FOREIGN  TRADE  277
the  foreign  trader,  living  ordinarily  at  Macao,  came  to
Canton  to  attend  to  the  business  of  his  ship,  and  while
there  lived  in  his  factory  ;  when  his  ship’s  business  was
finished,  he  was  supposed  to  return  to  Macao,  or  to  any
other  place  in  the  outside  world,  obtaining  for  his  exit,  but
not  for  his  entrance,  a  permit  (or  rather  four  documents  :
ist,  a  guarantee  by  several  of  the  Hong  merchants  ;  2nd,  the
Hoppo’s  laissez  passer-,  3rd,  a  formal  pass  to  be  countersigned
by  each  fort  and  taxing  station  en  route  ;  4th,  a  permit  for
the  effects  and  property  taken  along,  for  which  he  paid  a
fee  which,  on  occasion,  would  rise  as  high  as  Tls.300  (£100),
This  was  the  theory  ;  in  practice  the  ships  arrived  in  fleets,
or  at  fixed  periods,  aiming  at  reaching  Canton  as  soon  after
the  north-east  monsoon  had  set  in  as  possible  (October),
and  at  leaving  before  the  south-west  monsoon  had
developed  force  (say  March)  to  prevent  a  good  passage
down  the  China  Sea  ;  and  the  foreigners  usually  came  and
went  in  a  body.  During  the  summer  one  or  two  members
would  be  left  in  Canton,  not,  ostensibly,  to  protect  the
factory,  which  was  under  the  absolutely  trustworthy
protection  of  the  Co-Hong,  or  rather  of  that  member
specifically  assigned  to  the  factory,  but  on  the  pretext,
always  accepted  for  an  annually  recurring  consideration,
that  an  out-of-season  ship  was,  or  might  be,  expected,
or  that  their  import  cargoes  had  not  been  sold.  When
a  ship  arrived,  its  first  duty  was  to  obtain  a  licensed  pilot
at  Macao,  and  a  ship’s  comprador  first  at  Macao,  later  at
Whampoa,  the  anchorage,  ten  miles  below  Canton  :  these,
especially  the  latter,  monopolised  all  dealings  with  the  ship,
as  ship,  fixing  their  own  prices.  On  arrival  at  the  Bogue
(Bocea  Tigris,  Hoomunchai,  Tiger’s  Gullet),  the  one  narrow
entrance  for  laden  ships,  a  permit  to  enter  had  to  be  taken
out,  for  which  fees  had  to  be  paid.  An  authentic  account  *
of  the  fees  paid  for  a  ship  entering  in  1830  shows  the  extreme ­
  elasticity  of  the  official  tariff,  over  and  above  the
gratifications  paid  to  numerous  subordinates  to  facilitate
the  smooth  running  of  the  machinery.
*  “Old  Canton,”  by  W.  C.  Hunter.