Page:Brinkley - China - Volume 2.djvu/151

The enterprise and integrity of the Chinese merchant have become proverbial, and have been eulogised by writer after writer in strong terms,—exaggerated eulogies in some cases, perhaps, but at all events sufficiently unanimous, to place the main fact beyond doubt. From the beginning of the nineteenth century clear testimony on this point was recorded by foreigners doing business in Canton, and was soon supplemented by convincing facts. At first all commercial transactions of foreigners with China were conducted through a syndicate of native firms, known as the Hong^[1] Merchants, who, in return for the privilege of monopolising this business, became security to the local officials for the payment of duties on the trade and for the good behaviour of the foreign traders. The system worked well in some respects, but it presented also some very irksome features, especially as interposing an effectual barrier to direct intercourse between foreign and