Chapter 39

PREPARATIONS FOR A VISIT TO CANTON.

The Commodore, towards the end of September, having found out (as has been said) that those who had contracted to supply him with sea provisions and stores had deceived him, and that the Viceroy had not sent to him according to his promise, he saw it would be impossible for him to surmount the embarrassment he was under without going himself to Canton, and visiting the Viceroy. And therefore, on the 27th of September, he sent a message to the mandarin who attended the Centurion to inform him that he, the Commodore, intended on the 1st of October to proceed in his boat to Canton, adding that the day after he got there he should notify his arrival to the Viceroy, and should desire him to fix a time for his audience; to which the mandarin returned no other answer than that he would acquaint the Viceroy with the Commodore's intentions. In the meantime all things were prepared for this expedition, and the boat's crew in particular which Mr. Anson proposed to take with him, were clothed in a uniform dress resembling that of the watermen on the Thames. They were in number eighteen and a coxswain. They had scarlet jackets and blue silk waistcoats, the whole trimmed with silver buttons, and with silver badges on their jackets and caps.

A WISE PRECAUTION.

As it was apprehended, and even asserted, that the payment of the customary duties for the Centurion and her prize would be demanded by the Regency of Canton, and would be insisted on previous to the granting a permission for victualling the ship for her future voyage, the Commodore, who was resolved never to establish so dishonourable a precedent, took all possible precautions to prevent the Chinese from facilitating the success of their unreasonable pretentions by having him in their power at Canton. And, therefore, for the security of his ship and the great treasure on board her, he appointed his first lieutenant, Mr. Brett, to be captain of the Centurion under him, giving him proper instructions for his conduct, directing him particularly, if he, the Commodore, should be detained at Canton on account of the duties in dispute, to take out the men from the Centurion's prize and to destroy her, and then to proceed down the river through the Bocca Tigris with the Centurion alone, and to remain without that entrance till he received further orders from Mr. Anson.

These necessary steps being taken, which were not unknown to the Chinese, it should seem as if their deliberations were in some sort embarrassed thereby. It is reasonable to imagine that they were in general very desirous of getting the duties to be paid them, not perhaps solely in consideration of the amount of those dues, but to keep up their reputation for address and subtlety, and to avoid the imputation of receding from claims on which they had already so frequently insisted. However, as they now foresaw that they had no other method of succeeding than by violence, and that even against this the Commodore was prepared, they were at last disposed, I conceive, to let the affair drop, rather than entangle themselves in a hostile measure which they found would only expose them to the risk of having the whole navigation of their port destroyed, without any certain prospect of gaining their favourite point thereby.