mi Tae Canton gunboats differ from those at Foochow and Shanghai, in that they are of foreign construction and that they are commanded by either French or English officers. They differ also in that they are attached to the Customs Department, and are used chiefly as revenue cruisers; so that they can be hardly classed as men-of-war. Still, in order to complete the list of Chinese armed vessels, they may be included. There are, we believe, altogether twelve, of which two are old English gunboats, three are little more than junks with screws put in them, and seven are steamers of English construction, They are variously armed, and of course, being under foreign command, are kept in fairly good order. The kind of work on which they are employed, is perhaps not calculated to raise very highly the morale of the service; but it has no doubt its excitement, like rat-hunting and other similar sports, We can fancy the look-out men developing the same instinct for scenting Hongkong traders, as a detective for a criminal or a beagle for a hare; and the excitement of the chase must be almost as ennobling. The only drawback is that the process is in its nature exhaustive, and there must come a time when trade will be hunted off the Southern waters.
As the process, however, will be gradual, we presume the crews will subside gradually into the lethargy which distinguished their northern comrades. In the meantime they are believed to be making an enormous fortune for the Hoppo of Canton, and have the inestimable advantage of occupation, instead of lying idle about the river like their Foochow and Shanghai corns rades, If we include these twelve vessels, to give the most formidable aspect possible to the Chinese navy, we get a total of thirty-eight armed ships Shanghai contributing eleven and Foochow fifteen, to the list. We are nob sure of perfect accuracy in this enumeration; but believe it to be at least within two or three of the mark, The greater number~ are merely armed despatch boats; two
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.