New-York daily tribune., 1859-09-30
(uIIET -
CHINA.
ArrAIRs m CANTON.


20, Esropean foot bad trodien. Now, however,
,sss 600 Bri.i.h ard French troops have replaced
II T.rar garrison which ~bilom he'd it-taat
Ssysys ard marines stand sentry st the gates, and
vauslr pass and repa,s in the crowded streets tue
Cisy Of Rams is DO longer an impsnetrsoe my stery
Shnrtly after the date Of my last assembled the
Che, Kiapg in an American built steamer, which
ssssupIisbes The journey from Hong Kong nither
y Absst eight bours. Before half the distance Is
L.biod, one begins TO STE traces Of recent war
Ays, aD1 - one appr roaches the city iiself the
toheps ere fearfuliy dstioct Az one sweeps arouod
sjuttipg penipspls of HOpan Islsod leaving behind
tbo ancG. sse -; = EampOa, at which all sesgOlo
yess<sS sceige tGen cargo, the rernalos vi ihe
Pq,.isr Forts three heaps Of ottIered gran'ts ON
c,tser . de, ard one in the ce0tsr OF tie r'ver-
come itts view silent and f0rOrn 10 their tp'ess-
pets the only dismal ihiog in the bright landrcape
apl snGd the cheerful verdare OF oanAaas, sugar
canes aod nevis planted rice. a little stretch of
this " getaton nttrveUes on either basH ana Eaen
Gomez ON our nigh, ss We look up the Tlver, COO
fn,e1 txpsnse OF ruin, TooA,n wals, blackened by
6re ard torn with shot. Id is the ence popul 'us
,oStb-e,s.ro suburb of Canton. 90 our lett Iae
The deuse and ursavcry buildings of HODan, city
n it,elf and between tho two runs the man cur
,Sept Of the CbOo-KaDg, or Peatl River, some 400
yards WIDE at the point whoIe we anchor. Ine
main current, say, for the river loses itself Ia
countless mesDdeTi0gs opposite Canton go muca
% az almost TO jasty the exclamation OF nauti-
cal friend, who, when l asked him, IN some per-
plexy, "Bus which is the actual coast of Chios ?"
TepIi. with great gravity, Coast there Is no
coast; its all island :"
But the "F.LMa" has dropped anchor nearly
opposite the ruins OF the Red Fort 10 Honan and
the ruin, Of the factories" or European Te'l
dences on the Canton side Above her wider
pess Of naked junk mssts fringe the horizon, AMI
below ss well as around her the rushing stream IS
crowded With myriads Of tabka-bOats called SAM
pans by Europeans, cargo boats, lorchas, and small
craft Of other descript ODs. Tiers OF saDpans and
cargo bo,ts, the tOle habtations of oOO,O0 buman
beings line either shore, spd are packed 50 closey
that the waters edge" is nowhere visible.
Above their Tsgged outline may be distinguished at
intervals, on the HoDan sioe, the wutewashed
wslls and green veDetiaDs Of Chinese warehouses,
now inhabited by European merchants, missiopa-
ries and CODsuls for siGce the burnlog Of the fac
tories or rather since the coDsummatiOn of the
vengeance exscted for that misdeed, foreigners
have been bady of for residences. AUythlog Is
better. however, old hands affirm, than the fright
full pen in which the nsOlent Officials c0oped up,
in days now passed forever tse entire Eufopeaa
coloDy; and pending the settlement of the disputes
with regard to the site Of the new factories"
some scores Of Europeans aud Americans have
made themselves exceedingly comfortable 10 Ilau.
Qua's pack-hO
The City Of Canton itself, for various reasons,
IL in sOle possession OF the Allied COmmssiOntrs
and thtir forces-sOme 1,6OO British aud 4OO
French--nor would isolated residences within the
walls be safe for which your correspondent,
Who happens to be one OF a small party IN pre-
csey that position is never very far from the han-
die of revolver. But let us enter the city. ANY
one of these dozen sampaDs will take us to the |
south landing place. The boat is sold, shapeess
hulk of teab, thirty feet long with an srched
roof Of bamboo in the center, covering a tiny |
cabin capable Of holding four or hive persons aud |
serving as bedchsmber st Dght to the family who |
constitute the crew. This family cVnsis's. Ill n'he
cases out of ten 10 wzened but muscular mother,
and two girs with perhaps couple OF small chli- |
dren as vet ipep at the oar; and while the old lady
the huge skull lastern. the two demolseles
cunning baPgages they, with their white teeth
and twists of hair combed down to the eyebrows
in token of vreinity, and baggy tro"sers, auu &c,
Gph,Iul pigeon Eoglish pull two heavy oars IN
the bows Shooting down swiftly past The gauns
ruins of the suburb and past the green lslet known
"A Dutch FOlly we thread a maze OF sampaus aDd
approach a rude landing place formed OF ten
slab. of granite in the semblaDce OF st,lrs crowd
of cbaio coolies pOunce upon US, ou' we snake
Il EN- off and yolste custom by walking up the mar
row and filthy lane which leads to the walls. On
either side are shops Of low order, crowdlng IN
mean succession 10 The foot Of the wall which they
hide; and not until we have passed deep and dark
arcbwsy, do affairs mend. We are DOW within the
kew City, and at the head of the great southern
thoIOuRhfare which extends completely across the
city, distance of probably % miles. But 1t is no
Broadway, this South street; lane rather, II
feet wide, and rendered still narrower by the
perpendicular signs projecting from the side
of each shop, and blazoned with gilt
inscriptions. The pavement cOnsists Of Oblong
slabs Of granite roughly fitted together, and slip
perry with the dirt, which only heavy rain ever
removes; while the shops on either hand are dark
and narrow caverns in which merchandise and
knick1acks of all kinds to be bought of stayen
Chusmep who are still knowing enough to make
prt fit of 100 per cent out Of the uckl-ss foreigner
who ventures within their power. The eye soon
wtares Of the monotony of these dark recesses,
and seeks relief in the crowd that eddies on the
street. But here again, with all the diversity of
rank and pursuit is still the identical sameness.
Blue trOwses and white blouses, or white
trewsers ard blue blouses, or trowsers and
huge hat smply-these are the three varieties Of
dress with only one or two minor variations, in all
the vast crowd VIII ch will pass one in hour The
most frequent passers OF all are Coolies, the beasts
of burden Of Chna-carrying immense loads of |
frewood and Derchapd disc on bamboo poles, each |
end of which rests on the right shoulder of one of |
these lsbOriOus wretches, whose loud HO" by !
way of warning, or "Nger Nger!' gruntei ss
solsce, sounds at every moment IN the otherwise
aileLt msss. Everybody else walks bsrehesded in |
his shaven poll with palm leaf fan; but the Cody
has huge hat Of woven cane, measuring near a |
yard in diameter, and useful as a shallow basket
hesoin. On the sound of European footsteps on the
pavement every body retires from the middle of the
street (the Sidewalk in China) aud even the
painting Cody edges aside. dofiog at the same
time bis projecting hat. Such power. in city of
1900 OOO inhabitants, have few score white faces
acquired
Ne are in TIE New City all the wbia. but a