The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-03-06 00:00:00

MR. GEORGE ROBINS.

(From Grant's London Journal.)
Mr. Geone Robins! Who has not heard of Mr. George
Robins ? Where is the man where the English language is
understood, and talked, and read, to whose ears the name
of this gentleman is not familar ? Mr. Robins is unques-
tionably the prince of autioneers ; not as regards Great
Britain only, but as respects Europe—aye, and the world
itself. I speak with all seriousness when I say, that at this
aporaent he stands unrivalled in what may be called the sci-
ehce of " knocking down." The Americans are famed, all
the world over, for their ingenuity and originality in com-
mending the articles they wish to dispose of, and in prevail-
ing on persons to purchase them at a high price ; but they
have, within the last month or two, given a practical proof
that there is not a man within the confines of the New World
whb, as a knight of the hammer, can be compared to our
Mr. George Robins,--by offering hat gentleman the splendid
retainer of 2000 guineas, independently of paying his ex-
penses goinand returning, to dispose of a valuable property
in New York. Had there been a man in the United States
who, as an auctioneer, at all approached Mr. George Robins,
Jonathan is not the person to have sent all the way to the
metropolis of the Old World for an auctioneer, and to have
made the princely offer of 2000 guineas for his services. We
almost regret that Mr. Robins could not have so arranged it
with his English employers as to have accepted the offer.
How, in that case, the Yankee auctioneers must have hidden
their diminished heads, when they saw Mr. Robins in the
New York rostrum, expatiating with his own unapproached
and unapproachable eloquence, on the advantages of the pro-
perty wit: whose disposal he had been entrusted ! He would
have treated the monied men of the United States to speci-
mens of " soft sawder," wholly unequalled in brilliancy and
raciness by anything they had ever before heard from the
most distinguished proficients in that art. The claims on
Mr. Robins s services at home were, however, as he himself
states, too numerous and urgent to admit of a four or five
weeks' absence from England.
Mr. George Robins is never in his glory except when in
his " Auction Mart." Anywhere else he is altogether out
of his element. The Auction Mart is situated in Bartholo-
mew Lane, directly opposite the Rotunda of the Bank of
England. It is on the first floor, to which you ascend by a
semi-serpentine flight of stairs. When you have reached
the landing, turn to your left hand, and there you will
find the celebrated locality. It is only a small room, not-
withstanding the amount of business done in it, and the
importance of the transactions of which it has for so many
years been the theatre.

It is not capable of containing more than 150 persons,
even in a standing position, with any degree of comfort.
There are four tables in the centre, and one table on the left
hand, extending from ore corner of the apartment nearly to
the other. On the right hand, along the wall, there are two
or three forms for persons to sit on, hut no table. In front,
some five or six feet of space is railed off from the right wall
to the left ; within this space, in the centre, is the rostrum
of Mr. Robins. On his right sits a clerk; on his left sit the
parties who are interested in the property about to be put to
the hammer. In the construction of the rostrum there is
nothing remarkable. It is raised three or four feet above
the floor, and is quite open in front, excepting where covered
at the top by a narrow board, which is seemingly supported
by iron springs, and serves the purposes of a table, either
when layingany papers on it, or when extracting from it, by
an application of the hammer, the sound which seals the fate
of the property which has been in the market. From the
openness of Mr. Robins's rostrum, you not only see the
whole of his fine tall athletic figure, but also a large comfort-
able arm-chair, into which he is accustomed to throw him-
self, either when fatigued by his exertions, or when, circum-
stances do not render it necessary for him to remain in a
continued perpendicular position. Such is the place in which
property of the value of £50,000 or £60,000 is often, in the
course of two or three hours, transferred from one person
to another; and in which, from first to' last, estates and
houses, worth millions of money. have, through i‘ Ir. Robins's
potent agency, been made to change hands.
Mr. George Robins displays the most consummate tact
from the moment he mounts the rostrum until he again de-
scends from it. Before he regularly introduces to the notice
of his audience the property about to be disposed of, he is
sure to make some kindly familiar observation to them,
which is calculated to make them on good terms with him
and themselves.
This done, he puts himself into an erect position, carefully
with both hands adjusting the little light-coloured hair which
still surmounts the crown of his head. Though the demon
of baldness has begun his work on Mr. Robins's bead, and
though his ravages have been rather serious on the fore part,
the length of the hair which remains is so great, that, with
a little care in the arrangement, the less favoured parts of
his head may be pretty well concealed.—Mr. Robins next
mentions the name and nature of the property to be disposed
of; after which he requests his clerk to read the conditions
of sale. He then throws himself down in his chair until the
clerk has performed the duty assigned him ; on which Mr.
Robins starts again to his feet, and then enters heart and
soul into the business of the day. And oh, the ability with
which he executes the task he has undertaken ! How he
eulogises the taste and judgment of his audience! How he
coaxes " offer after offer" from them 1 Who shall do jus-
tice to the ingenuity and richness of his eulogiures on the
qualities of the property put up for sale ! Shakspeare is said
to have first exhausted worlds, and then imagined new. Leave
out the letter " 1" in the term " worlds," and the same
may be said with perfect truth of Mr. George Robins, when
professionally engaged in the Auction Mart. He does ex-
haust words, and then imagine and apply new ones, in the
prodigality of his encomiums on the value and excellence of
the property committed to his care. He is in fact a Shaks-
peare in his own way. What the bard of Avon was in the
ideal world, he is in the material world. If Shakspeare was
unrivalled in his delineations of the workings of the human
mind, is not Mr. Robins equally so in describing the beauties
of any landed estate he has to sell, or the excellent qualities
of some brick and mortar property which he has to dispose
of ? Shakspeare is admitted on all hands to have had the
finest imagination of any human being in ancient or modern
times ; who, that has heard Mr. Robins in the auction room,
could question his possession of this faculty in a most extra-
ordinary degree? With what beauties, and ex':ellencies, and
advantages, does his imagination invest the various " pro-
perties ' with the disposal of which he is entrusted ! But I
must not pursue the parallel, tempting as is the theme. Mr.
Robins is so encomiastic of any thing he has to sell, so
earnest, and so zealous and eloquent in matter and manner,
that you would conclude, provided you knew no better, that
be had never before had any property to dispose of in the
whole course of his life, and that the effort you witness must
be the result of years of assiduous preparation. What will
be your surprise, when you behold him next day, in the same
interesting locality, scattering his praises of the article in the
market with the same princely prodigality, and proving him-
self as zealous and earnest in his endeavours to get it advan.
tageously disposed of, as if his own existence was dependent
on the result. One of the most ingenious and ettective,ex.
clients to which Mr. Robins is in the habit of resorting in
his appeals to the pockets of the auditory, is that of assuming
a feeling of the most perfect indifference as to how his em.
Pknwn way be effeeteid by the result of the sale, and pre-

tending that all his solicitude is for the interests of his
expected purchaser. And in such cases he displays infinite
tact, He actually does in many cases, persuade the intend-
ing purchaser that all his concern is really for his interest,
and that, being sure of his fee from his employers, he has
entirely lost sight of them. To give an instance of this :
On the 20th of June last, in obedience to instructions
received from the executors of the late Mr. Scott, for many
years well known in the theatrical world, he brought the
Olympic Theatre, of which Mr. Scott held a twenty-seven
years lease at the time of his death, to the hammer. There
were seven or eight bidders; still Mr. Robins could not get
them to proceed so fast as he wished. Looking earnestly,
first at one bidder and then at another, he would say, speak-
ing in a semi-confidential tone, just as if he wished that no
one else in the room should know anything of the matter,
" I assure you, Sir, you will never get such a chance of
making a safe and lucrative investment again. I am posi-
tively sorry for your sake that you are not more alive to your
own interests." Again : " I am quite delighted to have it
in my power to confer upon you so substantial a service, as
to place this property within your reach ; and I assure you,
that it will always be to me a source of supreme satisfaction
to reflect that I have been the means of conferring indepen-
dence for life on the fortunate purchaser." A few moments
afterwards he said,—" Really I am surprised that you should
hesitate an instant to bid for this property. I assure you
that I do feel it to be my duty to you, to endeavour to make
you alive to your own interests." In this way Mr. Robins
proceeds at intervals, chosen with great judgment, to per-
suade intending purchasers that his sole object in selling the
property that day, is, that he may have the happiness of
promoting their interests. The amount of his business is
the best proof of the extent to which the " ingenious device"
succeeds. Of course, the interests of the simple purchaser,
whose face was never before seen and never may be again by
the auctioneer, never cost the latter a single thought. He
is all the while, as in duty bound, thinking only how he can
procure the highest price for his employers.
Mr. George Robins is a most persuasive auctioneer. Per-
sons have gone into that Mart and come out purchasers of
the property put up for sale, who had no more idea of ever
making a single offer than they had of purchasing an estate
at the antipodes. To be present at one of Mr. Robins's
sales, no matter what may be the nature of the property, or
how great the previous determination not to bid, is, I repeat,
to rush unnecessarily into temptation's way, as many thou-
sands have found to their cost.
Mr. Robins's manner has nothing extravagant about it.
He dislikes theatrical gesture ; he trusts to the effect of his
ingenious remarks.

CHINA-ITS

AREA, POPULATION,

GEOGRAPHY, &c.

(From the Colonial Magazine.)
MACAO.

We may now. proceed to examine the history of Macao,
near the entrance of the Canton River, to which Europeans
are compelled to resort for hale the year, when the trade of
Canton is closed.
Macao, in Chinese Aou man, " the entrance to the bay,"
is a small granite peninsula, across which the Chinese have
built a wall, with a guard-house and barrier. To the south
and east of the peninsula is high land, behind which is a
stripe of alluvial soil, employed in the cultivation of rice ; it
is situated in 22 114 N. lat., and 113 324 long. E. of Green-
wich. The climate is healthy, being freely exposed to the sea
air, and the place has good water, bread, and a well-stocked
bazaar. On landing you have before you a spacious semicir-
cular hay, encompassed with rising hills, crowned with forts,
convents, churches, and private buildings. The circuit of
the peninsula is said to be about eight English miles, its
greatest eaten: three, and its greatest breadth nearly a mile.
The good harbour which Macao possesses for vessels of small
burden attracted the attention of Europeans at a very early
period of their intercourse with China ; and, after having had
temporary abodes in it for twenty years, the Portuguese, in
the year 1558, after the expulsion from Ningpo and Chinchew,
obtained liberty from the local officers to take up their fixed
residence at the place, and to build more substantial houses.
This liberty was obtained by the seasonable use of bribery
with the local authorities, and not by an imperial grant in
reward for services done by the Portuguese in driving away
pirates. Macao, therefore, still belongs, in fact, to the Chi-
nese Government ; and in this light it is always regarded by
them. The Portuguese, also, virtually acknowledge the fact,
by the annual payment of a ground rent, which has varied at
different times, but is now limited to 500 taels. This sum is
paid, at the beginning of every year, to the magistrate of
Hean-shang, on the delivery by him of a discharge signed by
the Poo-ching-sze, or treasurer of Canton.
The Portuguese are, however, under the government of
their own officers, and subject to their own laws ; though
several Chinese authorities have, at various times, been placed
among them. The Portuguese officers are, a governor and
captain-general, an ouvidor or chief justice (called also the
minister and the dezembargador) and u senate, which com-
prises among its members three vereadores or inspectors of
various branches of the government, two judges, and a pro-
curador, who has the general charge of the town and the
revenue, and is also the organ of communication with the
Chinese authorities.
Macao was likewise early erected into a bishopric ; but the
see is at present vacant. The Chinese officers are a Keun-
min-foo, who is an assistant to the chief magistrate of Can-
ton department, a Tsoo-tang, or assistant to the Heang-
shan district magistrate, two Wel-vuens or custom-house
officers, deputed by the Canton hoppo, and a military officer,
with a small force under his command, residing at Tsee-
shan, or Casa Branca, a military station and village at a
short distance beyond the barrier erected by the Chinese in
1597 to prevent the further ingress of foreigners.
The Portuguese and Chinese are both governed by their
respective laws and officers ; while foreigners are subject in
some degree to the government of beth parties. In civil
cases between Chinese and Portuguese, the officers of the
two nations correspond with each other through the medium
of the procurador ; but in several instances of importance the
former have shown a determination to dictate to the latter in
what way they are to act. Before Canton was opened to
European commerce generally, the Portuguese were for
nearly a century almost the only carriers between China and
Europe, and possessed an exclusive trade at Canton for 50
or 60 years, as they at that time also enjoyed the carrying
trade to Japan.
Macao was then a rich and flourishing settlement, " the
best and most important pillar the Portuguese had in all the
east." Hence, when other European nations began to com-
pete with them, it became the constant object of mutual con-
tention and strife. Had the offers then made by the Chinese,
in the years 1717 and 1739, that Macao should be made the
emporium for all foreign trade, and should receive the duties
on all imports, been accepted, its former affluence and
splendour might not only have been still retained, but might
even have been increased. In both cases, however, this
splendid offer was declined by the senate, acting under the
directions of the vice' oy of Gos.
The gradual decline of Macao dates from this period, when
other European nations began to compete with the Portu-
guese in China, and in the general Asiatic market. The
illiberal principle on which the merchants frequently acted
accelerated its ruin, which was almost completed in the reign
of Kanghe, by a prohibition to all Chinese subjects (among
whom the inhabitants of Macao were included) to navigate
the southern seas. At this period (1686) the shipping con-
sisted of but ten vessels, which were reduced, in 1704, to
only " two ships, that could neither be manned nor fitted
out." The number of vessels now belonging to the port is
15, being 10 less than the number to which they are limited
by the Chinese.
When Portugal became united, in 1581, to the crown of
Spain, Macao was also induced to submit to the government
of Philip I. ; and on the separation of the two kingdoms,
about sixty years afterwards, it was still of so much impor-
tance as to be considered a desirable possession. Endeavours
were therefore made to retain it for Spain ; but a large ma-
jority of the citizens declared their adherence to the new
Portuguese dynasty.
In 1622, the Dutch, being anxious to obtain a footing and
possession in China, attempted an invasion of Macao. Thir-
teen sail of ships were sent against it, and 800 men effected
a landing at Casilha's Bay, and began marching towards the
town ; but on coming between the two forts of the Monte
and the Guia, they were routed and driven back by the Por-
tuguese. To make amende in some measure for their defeat,
they then took possession of the Piscadore Islands, in the
Formosa Channel, (belonging to China,) on the pretence
that the Chinese had assisted the Portuguese against them.
Five years after this, the Dutch made a second attempt on
Macao by blockading the port and making seizure of all.
vessels that arrived there. But the Portuguese contrived to
take and burn the chief ship, and the others hearing that a
Spanish squadron was advancing from Manilla to succour
Macao, speedily took their departure.
In 1808 an English expedition, under the command of
Admiral Drury, was sent from Bengal to occupy Macao, and
defend it for the Portuguese against the French. But the
Chinese government immediately stopped the British trade,
and refused to receive any communication from the Admiral
so lent; as the troops remained in the place. After about
three months stay they were, therefore, quietly withdrawn.
Though the story of Macao being granted to the Portuguese
for their services against the pirates be a fabrication, yet it
is not without the appearance of foundation, for, since they
have occupied the place, they have more than once been
called upon to assist the Chinese in driving away and sub-
duing the numerous pirates who have at all times infested
the coast of Canton. In 1809 these pirates had become so
powerful and daring, that they set the imperial squadron at
defiance, and frequently plundered European as well as
Chinese boats. On this occasion Macao furnished, at, the
desire of the Chinese, six vessels manned and furnished for
six months ; and with this assistance, accompanied by pro-
mises of rewards and honours, the chief pirates were brought
to surrender to the government, while their immediate
assistants were severely punished, some by execution, others
by transportation.
Macao is the place set apart by the Chinese for the resi-
dence of foreigners when not engaged in business at Canton.
The Portuguese government denies this as a matter of right,
and has at various times shown a disposition to refuse indi-
vGindaualliasforreeei
issuedpermission
a n
order,to dresideireet
directing
butg iits
thebei
being
Viceroy t
granted
gennetlrys
in all cases, so long as the court of Lisbon shall issue no
orders to the contrary.
For a foreign lady landing at Macao the Chinese custom-
house officers used to exact about one hundred dollars. This
was in consequence of an old imperial prohibition against
any new females coming to the place, issued at the same time
with a prohibition against building houses in any new situa-
tions or rebuilding old ones without permission. The former
prohibition, and consequent connivance, has now been got
over ; but the latter prohibition still continues in force. New
houses are, however, built, not without much expense on the
score of bribery of the local officers.

ANECDOTE OF A SAILOR.—The following anecdote is so
creditable to our countryman, the late lamented Admiral Sir
F. Maitland, that we cannot withhold it from our readers.
When in command of the Loire, Captain Maitland agreed
with Captain Dixon, of the Apollo, that they should share
between them whatever prize money should fall to their lot.
Captain Dixon's life was a short one, and he left a widow far
from affiuent. Mrs. Dixon was one morning waited on by a
gentleman, who tendered for her acceptance a b ank check
for £23,000. Surprised and hesitating, Mrs. Dixon objected
to receive so munificent a sum. Captain Maitiand's answer
was quite characteristic, and does him infinite honour—. my
agreement with my friend Dixon was not an agreement for
life, it was to continue during the war; this money, madam,
is thereforea fairly yours.—Caledonian Mercury.
BLE NNAVIGATION.—The directors of this undertaking
have, we
understand, received from Messrs. Stevenson, their
to exten
eng.neers, the plans f
part of the river. ior the proposed works in the lower
line of wall is to be immediately com-
mencedwhich are excavated from the river Savick ; this
the caul or jetty near the chain to
raised about three feet above wall is to be constructed of the stones
will form the north sidethe bed of the river, and will be
ofove low water, and when completed
The the low water channel from the
Chain to the Savick.
busily at work, and the excavators of the rock are again
directorsgreat are making every prepara-
tion for carrying on withthe different works
energy.es
the celebrated violin-
connected with this undertaking.
bruler.
The following puff on M. Ole Bull, t Pilot.
adarge case
their bows,aving
papersun " A few
onpiegnhetds
and a ist, appears in some of the French
ago, on returning to his lodgings, he
ad-
dressed to him, and marked Bois a
it, he found twenty-three violins with
let-
ter from a musical society, informing him that t owners of
these violins, who gave their names, after having heard him
perform, were so displeased with their inferiority, that they
had resolved to send their instruments to him, and to request
him him to burn them. M. Ole Bull instantly resolved upon
viting the twenty-three gentlemen to a splendid dinner, and
as the ,ruests entered the dining-room, each found his violin
suspended over his chair, with a label bearing the worn
4 /Solitude and Perseverance.' ''