On the ship, they first sealed the gunpowder magazine on the ship - they used a long strip of paper with words and numbers written on it in ink and stuck it tightly to the door. If they wanted to open it, they had to destroy the paper. This
The note seemed to have legal significance, for our Chinese sailors said it was stamped with some kind of seal of authority.
The most strange thing to me is that they used Arabic numerals when signing the sealing date - this is really puzzling, and they used the era of the birth of the Lord Jesus. Obviously they are not ordinary Asian barbarians.
This method of seizure was also used when they put all our weapons, from swords to matchlocks, into the weapons depot for storage. For the cannons on the "Magdeburg", they used a special wooden plug
It’s just the fire gate.
The Australians did not take away our sails and cables. In addition, their seizure was completely symbolic. Compared with the Japanese who wanted to take away all our weapons and gunpowder and dismantle the sails and cables, it is obvious that Australia
People are very confident in their own strength.
The Australians then sprinkled a large amount of a potion in all places except the cargo hold - it was not wine or vinegar, but a turbid white potion. We immediately knew where the strange smell on their bodies came from. Officially
This milky white potion made our whole ship wet and filled with a pungent smell. Some people felt dizzy and dizzy after smelling it. We all had to run to the deck to avoid the poison of the smell.
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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 purchase various daily necessities at designated locations on the pier during the berth.
Necessities. The customs official informed us of the local tax rules and handed us a booklet listing the tax rates for all imported and exported goods in Lingao. Such a convenient and open approach was eye-opening.
This is the most comprehensive customs tariff I have ever seen. Every imported and exported commodity has a special tax rate. Most commodities have a low tax rate. Here I have to say that among the commodities we shipped, the tax rate for spices
It is on the high side. Australians actually levy an import tax of 24% - obviously Australians don't like this product very much. The tax rates on logs, grain, linen and woolen goods are extremely low, and grain and logs are even tax-free.
The customs official asked me if I was going to sell all the goods on the ship in Lingao. I said: I came to Lingao just for this purpose. Then they unloaded the goods on the "Magdeburg" - the goods were in Lingao.
Before a transaction is concluded, it will be temporarily stored in a dedicated warehouse at the terminal until the transaction is completed - I have no objection to this.
The scene of unloading cargo was very spectacular! Your Excellency, everyone present said that this was an unforgettable scene in their lives. As I said before, they used cranes to load and unload cargo, just like we do in The Hague and Amsterdam. But their huge
The cranes were so flexible and powerful that we were all fascinated to see them. Although these cranes looked like just frames made of iron beams and wooden columns, they were very sturdy in operation.
You must still remember the cranes used on the docks in Amsterdam and other places. They are as huge as a building, but their lifting capacity is pitifully small. Three strong men in the mouse cage run with all their strength to drive the crane to lift the goods. The Australians
It can be easily done using the mysterious fire machine, and the cargo lifted at one time is ten or even twenty times the weight.
The Australians use several special devices to improve the efficiency of transportation. One is similar to a huge fishing net, and packages of goods: rice and spices are put into mesh bags in dozens of packages and then lifted by a crane. The other is
The huge pallet - they call it a pallet, seems to be an iron frame, covered with thick wooden boards. Logs, woolen cloth, linen and other boxes of goods are placed on this kind of pallet and then lifted. In order to prevent
Collisions during the lifting process caused the goods to fall, and each time a large net was tied to them.
I have to admit that although this device is very simple and clear at a glance, it is meaningless to us because we do not have a crane capable of lifting such a weight.
The third device is the weirdest. I don't know how to describe it to you. There is a "track" on the stone trestle. It looks like a ladder lying on the ground. It is just made of iron. Australians
A series of vehicles are used on it. The wheels of the vehicles are fixed on iron bars - they can only roll along the iron bars. It is said that this allows the vehicles to carry heavy goods. Most of the vehicles are unobstructed on all sides.
Flatbed truck. A lot of goods lifted from the ship are placed directly on the truck, and when they are full, they are pulled away.
Here, I have to say that the most amazing thing happened - these vehicles did not use horses or manpower. They started walking automatically after making a sharp horn sound. We are wondering what drives them.
There was a lot of controversy about the vehicles. In our opinion, this train weighed at least tens of thousands of pounds, and even horses would have to use many horses. Several soldiers and sailors swore that they saw the devil pushing the cart behind -
―I doubt this. I think the Australians have mastered some kind of mysterious power. This power should be the same as the power that drives the crane. It is a firepower machine.
After unloading, the customs official gave us a list of goods. At the same time, he reminded us: after paying import duties, all incoming goods must first be purchased by Australians before we are allowed to sell them freely. Australians do not purchase them.
It is valuable and we cannot conduct any transactions with the local indigenous people.
Another tax that the Australians levy on us is the parking tax - here we have to talk about their weights and measures. They use a length unit called "meter". The Australians use a certain unit of length based on the length and width of our ships.
The formula is used to calculate the "tonnage" of the vessel. This is approximately an Australian unit of weight or volume, and berthing tax is charged per ton.
In general: Australian customs are the best I have ever seen. They work quickly and do not extort us the fees that are customary in all ports.
Here I want to mention their officials. It is difficult to distinguish Australian officials from ordinary people in terms of clothing. They have the same short hair and wear the same blue, black and natural clothing. This kind of clothing is short and tight,
Some are similar to our fencing tops. The clothes are open in the middle and fastened to each other with buttons. There are usually four pockets on the tops - this is the biggest difference between them and ordinary people. According to their regulations, this is only enjoyed by officials.
treatment.
I don't know what the specific function of the two breast pockets is, because the upper pocket is almost just a piece of cloth fixed to the front breast. The officials are completely decorative except for holding a pen. They are all
They are obeyed and respected by the people. They are generally called "cadres", just like "gentlemen" in our language.
The clothes of the officials are very frugal. They do not wear satin or woolen cloth, but cotton or linen clothes. There is no gold or silver thread or embroidery decoration on the clothes, and the buttons are made of wood. Let your officials wear the latest clothes.
We are just like lowly people, and the Australian government's ideas are indeed beyond our understanding.
During the quarantine, we had been living on the ship. The Australians sold us a lot of fresh food: all kinds of fruits, vegetables, fish, but there was always no supply of meat, eggs and milk. The soldiers and sailors complained about this.
——We only have bacon on board, and everyone hopes to eat fresh meat. For this reason, we asked the Australian officials who came to inspect to purchase some pigs and cattle, but the other party said they could not meet our needs. After my repeated attempts,
Upon request, they provided us with some chickens and geese - all slaughtered.
Australians seem to be very short of meat, just like the Chinese. But even when sailing along the coast of China, you can buy pigs, chickens, and sometimes cattle as long as you take out Spanish reals. And quarantine on the Lingao ship
During this period, we could not buy a pig no matter how much we paid. Everyone was very dissatisfied with this. Fortunately, they could still supply chickens and geese once a week.
The Australians are very rich in the supply of alcohol. They supply rum in large quantities, enough for sailors and soldiers to bathe in it, and they also supply a sweet and sour beer, which is hardly a drink.
They grow wine, but because of its rich foam and refreshing taste, everyone loves to drink it - Australians call it "kvas". They put kvass in pot-bellied glass bottles, plug them with wooden stoppers and use wire
Seal them with wax, soak them in sea water and drink them to make a refreshing drink.
Following your instructions, Messrs. Gonzalez, Leib Trini and I observe the situation of the port every day. The port they call "Bopu" is not very big, but because it faces
The strait is very narrow, and there are many anchorages suitable for berthing ships. Therefore, it can accommodate enough ships. We saw the fort at the end of the stone trestle - just as the brochure you gave us said. This fort is very tall, not so much
It's a fort rather than a hill. But we can't tell whether there are cannons installed on it, and whether the cannons can shoot to the distance mentioned in the brochure - it's a restricted area, and you can't get close without special documents. Gonzalez said to the above
Some cannons were skeptical. He believed that the location of the fort was too far inland. If the cannons were fired from above, the cannonballs would fly more than one league in a straight line to the sea. It was difficult to imagine that a cannon could shoot so far.