Papurau Newydd Cymru

Chwiliwch 15 miliwn o erthyglau papurau newydd Cymru

Cuddio Rhestr Erthyglau

25 erthygl ar y dudalen hon

,¡ THE ALLEGED HOTEL FRAUDS.

COSTUME BALL IN A LUNATIC…

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ATTEMPTED MURDER AND ROBBERY.

THE TELEPHONE.

ON THE DIZZY BRINK.

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THE COMMERCIAL DEPRESSION.…

THE GROWTH OF WEALTH.

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A ROMANTIC MARRIAGE.'I

CHARGE OF ABDUCTION..

CO-OPERATIVE SANITATION.

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A TRIUMPH OF MEDICAID SKlr

FUNERAL OF KING VICTOR EMMANUEL.

CARDINAL MANNING AND THE „…

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TWO SENTENCES OF DEATH.]

FENCES IN THE FORGED LEASES…

THE MAT%0NIAL MARKET IN PARIS.

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LIFE ON A GREAT CHINESE RIVER.

Newyddion
Dyfynnu
Rhannu

.——————————————————-< i LIFE ON A GREAT CHINESE RIVER. An American traveller, a patriotic citizen of the United States, writes to the New York Times ¡ from Hankow, under date of the 7th of I October, as follows: The regular navigation of the Yang-tze-Kiang by steam is an affair of the last fifteen years, and was originally an American enterprise. The river is one of the largest streams in the world. Here at Hankow, above 600 miies from the sea. the Yang tze equals the Mississippi at Natobes or Vieksburf and the current is said to he only a lit less than four miles an hour. At Chinkiang, passed >-•> our way up, the river is plentifully dotted with boats and junkn, but this condttiun is not peculiar to the vicinity of Ohinkiang. All tbe way up we find them, and sometimes there will be twenty or thirty boats sailing so closely together as almost to endanger each other's cordage and sides. You have seen New York Bay on a pleasant afternoon in summer, when every boat that could hoist a sail was out for an airing. Well, imagine this whole river for hundreds of miles as thickly covered with sails as o«r bay i3 on the occasion I have indicated, and you can get an idea of the native commerce of the Yang-tze. From Chinkiang the river is quite picturesque in places, and occasionally reminds you of the St. Lawrence or the Columbia; but I was unprepared to see the ruins of so many villages and cities which were destroyed in the Taeping rebellion, and a sparse population through so many miles of a land of teeming millions." Occasionally we pass groups of men at work. Some are cuttine: reeds for fuel, others collecting cotton, hemp, and other products of the earth; and others extracting indigo from the plant which produces it. The plant is bruised and soaked in large tubs till the colouring matter is extracted. The indigo settles to the bottom of the tub, and the water is poured off then the cake is dried, and we have the indigo of, commerce. We see a lot of little stages, perhaps 30ft. high, and just large enough at top for I one man, who works there, patiently and alone. He is braiding bamboo cable. It goes down by its own weight as fast as he braids it, and is coiled on the ground beneath. Frequently there are fishermen seated along the bank engaged in raising and lowering nets at the end of long bamboos, which are balanced like well-sweeps. It is capital employment for a lazy man and not at all exciting. Hankow, from which I write, is a great trade centre. Frequently the mouth of the Han is so crowded with junks that the river is entirely covered, and one may walk for hours by stepping from one deck to another. Until last Msrch the steam navigation of the Ynng-tze has been virtually in American hands. There have been oc- casional attempts at English opposition, but they never amounted to much. The strongest British opposition ever made here is at the present time against the China Merchants' Company. I came up and shall return on the steamer Kiane Ohinar. for- merly the Hirado. She was built in New York, and bears a strong resemblance to one of the Stoning- ton or New London beats, is 300ft. long, has a walking beam engine, and large capacity for freight and steerage passengers- For European passengers she has a dozen rooms of unusually large size, and a comfortable and finely-supplied table and I can say with my hand on my heart that taking rooms, cabin, table, deck, boat, and servants all together, I never had equal comfort on board A steamboat. My room is 9ft. square, with a four-poster bed, and there is a small room at one side with a bath-room and other attachments. Captain Paul is an ancient mariner from the State of Maine. The officers, pilots, and engineers are Americans, but the resi of the equipage is Chinese or Malay. The boat's pay roll includes about seventy persons, thirteen of whom are American or European. Just now the fares are low, owing to opposition. At first they asked the modest figure of 300 taels, or S400, for the simple passage between £11. .1 U.t, V 1 :l £ -11 .L:1 ¿. years ago, when it reached 30 taels, or S40. For a couple of months it has been only 18 taels, or $24, and this is what I paid coming up and must pay for the return. Freights were originally very high, and are still at a paying figure. The business has been very profitable, and the captain tells me he has known a single round trip to pay the entire cost of a boat. Hc adds, Some of the boats have made money enough iø silver to overload and sink them if all put on at once." Last year the line was sold to the Ohina Merchants' Company, which is entirely native- stockholders, directors, agents, and all. I bought my ticket of a Chinaman, who wrote English as rapidly as I could, and more legibly. One only of the boats has an entire Chinese equipage—captain, engineers, pilot, and all; on the rest the officers remains as of old. There has been a demand for opening ports further in the interior than Hanlcow, and finally it was arranged that Ichang, 400 miles further up the Yang-tze, should be made free to foreign traffic. April 1, 1877, was fixed for the openin yjj and owing to the entry of General Shep&rd, Untt*^ States Consul at Hankow, our country's flag was hoisted there, and was the only foreign one that flut' tered in the breezes of Ichang. The general and his staff went there on the United States steamship Monocacy, and on their arrival the shipping and flag- staffs on the land were liberally decorated and grand salutes were fired. Our flag was hoisted in front of the temporary consulate, saluted with seven guns from the Monocacy and any number from the Government boats. It was the first foreign flag to float officially in the interior of China, a thousand miles and more from the sea.

MURDEROUS BRAWL IN A PUBLIC-I…

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