tons burthen, and was what the Centurion hove down by ; thefe
are moft ufed in the great rivers, though they fometimes ferve for
fmall coafting voyages ; The other junk, marked (B), is about two
hundred and eighty tons burthen, and is of the fame form with
thofe in which they trade to Cochmchina, Manila, Batavia and
’Japan,, though fome of their trading veffels are-of a much larger
fize ; its head, which is reprefented at (C), is perfedtly flat; and
when the veffel is deep laden, the lecond or third plank of this flat
furface is oft-times under water. The malls, fails, and rigging of
thefe veffels are ruder than the built; for their malls ate made of
trees, no otherwife falhioned than by barking them, and lopping
off their branches. Each mail: has only two (hrouds of twilled
rattan ; which are often both (hifted to the weather-fide j and the
halyard, when the yard is up, ferves inftead o f a third Ihroud.
The fails are of matt, llrengthened every three feet by an horizontal
rib of bamboo ; they run upon the mall with hoops, as
is reprefented in the figure, and when they are lowered down,
they fold upon the deck. Thefe traders carry no cannon 5 and
it appears, from this whole defcription, that they are utterly incapable
of refilling any European armed veffeh Nor is the State
provided with (hips of confiderable force, or of a better fabric, to'
protefl their merchantmen: For at Canton, where doubtlefs their
principal naval power is Rationed, we faw no more than four men.
o f war junks, o f about three hundred tons burthen, being of the
make already defcribed, and mounted only with eight or ten guns,
the largell of which did not exceed a four pounder. This may fuf-
fice to give an idea of the defencelefs (late o f the Chinefe Empire.
But it is time to return to the Commodore, whom I left with his
two (hips without the Bocca Tigris, and who, on the 12th of
December, anchored before the town of Macao.
Whillt the (hips lay here, the Merchants o f Macao finilhed
their putchafe of the galeon, for which they refufed to give more
than 6000 dollars j this was greatly Ihort of her value, but the.
impatience of the Commodore to get to fea, to which the Merchants