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Auction: 21042 - The Opium Wars Collection
Lot: 31

First Opium War
The Kowloon Incident
The Opening of Canton
1839 (28 Sept.) long entire letter to William Wetmore in New York, carried privately on the "Oneida", rated "6" (internal U.S. postage), pencil notation shows this was received on 30 March; there is a light horizontal filing fold; exceptionally fresh.


The contents of the letter begin, "We did not write you at Hong Kong owing to the difficulties of communication ", and indicate how much had changed to the trade in Canton, " ... The tea, as well as the silk men are impressed that the notion that the English trade will soon be opened, and what serves to strengthen it is the fleet of ships that have lately come into port. Had not Captain Elliot unjustifiably tampered with the course of trade to which every British merchant as well as those of other nations, has a claim upon to pursue. Till it becomes purely a government question, the number of ships which have come in, would have had no sensible effect upon prices such as it now has, but imports would have gradually advanced and exports declined ... No vessel had done any thing in the way of discharging with the exception of the Canton Packet which was the first vessel arrived ... Thomchine assures me that he has a letter from Tea Country, saying that the news of the stoppage of trade had reached there and that prices for Twankeys and Hysons had fallen very much"


1839年9月28日由私人輪船 "Oneida" 携往紐約的William Wetmore 信函, 費用為 "6" (美國國內郵資), 鉛筆寫道信函在3月30日收到. 此信函除有些摺痕外, 整體保存良好. 信的內容大既為 "由於聯係困難, 我們沒有在香港給你寫信”, 並說明廣州的貿易有多大變化, “...茶，以及絲綢商人, 對英國貿易即將開放的想法印象深刻，而最近進港的船隊則有助於加強這一想法…" 信中亦講述義律不當的干預貿易往來及貿易終斷等情况, 又提到由於停止貿易, 而而中國境內茶葉價格大跌, 特別是屯溪茶 (Twankeys)及熙春/ 雨前茶 (Hysons) 的價格受影響最嚴重.

Estimate
HK$3,000 to HK$6,000

Starting price
HK$2200