copied from the more extended tables, by the kind permission of the author, P. Loureiro, Esq. The last section of the same chapter, on "Movements in Bullion," has been prepared and furnished for the Guide by Patrick R. Harper, Esq., of the Commercial Bank of India at Hongkong, who has had much experience in the exchanges and movements of the precious metals in Eastern Asia. The Appendix of Sailing Directions has been reprinted from the China Pilot. With short interruptions, the coasts from Singapore to Hakodadi are all described in it; and for the Chinese coasts, the Directions have been improved by the insertion of the Chinese characters for the names of all places that could be ascertained. The best mode of spelling the names of places in the Guide and in the Sailing Directions has been a question of some difficulty. Those in the latter have been altered in very few places. There is no standard for writing Chinese sounds, for the people themselves do not write sounds; and it is not easy to choose the best mode from the several plans adopted by English, French, or Portuguese authors to express even the same sound; while the diversity among the people themselves, arising from the dialectical variations, increases the perplexity of the choice. In most cases, the mandarin pronunciation has prevailed over the local name, as in Shanghae, Taiwan, &c., and this rule is preferable in all cases, though it is now too late to change names like Amoy, Swatow, or Canton, to Hiamun, Shantan, or Kwangchau. In the present work, every Chinese name has been written in the court dialect where it has been worth while to follow it, the exceptions being chiefly the names of islands and places along the coast better known by their local pronunciations. In all, the sounds of the vowels, a, e, i, and u are generally spoken more like those given in France than in England, viz., as ah, ey, e, and oo, though there are numerous exceptions. In fine, this edition of the Chinese Commercial Guide has been made as complete as the nature of the subjects treated of in it, and the circumstances attending their elaboration, would permit. Excuses for imperfections are often only lame apologies for deficiencies that should have been supplied; and this work must rest on its fitness for the end designed. S. W. W. CONTENTS. Sect. 1.-Tariff on Articles of Import, Sect. 2.-Tariff on Articles of Export, Sect. 3.-Rules respecting Trade and Dues, PAGE Sect. 1.-Intercourse with Japan, Sect. 2.-Treaty between Great Britain and Japan, Regulations of Trade in Japan, . Canton River and Channels to it, CHARTER IV. |