willingly admitt any strangers to the view of yt, being ye passage and secure harbour for their best jounckes both of warr and merchandice. So that the Portugall's traffick to Canton is only in small vessells through divers narrow shoald streightes amongst many broken islands adjoyning to the mayne. To whom yt was noe small wonder that wth out any pilott or any the least helpe of an interpretor our people should penetrate soe ffar. And, indeed, yt hath caused dyvers of the best understandinge amongst them to make publique confession of their own errour in refuseinge to afford us reasonable libertie of trade at our first cominge to Maccaw, whereby wee were enforced to this attempt wch they prognostically (prognosticate) and wee hope truly will in a few yeares bee the ruine of their vain glorious pride and ostentacion; yet hereby the honest dealing off our nacon contrary to their slanderous reports is apparently manifested and made knowne, as well to the principall Governours of yt Province as to the principall Merchants and all sortes of people."
(From Allom & Wright's "China.")
(From a print in the British Museum.)
On the 15th the party in the pinnace (which included Messrs. Mounteney and Robinson, supercargoes) got a Chinese' boatman to conduct them to Canton. Un the l6th Mounteney and Robinson went ashore with a flag of truce, were carried overland a league to the harbour of Lampton "wch is a station for their prime men of warr of the King's armada as Chattom is in England for his Maties shipps." On the 18th, as they were going up the river, they met the Chinese fleet coming down and were requested to anchor. This they did. At first the Chinese admiral "began somewhat roughly to expostulate," and demanded to know what had induced the English "to come thither and discovered p'hibited and concealed pts. and passages of so great Prince's dominions?" To this Robinson replied "that they were come from a potent prince of Europe, who being in amitye wth all his neighbours, desir'd likewise the friendshipp of ye greate King of China, and to that end had his order to treate of such capitulacons as might conduce to the good of both princes and subjects hopeinge that it might be lawfull for them as the inhabitants of Maccaw to exercise a free commerce there payinge duties as the others." Upon this the admiral became more affable and offered a small junk to take the party up the river, on the understanding that the pinnace proceeded no further. The offer was accepted, and Messrs. Mounteney and Robinson and Captain Carter, of the Ann, started the same night on their journey. When within five leagues of Canton they were met by a message from the authorities entreating them to proceed no further and promising that influence should be used with the "subordinate Viceroy for Trade" to obtain permission to trade if they returned to Macao. Deeming that they would best serve their ends by acquiescence in this request the party returned in the Ann to Macao. Shortly afterwards a reply was received from the Portuguese flatly declining to accord permission to trade. Upon this Captain Weddell summoned a council, and the matter having been "well pondered," and "the notorious treacheries of ye p'fidious Portugall's now plainly appearinge" it was agreed that the whole fleet should, with all convenient speed, depart for Lampton. On July 31st the vessels set sail and arrived off the mouth of the river on August 6th. The Mandarins came on board and these promised to solicit for them at Canton the grant of a right to trade. For eight days the fleet waited for the permit, and then an incident occurred which precipitated matters. As one of the fleet's boats was endeavouring to find a watering place it was fired on from a "desolate castle" which had been hastily fortified by the Chinese owing to the slanders of the Portuguese. Weddell was not the man to sit quietly under an act of treachery of this description. Calling his ships to arms he ranged them in position near the castle and poured in a succession of broadsides. At the end of two hours boats were landed with a hundred men and the English flag was planted on the ramparts of the now abandoned position. The ordnance was brought on board, and the Council House, which formed a part of the port, was fired. Further retaliation was later resorted to in the capture of two junks, one laden with timber and the other with salt. After this overtures for peace were made by the Chinese. Ultimately Messrs. Mounteney and Robinson proceeded to Canton, and on the 18th attended at the Viceroy's palace to present their petition to trade. They were received with great honours and their request was granted, the Mandarin blaming the treachery of the Portuguese for all the troubles that had arisen. The party returned from Canton "bringinge with them a ffirma or pattent for ffree trade and liberty to fortifie upon any convenient (place) without the mouth of ye river." The Chinese ordnance was landed from the fleet and restored to them, and the pinnace was sent to discover some island
