Chapter 50: The Commercial Agent's Report (Part 2)

They first sealed the ship’s powder magazine with a long strip of paper, on which text and numbers were written in ink. It was stuck tightly to the door, and to open it, the paper strip had to be broken. This paper strip seemed to have legal significance, as our Chinese sailors said it was stamped with some kind of seal symbolizing authority.

What surprised me most was that they used Arabic numerals when signing the sealing date—which was truly puzzling—and they used the era of the birth of our Lord Jesus. It was clear that they were not ordinary Asian barbarians.

This method of sealing was also used when they placed all our weapons, from swords to matchlocks, in the armory and sealed it. As for the cannons on the “Magdeburg,” they simply blocked the touchholes with a special wooden plug.

The Australians did not take our sails and rigging. In addition, their sealing actions were purely symbolic. Compared to the Japanese, who would take all our weapons and gunpowder and even dismantle our sails and rigging, it was clear that the Australians were very confident in their own military power.

The Australians then sprinkled a large amount of a certain liquid in all places except the cargo hold—it was neither wine nor vinegar, but a turbid white liquid. We immediately knew where the strange smell on them came from; it was this milky white liquid. It made our entire ship damp and filled with a pungent smell. Some people felt dizzy and faint after smelling it, and we had to all go up to the deck to escape the poison of this smell.

After confirming that everything had been done according to their requirements, the officials boarded the ship again and issued us the necessary documents. According to this document, we could send people to designated locations on the wharf to purchase various daily necessities during our stay. The customs officials informed us of the local tax regulations and gave us a small booklet listing the tax rates for all imported and exported goods in Lingao. Such a convenient and transparent practice was truly eye-opening.

This was the most complete customs tariff I have ever seen. Every imported and exported commodity had a specific tax rate. The tax rates for most goods were not high. I have to say that among the goods we transported, the tax rate for spices was on the high side; the Australians actually levied a 24% import tax—it was clear that the Australians did not like this commodity very much. The tax rates for logs, grain, linen, and woolen cloth were extremely low; grain and logs were even tax-free.

The customs official asked me if I was prepared to sell all the cargo on the ship in Lingao. I said: that is precisely why I have come to Lingao. They then unloaded the cargo from the “Magdeburg”—the cargo would be temporarily stored in a dedicated warehouse on the wharf until a deal was reached, to which I had no objection.

The scene of unloading the cargo was very spectacular! Your Excellency, everyone present said it was an unforgettable scene in their lives. As I have said before, they use cranes to load and unload cargo, just as we do in The Hague and Amsterdam. But their huge cranes are so flexible and powerful that we were all fascinated. Although these cranes looked like just frames made of iron beams and wooden posts, they were very sturdy in operation.

Your Excellency must remember the cranes used on the wharves in Amsterdam and other places, which are as huge as a building, but their lifting capacity is pitifully small. The goods that three strong men running at full speed in a treadmill could lift, the Australians did with ease using a mysterious fire-powered machine, lifting ten or even twenty times the weight at once.

The Australians use several special devices to improve the efficiency of transportation. One is like a huge fishing net. Bags of goods, such as rice and spices, are placed in the net bag by the dozens and then lifted by a crane. Another is a huge pallet—they call it a cargo pallet, which seems to be an iron frame with thick wooden boards on top. Logs, woolen cloth, linen, and other boxed goods are placed on this pallet and then lifted. To prevent the goods from falling off due to collisions during lifting, a large net is also tied over them each time.

I have to admit that although this device is very simple and self-explanatory, it is meaningless to us, because we do not have cranes that can lift such a weight.

The third device is the most peculiar. I don’t know how to describe it to Your Excellency. On the stone pier, there is a kind of “track,” which looks very similar to a ladder laid on the ground, but it is made of iron. The Australians use a string of vehicles on it. The wheels of the vehicles are fixed to the iron bars—they can only roll along the iron bars. It is said that this allows the vehicles to carry very heavy goods. Most of the vehicles are flatbed cars without sides. Many of the goods lifted from the ship are placed directly on the cars, and when a train is full, it is pulled away.

Here, I have to say that the most amazing thing happened—these vehicles were not pulled by horses or by human power; they started moving on their own after a sharp horn sounded. There was a great debate among us as to what drove the vehicles. In our opinion, this train weighed at least ten thousand pounds, and even with horses, many would be needed. Several soldiers and sailors swore that they saw a devil pushing the train from behind—I doubt this. I believe that the Australians have mastered some kind of mysterious power, and this power should be the same as the power that drives the cranes, a kind of fire-powered machine.

After the unloading was finished, the customs official gave us a cargo list. At the same time, he reminded us that all imported goods, after paying import duties, must first be selected for purchase by the Australians before we are allowed to sell them freely. We could not conduct any transactions with the local natives before the Australians had made their purchases.

Another tax that the Australians levied on us was the berthing tax—here I have to mention their system of weights and measures. They use a unit of length called the “meter.” The Australians calculate the “tonnage” of our ship using some formula based on its length and width. This is probably a unit of weight or volume for the Australians, and the berthing tax is collected per ton.

In general, the Australian customs is the best customs I have ever seen. They are efficient and do not extort the customary fees that are common in all ports.

Here I want to mention their officials. In terms of clothing, it is difficult to distinguish Australian officials from ordinary people. They have the same short hair and wear similar blue, black, and natural-colored clothes. These clothes are short and tight, somewhat similar to our fencing jackets. The clothes are open in the front and fastened with buttons. The jackets usually have four pockets—this is the biggest difference between them and ordinary people. According to their regulations, this is a privilege only enjoyed by officials.

I don’t know the specific function of the two breast pockets, as the upper pocket is almost just a piece of cloth fixed to the front of the jacket. The officials use it only to hold a pen and it is completely decorative. They are obeyed and respected by the people and are commonly called “cadres,” just as we use the term “gentleman” in our language.

The officials’ clothing is very simple. They do not wear silk or woolen cloth, but cotton or linen clothes. There are no gold or silver threads or embroidery on their clothes, and the buttons are made of wood. To have their officials dress the same as the most humble commoners, the Australian government’s thinking is truly beyond our comprehension.

During the quarantine period, we were idle on the ship. The Australians sold us a large amount of fresh food: various fruits, vegetables, and fish, but they never supplied meat, eggs, or milk. The soldiers and sailors complained about this—we only had salted meat on board, and everyone hoped to eat fresh meat. For this reason, we requested to purchase some pigs and cows from the Australian officials who came to inspect, but the other party said they could not meet our demand. After my repeated requests, they only provided us with some chickens and geese—all slaughtered.

It seems that the Australians, like the Chinese, are very short of meat. But even when sailing along the coast of China, as long as you have Spanish reales, you can buy pigs and chickens, and sometimes even cows. But during the quarantine on the ship in Lingao, we could not buy a single pig no matter how much we offered. Everyone was very dissatisfied with this. Fortunately, they could still supply chickens and geese once a week.

In terms of alcohol supply, the Australians were very generous. They supplied a large amount of rum, enough for the sailors and soldiers to bathe in it. They also supplied a sweet and sour beer, which was hardly a kind of alcohol, but because of its rich foam and cool taste, everyone loved to drink it—the Australians called it “kvass.” They put the kvass in large-bellied glass bottles, sealed them with corks, and then sealed them with wire and wax. Soaking them in seawater and then drinking them was a cool and refreshing drink.

Following your instructions, Your Excellency, Mr. Gonzalez, Mr. Leib Trini, and I observed the condition of the port every day. The port they call “Bopu” is not very large, but because it faces a very narrow strait and has many suitable anchorages for ships, it can accommodate a large number of ships. We saw the battery at the end of the stone pier—just as you told us in the booklet. This battery is very tall, more like a small hill than a battery. But whether there are cannons on it, and whether the cannons can shoot to the distance mentioned in the booklet, we could not judge—it is a restricted area, and no one can get close without a special permit. Gonzalez was skeptical about there being cannons on it. He believed that the location of the battery was too far inland, and for a cannonball to fly to the sea from there, the straight-line distance was more than a league. It was hard to imagine that a cannon could shoot so far.