles to the leeward of the island of Hong Kong. After an hour's beating to windward, we passed through the Limoon passage on the east, and soon came to anchor in Victoria harbor.

VISIT TO CANTON.
During the course of the following month of March I paid a visit to Canton, for the purpose of ascertaining the state of popular feeling, and the progress of the missionary work since my visit about eleven months previously. In the intervening period of time a few more missionaries had removed from Hong Kong to Canton. Among these was the Rev. Dr. Bridgman, a missionary of considerable experience, who had formerly resided for ten years at Canton. The Missionary Hospital had become more fully than ever identified with the missionary cause; and a few of the missionaries were assisted by Leang Afa in regularly holding a Sabbath service among the patients, of whom generally one hundred assembled for the purpose. All other public services, however, were now at an end, except at the missionaries' own residences.

The writer could have wished that, on his last visit to this populous city, he had been permitted to cherish a more favorable opinion of the spirit of the populace, and the extent of missionary openings at Canton. Candor, however, compels him to express how wide and marked is the difference between the friendly and peaceable demeanor of the people in the more northerly cities, and the arrogant turbulence of spirit which still forms the distinguishing characteristic of the Canton mob. He calls to mind the happy period of free and unrestrained intercourse which he held with all classes of native society in other parts of China, and the fair measure of personal respect which was there extended to missionary laborers, among rulers and people, among rich and poor, in the heart of crowded cities, and in the retirement of distant villages. And he can not avoid contrasting the enlarged measure of freedom possessed by foreigners in those other ports, with the narrow limits of a few streets in an inconsiderable suburb, within which foreigners are virtually imprisoned as a despised and insulted portion of the community at Canton.

The time of my last visit was one of great popular excitement. The mob had shown a strong disposition to take the reins of authority into their own hands. The local government was in a state of paralysis. Ke-Ying's proclamation, extending to foreigners the right of entering the city, and admonishing the people that "all that the earth contained and the heavens covered should dwell together in friendship and amity," "without any line of demarcation," had thrown the whole population into a ferment of discontent and rebellion. Contrary placards of defiance were issued by the enraged people; and the palace and offices of the kwang-ckow foo, or "prefect," were burned by a mob, ostensibly for the maltreatment of some Chinese, but really as an ebullition of popular indignation against the framers of the recent edict. The mandarins were publicly insulted whenever they issued from their dwellings; and a general attack on the foreign factories was meditated by the rabble. The proclamations of the Chinese authorities were revoked; and public intimation was given by them that the will of the people should prevail, and the "Barba-rians" (such is the precise term of the proclamation!) should not be allowed to enter the city. A British war-steamer arrived and anchored off the foreign residences. The local military sympathized with the populace in their antipathy to foreigners, and could not be depended on for quelling the disturbances. Ke-Ying had sent elsewhere for military reinforcements, and, after a period of preparation, had at length assumed a decided tone of authority, and apprehended some of the ringleaders of the mob. Popular violence had thus for a time been suppressed, and the authority of Chinese law again predominated; but no foreigner could extend his walks with safety far from the foreign factories.

In the mean time the island of Chusan had been retained by the British, on the plea of this nonfulfillment of the conditions of peace at Canton, beyond the stipulated time, when the last sum of indemnity was paid in the month of February. Notwithstanding the interviews between the Chinese and British plenipotentiaries, the matter could not be adjusted amid the conflicting difficulties produced by the lawless violence of the Canton mob. On the one hand was represented the readiness of the British to cede Chusan, when the spirit of the treaty of Nanking should be fulfilled by the admission of British subjects into the city, ¡°withthout molestation or restriction." On the other hand, Ke-Ying, who had rendered himself personally responsible to the emperor for the punctual restoration of Chusan, strongly deprecated this retention of the island. He represented that it was the sure precursor of unmerited ruin to himself: was calculated to perpetuate, in the minds of the Chinese, a distrust of British integrity; and was, moreover, unnecessary for the preservation of the commercial facilities and privileges of foreigners. The local gentry and scholars ventured to suggest extreme measures against the faithless Barbarians; and the country-people, blindly supposing that they were as superior in strength as in numbers, endeavored to bring matters to a crisis, from the evil consequences of which they were able to retire to their own villages beyond the reach of British retaliation. The native merchants and shopkeepers, who had capital and property to lose, seemed alone to be devoid of sympathy with the belligerent populace, and to tremble for the consequences of a collision.

In the midst of these turmoils and anxieties, the bodily frame of Ke-Ying began rapidly to sink. Haemoptysis followed, and he suffered also from a cataract found on one eye. As the missionary physician applied the stethoscope to his breast, Ke-Ying remarked, ¡°I have a disease of my head, which no physician can cure." For a time he was incapacitated from business, and appeared to labor under mental aberration.
[Cbusan was ceded to the Chinese government by the British plenipo-tentiary in the following month of July]

Such signs of the insurrectionary state of the people will make it apparent to every mind that, in the event of another collision with China, the danger arises of a war, not, as in the last conflict, with her rulers, but with her people, the important consequences of which are removed beyond the limits of human foresight. The peaceful character of the people in other parts of China, and the generally perceptible desire of the Chinese authorities to preserve order and protect strangers, afford a guaranty for the continuance of pacific relations. Peace, however, may at any moment be disturbed by some local outrage at Canton, followed, on the part of the British government, by demands of reparation and indemnity, to which the Chinese government may be unable or unwilling, in the state of the popular mind, to concede.

Many are disposed to regard the anomalous state of affairs, which has been described, as a mark of decay, and the presage of ruin to the power of the present dynasty, if not to the stability of the empire itself. But it is important that such opinions should be modified by the reflection that insurrections and turmoils have been frequent in every reign, and that the populace at Canton have been for centuries in a continual state of partial rebellion. Amid these dangers from within, the safety of China depends on her avoiding perils from without. Her principal danger is that of another foreign collision, fomented alike by the blind arrogance of the anti-European party at Peking and the excited feelings of the mob at Canton. Her real interests lie in the adoption of a liberal policy toward "outward nations," in the accommodation of her government to the new emergency which has been created, and in the residence of foreign embassadors at Peking. Unless she thus remodel her system of policy, and abandon her isolated position among the kingdoms of the earth, she must remain stationary in knowledge, in arts, in power, in wealth, and in all the more substantial blessings of a progressive civilization.

EXCLUSION OF OPIUM BY IMPERIAL EDICTS.
Among the more prominent characters now moving in the grand drama of Chinese politics, there is no one who appears better adapted to arrest the progress of national decay than the pacific and enlightened Ke-Ying himself, who, from the secret perusal of the books of foreigners, has imbibed no inconsiderable knowledge of the religion of Christian lands.
There is another rock of danger, which may, in a no less degree, cause a wreck of the national resources, and, if such an expression be strictly applicable to a pagan people, of the national morals; and for the removal of this source of danger Britain is in a great measure responsible. The Chinese, as a government, have been, during the last half century, opposed to the introduction of opium into the country. Individual officers, for the sake of peace or bribes, have doubtless connived at the evil; but, as a government, they have prohibited, by distinct and explicit laws, the introduction of opium into the country, by that inalienable, inviolable right by which every independent government can exclude articles of contraband traffic. Consistently with the prohibited importation of opium from foreign lands, its growth has been interdicted in China itself, in six provinces of which it has, at various times, been clandestinely raised. The Chinese government have always had it in their power to exclude foreign opium, by the simple process of encouraging the growth of the poppy on their own soil. They have, however, pursued the opposite course¡ªno slight evidence that, amid all the instances of venal and corrupt connivance on the part of the subordinate officials in the maritime provinces, the moral evils greatly, if not principally, influenced the prohibition of opium by the imperial government. This opposition commenced in the reign of Kea-King, at the close of the last century, whose proclamation against opium, in 1796, preceded by several years, the date when the balance against China, between the export and import of the precious metals, added another item to the sum of apprehended evils, giving birth to the suspicion in the mind of foreigners, that the fear of Sycee "oozing out of the country" outweighed or supplanted all moral considerations in the exclusion of opium. But although it should be granted that financial considerations of this kind may have strengthened, or even originated, in many cases, the opposition of the high Chinese authorities to the importation of opium, it may fairly be asked whether the considerations of financial expediency and self-interest may not properly be admitted to strengthen and confirm a policy which, for its primary force, rests on the obligations of conscience and on the eternal principles of moral truth.

Equally untenable is the position of those who endeavor to palliate or defend the smuggling of opium into China on the plea that, if the government of a country enact prohibitory laws against any traffic, that government is bound to take effective measures to carry into execution the prohibition. Let, however, the armed smuggling-clippers, which have spread themselves over the whole length of the coast, proclaim the absurdity of such an argument, when addressed to a weak government like that of China, almost powerless in the arts of defense and war.

The opium-drain is severely felt in China. The more patriotic of the native scholars speak of the rapid decay of their cities from their ancient wealth and splendor as the consequence of the system. This subject is the great difficulty which will, sooner or later, embarrass the two governments. Let, then, the Christian legislators of Britain look to this evil, and boldly confront the danger. Opium is doubtless a profitable source of income to our Anglo-Indian government, which those who take a low view of the question may be unwilling to abandon. But let Indian revenues be collected from other sources than from a nation whose government we have humbled to the dust, and incapacitated for the rigorous enforcement of her tariff-laws. Britain bas incurred a heavy debt of responsibility in this matter; and unless the Christian course, which generosity and justice alike point out, be strictly followed, the page of history, which proclaims to future generations the twenty millions sterling consecrated on the altar of humanity to the cause of slave-emancipation, will lose all its splendor; yea, will be positively odious to the eye beside the counter-page which publishes our national avarice in reaping an annual revenue of two millions sterling from the proceeds of a contraband traffic on the shores of a weak and defenseless heathen empire. Britain has displayed her power, the giant's attribute. Let her also exhibit to the people and rulers of this pagan country the noble spectacle of a Christian government, superior to the arts of oppression, and actuated by a philanthropic regard to the best interests of mankind.

A LIST OF PROTESTANT MISSIONARIES, WHO ARE EITHER NOW IN CHINA, OR HAVE BEEN IN CHINA WITHIN THE LAST TWO YEARS

NAME ARRIVAL DATE  STATION SOCIETY    GENERAL REMARKS

Rev. W. Medhurst 1817 Shanghai L. M. S. Formerly at Batavia.
Rev. K C. Bridgman, D.D. 1830 Canton. A.B.C.F.M. Editor of Chinese Repository.
Rev. David Abeel Amoy Formerly at Singapore and Bangkok.
S. Wells Williams 1833 Macao -Missionary Press removed to Canton.
Rev. Peter Parker, M.D. 1834 Canton Missionary Hospital.
Rev. W. Deane Hong Kong A.B.B.F.M. Formerly at Bangkok.
Rev. J. L. Shuck 1836 Canton
Rev. J. J. Roberts. 1837 Canton Supported by private or local funds,
Rev. J. Stronach    Amoy London Missionary Society Formerly at Singapore
Rt. Rev. W. J. Boone, D.D. Shanghai.Am.Ep.Ch. Formerly at Batavia and Amoy.
Rev. Elihu Doty Amoy A.B.C.F.M. Formerly at Singapore and Borneo.
Rev. E. Pohlman..... Amoy Formerly at Singapore and Borneo
W. Young.... Amoy L.M.S. Many years a Catechist at Batavia.
Rev. D. Ball, M.D. 1838 Canton A.B.C.F.M. Formerly at Singapore.
W. Lockhart, M.R.C.S.. 1838 Shanghai L.M.S. Missionary Hospital.
Rev. S. R. Brown 1839 Hong Kong An American Missionary, Principal of Morrison Education Society¡¯s School
Rev. J. Legge, D.D. Hong Kong L.M.S. Formerly at Mallaca.
B. Hobson, M.D. Hong Kong Missionary Hospital.
Rev. W. Milne Uncertain Formerly at Macao and Ningpo.
J. C. Hepburn. M.D.. 1811 Amoy A.G.A.B.
W.C.Cumming, M.D. 1842 Amoy Missionary Hospital: supported by private funds from America.
Rev. W. M. Lowrie Ningpo
D. J. MacGowan, M.D. 1843 Ningpo A.B.B.F.M. Missionary Hospital.
R.Cole. 1844 Ningpo A.G.A.B. Missionary Press.
D. B. McCartee, M.D. Ningpo
Rev. T.W. Way Ningpo
Rev. W. Gillespie 1844 Hong Kong L.M.S.
Rev. George Smith, M.A. C.M.S. Exploratory tour to the five sports
Rev. T. M'Clatchie, B.A. Shanghai
Rev. T. Devan, M.D. Canton A.B.B.F.M.
Rev. A. W. Loomis Chusan A.G.A.B.
Rev. M. S. Culbertson Ningbo
Rev. A. P. Happer, M.D. Macao
Rev. J. Lloyd Amoy
Rev. Hugh Browne 1846 Amoy
T. Bonney Canton A.B.C.F.M.
Rev. W. Wood.
Rev. It. Graham ?
Rev. R. Fairbrother Shanghai L.M.S.
Rev. E. Syle Shanghai American Episcopal Church
Rev. T. Hudson Ningbo E.B.M.S.
Rev. T. Jerrom Ningbo
A. Bettelheim, M.D. 1846 Loo Choo Islands [A converted Jew; supported by a missionary fund specially raised for Loo Choo]
D. Macey Hong Kong [Recently arrived from America as assistant in the Morrison Education Society¡¯s School]

Rev. G. Gutzlaff, Chinese Interpreter and Secretary to the British Government at Hong Kong, makes occasional Missionary tours in the neighborhood with some native preachers.

The initials
L. M. S. = London Missionary Society.
A. B. C. F. M. = American Board for Conduction Foreign Missions
A. B. B. F. M. = American Baptist Board for Conducting Foreign Missions.
Am. Ep. Ch. = American Episcopal Church
A. G. A. B. = American General Assembly¡¯s Board
C. M. S. = Church (of England) Missionary Society
E. B. M. S. = English Baptist Missionary Society.

A Narrative of an Exploratory Visit to each of the Consular Cities of China, and to the Islands of Hong Kong and Chusan, in Behalf of the Church Missionary Society, in the years 1844, 1845, 1846, by the Rev. George Smith, M.A., of Magdalen Hall, Oxford, and Late Missionary in China

New York, Harper and Brothers Publishers, 52 Cliff Street, 1847

Scanned by Dr. Bill Brown Xiamen University MBA Center

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