Trade and Travel in the Far East Part 10

A trade suddenly thrown open with three hundred millions of human beings, is not likely to be completely developed in three, four, or five years; and I conceive that I am within the mark, when I hold out encouragement to my countrymen to quadruple their shipments to China. In April, May, and June, 1843, before the five ports of China were officially opened to foreign trade, and when visiting them was precarious, an unusually large quant.i.ty of British and American manufactures was poured into the China market. Ship after ship arrived from the manufacturing districts, with full cargoes; and the universal cry was, "What is to be done with all these goods?" I can tell the public what became of them. They were sold almost as fast as they arrived. Many of them were purchased, for the northern ports, by speculators, who, to a man, did well with them. Prices not only kept up, in spite of the heavy import duties, but actually continued to advance till the end of the year, when they were twenty per cent. higher than when all the cry was, "What is to become of these goods?" This spirited demand for goods at Canton and Hong Kong, continued up to March last, when I sailed from China. Whether the supply sent out this season, has exceeded the demand, or not, I have no means of ascertaining, while writing in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean; but I have no fear as to the result of any shipments that may have been made.

That the thanks of the mercantile world in general, and of its members in Great Britain in particular, are due to Sir Henry Pottinger for the very satisfactory conclusion to which he has brought the recent disturbances with China, and to Sir Hugh Gough and Sir William Parker for the gallant manner in which the warlike portion of the work was conducted, every unprejudiced man must allow. Though Sir Henry had not left China when I sailed, I presume that he will be in England before me _via_ Egypt; and nothing would give me greater pleasure on my arrival, than to find that he had been rewarded by his Sovereign by being made "Earl Nankin." His career has been a brilliant one; and that he may live many years to enjoy the fruits of his exertions, must be the wish of all that are likely to benefit by them.[26]

[Footnote 26: No such honour has been paid to Sir Henry, though his reception by his Sovereign, the Government, and the public, has been such as must amply have gratified him and all his friends.]

Whether or not we are shortly to have another Chinese war, is a problem I do not pretend to be able to solve: there are various opinions on the subject; but my own is, that every thing depends on the foreigners themselves. If the Consuls and others sent by Government to the five trading ports are firm and resolute men, who will never suffer the slightest infringement of the Treaty by the Chinese, without an energetic remonstrance,--if the captains of ships of war stationed at the five ports are strict in maintaining order among the masters and crews of the shipping of their nation,--if mercantile men take care, on the one hand, to give no cause of complaint by smuggling or otherwise, to the Chinese Authorities, and, on the other hand, to put up with nothing from them that is not borne out by the terms of the Treaty;--in short, if foreigners generally (under which term I include every person not a Chinese) unite together and stand up for the Treaty, the whole Treaty, and nothing but the Treaty,--I see no reason to suppose that it may not work well, and for many years to come. On the other hand, if Consuls vacillate in their intercourse with the Chinese authorities,--if captains of ships of war permit irregularities in the conduct of merchant seamen,--and if foreign merchants condescend to injure their fair fame by smuggling, in place of submitting to the very moderate duties imposed upon their trade by the new Chinese tariff,--all and each of them must take the consequences of their conduct; and they may rest a.s.sured, that the Chinese will always be ready to seize with avidity the slightest opportunity afforded them for charging foreigners with a breach of the Treaty. We must hope that foreigners resorting to China for the purposes of trade, or merely as travellers in search of health or of strange sights, will be sufficiently aware of the importance that is sure to be attached to their conduct, to avoid giving the Chinese just cause of complaint. Should they be careful on this point, and should the amicable relations now existing between the two countries remain uninterrupted, it will not take many years to convince the intelligent Chinese, that intercourse with what they are pleased to term the Barbarian nations of the earth, is not to be despised.

As for the result of another war, there cannot, I imagine, be two opinions. That Great Britain would be the victor, and the _gainer_ too, after a struggle of half a summer, is pretty certain; and that she would make the Chinese pay dearer for their temerity than they were made to do before, seems probable, and would be but just. The possession of Chusan and other eligible mercantile positions on the coast, would open fresh fields for the enterprise of our merchants, and for the employment of hundreds of seamen and others; and the fleet and army, after satisfying the Chinese that they were as able and as willing to fight as ever, might, with great advantage to their country, take a trip to j.a.pan, and try to prevail on the ruler of that _terra incognita_ to open his ports to foreign commerce. I would tell the Emperor of j.a.pan, You shall either be my friend or my foe. If the former, you must permit your subjects to trade with my people; and if the latter, you must try your strength with me. While there are tens of thousands of unemployed operatives in Great Britain, her rulers should omit no opportunity of extending her commerce; and their suffering the j.a.panese sullenly to exclude our shipping, while the Dutch enjoy the sole privilege of trading to their country, seems to me putting up with a state of things that ought not to exist.

CHAPTER XVIII.

NECESSITY OF APPOINTING BRITISH CONSULS IN THE SPANISH AND DUTCH COLONIES--NEW SETTLEMENT ON THE WESTERN COAST OF BORNEO--IMPORTANT DISCOVERY OF COAL ON THE NORTH-WEST COAST--CONCLUDING REMARKS.

It appears to me, that British commerce in the East, requires somewhat more care and attention from the Authorities in the mother country, than they have hitherto bestowed upon it. The trade carried on by British subjects with the Philippines, Siam, and the Dutch Colonies, is both extensive and important; but, not unfrequently, it suffers interruption from the Government of those countries, to the serious loss and inconvenience of the parties concerned. That a Consul or other properly authorised functionary is required to watch over the interests of British merchants trading to Manilla, Bang-kok, Batavia, Samarang, and Sourabaya in Java, and Padang on the west coast of Sumatra, is evident to every person at all acquainted with the trade of those places; and I will add a few facts by way of satisfying those who may be doubtful on the point.

In the first place, then, British subjects residing in, or shipping resorting to Manilla, are subject to the most arbitrary proceedings on the part of the Spanish Government,[27] who order merchants from the place, and ships from the harbour, at a day's notice, without ever condescending to state their reasons for such proceedings. It was only the other day that the British subjects residing in Manilla were, by an unlooked for and arbitrary order of the Governor, deprived of the professional aid of the medical pract.i.tioners of their own country then resident among them. These professional men were not, indeed, ordered to quit the place; but they were informed by an official proclamation, that no medical man would in future be permitted to practice in Manilla, unless in possession of a diploma from the college at Cadiz. This, of course, was equivalent to an order to quit, as no English physician could be expected to have such a doc.u.ment in his possession. A friend of mine, writing to me on this occasion, represents the act as tantamount to a sentence of death upon all foreigners resident in the Philippines.

While Spanish surgeons are allowed to practice among their countrymen in British Colonies, such a state of things ought not for a moment to be suffered by the British Government.

[Footnote 27: This remark has recently been confirmed beyond the possibility of denial, by the unjust and cruel sentence pa.s.sed by the Court of Justice in Manilla, on my esteemed friend, Mr. Robert Diggles, who, after having been led into great expense, and kept under the surveillance of the police for nearly two years, has been tried as a criminal, and sentenced to pay a fine of two thousand dollars, and banished the Philippines for six years. And for what, does the reader suppose? For kicking out of his house an impudent Spanish tailor who had presented himself there during a ball given by Mr. Diggles to Vice-Admiral Sir William Parker and Major-General Lord Saltoun, during their visit to Manilla in Her Majesty's ship Cornwallis.

From Lord Saltoun, on his return to Hong Kong, I received an account of this matter; and Mr. Diggles also sent me the particulars in writing. From the testimony thus tendered to me by an eyewitness whose word cannot for a moment be doubted, and by the party princ.i.p.ally concerned, in whose word I also place implicit confidence, I have no hesitation in making this public declaration, that Mr. Diggles has been partially, cruelly, unjustly, disgracefully, and tyrannically dealt with by the Government of Manilla. A letter I received yesterday from Singapore, gives room to hope that Mr. Diggles's banishment has been remitted, which I should be glad to hear confirmed, though it would be no adequate reparation for the injury he has sustained.--Hull, 1st November 1845.]

Next, as to Siam. It is well known to every person acquainted with the trade of that country, that its Sovereign, in defiance of all treaties, monopolizes, by unjust and tyrannical means, nine-tenths of the commerce of his dominions; that his agents watch for and seize every boat that approaches the capital with produce; that the produce so seized is carried to the King's warehouses; that he pays whatever price he pleases for the contents of the boat; that the produce so seized is very generally the property of other persons, (frequently British subjects,) who have advanced money to the planter on his growing crop; that British and other shipping resorting to Bang-kok for the purchase of produce, are compelled to buy from the King on his own terms, or to leave the port in ballast; and finally, that these proceedings are in direct opposition to the terms of an existing Treaty between Great Britain and Siam. A Consul at Bang-kok, and a visit twice a year from one of the ships of war cruizing in the China Sea and the Straits of Malacca, would put an entire stop to His Siamese Majesty's unwarrantable proceedings, as far as British subjects are concerned. Let Americans and others look after themselves.

Ill the Dutch Colonies, also, I can testify from personal observation, the British merchant is very frequently dealt with not less arbitrarily.

The Dutch Authorities are not content with prohibiting the importation into their Colonies of warlike stores and opium, (which they have an undoubted right to do,) but their regulations render a ship seizable, that enters their ports with either of those forbidden articles on board. This seems unreasonably hard and it puts the British merchant to expense an trouble oftener than may be supposed. A ship bound from London, Liverpool, or Glasgow, to Batavia and Singapore, (a very common destination,) dares not receive on board as freight, either a chest of Turkey opium, or a single Birmingham musket. If she does, she must give up all idea of calling at Batavia, where she would be immediately seized, for having such articles on board as cargo. Only four years ago, the British barque Acdazeer, bound from Bombay to China, with a cargo consisting of thirteen hundred chests of opium, was dismasted in a gale in the China Sea, and bore up for the port of Sourabaya, which she entered in distress, for the purpose of repairs, and for stores to enable her to prosecute her voyage. My memory does not serve me so as to enable me to state, whether the Acdazeer's visit to Java was before or after the promulgation of the law prohibiting ships with opium and warlike stores entering any of the ports of Netherlands India; but I think it was _before_ that regulation was made public. Be that as it may, the ship was in distress; and, as a matter of course, her Commander thought he was entering a friendly port. His astonishment may be conceived, when he was ordered by the Authorities to land all his cargo in the bonded stores, before the slightest a.s.sistance could be rendered to his vessel. What was to be done? Resistance was useless; and to prosecute his voyage with a disabled ship, impracticable. The cargo was accordingly landed, and the vessel's repairs were proceeded with. When these were finished, the Commander reported his being ready to receive his cargo on board again, and to proceed on his voyage; when he was told, that, before doing so, he must pay an _entrepot_ duty of one per cent. on the whole value. This he was compelled to do; and it amounted to the very considerable sum of 1300l. All goods landed in bond (or _entrepot_), in any of the ports of His Netherlands Majesty's East-Indian territories, are subject to a duty of one per cent. on being re-exported; but who ever heard of a ship that had put into harbour in distress, being _compelled_ to land her cargo, under the pretence that it was to prevent the possibility of any portion of it being smuggled, and of its commander being afterwards told, that, as the goods had gone into _entrepot_, the duty must be paid?

These facts may be sufficient to shew, that the appointment of Consuls at the different ports above named, is urgently needed as a protection to the British shipping visiting them. I have been told, that the Spanish and Dutch Governments have refused to receive or acknowledge Consuls in their Eastern possessions. If this is the case, the evil might be remedied by a note from Downing Street. The other ports of Netherlands India are, perhaps, not of sufficient importance, as regards English commerce, to authorise the expense of Consular appointments. If the opinion of so humble an individual as myself could be supposed to reach the ears of the British Premier, I would respectfully but earnestly call his attention to the foregoing remarks.

Another subject to which I am anxious to call the attention of the British Government, is, the advantages presented by establishing settlements on the north-western and western coasts of the Island of Borneo. The proceedings of my friend Mr. Brook[28] at Sarawak on the western coast, having been made public, it is only necessary for me here to remark, that Mr. Brook has already paved the way for the advantageous settlement of a British Colony in his neighbourhood, and to express a wish that Her Majesty's Government may take advantage of his spirited and praiseworthy exertions, and reward him for them. The influence which he has obtained over the wild and intractable natives (as they have been hitherto deemed) of that part of Borneo, the service which he has rendered to the mercantile interests of his country by his exertions in the suppression of piracy, the numbers of people whom he has induced literally to turn their swords into ploughshares, and the quiet, unostentatious way in which all this, and more than all this, has been effected, are not less surprising than creditable to his abilities, perseverance, and public spirit.

[Footnote 28: See Appendix II.]

The recent discovery of extensive veins of coal on the banks of the river of Borneo Proper, is my chief reason for calling public attention to the north-western coast of that island. The destruction by fire of the British ship Sultana, on her voyage from Bombay to China, and the subsequent imprisonment of Capt. Page, his wife, officers, pa.s.sengers, and crew, by the Rajah of Borneo Proper, led to the discovery in question. The Singapore Government, on hearing of Capt. Page's captivity, sent a steamer to procure his release; and it was the captain of this steamer who discovered the coal, several tons of which he collected and used on board his vessel. He described them to me as being of excellent quality for steamers, and to be had in unlimited quant.i.ties by simply digging away the upper crust of the earth to the depth of six inches, under which the coals lie in ma.s.ses. He was moreover informed, by the natives in the neighbourhood, (who, by-the-by, never use the coals, though they knew that they would burn, and called them "_Batu Api_" or fire-stones,) of the existence of much more extensive coal-veins a few miles further up the river. He had not time to visit the spot, but the natives a.s.sured him, that ships might be loaded from the surface. Of the depth or extent of the veins, they knew nothing; it is, however, more than probable, that, on the application of proper means, an unlimited supply of coals might be obtained. The importance of such a supply, now that Steam communication between Calcutta and Singapore has been established, and that the line will in all probability be shortly extended to China, requires no demonstration. In the event of a regular monthly overland mail being despatched from Hong Kong, to join the Calcutta line at Point de Galle[29] (Ceylon), it would not be out of the steamer's way, to touch and coal at Borneo: thence proceeding to Singapore, where she would not require coals, she would take in the mail, and proceed on her voyage. This plan would save the expense of forming a coal _depot_ at Singapore. All Her Majesty's steamers on the coast of China might be supplied with fuel from the same quarter, particularly as several empty ships go to China every season in search of freights homeward, which would gladly call at Borneo _en route_, and take in a cargo of coals, to be delivered at Hong Kong, at a moderate rate per ton. To establish this coal trade on a permanent footing, a treaty would require to be entered into with the Sultan of Borneo. This, I have no hesitation in saying, might be effected, and the requisite arrangements made with the Borneo Authorities by Mr. Brook, whose influence in that quarter is deservedly all-powerful. An establishment placed there, the chief or superintendent of which might be invested with Consular powers, would manage the coal business, and protect any unfortunate shipwrecked British seamen from ill treatment similar to that sustained by the captain and crew of the Sultana. So many vessels have from time to time disappeared and never been heard of, between Singapore and China, as to render it far from improbable, that there are numbers of British subjects now in confinement on the northern coasts of Borneo and Palawan. This probable or, at least, supposable case furnishes an additional argument in favour of placing some party, armed with power to protect such unfortunate persons, in some convenient spot in the neighbourhood. When I say, armed with power, I do not mean that arms should be put into the hands of those stationed to manage the coal-mines at Borneo, but that their superintendent should be empowered to use energetic language, and threats if need be, in the name of the British Government. The magic of a name is nowhere felt or understood more than among these same savages; in proof of which I may mention, that the Rajah of Borneo Proper gave up Capt. Page and his crew immediately on their being demanded in the name of the Governor of Singapore, though he had refused to listen for a moment to the proposals and demands previously conveyed by a well-armed schooner sent by Mr.

Brook from Sarawak to treat for the release of the Sultana's people, on hearing of their captivity. Even His Majesty of Siam stands in awe of the British name; and I could tell instances of his having paid deference to a few lines from the Singapore Authorities.

[Footnote 29: 1846; now in full operation. Vide Appendix I. p.

303.]

The ships of war in these seas are too much in harbour; they might be far better employed in occasional visits to the different ports of Borneo, Palawan, the eastern coast of the Malayan Peninsula, Siam, and Cochin China. Visits to those countries twice or thrice a year, would not interfere in the slightest degree with their regular duty; it ought, indeed, to form part of it; and would be of incalculable value to British merchants. The Authorities of those different States, knowing that the visits of British ships of war were to be regular and frequent in future, would be cautious how they meddled with British subjects.

With all the gasconade common to Orientals generally, the chiefs of the countries I have mentioned, are cowards at heart, tyrants as they are when opportunity offers; and they dread the sight of a ship of war in their harbours. No better check could be kept upon their conduct; and the plan proposed would not cost Great Britain a shilling, inasmuch as the ships required to carry it into execution, are in commission, and, as I said before, spend far too much time in port. Such a catastrophe as the loss of the Golconda, with four hundred souls on board, ought to be sufficient to call forth the utmost exertions on the part of our naval officers in the China Sea. This ship, a vessel of 800 tons, sailed from Singapore in September 1840 (or 1841), bound to China, with the head-quarters of the 37th Madras Native Infantry on board, and has never since been heard of. In my humble opinion, the China Sea and its coasts ought to have been thoroughly searched for any remains of this unfortunate ship, it being far from impossible, that some of her people may be in existence in Cochin China or on the neighbouring coasts or islands. When the unfortunate barque Fifeshire disappeared in the same mysterious way, on the same voyage, three of her men turned up from Cochin China, twelve months after she had been given up and paid for by the under-writers. No endeavour was made to trace the Golconda,--wherefore, let those explain, who had it in their power to cause due search to be made. Being unable to divine their reasons, I hope, for their own sakes, they were sufficient to quiet their own consciences.

My wanderings are drawing near a close, and I have little more to say.

On our pa.s.sage down the China Sea, during the prevailing very light southerly winds of April, we exhausted a large portion of our fresh stock; and for replenishing it and our water we touched in Anjer Roads, of which, and the village of the same name, I shall now give a brief sketch.

Nothing can be prettier than the sail into Anjer Roads from the northward, on a fine clear day. The scenery is equal to any thing I have ever seen. On your right, rises the high land of Sumatra, covered with wood to the very summit, and exhibiting all the different shades of green; on your left, are St. Nicholas Point and the high land of Java; while the two little isles called, "Cap and b.u.t.ton," add their minute features to the landscape. The land in this part of Java, though well wooded, is not covered with timber so thickly as the opposite coast of Sumatra; but, here and there, the scene is diversified by a clearing, where the Javanese may be seen at work in his rice-field, yam-patch, vegetable garden, or pinery. In front, the island of "Thwart-the-way"

(well named, for it is right in mid-channel) relieves the eye from the glare of the sea; which, in these low lat.i.tudes, is a matter of some moment; while, further seaward, may be seen towering far above the surrounding objects, the islands of Pulo Bissie and Crockatooa, both visible from a great distance, and forming excellent land-marks for the mariner. On nearing the anchorage, the pretty little village of Anjer strikes the eye, its huts built in rows, and shaded by palms and other trees; the Dutch Resident's house, the fort, and the wharf, are all in view; and further back, about a mile from the sea, may be seen the tomb, erected by his shipmates, to the memory of Dr. ----, a.s.sistant Surgeon of H. M. S. Alceste. The inscription informs the stranger, that Dr.

---- died here on his return from China, after the wreck of the Alceste.

This tomb was the first thing that attracted my attention when I landed at Anjer in 1823, and has ever since been an object of interest to me.

Anjer is a very convenient place for ships bound from China or Singapore for Europe to touch at for supplies, although many ship-masters avoid it during the prevalence of the north-west monsoon, when it is a lee sh.o.r.e.

I have anch.o.r.ed there at all seasons of the year, and never found any difficulty in getting out of the harbour; but others have been less fortunate, and have got among the rocks. Here, the natives come off to pa.s.sing ships, and bring fowls at two rupees per dozen; (a rupee here is equal to 1s. 8d. sterling;) ducks at three rupees per dozen; good-sized turtle one dollar each; yams one dollar per _pecul_ of 133 lbs.; eggs one dollar per hundred; and other articles in proportion. They are very fond of visiting an English ship, as they generally get paid by her Commander in Spanish or other dollars; a coin held in universal estimation in those parts. In my frequent visits to Anjer, I have invariably met with a polite and hospitable reception from the Dutch Resident, (the chief Civil authority,) who has always been willing and ready to render any aid in his power to strangers.

Anjer, with all its beauties of scenery, is said to be unhealthy in the rainy season, when the showers and thunder-storms are both frequent and heavy: its natives are a puny race, and its European inhabitants look pale and sickly; so that, I suppose, it deserves the doubtful reputation generally given to it. During my last ramble in the vicinity of Anjer, I observed some natives at work in a plantation of young plants which, at first sight, and from their being sheltered from the sun by tall, wild-cotton trees, I took for coffee. On inquiring of the overseer, and looking more closely at the plants, I found they were young cinnamon-trees. The attention of the Dutch Government has long been given to the cultivation of this spice; and, from the very healthy appearance of the plants just mentioned, I should think that the ultimate success of the undertaking was far from doubtful. It will not surprise me to see, before ten years have elapsed, Java rivalling Ceylon in cinnamon, as it is now competing with Bengal in indigo.

The Strait of Sunda, in which Anjer is situated, is certainly a beautiful channel for ships to sail through in fine weather, though, from the strength of its currents, an uglier place in a dark, squally night could scarcely be found. It used to be notorious for Malay pirates, but has been, of late years, clear of those pests.

Talking of pirates, I may mention my own good fortune in never having fallen in with any of the fraternity in the many voyages I have made in the lake-like seas of the Malayan or Eastern Archipelago. This, however, does not tend to prove their non-existence in even recent days.

Having completed our stores at Anjer, we sailed with a fair wind about 3 P. M. on the 14th May, and, next morning, were rolling about in a heavy sea off Java Head, (a bold and grand promontory forming the south-west corner of the Island,) where I bade adieu to my favourite sunny climes of the Far East.

APPENDIX I.

(See p. 295.)

PLAN FOR THE ACCELERATION OF THE CHINA MAILS (_i. e._ THEIR CONVEYANCE FROM _SUEZ_, via _CEYLON_ TO _HONG KONG DIRECT_)

SUBMITTED BY MR. HENRY WISE TO HER MAJESTY'S GOVERNMENT SEPT. 14, 1843, ADOPTED JUNE 20, 1845, AND NOW IN ACTIVE AND SUCCESSFUL OPERATION.

---------------+--------------------+------+-----+----------------------+ Proposed Route Av. Interval from Hong Kong Rate (days/hours) to London, and Course. Dist. per vice versa. Miles. Hour, und. at Total Miles weigh. Anchor. ---------------+--------------------+------+-----+------+-------+-------+ HONG KONG TO PULO LABUAN S. 2 .18' E. 1009 7 6/- 1/12 7/12 PULO LABUAN TO SINGAPORE S. 69 .23' W. 707 " 4/6 -/12 4/18 SINGAPORE {S. 64 .48' W. 19} TO MALACCA {N. 51 .41' W. 103} 122 " -/18 -/6 1/- MALACCA TO PENANG N. 30 .37' W. 222 " 1/8 -/16 2/- PENANG TO {N. 82 .24' W. 303} CEYLON[A] {S. 89 .45' W. 916} 1219 " 7/6 1/12 8/18 +--------------------+------+-----+------+-------+-------+ CEYLON {As now performed by the Peninsula & Oriental} TO ADEN { Steam Navigation Company, detention of } 11/- { 2 days included. } ADEN TO SUEZ -- -- -- 2 -- 8/- SUEZ TO ALEXANDRIA -- -- all stoppages -- 3/- ALEXANDRIA TO MALTA -- -- -- -- 4/- MALTA TO {H.M. Post-Office} Ma.r.s.eILLES -- -- { Packets } 4/ Ma.r.s.eILLES {Regular course} TO LONDON -- -- { of Post } 5/- +-------+ {Total interval from HONG KONG to LONDON,} { and vice versa, by the proposed Route} Days 59/- {Average interval of transmission of China Correspondence, } { via Calcutta and Bombay, during the last Twenty Overland} 89/- { Mails, viz. from the 10th October 1841, to 6th May 1843 } +-------+ Difference of Time in Favour of Proposed Route Days 30/- ----------------------------------------------------------------+-------+

---------------+-----------------------------------------+ Proposed Route from Hong Kong to London, and Duties at Anchor. vice versa. ---------------+-----------------------------------------+ HONG KONG TO PULO LABUAN To receive Coal.[B] PULO LABUAN TO SINGAPORE To receive Coal, land & receive Mails. SINGAPORE TO MALACCA To land & receive Mails. MALACCA TO PENANG To receive Coal, land & receive Mails. PENANG TO CEYLON Ditto Ditto ---------------+-----------------------------------------+

[Note A: Receiving at Ceylon, the Outward Overland Mail from England, and returning therewith to China.]

[Note B: The Borneo Coal Mines would also serve to keep the Hong-Kong, Singapore, and Penang Stations supplied with Fuel for Steam Vessels carrying the Mails between Hong Kong and Suez direct.

MEM.--I have adopted an average rate of seven miles per hour as a fair estimate of the speed that well-appointed Steam Vessels, of moderate size and power, will be enabled to accomplish and maintain, throughout the proposed route, at all seasons of the year; for, during the whole distance from Penang to Aden, and _vice versa_, neither monsoon, from the course steered, becomes at any period a directly adverse wind; an advantage which the route hitherto observed does not possess. a.s.suming that the Honourable East-India Company continue the management of the Bombay line, and that the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company are encouraged to render their operations more comprehensive, by the establishment of Branch Steamers between Ceylon and Singapore, to which latter Port Her Majesty's Steam Vessels on the China Station could convey the Mails from Hong Kong, this all-important object might, without difficulty, be attained. The advantages to the Straits'

Settlements, consequent on the adoption of improved arrangements, require no comment; and the _practicability_ of effecting a very considerable acceleration of the communication with China, is evident from the simple fact, that the average interval which has occurred in the transmission of letters from China, by the last twenty Overland Mails, (irrespective of the unfortunate July Mail from Bombay,) exceeds the period occasionally occupied by fast-sailing ships, in accomplishing the voyage _via_ the Cape of Good Hope.

HENRY WISE.

LONDON, Sept. 14, 1843.

P.S.--Oct. 9, 1843.--The arrival at Suez, on the 16th ult., of the H. C. S. Akbar, in _forty-six_ days from Hong Kong, after accomplishing the pa.s.sage down the China Seas, against the S.-W. monsoon,--una.s.sisted also by any previously arranged facilities for coaling, exchange of Steamers at Aden, and other manifest advantages requisite for the proper execution of this important service,--confirms the correctness of my estimate for performing the voyage from Hong Kong to Suez, or _vice versa_, viz. _forty-three_ days, including stoppages.--H. W.

APPENDIX II.