The Sun. — London, England, 1857-02-25 00:00:00

SIITIN I LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 25, 1857. i tr- l IVIPE 7 IIIAL PARLIAMENT. AOUSE OF LORDS (1 7 ESTERDAY.) The 4.r , JORD CHANCELLOR took his seat upon the woel. a e ' r A fou r o ' c l oc k , a t w hi c h ti me th e h ouse presente d th: ' '47 animated appearance. The space before the seat, was crowded, and the galleries at each side were 71°$ (3 very f u ll y a tt en d e d by l a di es . A l arge nur•Liber of are members of the House of Commons were, present. Dallas, the American Minister, occupied a seat in the peeresses gallery. _Lord S A Y E and SELE presented 'a pe tition from er eford, deprec a ti n g the bombardinfAt of Canton and the e xPfedition to Persia, and pro - ying that the house 'would exercise a proper control over the foreign policy (4 the Government. _ _ ROYAL MARINE FORCE DILL. On the motion of Earl GRANVILLE, this bill was c ead a third time. THE HOSTILITIES AT CANTON. T 'ne Earl of DERBY having presented a number of Petitions emanating from various localities, and express ring, as the noble earl said, 'what he believed to be the 'feeling of the country generally, complaining of the un neeeeeary destruction of life at Canton, resulting from the unnecessary bombardment of that city by the British naval forces under Admiral Sepr,our, by direction of Sir X. Bowring, and setting fort;', that ti.at constitutional principle which invests the, Queen alone with the pre rogative of declaring War :an d ma ki ng peace has been violated in these 'proceedings, and praying that an order might be ',u.smediately issued for suspending hostilities, and ree AMiCg the three officers by whom, and at whose ins+ Alice, the prerogative of the Crown has been violet , d, proceeded to introduce the motion of which he had 'given notice. He said—My lords, I am now about to, , address the highest judicial assembly in the world, and I wish I could persuade myself that in so doing every member of that august assembly would PPreach the consideration of the important question I have to bring before them in a purely judicial spirit ; t hat they would regard it in reference to no considers. tie n , (, except th ose o f equ it y , j us ti ce , an d h uman ity-- near, hear) —and, above all, they would dismiss from their minds on this occasion every consideration con nected w ith party politics,or parry feeling—(hear)—for, rny lords, if I can succeed in persuading this house to deal with the question in this purely judicial spirit, I for ofy "a Part have such. entire confidence in the strength my caste, that I shoUld have no fear whatever as to the r'lslou to whi c h your l or d s hi ps w ould arrive. My lords, I confess I ern likely to be on this occasion but an im- Perf ect advocate ; but, however imperfect I may be, I eau assure your lordships I am an advocate on conviction of the justice of t' u e cause I have espoused —an advocate d isinterested—th e unpaid advocate of the cause which I believe be that of true policy, of justice, and of hurn•Anity. (Hear, hear.) lam here, my lords, the advocate of weakness against power, the advocate of PerPlexeei and bewildered barbarism against the unjust and arrsigant demands ofoverwhelming and self-satisfied h ei : ii i . l . l 7 .: •st . i i ?n, the advocate of the f ee bl eness of a distant and the .ivi ised nation against' the overpowering might of British empire. (Cheers.) And, my lords, it in no way u` , ters me or creates the slightest doubt on my mind in the strength of my case when I reflect that I am bring ing it b e f ore a tribunal composed of British peers ; nor does it deter or discourage me when I remember that that ease mus t b e ta k en upon the statements and official doc uments furnish e d by th e very par ti es w h ose con d uct . am about to impugn, On those documents lam con tent to rest----on those documents I rely, and on the facts and statements contained in those documents I appeal With the m os t en ti re con fid ence to t h e j u d gment o f your l o rdships. (Hear.) I would pray your lordships to consi der for a moment what is the position in which we now find our relations with China. As your lordships are aware We have now for a very considerable number of years carried on trade with that country to a vast extent, a trade of deep importance to this country, and which was largely and rapidly increasing—a trade of vital import ance to England in the supply of one of the principal ar ticles of consumption, t ea ; an d i n that single arti c le, in h • Course of the. last Million lbs. a ten years, from 41 million lbs. to year have been consumed. In silk, too, 1 , 1 , 210 u gh he had not the figures, the increase had been t hough as large, it I,,as and as rapid. Upon the whole, that trade, car ried ar,d been carried on under peculiar circum stancesunder considerable difficulties, has been car , 'with great success, and with mutual satisfaction, 1.0 the advantage of both countries. Well, my lords, it 11 ,,,. ° . w. appears that without any dissatisfaction having — ,. 1 , 1 %en, without any previous warnings that trade, in the p r incipal article to which I have alluded, has been com pletely put an end to ; the most hostile and the bit terest feelings hale been engendered between the People of Canton and the British merchants ; between the British traders and the native population. But not only is your trade stopped, and the goods of your mer- Chants see i tieetered to the extent, as I am informed, of something like a million and a half of dollars—not only have all your commercial speculations with China been s uspended, but at this moment, without warrant from the "yin, and witho u t any d ec l ara ti on o f war , we a re i n a %tat of actual war with China—a war carried on under the of aggravati on an d sever ity u n known in he ordinary wars of modern times. You bad seizures of t he merchant junks, the capture and destruction of the forts of a fr.iendly power ; you have had the walla of a f riendly c'.ty battered down and 'stormed, but without Ineeeedi.ng in making a practicable breach, and you have had the residences of private and unresisting Perso-os fired upon by a British admiral, and a de fene,eless town bombarded and shattered by British ken of war. Is this a state of things which your can j us tif y t o y o urselves, or which Par liament can justify to itself, to' pass over in silence, Without demanding from the Minister a full.explanation— if explanation can be given ; and if not, without stamp ing it with y ou r reprobation ! (Hear.) My lords, will endeavour to state the facts of the case as dispas sionately as I can, without exaggerating or colouring , and if in bringing the case before you I am compelled to Make a very considerable trespass upon your patience, I am quite sure that as long as I confine myself strictly to th e subject, I may with confidence throw myself on that indulgence for which I have so often had occasion to be deeply grateful to your lordships. It may be convenient, in the first !instance, that I should call your lordships' attention to the particular articles of the treaty, the al leged infraction of which has been made the excuse for these violent proceedings. The treaty in question is the one that is termed the Supplementary Treaty, and was entered into on Oct. 8, 1843, and supplementary to the original treaty of 1842, which, as your lordship, will re member, was in some measure extorted from the Chinese Government at the close of the war. The two articles of this supplementary treaty to which I shall call your lordships' attention are the 9th and the 17th. The 9th article runs as follows : THE according to -any reasonable and fair construction, a British vend ? If not, and she was not carrying the British flag, and legally carrying the British flag, your Ilordships will ak once see that the whole of the case, so 1 far as the complaints of the British consul and the go vernment of Hong Kong is concerned, fa is to the ground. Now the circum , tance; of the case, as I have presented them to you, are most lamei.tahle ; they would be deeply to be lamented if the representatves of the British Government could show that in pressing for re paration for this alleged injury every means had been exhausted to arrive at an amicable settlement ere they had recourse to force; if they could show they had cx,rcised forbearance and conciliation until every indulgence ap proached to the very verge of weak ne-s ; that they had left to the Chinese authorities every p )ssible loophole to escape, and every opportunity to apologise—nay more, if such had been our conduct, that there were not the shadow or the shad• of suspicion in the justice of our oause ; if there were not a flew in our case—if, with all this, the consequences had been what they have been, I still say the state of things which has ensued would have been lamentable. But if I show that so far from this being the case—so far from forbearance and conciliation having been exhausted, the whole of the correspondence on the part of the British officials has been marked by the utmost arrogance and haughtiness ; that in the terms in which they addressed the Chinese authorities they have exhibited throughout the utmost disrespect and discour tesy; that they have refused to accept any explanations, and have replied to every offer to explain with threats and menaces; and if I can show that further than this the le gality of the demand is more than doub , ful ; that in point of fact, in one sense of the word, according to the prin ciples of justice or equity, can the vessel in question be considered as a British merchant vessel, and conse quently that from the first to the last there has been no violation of the treaty there—l say that In the lament able occurrences that have taken place I shall have esta blished the position to which in the resolutions I am about to submit I have called upon your lordships to assent. In page 134 of the paper your lordships will find an explanation put forward on the part of the gen- tleman whore name has been introduced as having been a party to the purchase of the lorcha Arrow—that gen• tlernan being Mr. Bloch, the Danish Consul. Now what was there to constitute this vessel a British vessel 1 From this explanation it appears that she was built in Canton by a Chinese in 1854 ; she was owned by a Chinese ; she was engaged in the coasting trade of, China ; she was captured by pirates ; she was recap tured by the Chinese naval forces ; she was sold or, ac count of the Chinese authorities to a Chinese Hong of Canton ; by that Hong title was sent over to the British colony of Hong Kong ; negotiations were then entered into to sell her to a Chinese resident of Hong Kong ; and the bargain was almost concluded, when a question arose as to the claim of the former owner, who claimed as having been the owner at the time of her cap ture. This man was also a Chinese—one Qum:l...al—a re sident of Macao. The question was referred to arbitra tion, and the award of the arbitrator was this—that the sale from the Canton Hong to the Chinese resident of Hong Kong would be valid and effectual ; but a difficulty having been thrown in the way by the previous owner putting forward his claim, compensation should be paid to him to the extent of s2,loo—and by an arrangement which, I confess, I am at a less to understand, supposing the transaction to be bones fide-41,000 of that amount was to be paid by the purchaser, and the other 1,000 by the Chinese seller. And it appears further that Mr. Black, out of friendship for his compradore, advanced the whole sum, and wrote off the $1,400 from the total amount of the purchase money. Then here is a vessel Chinese built, engaged in the Chinese trade, captured by Chinese pirates, recaptured by Chinese war junks, Chinese manned, Chinese bought, Chinese sold, and Chinese owned—and yet this is to be regarded as a Bri tish vessel entitled to claim the benefit of the treaty by which British merchant vessels are exempt from Chinese interference. (Hear.) How was this metamorphosis of a Chinese vessel into a British vessel accomplished ? I will tell your lordships. In March, 1855, the local legis lature of Hong Kong passed an ordinance on the ground that " many illegal acts have resulted from the improper use of registers granted at Hong Kong under the provi sions of the imperial acts to vessels employed solely in trading with the mainland of China, and it is necessary that legal trading should be protected arid illegal trading prevented," and requiring by a series of enactments that all British vessels shall have either an imperial or colo nial register, and that in the case of colonial vessels the colonial register shall be renewed annually, and that se curity shall be given to comply with all British regula tions in regard to merchant shipping. So far, no doubt, this ordinance might have had a beneficial effect in doing what it was intended to do, viz., curbing the abuses that prevailed from the improper use of the register granted at Hong Kong to vessels employed solely in trading with the mainland of China. But there was in this bill an enactment of a singular kind : " And bo it farther enacted and ordained that it shall be lawful for Chinese residents within this colony to apply for and obtain colonial registers, provided the person or persons applying as owners be registered lessees of Crown lands within this colony, and that such owner or owners tender as securities for the due performance by them of all the requirements of this ordinance to other crown lessees, and that such owners and such lessees be severally reported by the Registrar-General to the satisfaction of the Colonel Secretary to bo each worth 2,000 dollars in this colony ; and should such owner or owners be member or members of any shop or partnership, that the seal of such shop or partnership be also affixed to the security to be given by such owner." Well, this bill was sent home for the assent of the Crown —it was referred to the law advisers of the Board of Trade—the Board of Trade having started an objection which must occur to every one of your lordships from the face of the ordinance itself—for there is no rule more strictly adhered to (and it is absolutr ly necessary it should be so still)—that no colonial legislature can pass any law or act upon any law which is contrary and re pugnant to the law of England. But not only was this orjinance contrary and repugnant to the law of Eng land, but in regard to the very point on which the ques tion of the treaty was brought to bear, it repealed and annulled the whole law of England with regard to the registration of merchant vessels. The whole law of England, which requires that to constitute an English vessel she must be wholly owned by British subjects, and navigated by an English crew, was swept aside at once by that ordinance. And this seems to be the opi nion of the Board of Trade, for Mr. Booth, by direction of the Secretary of State, in writing to the Governor of Hong Kong, says : "There is nothing in the act providin g that the Chinese residents to whom colonial registers may be granted should be British subjects, nor are any local limits assigned with in which the register is to be in force ; and if it be intend- . ed that the grant of a colonial register shall confer on the vessel the rights and privileges attaching to a British vessel, it appears to my lords extremely questionable whether this departure from the Merchant Shipping Act (17 and 18 Vict., cap. 104), according to which British ownership is an essential condition (and, in fact, the only condition) of British registry, should be sanctioned by her Majesty. It also appears to my lords deserving of consi deration whether, looking to the effect of registry on the titles to ships, it is desirable to apply sea-going colonial ships owned by British subjects a system of registry dif ferent from that which is provided for in the Imperial act. I am, however, to point out to you that by section 547 of the Imperial act, the leAslative authority of any British possession is empowered by any act or ordinance, con firmed by her Majesty in Council, to repeal wholly or in part any provisions of that act relating to ships regis tered in such possession, but no such act or ordinance is to take effect until such approval has bee* proclaimed in the possession, or until such timo thereafter as may be fixed by the act or ordinance for the pur pose. Tho ordinance in question does not appear to have been passed in exercise of the power given by the clause of the Imperial act just cited, and unless it should appear to Lord J. Russell that there are any special circumstances such as to justify the departure from the policy of the Im perial act as to ownership in the case of vessels registered at Hong Kong, it appears to my lords that her Majesty's ap proval cannot properly be given to the present ordinance ' N ow my lords, mark—l am not at this moment going to discuss the substantial question of the merits of the ordinance, but I am simply dealing with its legality. Observe, no such ordinance could have been passed ex cept under the provisions of the act 17th and 18th Vic., cap. 104. But this ordinance was passed in March, 1855, whereas the act 17 and 18 Vic. did not come into operation until May, 1855 ; consequently and un doubtedly, then, the ordinance was not passed in pur suance of the powers given by that act, which I apprehend cannot have such a retrospective operation as to have reference to an ordinance passed in the month of March previous. Except under the sanction of this act there can be no foundation for the ordinance, and no power on the part of the legis lature of Hong Kong to pass or her Majesty to confirm such an ordinance. (Hear, hear.) But, I waive for the moment the question of the enabling statute of the Im perial Parliament being appealed to by a sort of retro spective operation to justify this proceeding, and I go on to the more substantial part of the case. I should, how ever, state perhaps that an answer was given by the Attorney-General of Hong Korg to the Colonial Secre tary. He says : " The colony of Hong tong, with a Chinese population exceeding, at the present time, 60,000. hardly contains ten Chinese who can legally be called British subjects, fur it has not been deemed advisable to naturalise the Chinese here, and the recent settlement of the colony prevents the possibility of their having become subjects by birth. The great proportion of the respectable part of this population have, however, constituted themselves bona tide British subjects, by becoming Crown tenants of theeg registersbar os to such leaseholds for long terms of years (a tenure of which an alien is incapable), and by permanent settlement have evinced the clearest intention of Perfecting em in t h e pelrsons of their therefore,descendantsdultlyrittioshad77Bbsejeltcahtwse by becoming wwneslldaesemhdeecdfialiictutoems.ey had, o far as in them lay made themselves sgercaunnttiliu:o of advisercroviu could be guaranteed by other Crown taken upon them British subjects, and whose discharge of the obligation tenants." tteonants, s that ttoh an tetrorronr,eyo-tGheernweriasel of Hong Song has . dicote one illegal act by another, he is attempting to vin t. g British rights to aliens who Now I cannot help t h h e in re ki f n a fle t n ha i for thoLpurpose of atll;a1 "1, adopted the exp edient of means is this, en that theyßet 1 biliev e what he h a ve never be ngtanl havel. ligation. Now remember them to take out letter's of eatur.ahe registration of aßritish that the one single condition of ed by British subjects granting leans to settlers for 09 years, without requiring ship is that she must be wholly ovvrit,h lisation or denisa who have taken out letters of natura t.) ,. allegiance. — natural-born subjects of the British th ti°", and subsequently taken the oa by the British • roe n, or persons Such is the condition within which alone, f British owner obi But these l aw. any one can claim the privileges p and the right to carry the British flag. o f .Elong . enactments have been set aside in the colony Kong, under the supposed sanction of the 517th the imperial whichp what ma y be act, points out not only done, but the manner iu which it may be done. Nov" what are the conditions under which the colonial clause of legisla• "If lawless natives of China, having committed crimes or offences against their own government, shall flee to Hong Kong, or to the English ships of war, or English mer chant ships, for refuge, they shall, if discovered by the English officers be handed over at once to the Chinese officers for trial and punishment ; or if, before such disco very be made by the English officers, it should be ascer tained or suspected by the officers of the government of China whither such criminals and offenders have fled, a communication shall be made to the proper English officer in order that the said criminals and offenders may be rigidly Searched for, seized, and, on proof or admission of their guilt, delivered up." Now, my lords, under the terms of this article, it follows that any Chinese offender being discovered in the colony of Hong Kong, or on board a British man of-war, or an English merchant ship, is not to be seized by the Chinese authorities, but is to be demanded of the British consul, and by him seizedand given up. The 17th article pro vides that:— .. " Various small vessels belonging to tho English nation, called schooners, cutters, lorchas, &C., have no t hith er t o ' been chargeable with tonnage dues.ltilay betweennowegreend,oning relation to this class of vessels, which p Bong and the city, and the city and Macao, that if they only carry passengers, letters, and baggage, they shall, as heretofore, pay no tonnage dues ; but if these small craft carry any dutiable articles, no matter how small the quan tity may be, they ought, it principle, to pay their full ton nage dues. But this class of small craft are not like the large ships which are engaged in foreign trade ; they are constantly coming and going ; they make several trips a month, and are not like the large foreign ships, which, on entering the port, cast anchor at Vi h r t e hampo f a. If we were to place them on the same footing as large afte r this, e 1 g t L s smallest ships, the charge would be unequal ; therefore, . the of these craft shall be rated at 75 tons, and largest not to exceed 150 tons ; whenever they enter the port (or leave the port with cargo), they o lar e as 75 to nand th e y shall pay tonnage dues a t t h e rate of If no t 8 one mace per ton register. o g f 75 tons • and if shall s till b e cons id ere d and charged they exceed 150 tons, they shall be conassidere:3l d a u s es far a g t e tfhoe reign ships, a n d, lik e them, charged; tonnage the otlier ports rate of 5 m ace p er reg i s t e r ton. Foo-chow and having none of this kind of intercourse, and none of this I kind of small craft, it would be unnecessary to make any arrangement as regards them. The fol lowin g are the rules by which th e y are to be regulated :-Ist. Every British schooner, cutter, lorcha, &c., shall have a sailing letter or register in Chinese and English, under the seal and signa ture of the chief superintendent of trade, describing her appearance, burthen ace , &c . lorchs, and Fitch vessel, ;hall t herself as large ves sels are required to do at the she shallreport . ~ an , _ ben 11. Every schooner, she carries cargo, a: °! . ...,7Lt . alto report herself t " I. '.` u pea, and shall, on reaching letter or register to the British ' Canton deliver up her sailing permission from the Hoppe f which she is not to doConsul, who will obtain withoutor her to discharge her cargo, the forfeiture of the pinalties laid such permission, under the general regulations of trade, 3d. 3d. down in the 3d clause of cargo is discharged, and an outward. arranged . and When the inward one (if intended) taken on board, and the duties on both consul will restore the register- or sailing paid, the letter, and allow the vessel to depart." will n ad ex e t cut' your lord having read these article?, I ships' attention to the statement m the the con sul of the seizure of the lorch a' whichconstitutesby ground for the whole of the subsequent Consul Parkes, writing to Sir J. 11 0% , k.i proceedings. %ng on Oct. 8, says : "I have the honour to inform your excellency that the British lorcha Arrow , while lying with her colours fly in in the river near the Dutch Folly, was suddenlyh oa ' r C' this morning by a force of Chinese officers in a war heat e o d f large size and heavy armament, who pinioned and carried away nearly the whole of her crew, leaving only two out of It men on board, and added to this act violence the significant insult of hauling down the national ensign." Now, my lords, this the consul and Sir J. Bewrieg com plain is a gross violation of the treaty of 1843. If this lorcba was strictly and honourably a British vessel, then the seizure f othose persons on board suspected of piracy - undoubtedly was a violation of the article of the treaty, inasmuch as they ought to have dewandol them of the copse', and not taken theta away by force, but the ques tion is, was this vessel in the true sense of the term, or tore can pass this act! The words of the ordinance must be confirmed by order of her Majesty in council, those orders must be sent out with such confirmation to the colony, and when they arrive, shall have no force until they have been publicly proclaimed along with the order in council. But what really has happened ? No order to this day has been passed, but the Secretary of State has taken on himself to signify that the act has been sent out to the c Bony. I say that that act is so much wastepaper, not having been confirmed by the Queen in council,. nor proclaimed subsequently to its rrrival at Hong Kong. But Igo further. Recollect that all these questions bearon the important points at is s u e , na mely—was this a Brandi vessel legally, and being a British vessel was there an infraction of the treaty ? I say that she was not a Bri tish vessel legally, nor under under any sanction but that of an order which was issued in the latter end of 1855, but which did not come into operation until the February of the f o ll ow i ng year. Thi s ac t, was te paper as it is, full of flaws; as it is, arrived in the colony in 1856 as a wholesale legalisation of a register professing to have been granted in September, 1855. And here we are dis cussing the question as if it were a criminal indictment against the Chinese for having violated the treaty. I do not know whether they have violated the treaty, but certainly, unless the lorcha was a British vessel, there was no violation of the treaty. But let us look to the subject of thi s co l on i a l or di n ance, let us see whether it is one that ought to be approved. Recollect that it may be perfectly possible and legitimate to give the Chinese residents in our colonies all privileges within your limits, but no man will contend that you have a right to confer on them privileges derogatory to the inalienable rights of the Chinese Government. ("Hear,' from Lord Grey.) Chinese subjects are, day by day, carrying on a coasting trade in the waters of China, and what do you do ? You issue an order in Hong Kong which says, in derogation of these Chinese rights, that these Chinese shall be absolved from their natural allegiance, may carry on any trade they please, and laugh to scorn the Chinese officials who may attempt to resist them, pleading the British flag and the colonial register as empowering them to laugh at their own sove reign. (Hear, hear.) Would you venture to pass any such act in reference to any state whose power was nearly on a balance with your own ? (Hear, hear.) Try it by our English notions, and say whether you dare pass ordinances freeing foreigners from all liability to the laws of their own country. (Hear, hear.) But un less you are prepared to say that this ordinance was good in law and sound in justice, you cannot say that any vio lation of the treaty was committed, because you cannot say the lorcha was a British vessel. It is true there was a British subject esn board, a young man who had been put on board as the nominal master, and who literally knew so little about the vessel that he could not tell her owner : he understood that she belonged to Mr. Bloch, compradore at Hong Kong. (Hear.) Then the colonial register did not come into effect for 6 months after, and when it did, it had no validity, f or i t h a d not beenissued under the proper conditions. I ask you, whether in the case of such a Briti s h vesse l l y i ng i n the Chinese waters, and having on board two notorious pirates, being visited in the absence of any British au thority, and these men taken out for trial—l ask you, if in such case her Majesty's Govern men t d ec l are d war against China, whether it would not be considered as a most despicable cause of war ? (Hear.) I ask you, my ' lords, as men stimulated by a sense of hon o u r , and as British legislators, whether you will sanction an act such as this on the part of her Majesty's advisers ? I ask you whether you, er any of you, in your hearts and consciences, would be satisfied to rest a deolaration of war on such a pretext ? but still more, whether you would be satisfied to make war without a declaration on such a pretext But I have not done with this part of the case yet. Suppose that this British vessel was lying in the waters of Canton, had she the British flag flying? Now as to whether the flag was flying or not, there is considerable discrepancy in the evidence. One master of a vessel in the neighbourhood declares that he saw the flag hauled down, and others testify to the same fact ; but on the other hand the Chinese who boarded the ves sel all aver that they saw no flag hauled down, nor do they believe that there was any lag flying, and not see ing any English flag they did not consider that they committed any violation of the treaty. So much for the matter of fact, but there is a reference made by the im perial commander, to the effect that the flag must not have been flying, because, he says, it is notorious that the British merchant ships do not hoist their flags until they are going away, thus substantiating a declaration to which no answer has as yet been made. I believe it is now notorious at Canton that the flag was not flying ; but if flying, the next question is, was it legally flying, bad the master a right to hoist it, or did he only do it when be came near the port, in order to deceive the officials / I omitted, in speaking of the ordinance, to notice the great facility it gave to smuggling. I believe there was always a good deal of smuggling, but that the ordinance increased it greatly. The colonial treasurer writing in Oct., 1855, says : "The act has been extremely beneficial to the respect able Chinese settled here, ainse it has already increased the coasting trade in British goods and opium." The ordinance, it appears, has been extremely benefi cial in enabling British subjects to trade in opium. (Hear, hear.) Further, with respect to an ordinance of this kind, entirely altering the stipulations of the treaty, your lordships will be surprised to hear that it never was communicated to Chinese Government. I see my noble friend looking at the book. I know it was com municated subsequently, but not when the ordinance ' was issued. What did you do ? When two lorchas were seized and confiscated for smuggling the consul applied to Yeb, and then for the first time this ordinance came into notice. But these licences to carry the British flag were, under the act, renewable from time to time, the original register being deposited, and this must be done before the expiration of each year, and if not so deposited the licence to become null and void. The terms ot the act on that subject are clear and decisive, providing that any deviation from the regulations shall incur the forfeiture of ship and cargo. Further, it says that the renewal must be effected four weeks before the end of each year. Now, under this ordinance there is no penalty, but it is clear that if at the end of the year there is no renewal, it is in force for one year and no longer. Now if there be any doubt on this matter, I appeal to Sir J. Bowring. He says:— " I have your despatches dated 9th and 10th, with their incloeures, on the subject of the arrest of sundry Chinamen on board a vessel called the Arrow, bearing the British flag, and commanded by a subject of her Majesty. The question presents two inquiries -Ist, the rights of the ves sel in question ; and 2d, the conduct of the Chinese autho rities. It appears on examination that the Arrow had no right to hoist the British flag ; the licence to do so expired on the 27th Sept., from which period she has not been en titled to protection. You will send back the register to be delivered to the Colonial-office." Here was the statement of Sir J. Bowring, that after the 27th Sept. no protection could legally be granted. I should like to know whether any honest, straightfor ward man would, after such a declaration, justify his de mands on the plea that the Chinese were ignorant that the licence had expired. I say that such a plea could not be sustained, and yet for this the country is involved in a disastrous war. What is the defence ! Sir J. Base ring says that the licence had expired, but that the Chi nese did not know it. Therefore, because you have no claim, and your adversary does not know it, you think yourself justified in using threats and coercion. I must now got° a different part of the case—l mean the claim for the free admission of British subjects into the City of Canton. With respect to this point, your lordships will find at page 185 of the blue book the earliest statement on the subject. Ido not think it quite clear that the original treaty intended to confer the right to the extent to which it was subsequently exercised, but that it merely meant to confer on British subjects and British merchants the liberty of carrying on their trade and pur suing their business within the walls of Canton. I doubt whether it was intended that the British should have per mission to live within the walls. I must now trouble your lordships by reading some documents. In 1848 Mr. Bonham was our plenipotentiary, and as the time ap proached when the treaty should come into operation he wrote for instructions to Lord Palmerston, then Secre tary for Foreign Affairs, asking whether he shou'd press for the admission of British subjects against the mani fest disinclination and apprehension of the Chinese. He say.— "If the Government is disposed to insist on admission to the city of Canton it will bo necessary to send me full instructions, and the means of carrying them in to effect." He adds— " Without a military demonstration I am satisfied that we cannot attempt an entrance." Mr. Bonham proceeds to say that the re'uctance of the Chinese authorities arose from their dread of the fanati cism of the people, whom they feared they had not suffi cient power to keep in order. In answer to that despatch Lord Palmerston wrote to Mr. Bonham, Oct. 7, 1843, a despatch, which does great credit to the good sense of the noble lord. He says : force to protect them. It might therefore bo arranged that for some time the entrance of British residents into the city should be subject to fixed regulations as to times, number, escort, lac., so as to insure the safety of those who might, go in. It is probable that when the novelty of their ap pearance was over, and when the shopkeepers and mer chants of the town found that the visit of foreigners tended to the advantage of their trade, as would probably be the case, the people would grow indifferent to that which they would have become accustomed to, and that thus, in pro cess of time, the precautionary regulations might be re laxed, and in the end a better state of feeli3g might be es tablished between the Chinese and the foregners. But as long as the foreigners are wholly excluded from the city, it seems difficult to see how the first steps towards such a result oan be taken." Mr. Bonham, who was a man of great ?ersonal cape. rience in China, wrote in answer to this— "It is my belief that no material advantage to com merce would be gained by the ;Omission )f British sub jects, at all events nothing commensurate to the cost." Tho result of the whole was summed 'p in a letter written by Lord Palmerston's direction tc the India and China Association on June 25, 1849. " I am to state to you, in reply, that her Majesty's Go vernment have no inte n ti on t o renounce the right of en tering the city of Canton, although they an not prepared, at present, to resort to hostilities with Chiaa in order to enforce that right. Her Majesty's Government aro not ignorant that some inconvenience may result from the adoption of a policy of moderation in this instance; but as the practical advantage which could be lerived by Bri tish trade from free access into the interim of Canton is probably not very great ; while the effort to obtain the immediate fulfilment of the Chinese engk - ement in this respect would be costly, and might lead to a great loss of life and destruction of property, and to a considerable in terruption to British trade in that quarter of China, and might, moreover, seriously affect the trace at the other ports, her Majesty's Government are of op nion that the general commercial interests of the countrZ aro best con sulted by not pushing matters to extremitio on the pre sent occasion." Thus your lordships will see that in 1849 Lord Palmer. ston, acting upon the information of Mr. Bonham, a gen tleman thoroughly versed in the subject. came to the conclusion that it would be inexpedient to prooeed to en• force the treaty which had been concluded. I now come to the period when Mr. Bonham retired for a period from his post, and was succeeded by Dr., row SirJ. Bow ring. Now Ido not wish to say anytbirg disrespectful of Sir J. Bowring, for whose attainments I have a sin cere admiration, but I must frankly confess it appears to me that upon the subject of admission to Canton he labours under a species of monomania. (Hear.) I be lieve he thinks of his admission into Canton the first thing in the morning and the last thing at night—indeed if he wakes in the middle of the night I should think his thoughts at once run on the same subject. (Hear.) I do not imagine that he would think any sacrifice too great which should end in the official reception of Sir J. Bow ring by the authorities of Canton. (Laughter.) In the despatch which was addressed to Sir J. Bowring upon his appointment as governor of the colony, it was im pressed upon him that no endeavours were to be made to carry out the treaty by which British subjects were to have admittance to Canton which would endanger life. The words of this important despatch ran thus : " Her Majesty has been pleased to grant to you a com mission appointing you a superintendent of the trade of British subjects in China, under the act of 3,1 and 4th Will. IV., cap. 93 ; and in order to avoid any cavil on the part of the Chinese authorities, her Majesty has been fur ther pleased to grant you a full power Majesty's plenipotentiary. Ler plenipotentiary. I have to state to yo u th a t i t is bile anxious desire of her Majesty's Government to avoid all irritating discussions with that of China. It will, of course, be your duty carefully to watch over, and to insist upon, the performance by the Chinese authorities of the engagements which exist between the two coun tries. But you will not push argument on doibtful points in a manner to fetter the free action of your government ; and you will not resort to measures of force without pre vious reference home, except in the extreme case of such measures being required to repel aggression, cr to protect the lives and properties of British subjects." In reply to this Sir J. Bowring says, of course, he will defer to the judgment of the home authorities, but he concludes by at least hinting that he did not himself con cur in that judgment. His reply contains this expres sion— " Had I not felt that the strong expressions in your lord ship's despatch, which call upon me to avoid all irritating discubsions with the Chinese, imposed extreme caution and hesitation in all ray proceedings, I should have ventured to anticipate the pleasure of communicating in my very first despatch that this veiata vastio had been happily and peaceably decided, and that I had been received within the walls by the high authorities of China." Among his other acquirements, Sir J. Br wring has, I believe, a considerable proficiency in the Chinese lan guage ; and he at all times appears to have thought that if be could only obtain admittanee into Canto; and have an opportunity of haranguing the Chinese, in their own tongue, all difficulties would be at an end. (" Hear, hear," and laughter.) About the period at which I have now arrived a change of ministry took place, and my noble friend near me (the Earl of Malmesbury) became Foreign Minister. My noble friend addressed a despatch to Sir J. Bowring, requesting that nothing might be done in the matter until the return of Mr. Bonham. Of course Sir J. Bowring bowed to the orders of the Secre tary of State, but he concludes his reply thus : " I venture, most emphatically, to assure your lordship that I never should have presumed to solicit the authority from her Majesty's Government, for undertaking the set tlement of the long-protracted question as to our right of access to that city, had I not been fully persuaded, after a ♦ery long residence in, and knowledge of, Canton, that the tiros was singularly favourable for effecting the object, and that I could have effected it without endangering the pub lic peace, and with great advantage to our social, political, and commercial relations with China." . _ _ It is one of the peculiarities of Sir J. Bowring's views of this subject that every time is the most favourable time for putting those views into effect. At one time it is because things are tranquil, at another because they are disturbed, but in the end it is always the same, always a time " singularly favourable for the effecting the views " which he had so much at heart. The following extract would perhaps put their lordships more fully in possession of this characteristic than any further state ment he ceuld make. In February, 1854, Lord Claren don sent to Sir J. Bowring a despatch containing this passage "There are, unquestionably, points which it would be desiralole to secure, and to which wo have even a right by treaty; and amongst those I would mention free and un restricted intercourse with the Chinese authorities, and freo admission into some of the cities of China, especially Canton. The treatment of these questions requires, how ever, much caution ; for if wo shoeld press them in menac ing language, and yet fail in carrying them, our national honour would require us to have recourse to force ; and, in order to obtain results, the practical advantage of which is not clearly demonstrated, we might place in peril the vast commercial interests which have already grown up in China, and which, with good and temperate management, will daily acquire greater extension." In reply to this comes the following from Sir J. Bow- ring : " It cannot be denied that wo aro entitled to demand re dress of grievances which we have suffered from violations and disregard of treaty obligations, and in my communica tions to the supremo authorities I propose to specify the following as among the most prominent—Non-admission into Canton city ; difficulty of obtaining personal inter course with the authorities. It is not my intention to de mand an interview with the Imperial Commissioner at the present moment. As a general rule of conduct in China, I intend to demand nothing which I am not prepared to en force. But I do not think I should be warranted in pro ceeding to Pekin without giving the Imperial Commis sioner the opportunity of meetin g me , if he be willing to recognise my right to an official rec e pti o n within the walls of Canton. Should he consent to this wo shall have gained a very important point ; should he refuse, we shall have another important grievance." (Loud laughter.) To this there came a further commu nication from Lord Clarendon, in these words : " It is on all accounts desirable that you should obtain access to the Imperial Commissione r at Canton ; but there is no reason to expect that you will be more successful in doing so than the ministers of France and the United St a tes—(laughter) — and you will use every precaution for ascertaining beforehand that you will Rot meet with any indignity that will require to he avenged, and this more particularly at a moment when the aid of the British naval force in the Chinese seas might not be available for that purpose." It is certainly to he regretted that my nnhle friend (Lrd Clarendon) used the concluding expresvion of this de spatch, as it would seem to imply that there was some idea that at a future time there certainly might be a British naval force avail Mu for the purpose hinted at. I do not believe that such was the idea in the mind of my noble friend, but the choice of words is by no means fortunate. One more extract from these papers will show your lordships that Sir J. Bowring was by no means inclined to give up his opinions on this subject. On the 9th of July, 1855 , be wrote thus pportunity a " Finding that Mr. Consul A dcock has e xperienced many hfai vgfavourable difficulties rueable authorities i on communicating i ono—(laughter)—of gh Canton,te i.)_ofl withag,, again or gettin g access t o the i thought makingth the overtures to o thelmperial Commissioner, with a view to the establishment of more amicable intercourse. I enclose to your lordship a copy of my letter to his Excellency dated the 11th of Juno. To that letter ho has not condescended to reply, and I can now anticipate nothing but a continuance of the proud re pulsiveness of the Viceroy. It would be idle for me to use any language of displeasure or of menace, altogether help less as I am in the absence of the fleet. I am informed by the Hon. Captain K. Stewart, of her Majesty frigate Nan kin, that his peremptory instruc tio ns are to proceed to the north, and to join the Admiral there. But I am still o f opinion that, until the city question at Canton is settled, placedthere is little hope of our relations being „ cod on any thing like t l a e satisfactory o i s f f a t c h t e o ry saidy ci city foundation question China. In my matured judgment it has been delayed much t h o settlement t too long." Now, my lords, I have shown the state of these two questions, totally different from each other, which I have been obliged to take up separately and dwell upon at some length, because from this rnoinent the two are corn. bined and intertwined together in such a manner that it is no longer !possible to separate them. In looking at the further correspondence I confess that I look with feelings of some shame at the contrast between the lan guage and the tone of the correspoudelleo ~n the part of the British officials, as compared with that on the part of the Chinese. I must say, my lords —and a few pas sages which I will call to your notice will, I think, bear me out in so saying —that the language of the Chinese is throughout courteous, respectful, and gentlemanly, while that of the British officials is discourteous, disre spectful, an d u ngentlemanly. These are strong terms, my lords, but I think that I can ju.tify them. It was on the Sth of October that the grievance took place in connection with the lorcha the Arrow. On that day, Consul Parkes, who appears to possess great activity, made representa • tions to Sir J. Bowring, to Commis. sioner Yeb, and to Commodore Elliot. In reply to this Sir J. Bowring writes in these terms with his instruc tions to the consul : " You will inform the Imperial Commissioner that I re. quire an apology fur what has taken plac e , and an asaur. " Foreign Office, Oct. 7, 1818. " Sir,—l have received your despatch of the 20th July, inclosing the Chinese commissioner's answer to your letter of the 21. st June, inclosed in your previous despatch of that date. The question which you have brought under the con sideration of her Majesty's Government, as arising out of the evident disinclination of the Chinese commissioner to give effect to the arrangement by which British subjects were to be allowed free access to the city of Cantonin April next is one on which it is difficult for me to give you positive in structions. On one hand, evil consequences may flow from allowing the Chinese to refuse or evade the performance of contracted engagements ; on the other hand, it is inexpe dient to resort to force to compel them to execute promises from the performance of which no real benefit to British interests would accrue. It has always appeared to me to be doubtful whether the right of entering the city of Can ton would bo productive of any material advantage to Bri tish residents; while it has been plain that the unrestricted entrance of British residents into that city might lead to disputes and collisions between British subjects and Chi nese, the consequences of which might be serious. I now understand from your despatch that the principal advantage which would result from free access to the city would be, that on special occasions the superintendent or the consul would be able to 130 to the Chinese authorities, and to com municate personally with them. This, undoubtedly, might often be useful, and such personal intercourse might fre quently lead to an easier settlement of disputes, and to the maintenance of a good understanding. But this advantage might be gained without a general and indiscriminate ac cess for all British subjects to the city, because it might bo arranged that whenever the superintendent or consul should wish to communicate with the Chineso Governor, they should send word to him, and that then ho should send an escort to attend them through the city, and to convey them back again ; and to this the objection would not apply which the Commissioner urges against the general admis sion of British subjects to the city. I should wish, however, to know what practical advantage in regard to commerce the British residents at Canton now sustain by nut being allowed to enter the city, and what practical advantages, beyond those of pleasure and amusement, British subjects would derive from the power of entering the city when they chose. There seems reason to fear that at first the appearance of foreigners without escort or protection in the pc7oif sntorseee t t s o o i f n s t u h l e t c o i r t y io m a i s g s l a i u t t t e t m h i e t e a n l o d w e t r ha c t l atshsees oolfi the town might not always be on the spot, or in sufficient ance that the British flag shall in future he respected ; that 48 hours are allowed for this communication, which being passed, you are instructed to call on the naval authorities to assist you in enforcing redress." And as another specimen of this style of communication by the English authorities, I will read to your lordships the first letter addressed by Sir J. Bo wring to Commis sioner Yeh. This document runs thus : " Hong Kong, Nov. 10, 1856.—Sir,—His Excellency, the naval Commander-in-Chief, Sir M. Seymour, has com municated to me co pi es o f hi s late correspondence with your excellency. In the hope of preventing a recurrence of the present unfortunate state of things at Canton, his excellency has proposed that, as elsewhere, there should be free intercourse between the authorities within and foreign representatives without the city. This proposition your excellency declines to entertain. You insist not only in confounding it with the past discussions of the treaty right of all foreigners to enter the city, but in maintaining that the right itself is shown to have been definitely abandoned in a despatch from my predecessor, Mr. Bonham, dated oth April, 1519. The passage cited is not quoted in full by your excellency. Referring to the non-fulfilment of the engagement entered into in 1847, Mr. Bonham proceeds, although entered into by Keying, a nd con fi rme d by your i Emperor, t (the engagement) h as no t b een carr i e d out ; the question at issue rests whore it was, and must remain in abeyance. The discussion of it cannot at present bo farther prosecuted between your excellency and myself. I can bat repeat my regret at the unsatisfactory report which this evasion of the treaty will compel me to make to my Go vernment.' Your excellency seeks to construe as declara tory of its cessation for evermore, words simply signifying that discussion of our treaty right was suspended until further report of its repudiation could be made to her Ma jesty's Government. Pending this reference, Mr. Bonham called on British subjects to abstain from entering Canton. That the British Government had never abated an iota of its claim is shown by Mr. Bonhain's letter of the 21st of August, 1849. This was written under instructions of Viscount Palmerston, then Principal Secretary of State for Foreign affairs, and his excellency Sou was requested to transmit it to Pekin. The assumption of Sou himself, in his reply, dated 27th Aug., 1849, that the discussion was no more to be renewed, was at once rejected by Mr. Bon ham, and your excellency must be well aware that ever since my return to this country as minister plenipotentiary, the subject Las been foremost amongst those of which I have hal occasion to advise your excellency the British Government looked for a satisfactory adjustment. I beg to refer you particularly to my communications of 25th April, 10th July, and 27th Dec., 1854, and of the 11th June, 1855. The tenour of your correspondence with Sir M. Seymour obliges me once more to remind you that the treaty right of British subjects to be admitted into Can ton has never been abandoned by the British Government. But this right is not at the present moment ender discus. sion. The Admiral is simply insisting on certainty of access to the local authorities, and With good reason. Had the British consul been able to obtain such access on the day , that the lorcha's flag was torn down, and her crew unlaw fully seized, the affair might have been settled in a sin3lo interview ; as it was, letter after letter had to be addressed to your excellency ; severa lyon allowed to remain for days frithout a reply, and to this hour you have neither apolo gised for the misconduct of your executive, nor have you given any sufficient assurance that henceforward our flag and jurisdiction shall be respected. Your Excellency's per ' tinacity in ignoring your obligations on these points has rendered necessary a series of coercive measures ; and it is to avoid the future necessity of a course as opposed to our interests as it is offensive to our feelings, that the ad miral has made to you this simple proposition." This was the first communication, and made too upon the ex parte statement of Consul Parkes. In reply to this, Commissioner Yeti wrote thus : It was shown on trial of the prisoner that the lorcha was built by Sooachine, a Chinese ; a register was pur chased for herof the merchant Bloch, for 1,000 doll., and she assumed the British flag without be in t entitled to it. She was lying at the time of the seizure off the Dutch Folly, and, as has been clearly proved, with no ensign flying ; it being as it appears an established law with British vessels to haul down their ensign when they drop anchor, and not to hoist it again until they got under weigh. Had it been shown on the trial that her flag was bona fide that of a Bri tish merchant vessel, it would have been doubtless correct to follow some other course than the one pursued, but the fact being that a Chinese had assumed the flag without title, what need was there for Mr. Consul Parkes to put himself forward as his advocate? Again thel2 men seized were all taken back by Hew, assistant magistrate at Nanhae on 220 ult. , but Consul Parkes declined to receive either them or a despatch sent with them from me. The letter under acknowledgment says that had the authorities been accessible to the consul the affair might have been disposed of in a sin gle interview. The assistant magistrate, Hew, was s ent twice with the men to be surrendered. It is through him that (foreign) correspondence with me is always transmitted. Now the assistant magistrate is a commiesioned officer of the Chinese empire. Heretofore any foreign business that has bad to be transacted by deputy has boon transacted by officers similarly deputed, and the present was a case of all others requiring common conference; but Consul Parkes had made up his mind not to consent to what was proposed. On (a subsequent occasion I sent Tseang, prefect of Lay chow-fog, to the foreign factories to consider what steps should be taken, but the consul now insisted on something more than (the rendition of) the men captured on board the lorcha. There being in all this no inaccessibility on the part of the Chinese officials, what was there to make an immediate adjustment of the dispute impracticable ?" Nor is it alone in the despatch of Sir J. Bowring that this language prevails. In Consul Parkes' letter of the 15th Oct. to Yeh this passage occurs : two guns and a proportionate supply of ammunition, to be hold in readiness to be forwarded to Hone Kong should circumstances render it necessary to undertake any further military operations at Canton. I have desired the Go vernor of Ceylon not to send to Hong Kong the detach ment for which you have made application ; and I have further to signify to you that her Majesty's Government peremptorily forbid you to undertake any further offen sive operations against the Chinese without their previous sanction. Tier Majesty's Government are satisfied that, although the late operations in the Canton river were attended with immediate success, the risk of a second attempt of the same kind would far overbalance any ad vantage to be derived from such a step. If the conduct of the Chinese authorities should, unfortunately, render an other appeal to arms inevitable, it will be necessary that it should be male after due preparation, and with the enjoyment of such an amount of force as may afford just grounds for expecting that the objects which may be pro posed by su•h a measure will be effectually accomplished without unnecessary loss.—l have, &c., " At about 10 a.m. yesterday I received your Excel lency's ' Declaration,' which, I regretted to tee, evinced no desire on your Excellency's part to grant the satisfaction demanded in my letters of the Bth and 12th inst." And in his letter of the 21st of the same month to the [ mule functionary we find the following : " But your Excellency,:with a strange disregard both of justice and treaty engagements, has offered no reparation or apology for this injury; and by retaining the men you have seized in your custody, signify your approval of this violation of the treaty, and leave her Majesty's Government without any assurance that such aggressions shall nit again occur. Your Excellency was warned by what took place on the evening of the 14th inst. of the dangerous consequences to which a refusal might lead ; but your Excellency treats with indifference that warning, and also the several pro tests made to you not only by me but by her Majesty's plenipotentiary." And with what spirit this discussion was carried on on our part your lordships may judge from the fact that when the Chinese authorities sent back the whole of the men taken on board the lorcha, the consul then raised the objection that the men were not sent back in the cus tody of a proper officer. Indeed the impression—and I say it with regret—left upon my mind by the cartful pe rusal of these papers is this—that Sir J. Bo wring desired to make the most of the difficulty which had arisen with a view to the carrying out of his favourite scheme. And your lordships will see that the plan of operations was matured, as I may say, from the first. Consul Parkes, in his despatch of the 12th Oct., eight days only alter the difficulty had first arisen, writ es thus : " I advise, therefore, and I do so with all the deference duo to the superior judgment of your Excellency and the naval commander-in-chief, and with a deep sense of the re sponsibility which I, as the officer charged with the c,re of British interests at Canton, in offering this advice, incur, that as we have searched the river and found no war-junks (and anything less than the seizure of a fleet would, I am now convinced, have had no effect on the Imperial Com missioner), our operations should now be directed against the forts between Whampoa and Canton. The Imperial Commissioner, I submit, should again be summoned to grant the satisfaction already demanded within twenty four hours, failing which we should then take possession of the four barrier forts. I cannot conceive it po,sible that his Excellency will then withhold compliance with our de mands ; but should he still co❑ti❑ue contumacious, a simi lar course diould then be pursued with the forts at Canton, and it would bo exceedingly advisable, I think, that the re sidence of his Excellency, which is not far from the water side, should also in that case feel the effects of the bom bardment. But I consider it altogether indispensable to the safety of our great interests at Canton, that prior to the commencement of those operations a force sufficient for the protection of the foreign factories should be placed in posi tion before them. I advocate attack on the Barrier Forts in the first instance, because they stand by themselves, and are not surrounded, as are those at Canton, by the dwel lings of the people, who should be exempted, whenever it is in our power to do so, from any disastrous conse quence accruing from the acts of their authorities, and will, it may be hoped, see the justice of offensive measures being aimed by us solely against the latter. And should wo be driven to the extremities I have here anticipated, I then think that our proceedings would lose much of their effect if we leave the forts in the condition in which we find them; but that ono or more should, as far as possible, be destroyed, to mark by their ruins, for a time at least that aggression, when unprovoked and un atoned, may be visited with micro,' retributio:)." Now, I will show your lordshipi that the old idea of Sir .J. Bowring was mixed up with the business of repara tion for the Arrow difficulty ; for we find in one of these despatches the following.— "I have conveyed to Sir Michael Seymour an opinion that if his Excellency and yourself agree on the fitness of the opportunity, it would be well if the vcxata qumstio of our entrance into the city should now be settled." And we find elsewhere that Sir J. Bowring expresses his willingness to go to Canton in order to the sttOe merit of the matter. It appears, however, that the Chinese commissioner was not so easily to be deceived as to the real object of these demands for reparation, for we find him writing thus to Consul Parkes : " But I, the minister, also know full well what you, the said consul, have in view. (l. laugh.) For a certainty it is nothing loss than a desire on your part to imitate the course taken by the Envoy Davis in the spring of 1847." The shrewdness, indeed, which the commissioner showed in " smelling a rat" in this transaction appears not to have been without its effect on Sir J. Be wring. It would seem, I am sorry to say, that the governor lost his temper, for in his reply to the despatch of Consul Parkes, which enclosed him the commissioner's commu nication, he wrote thus : "I have your despatch, dated yesterday, and regret to oh- - serve that the unabated obstinacy of the Imperial Commis sioner has necessitated the continuance of offensive opera tions. I noticein the declaration of his Excellency, dated the 26th inst., that a reference is made to the proceedings of Sir J. Davis in 184 T. You may find a proper opportunity of reminding the Imperial Commissioner that if, instead of being shamefully violated, the promises and engage ments then entered into by the Chinese authorities had boon faithfully and honourably kept, all the existing calamities would have been avoided." I will not weary and disgust your lordships by going through the various details of these miserable transac tions. On the 25th the Dutch Folly fort was taken ; on the 27th fire was opened on the residence of the com missioner and cn the town ; on the 29th a practicable breach was effected, and the city was stormed. I should remark that a short time previous to this Sir J. Bowring, acting in defiance of his standing instructions, sent to Ilonfor troo, and obtained the miserable sup ply of (- Ig p 17 on sappers and miners. This , is a fitting opportu nity of recalling to your lordships recollection a very proper letter, written by the noble earl opposite (Earl Gro ), when be was at the head of the C, 1 inial-otlice, and despatched, as the noble earl himself stated, with the full concurrence of the Duke of Wellington. That letter was addressed to Major-General D'Aguilar, and is as follows : " Colonial-office, Nov. '31,1847. " Sir,—Tho Governor of Ceylon has communicated to me a n a pplica,tiou which you have made to the rusjor general counuandiug her Majesty's troopsin that island for a reiuforcvment of half a coulpany of artillery, with and by permanent settlement have evinced the clearest in tention of perfecting- themselves in the persons of their descendants, British subjects secunient leges, as well as de facto. I, therefore, as law adviser to the Crown, deemed it my duty to advise the granting of registers to such Chinese as had, by becoming crown tenants, es) far as in them lay, made themselves British subjects, and whose discharge of the obligations taken upon them could be gua ranteed by other crown tenants." Al y G i lords, bralta rI and say IN this t a , case and the rule i s strictly lis p a r n , a, cl. l 7 i o c u 4h analogous same that of as obtains in the British settlements ' , in the Straits of Malacca, at Singapore and Mazaban. A memorandum on the subject has been banded to me by the late Gover nor of Singapore:— Fes( The condition of the British settlements in the Straits o Malaya much resemble that of Hong Kong. It will be use ful, therefore, to see under what conditions it has been expe dient in these to grant registration to native shipping. The p lation of the three settlements amounts to ee 'O O , " GREY. whichpopulation 's n 90,000 are Chinese. I may confine my remarks,--° I t : w ' of A. wiser or more statesman - like letter it is impossible to over, t o Singapore, the most important of these settlon. en o ts, conceive ; and no one who is conversant with these an d which is not above five days' sail distant from Hong Kong. transactions can read it without feeling that Sir John It contains a population of 70,000, of whom no fewer te em B tiering acted in opposition both to the letter and to 50,000 are Chinese, some of these being British subjects by the spirit of the instructions which he thus received. birth, as born under the British flag, bat the great majority Now, my lords, I ask you to look at the condition of aliens, as born in China or the Dutch possessions in the these people, and to say whether it would have been witioutdistinction Archipelago. i Both British-born and alien Chinese are as to nationality — owners of coasting possible for them to present to person s at whose hands such in uries had been sustained by them petitions craft and of square-rigged vessels making distant vo y a g es j and all sail under the British flag. I have before couched in more submissive and pathetic terms—peti- me the names of 12 square-rigged vessels owned by Chinese tions appealing more strongly to the best feelings of those lying in the harbour of Singapore, ran ging from 150 to 669 to whom they were addressed? They say nothing about tons, seven of them e xceeding 333 tens burden. The coasting reparation for past injuries, or even about an interrup- Chinese and other native craft sail by registered passes, which tion of intercourse. They say, in effect— run for a year only, and are renewable. These l asses resem ble the certificates of registration of the Hong Kong ordi our"lf you will only stop your proceedings, we will renew sauce of 18e5, only that the conditions ou which they wets commercial intercourse with you on the ancient foot granted were far less stringent." ing ; we do not ask for redress for the blood of our slaugh tered relatives or for the injury done to our city; all we Bat, my lords, independent of all question of mercantile* ask is that you will be contented with the redress of the law and shipping acts, the real question at issue is, whe injury which you suppose yourselves to have received." ther this vessel was understood to be a British vessel, Let us see what the Americans did in a similar case. entitled to the British flag, and to British protection, by In the course of these proceedings an American vessel the Chinese authorities. This is the question. This lorcha having approached near one of the forts was fired is one of the vessels described in the treaty as forming upon. The Americans went down the river and at- a part of the merchant shipping referred to in the 17th tacked the fort which had fired. Having silenced article.—[Earl of DERBY—That applies to British.]—l it, they considered that they had taken sufficient contend she is a British vessel. A lorcha is designated reparation for the injury received, and they continued as a ship belonging to a foreigner in contradistinction to their trade upon the previous footing. Here was a real a Chinese junk, and is always considered as a foreign and substantial insult, there being no question as to the built and rigged vessel. My lords, the question is nationality of the vessel ; reparation is taken, and there whether this vessel was considered by the Chinese autho is no further ill-feeling between the two nations. But rities to be a British vessel, well known as a British look at the consequences of the opposite line of conduct trader in the Canton river. All the proceedings that on our own part. We proceeded from one step to another took place before she passed into the hands of her present till we had reached a degree of severity which is seldom owner have nothing to do with this. (Hear, hear.) See practised even in regular war, and we have created feel- had been seized by pirates, retaken, adjudicated on, sold, ings of opposition to us in Canton which it will take and passed into the hands of a Chinamen as crown centuries to eradicate. Such is the impetuosity of Sir lessee. A British register was granted to hi:n according John Bowring, such is his determination to carry his ob- to the ordinance of Hong Kong ; and the vessel was then ject, that he says— under that register and the British flag was flying. It "If the imperial commissioner demands time to refer to is true that the year for which the register was granted Pekin for instructions, you era on no account to listen to had expired a few days before, but provision is made in him." advance for sues an event, a., if the vessel was still at Not only does he himself act without authority from sea, it does nct expire until her return. She was then home, but he will not allow the slightest communication at sea, her blue-peter was up, and the English flag flying, to take place between the Chinese commissioner and the and there is no doubt whatever that a deliberate insult sovereign of the country in which these transactions oc- was intended to the British vessel and the British flag. cur. I have now very imperfectly laid before your lord- She was boarded by a Chinese force from a large and ships the substance, and only the substance, of these heavy armed vessel, 12 out of her 14 men were carried disgusting particulars. I think, my lords, that a ques- off, and to mark the animus of the Chinese authorities tion of this kind, a question involving such high and under whose instructions these men acted, the British important interests, is not unworthy of the serious con- flag was hauled down. My lords, there is no article of sideration of the spiritual peers of this house. (Cheers.) the treaty better known, or more constantly acted on, To them, my lords, I would appeal as especially and ern- than the 19th, to which my noble friend has already phatically men of peace; to them I would appeal as es- alluded. It provides that if any criminal is supposed to be pecially and emphatically servants of Him who came to on board a British vessel, information should be at once bring " peace on earth and good-will among men." given to the highest civil authority, in order that a arek I would appeal to them as the legitimate rebukers of and inquiry should be made. When the man was disco oppression and tyranny ; I would appeal to them as those vered, if he admitted his guilt, or it was proved, lie should who are by their positiOn peculiarly qualified to enforce be given up. I know that the framers of th - treaty and inculcate the adoption of the high and holy maxim, attached the greatest importance to this article, and de that if it be possible we should, "as far as in us lies, pended much on it for the maintenance of peace. Iu a po live peaceably with all men." But, my lords, even if I pulous country like China, where so many malefactors of should be disappointed in looking to thatright rev. bench, various kinds might take refub in our territories, it I should still look with undiminished confidence to the he- was of importance to have such a treaty of extradition, reditary peerage of England. (Cheers.) To them then I and nothing can be more plain than its provisions. In • make my appeal. To those who have done me the honour this case, my lords, not one of them was ob,erved ; of listening with exemplary, patience to the long and twelve men were violently carried off, ahhough only the painful statement which I have laid before them, would one was accused. I ask your lordship, if any one of you I appeal humbly and earnestly, but with confidence, to had been in Mr. Consul Parkes' place could you have declare by their vote to-night that they will not sanction acted differently ? Very many unjust accusations have the usurpation by foreign authorities—the usurpation of been made against him, and I think it only just to say that most awful prerogative of the Crown, the right to that lam personally acquainted with him, and a more commence hostilities against another country ; that they able, intelligent, and gentleman-like man Ido not know. will not tolerate, or by their silence appear to approve, He has several times been placed in very difficult cir a quarrel upon light and frivolous grounds, or in a case cumstances, in which he has acted with great judgment of doubtful justice, followed up by the capture of com- and good temper, and he has always shown himself mercial vessels ; that they will not tolerate the destruc- deeply sensible of his responsibility. I ask you to put tion of the forts of a friendly country; that they will not yourselves in his place, and say whether if he had shrunk tolerate the bombardment and shelling of an undefended from demanding satisfaction for this violation of our commercial city; that they will not on any consideration rights he wouli not have compromised the flag of Eng give the sanction of their voice to the shedding of un- land, and exposed us to fresh insults in every port of warlike and innocent blood without warrant of law and China. We must remember there is a conetant tendency without any moral justifieation. (Loud cheers.) to violate our rights and restrict our privileges, and if The Earl of CLARENDON said—My Lords, I feel this had succeeded, it would have given a sort of accu great difficulty in proceeding to reply to the long a mulate sanction. (Hear, hear.) I say, my lords, that if' l 4 this act had let en left unnoticed, the crew allowed to be powerful speech in which the talents and abilities of the carried off, the master's protest to be disregarded, and noble earl have been displayed in so remarkable a man- the Consul's demand slighted, have you any doubt that nor. In advocating the cause of Commissioner Yeh my it would have been claimed by the Chinese authorities noble friend has certainly neglected nothing that the as a new triumph over the white-taced devils and outside most ingenious interpretation of documents, the boldest barbarians? (Hear, hear.) What did the Consul do; He represented to the Imperial Commissioner that a assertion of facts, the most touching appeals to your lord- violation of the treaty had been committed, and re• ships' sympathies, and the most commanding eloquence quested an apology. My lords, such a thing might could effect for his client. I have, however, no less cone have occurred between two of the greatest nations of fidence than the noble earl has expressed in appealing t o the world. If you can dismiss from your minds the your lordships. I believe that your lordships will have strong feelings in favour of the Chinese authorities regard to the facts as they appear in the papers, and not w w e h u ic id h Ln e y iu n e o li b u l e e d f t r e ien te d k must Lave excited, I think you different as they have been presented by the noble earl, that vey sieve and that, an occurrence. SupposeFrencho rA American of such bearing in mind the great interests which are at stake, vessel bad come to Liverpo o l, or t o a p or t i n the Channel bearing in mind the expediency, the policy, and the Islands, with a register with which we were well ac necessity of upholding the servants of the Crown abroad quainted, and that any officer had sent an armed f o rce and taken off four-fifths of the crew because one or two were when they are in the right, as in my conscience I believe respected of some crime, and when the French or United those who are concerned have been on the recent oc- States Consul had requested that' these men should be casioo. I, like the noble earl, entertain the fullest restored under the provi inns of a treaty of tatradition, confidence that your lordships will act to-night in and an apology made fur the insult to the flag, I ask your judicial capacity, and that, laying aside all what would your lordships think if any British authority had absolutely refused to restore the men or make an party considerations, and looking solely to the facts apology on the ground that from information subse• before you, you will not condemn her Majesty's offi- quently received he was not satisfied that the vessel was cera in China, or her Majesty's Government, with re- a French or American one ? Would you not think that gard to a course of conduct which they have most un- a man was mail, or worse than mad, who would expose avoidably, though most reluctantly, pursued. My lords, Liverpool or Jersey to an attack, and this country to the I cannot but regret the interruption of the relations be- danger of a war with France or the United States on such grounds as these l I ask if you would not be still tween this country and China, but when the noble earl more surprised if you heard that in the senate of the speaks of the past relations ae amicable, I must say I United States a resolution was afterwards proposed con cannot concur in that expression. (Hear.) When on demning in the strongest manner all the A merican offi the one side there has been for a long series of years a cers engaged, and that a speech was made eulogising in manifest determination to humiliate and degrade, and the strongest terms the British authorities who hadacted in such a manner I My lords, I know I may be told not to respect treaty rights, and when, on the other, that this could not occur in a country in a high state of there has been, in consequence, great exasperation and civilisation, where international law was respected ; but, irritation, though tempered by a moderate and forbearing my lords, that these things have occurred in China is a - spirit, the relations which have existed cannot correctly proof that there is not the same amount of civiiisation or be termed amicable. There has, indeed, been for many the same respect for international law. (Hear, hear.) years no resident in Canton, official or unofficial, belong , However painful it may be to admit it, we must come to ing to any nation. It bad long been felt that the pre- the conclusion that in dealing with the Chinese, if we sent state of things was unendurable, and that sooner or intend to preserve any relations at all, we must make later a rupture must take place. A rupture has taken them sensible of the law of fusee, as it is the only one to. place ; and though it has been contended that we are to which an appeal can be made. My lords, if the consul blame for what has occurred, persons who were on the had net obtained any satisfaction from the Imperial spot, and who have watched the events as they occurred, Commissioner for this outrage upon a British vessel, the and those who are the chief sufferers by these events, Chinese authorities woul I have treated every other have expressed their approval of what has been done, and British vessel the same way in order to deter those have admitted the necessity of the steps which have Chinamen who were in the ha'-it of taking service with been taken. If these persons were present themselves, English owners, by showing them that the flag could or were represented on this occasion, they would, lam not protect them from the most disastrous consequences. convinced, ask your lordships not to agree to these re- My lords, the Imperial Commissioner was inconsistent solutions ; for, whatever they may have invested in with himself, for ho did admit the force of the treaty by China, they feel that the safety of their lives and pro- sending back some of the men he had taken ; but he perty, and the prosperity of their trade, entirely depend did not do it in conformity with the treaty, and he on the maintenance of treaty right., and the protection refused to make the apology demanded ; that apology of the British flag. If those rights can be violated, or was a just and reasonable one. We ought never to that flag insulted with impunity, there must be an end of make any unreasonable demand on the Chinese but all security for British residents in China. British mfr• having once made a demand it is impossible to with chants will then carry on their transactions on mere euf- draw it ;if we did so it would be attributed to fear—we ferance—a sufferance which may be withdrawn at would be considered cowards, and fresh insults heaped upon any period—and will be dependent on the mercy and us. (Hear, hear.) It was manifest from the first moment a forbearance of tho Chinese authorities, as indeed those demand was ma to on the Chinese authorities that it was authorities have Constantly asserted that they are. absolutely necessary to insist on reparation. Wizen the (Hear, hear.) This case of the lorcha may be in itself a matter passed into the handsof the admiral, ho seized a junk t miserable case ; but a principle is involved in it, a right to let the Commissioner know that ..ve wore in earnest, was violated, and I say that her Majesty's officers at which ho appeared inclined to doubt after the fter measures m Canton could not, without a complete dereliction of insults to which wo had submitted. Een.e have been put a duty, have acted other wise than they have done. Now of force had been resorted theto, they might Imperial Commissioner, but with respect to the ordinance to which the noble eta.' s h top to at de t a e n r y m r n o e m moment by determined, all the facts prove, to persevere in has referred. Your lordships must be aware that the th e e w co as urse he had commenced. I next come, my lords, to original purpose of this ordinance was to prevent abuses the question of the entrance into Canton, which, however, on the part of the Chinese authorities. The earliest has nothing to do with the matter immediately in dispute, notice which we have of the matter is from Sir John and nothing would have been heard of it if the affeir of the Bowring, who says that the question involved presented Arrow had been satisfactorily settled. My noble friend great difficulties, a vessel having no sooner obtained a says that Sir John he d Bowring h t a t sa h sort of monomania on tidepoint; but I Le a l i ce m rtain that ee th does attach from ae veery great im n portace register than she escaped coloni a l j ur i s di ct i on an d ear- t instructions he has Tied on trade in the waters of Chi na , th e o bj ec t o f the e received, tl be would not have taken any ordinance being, as far asjpo ss ibl e , t o prov id e such local di rec tions from home. I Fay, my lords, it without guarantee-a as were comp a tibl e w ith th e g eneral regula- have been heard of if the case of the Arrow ' w°llll never had been statist tions made under the authority of Parliament, Sir John factorily settled ; but it was manifest that a corn - further co further explains th a t th e nec essity of a change was munication with the authorities at Canton would be the pressed on his attention, not only as Governor of best mode of coming to an understanding. Hong Kong, but also as chief superintendent of Sir John Bowring and Sir Michael Seymour (Bear, hear.) British trade in China, in consequence of the multi- British to claim the indiscriminate did ad not ie insist of plied duties which had grown up, and the confusion pro- solves. rs b o lets 1 they simply asked for admissionmforsitinem duced through the discordant elements amidst which he par ,. far from being an ties were well aware it unfavourab le moment, all had been directed by her Majesty's Government to observe 'ale people of a strict neutrality. He ales) alludes to the difficulty of Bowring and Canton were made to feel our power. Sir J. deciding who ought to be deemed a British subject in a was evident that 11. Seymour wanted a parley, because it city a large portion of whose population is always shift- contribute to i t the correspondence vino on would only. Mg. The ordinance was then issusd for the purpose of a parley bet , ,Veen the exasperation au b d irritation, and restraining the abuse of the British flag which was best chance Ar f een the British and Chinese officersoffereestn. by the imperial act. The ordinance would certainly of entran ce oe corning to an understanding. On the c l p n reeen . have contravened that act if it had bestowed a British siou as t() ebe° Canton I think there is some . ''.l', i -, Inetis'ioy lli.).0 register ; but the only thing it did bestow was a colonial friend Was feelings of the people on this but R g , „„ register, for trading between Chinaand Hong most eloquent ou the poin, o r t w i : i' mve h a d My noble friend seems to think that this would not h to •te•al with, oet and most experienced oat ee 0 insurnio untable have • wi- was of opinion there wall"! d The feelings of occurred in any other country than China, He is 1 r , (stfliculty in' ust dOMAII easily bably not aware that within the lest 100 years there l; ' °- the People were e ryin t g b i o n ut bouutrJ. bugbears},lwaYB_iejc" been many cases precisely analogous to that of Have cited by their no superior. g It rould h . tu!t u y s . the ignniant and Jana- Kong at CeibraLar and Malta. n `els Queen is empoweredlion town f or 0 40 authorities to e xcite but that wets no reason to grant these licences, giving a right to carry th ideal population against fore? ! - s n t e e r b ' e insulted, and not make fish flag, and entitling to its protection not only D e B el' why Tee should allow otirr e lv In 1845 Sir John Davies in a born subjects, but all residents of 15 years, Tne elfish, , the nutltoeiiies responsirtiry. strong opinion en this subject. Hong Konglis analogous, except that the ri I ' case at I ("lespt,:ia expressetdaance was refused on the pretext of the to residents of 15 years, but to git is given not 1 4e `,tates that e en p r e pie, and declared. that if lie had the Crown lands. Consequently, m • krd Chinamenl lessees of v'eolence of id the tport°cf her Majesty's Government he would nance was perfectly legal, and under s,think the ordi- , sanction sod s b e period insure the fulfilment of that important it the registrar t ': 1 tt in a • '"'• In slower to that despatch, rt:ty noble friend a perfect right to confer a • " a 1 condittoa. b deen) authorised Mr 'l'. Davis to sus reasons the Attorney General for The I (the Earl of Aer • .. 1 t. At the colony giv e h evacuation of Chnsan until its seat emen are : s for it i peed that t i e the council if Canton reported to the Emperor " The colony of Hong Kong with Ch . ht time English had a decided right to enter nn Bonham exceeding at the present time ,C a Chine pop, . 14 *„. that the it was not of much importance. Sir T. G. into rho 0 000 hardl ce o e ,v" .. i that he could get entrance into e Chinese who can legally be called ) ' .y h datw.:" te-^ stated thet he did not expect ion the has not been deemed advisable to aßstlitis - e s lin ' li se ts, for it city, And suggested that it would be better to s a t b e an d t ( o him, here, and the recent settlement of ' oar° ~ a the Chinese claim altogether. A. middle course was stronglysugg with the possibility -of their having bee - she colony-'sprevents the and he was directed to remonstrate of this article great proportion of the e n s a nne . ' ; s h birth. The ty sem 1 h 0 : Chinese commissioners on the non-fulfilment Yeh immediately have, however, consti` re ' - subJee ee this P ° P ula- of the treaty. He did ao, and Sou and at an end, and re- Able part British subjects, by bectnuing Q o u - •' bona Pc l „„ -declared all discussion, on the subject they had themßeivesl!"6l°las for ' ceived imperial honours for the triumph gained. terms of years (a t...• - ' own t '- - - enant3 °f lien is incapable) , ..sure of which An alien