FOREIGN  TRADE

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the  factories  at  Canton  the  Swedish,  Danish,  and  Imperial  ;
the  memory  of  the  Danes  is  still  preserved  in  Dane  Island
at  Whampoa,  and  the  Imperial  factory  probably  provided
chiefly  for  what  is  now  Belgian  trade  and,  possibly,  for  that
of  the  Hanseatic  towns.  Others,  without  separate  factories,
came  also  under  British  protection  from  India,  as  if  in  anticipation ­
  of  their  future  absorption.  The  Portuguese  remained
solely  at  Macao,  but  otherwise  Canton  was  a  microcosm
with  (in  the  order  from  east  to  west)  its  Dutch,  East  India
Company’s,  general  English,  Swedish,  Imperial,  American,
French,  Spanish,  and  Danish  factories,  with  four  others
let  out  in  apartments.

Factory  and  Hong  System
In  the  old  Canton  régime,  the  “  factory  ”  (which  must
be  understood  in  the  old  sense  of  the  residence  or  station
of  the  “  factor  ”  or  agent  of  the  home  company)  represented ­
  the  purely  foreign  side,  being  the  counting-house,
warehouse,  treasury,  and  residence  of  the  foreign  trader
during  such  time  of  the  year  as  he  was  allowed  to  remain
at  Canton.  The  Hong,  or  Co-Hong,  or  Guild  was  the  sole
medium  through  which  the  foreign  trader  could  enter  into
trade  relations  with  the  Chinese  Empire.  The  first  steps
in  this  direction  were  taken  in  1702,  when  one  man  was
appointed  to  be  the  sole  broker  through  whom  all  foreigners
should  buy  and  sell.  In  1720  the  Co-Hong  was  established
as  a  body  corporate,  and  in  1745  their  position  was  reaffirmed, ­
  they  were  given  an  absolute  monopoly  of  all
dealings  with  foreigners,  and  were  held  responsible  for  their
debts  and  good  behavior  :  in  the  latter  days  the  number
°f  members  was  thirteen.  In  1760  more  stringent  regulations ­
  were  drawn  up  to  the  following  effect  :—
I.  All  vessels  of  war  are  prohibited  from  entering  the
t&gt;ogue.  Vessels  of  war  acting  as  convoy  to  merchantmen ­
  must  anchor  outside  at  sea  until  their  merchants
s hips  are  ready  to  depart,  and  must  then  sail  away
w ith  them.