The Attorney-General, the
Treasurer, and four unofficial members, nominated by the Crown on the
Governor's recommendation.
The enormous preponderance of the mixed Oriental population is a source
of some difficulty, and it is not easy by our laws to punish and
destroy a peculiarly hateful form of slavery which is recognized by
Chinese custom, and which has attained gigantic proportions in
Victoria. There is an immense preponderance of the masculine element,
nearly six to one among the Europeans, and among the Orientals the men
are nearly two and a half times as numerous as the women.
As Victoria is a free port, it is impossible to estimate the value of
its imports and exports, but its harbor, full of huge merchantmen, and
craft of all nations, its busy wharves, its crowd of lighters loading
and unloading by day and night, its thronged streets and handsome
shops, its huge warehouses, packed with tea, silk, and all the costly
products of the East, and its hillsides terraced with the luxurious
houses of its merchants, all say, "Circumspice, these are better than
statistics!"]
I. L. B.
LETTER III
The S.S. Kin Kiang - First View of Canton - The Island of
Shameen - England in Canton - The Tartar City - Drains and
Barricades - Canton at Night - Street Picturesqueness - Ghastly
Gifts - Oriental Enchantments - The Examination Hall
S.S. "KIN KIANG," December 30.
