appears to us well worthy of quotation: "The excitement of these winds seems to arise from causes purely meteoric, that is to say, from some great diversities in the temperature of the air in their immediate vicinity; but their wonted movement in a circular manner, by blending the centripetal and centrifugal forces together, is owing to a principle in hydrostatics,—a principle which we see exemplified when two streams of water meet each other in a canal, and create an eddy by the compulsion which they reciprocally impose upon one another to take an oblique instead of a straightforward direction. The bare and barren nature of these insular spots (such as Hong-Kong) is perhaps connected with these terrible winds, which in the latter part of summer commit such devastation among the objects that float upon the seas in their neighbourhood. Heated by the sun, they raise the temperature of the air in their immediate vicinity, so much above the temperature of the regions to the north and south of them, that two currents from those two opposite directions rush towards them with great violence, and produce a typhoon or (in Chinese) tae-fung, which blows from every point of the compass, in succession." *

In support of our views as to the insalubrity of Hong-Kong, and utter worthlessness in every point of view, to England, we refer our readers to Mr. R. Montgomery Martin's "China, Political, Commercial, and Social," chap. vi. vol. ii., page 317. This talented gentleman, and excellent statistical writer, has evinced his usual habits of observation in the work alluded to.

HONG-KONG IN 1848.

37

A letter has been most obligingly placed at our disposal, written at Hong-Kong in the month of September 1848; and as we think there is much in it that will interest the reader, we subjoin extracts from it.

"The winter from November 1847 to April 1848 was a very mild one. The south-west monsoon set in early; the periodical rains fell late. June came, and with it came fever; but by the men who possessed houses, by the Government who had drained Victoria, and erected costly buildings, by the merchants who were sharply turning bales of opium into solid bars of silver,by these men it was said that a little sickness must be expected. Nevertheless, June went on, and brought with it the end of July, without any improvement; and it was found that H.M. 95th Regiment had buried 47 men, and had as many as 299 sick out of 450. Then came August, and death was still walking about; and men began to conjecture where it was to end. August, however, came to its close, and the 95th regiment buried 47 more men, and the corps was put into hired vessels anchored in the harbour of Victoria, to save those who remained.* September set in, and brought hope with it; but hope came, though it was false, for death had not been satisfied, and they continued to fall victims. And now that the month draws to its end, the living hug the idea that the winter is coming on, and that it will set up their constitutions. Time will prove how far they will have reason to congratulate themselves.

* The expense of putting the corps afloat has been nearly 20007.

A

For men here are friendless, being brought to this desolate spot only by the love of gain, or the predisposition to smuggle, or by the obligations of duty. England, mistress of the world and of the sea, as she is, may have lots of men and of life to throw away, but, looking to the schedule of her finances in 1848, she can but ill spare her wealth ; and as with individuals so with nations, the great object is to sow, in order that something may be reaped; and it is an undeniable fact, which must present itself to any man who has been led to think of it, that the settlement on the Eastern coast of China must become a national burden, with no counterbalancing advantage. The expenditure of men is looked upon in England as a dry matter of numbers, and the actual cost is overlooked, or left to those whose business it may be to estimate for the numbers required to meet the emergencies of the ensuing year. Without calculating that every soldier as he stands on this accursed soil costs the country about 1307., and that, therefore, the 95th Regiment alone have laid under its fruitless and cheerless earth-to say nothing on the score of humanity about 14,0007. The strong

WORTH OF MEN IN THREE MONTHS.

man and the weak, the sober man and the drunkard, the man who never exposed himself to the sun, he who defied it-all died alike: the healthy man, the woman, and the infant withered under the poison of Hong-Kong fever with equal rapidity. If any man, therefore, have a mind to visit China, from curiosity, let him turn his time and his money to better account. If any man be allured to it by the love of

HONG-KONG IN 1848.

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gain, let him think that health is better than wealth ; and if any unfortunate individual in either of her Majesty's services be compelled to come, by duty, just let him have a stout heart and a lively faith in God's mercy,' which latter may spare him to curse the place, as it has done the writer of these few lines; and if, after his term of service here, he leaves it for a more hospitable shore, after having escaped fevers and typhoons, he may say and think to himself, 'that verily Providence has watched over him."Hong-Kong, Sept. 28, 1848.

CHAPTER II.

Chinese pirates-Mode of boarding-A Major-General's wrath at pirates presuming to attack his son's schooner - A Lieutenant-Colonel denuded—Melancholy act of piracy-Inactivity of our men-of-warScene on board a hired schooner.

PIRACY is carried to a great and alarming extent in the China seas; and although recently our naval force appear to have awakened from their lethargy, and have occasionally gone in search of, and captured some of these daring marauders, still sufficient activity has not been evinced in attempting to exterminate these robbers, who constantly capture small vessels, and frequently will attack large craft.

The pirate vessels and boats are peculiarly constructed, being remarkably fast; the crews are numerous, and the vessels are fully armed with guns, swivels, matchlocks, spears, boarding-pikes, and other weapons of an offensive description. Their usual mode of proceeding is as follows:-As soon as they get within reach of their victims, they throw on board the doomed vessel a large quantity of fire-balls, so prepared as to produce an intolerable and most offensive odour when explosion takes place; missiles of all kinds are then scattered around. When the terror and confusion thus created is at its height, the pirates