A VISIT TO CANTON.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 122, 15 February 1908, Page 10

A VISIT TO CANTON.

A CITY OF FOUR MILLION PEOPLE.

(By R.L. for Tub Dominion.)

A visitor's impressions of Canton arohardly varied, for they can bo summed up easily— indescribable dirt. Tlio coolics aro dirty, moro dirty than those of Hongkong, who, to tho ' visitor' from tho colonies under the Southern Cross, seemed to be tho very aggregation of filth in the human being. Tho streets of Canton are but narrow stone-paved paths, six or eight feet wide, and filled v.'ith a population numbering more than that of tho whole Commonwealth of Australia. Thero seems to bo no attempt—at least no official attempt—at- keeping order; yet- everybody apparently is behaving himself. The lazy Chinese police 101 l against tho doorways in the narrow streets, and smoke cigarettes which they have probably demanded as blackmail from tho shopkeepers; the hawkers block up tho entrances to other shops, or hawk

their baskets around already crowded streets; yet everybody seems satisfied. As the chair coolios carry tho visitor along they call,

"Left, right; keep to the left; keep to tho right; let me pass; me first, you second; get out of tho way, old mother; hurry along, old father." .' And so you are brought across the bridge to the Sbatneen—or foreign quar-

THE FOREIGN COLONY,

Tho Shameen is a foreign colony built in Chinese territory. It is a pretty little island ofthreo or four acres, connected by two very small bridges, that bring it into communication with Canton itself. .British, French,' American, German and Japanese firms have their headquarters in the Shameen. There are consulates hero for all these nations, except Japan. Britain has the greatest concession on this All the World's island, and occupies about- three-quarters of it. As you walk around, tho _ pretty little moat-sur-rounded diplomatic ceiitre you may notico American or German soldiers at drill, or sco a British marine carrying a despatch box from the Empiro's consulate, ,or watch /an American sailor heliographing' to n Yankeo ivarship in tho inuddy Canton River.; Tho Shamoon differs from Canton proper in that it- is'scrupulously clean. It is but;a few acres when every foot of ground is counted, but' it is,governed by an international.municipal ; council. Its short streets are lighted by electricity, and it has an up-to-data fire brigado. • And it has, of course, an hotel— managod by a good Britisher. Tho-visitor will not have been long at the hotel before he. is presented with a card .which will convey the intelligence that a Chinese who can speak English,, and who knows .Canton and all its.sights; is willing to act as guide to the distinguished stranger for the modest sum of throo' dollars, "if the master would pay other expenses." 1 '

After much bargaining it was agreed that our' guide should, for the.sum of 7d01., escort us for the day, and "pay all tips," as well as coolie-hire.'. In,-vain did. he assuro us that he was a'poor man; that : the _ Chincso -who guarded the sights loyed by visitors were extortionate, and would not lot us "look-see", unless wo rewarded them moro liberally than 7dol. would allow. Ho told us, in ungrammatical but expressivo IJnglish that- we would, not get "a number one look-see'' (a good view) of anything, and that we wore missing the opportunities of pur livos, for such possibilities would never be. ours! again, -j- Vf.d might come to Canton in/.the dnys of by-a,nd-by, but we.would : never get sue' l a guidoia's lie! .' Yet' wo were inflexible, and he at last' consented; 'and said, "C<uudo.V; So woi got into Sedan,, "chairs/tho coolies hoisted them •; on .. their, 'shoulders,' and the ...guide led the way across tho bridge into the eity,'thoiChair coolies call-' ;.ing. ~ . 'L'eft„/ipht; cloar the ivay." . Th'oy', car■ried us " through ■ the ; crowded streets that :iwould make a- Banitary inspector commit havi'ikari when:,lie was told-, that thousands Jived; vear in r\nd' year l out in each, thoroughfare; iFish shops, meat and pork shops, ,laco, shops, ■ ivory /carvers, brush-makers, jewellers, Iboot- '■ makers—all jumbled up together in one grand' confusion. . Was ..there 'ever such a happy/ muddled 7 city as Canton'.? ;/.'■' .•. ■ . our guide. . ' -Our; guide was a wonderful person. Ho seemed to bo related to the keeper/of' every /especially extortionate shopkeeper in jthei city.; ■The.'ivory .carverj, he'.assured us, was his :father, 'and lie thought we/ would'like to. see his■'■'father's!-.work. .And''anyhow -the coolies were tired;with carrying tho masters so far! So wo gave, the coolies ■ time, 'to : rest-, ■ arid bought somoof- his father's .wares.- Tho Chinese jeweller, who, made wonderful dragon pattern brooches, ornamented with'tho tiniest natches of kingfisher feathers, was tho guide's/ uncle. And -tho coolies wero agaip tired! Wo' made more purchases. ,A ; fan shop was managed by another rolative, and the lace-maker was a cousin..of our guido's wife! 'When we had run tho gamut apparently of all the living members in the family genealogical - treo our guide stopped at: . 'the;, execution ground. Ho assured us._ that tho oxecutipner,. was in no way a relation! Wo viewed the spot where Chineso, desperadoes are so often despatched to the world beyond., and tried to look interested when tho cheer-

ful old executioner fcaid ho had beheaded J twelve 'men' in", one' day of the previous, wcok.' ■ Somebody asked if ho could oeb his sword. .' "Ten cfents kumshaw (present)," said ! the' oxecutioner. The guide declined to pay, and argued that this was outsido our contract. ■Wo paid again, and tho 'oxccutioner 'brought out his big sword, and lot us feci tho razoredged blade. Then ho seiz-id. tho handle in . both hands, took aim at an; imaginary human . neck, leaped into the air,' and .brought his grim tool'of trade down , with great force. ''Always ■ only one chop," ho explained proudly, with tho air of. a" man who knows his business. Yet wo have been told that if relatives do not pay a'Chinese bxecutioner the victim is seldom sent over tho ■ border by tho first cut. Perhaps the Canton executioner is an exception in his profession. While'he toyed with his sword his children flocked around tho visitors, and called "Kum-i-shaw, mister; kumshaw, mister." A WONDERFUL CLOCK. ' Our guide was a chcerful soul. Ho took us rioxt to the prison. .Wo viewed-the Chineso prisoners at work, and both the, guurds and tho prisoners demandod' "kumshaw." Wo referred them to the guide, and both he and they sworo in Chinese. The coolies wore again lii'ed,' and wo stopped at a ourio shop. The keeper, strange to say, was not a relative of the guide. Next, we visited the water clock, Canton's' most ■ wonderful sight. It is supposed to bo 600 years'old, and is a pleasant relic,, in a .big joss house, . This-.wonder-, ful timepiece is a combination of four great cisterns. The water drips, drop by drop, from one to the other. The rising of tho water in thd bottom .cistern causes a float to ; ascend, which elevates a brass rod protruding through a slit,! resembling the, niche in a child's money-box. The hours and 'minutes are marked on the rod. At midnight a at tho joss house transfers the water from tho lower cistern to the upper one. .This," 1 our guide told us, hai been dono devoutly for 600 years! We were not so.impressed with the information: as we might have been had ho had fewer relatives. An abundanco of unclos and cousins who all sell ) goods at high prices is bad for a guido's reputation as a faithful raconteur., One of Canton's sights is to watch the fish boats cbmo down the rivor and unload their cargoes into the steamers going down to , Hongkong. The fish are brought down in shallow punts about 20ft. long and 3ft. deep. About a foot from the gunwales a number of holes are bored. When the fish aro caught and emptied from tho nets their weight causes the boat to sink, and the water flows ill on to' tho catch. Then tho fishprmen row , down to Canton and await tho arrival of the steamers. These steamers are fitted , with :tanks.' Tho,fishermen scoop the fish up with, their nets and transfer thorn-nil alive to the steamer. On arrival at Hongkong tho fish aro as lively as ever, and they are then trans--1 ferred to moro tanks in the market place. "There are no scenic beauties to describe in - Canton. It has one other peculiarity besides ) its dirt —it has a smell that is its own. \_ou ' can visit Canton iii the morning,: sco its ; sights, and leavo that evening; but its smell oii" iu. vour memory for a month.