Tax account given by Mr. Dennys of the two new ports in the South, Hoihow in Hainan and Haiphong in Tonquin, is not very reassuring. It was more from fanciful than practical motives that, in the treaty of Tientsin, a port to be opened was selected" in the island of Hainan, and it was probably conjectured that aport in Hainan would readily serve to accommodate the Western portion of Kwangtung province, and the inland districts depending on it, Possibly in the course of time such might be the result, were the harbour at Hoihow sufficiently good to offer inducements to vessels to make use of it, This is, however, not the case. The anchorage at Hoihow, we are told, is essentially shallow, consisting of a sandy and mud-bottomed bay slightly protected on its North-enst side by sand spits, but considerably exposed to all winds except those blowing from the southward. At aradins of about three miles from the mouth of the creek upon which Hoihow is situated, there is depth of from 5 to 6 fathoms, but this position is entirely open; and the depth rapidly decreases, so that from 10 to 12 feet only are found at low water when about 2 miles from the same point. Vessels drawing 15 feeb of water cannot safely anchor under 2} miles from the shore. Nor is the result more satisfactory when we come to enquire into the actual trade of the port. Some 700 chests of opium per annum, a few bales of cotton goods, and afew sundry articles, mostly of Chinese production, sum up the entire of the import trade, The export trade is almost equally limited. A Tittle cotton, betelnut, beans and hides, make up the greater amount, Thoro is, in point of fact, little country behind Hoihow. The interior of the island being composed of lofly hills inhabited by savage tribes, nothing remains for commerce but the narrow strips fringe ing the coast. The inaccessibility of Hoihow has prevented it gaining any pre-eminence over the other ports along the coast, so that the small amount of business actually transacted in the island is split up amongst a multitude of petty ports. Altogether, now that we have gained some experience of Hoihow, we are enabled to pronounce it a mistake as a port. Some port in the neighbourhood is, however, necessary to prevent repetitions of the Carisbrooke affair; and it, therefore, remains an open question as to what locality can best be substituted
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.