# Twentieth Century Impressions of Hongkong, Shanghai, and other Treaty Ports of China/Early History and Development

Twentieth Century Impressions of Hongkong, Shanghai, and other Treaty Ports:
THEIR EARLY HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT.
By Arnold Wright.
CHAPTER I.
Early European Trade with China—The Portuguese at Macao—Efforts of English to Open Trade—Establishment of English Factory in Japan—The English and the Dutch in China.
N the history of European Commerce there is no more interesting, and, in its influence on international events, no more important chapter than that which relates to the opening of the Chinese Empire to British trade. The long drawn out struggle which in its earliest stage culminated in the Treaty of Nanking was something more than a contest for the right to barter. It was a fight between two opposite, and to a very large extent antagonistic, systems of civilisation. On the one hand was the East, self-contained, self-absorbed, living its narrow life in beatific indifference to, if not positive ignorance of, the remainder of the world. What it did not know was not knowledge; those who were outside its pale were barbarians; its rulers were the rulers of all things mundane and of some things celestial. On the other side was the West, bustling, aggressive, sometimes arrogant, confident in itself and conscious of its power, infused with a spirit of progress which gained additional impetus as every new discovery of science furnished it with fresh weapons to use to batter down the wall which racial prejudice and exclusiveness had reared up against it. That one misunderstood the other—was indeed profoundly ignorant of the motives which were the mainsprings of the other's action—added intensity to the battle. To the official Chinese the efforts of the European to make his foothold good on the soil of China were an unwarrantable intrusion on the part of a visitor with many objectionable characteristics. As for the European, and especially the Britisher, he could see in the determined measures to keep him at arm's length—a suppliant and humble guest without the gate—only the bigoted manifestations of a diseased egotism added to a crass and virulent congenital dislike of the foreigner. And so the conflict went on until the door was violently forced from without and the breath of a new commercial life was breathed into China. Then the giant stirred, but it was only the stretching of the sleeper before the full awakening. Another half-century or more was to pass and China was to see in blacker outline the shadow of irretrievable disaster before the lessons of the West were received, and even then her acceptance was only partial and hesitating. It remained for the cataclysm of the Russo-Japanese War to drive home at last the moral taught, if China could only have realised it by the first European ship that visited her shores, that China was not the world and that if she would preserve her independence and her self-respect she must avail herself of the advantages of Western civilisation, not the least of which are those which pertain to an uninterrupted commerce.
(From a print in De Goyer and De Keyser's account of the Dutch Embassy to China in 1655.)
order inherent in the vastness of the empire. It is a moot point whether it was not the influence of this national myth which dictated the policy of exclusion so stubbornly enforced against Europeans for three and a half centuries. Old writers, like the authors of the authors of the Dutch Embassy to China in 1655, are inclined to adopt this view, and it is one which is in complete harmony with the altitude consistently assumed from the moment that European ships were seen in Chinese waters. The first reception of the Portoguese when they appeared off the Canton River in 1516 was, however, not entirely unfriendly. The fleet was one despatched from Malacca by Albuquerque and commanded by a bold and adventurous sailor named Perestrello. The ships returned to Malacca without entering the Canton River, but Perestrello had seen enough to enable him to report very favourably on the prospects of trade. Stimulated by the prospect of obtaining entrance to a new and productive market the Portuguese Viceroy the next year sent a squadron of eight vessels under the command of Perez de Andrade. In due course the ships reached the Chinese coast, and without hesitation de Andrade directed a course past the islands and up the river. Great was the alarm of the Chinese at the appearance of these strange ships, so strikingly different in form from those with which they were familiar. Fearing an invasion the authorities promptly surrounded the intruding ships by war junks. De Andrade protested his peaceful intentions, and eventually, after considerable argument, persuaded the authorities to allow him to take two of his ships up the river to Canton. At Canton de Andrade had an audience with the Viceroy, and was successful in extracting from him permission to trade. His satisfaction at this excellent stroke of business was somewhat modified when news reached him, as it did at about the time that the negotiations were completed, that the vessels he had left at the mouth of the river had been heavily attacked by pirates. The damage, however, does not appear to have been fatal to the objects of de Andrade's mission. Several of his vessels returned to Malacca with cargoes, and the remainder sailed with some junks belonging to the Loo Choo Islands for Ningpo, on the east coast of China, and there established a colony. The pied à terre thus secured was turned to good advantage in succeeding years, and a most profitable trade was built up. But the greed and cruelty of the Portuguese here as elsewhere raised up a violent prejudice against them. So it happened that when an embassy was despatched by the Portuguese Government to Peking in 1520, the Ambassador, one Perez, was treated very contumeliously. He was sent back practically a prisoner to Canton, and was there robbed of his property, thrust into prison, and finally, it is supposed, put to death, for his real fate was never actually known. Meanwhile the Portuguese had been expelled by imperial decree from Ningpo, and they were prohibited from all trade. Their star seemed to have set as rapidly as it had risen. The early Portuguese explorers were, however, not men to be easily rebuffed. In the succeeding years they maintained resolutely their efforts to secure a lodgment in China. At length fortune once more smiled upon them. A service rendered to the Chinese Government by the extirpation of a formidable pirate fleet secured for them as a reward rights of occupation at Macao, one of the group of islands lying off the mouth of the Canton River. Their earliest settlement there dates back to 1537. It was a mere collection of huts for drying goods which were introduced under the name of tribute, but by the middle of the sixteenth century out of these small beginnings a town of considerable size had developed. The trade of the port flourished apace under the interested patronage of the Mandarins, who found in the commerce of the adventurers a new and lucrative source of income. Imperishably associated with the history of Macao at this period is the name of Camoens, the great national writer of the Portuguese. It was here that the poet composed the greater part of "The Lusiad" the famous Portuguese epic which has stirred the hearts and fired the imaginations of so many generations of Portuguese. Camoens' period of residence at Macao extended from 1553 to 1569. On his returning to Europe from China he was wrecked off the coast of Cambodia, and escaped to shore on a plank, tradition says, with the MS. of his precious poem carried in his hand. Macao, though long since sunk into a condition of commercial decrepitude and moral decay, will ever enjoy the reflected lustre of Camoens' great name.
AN ANCIENT MAP OF CHINA. (From an old manuscript of the date 1609, preserved in the Manuscript Room at the British Museum.)
​of the sixteenth century they sent out several fleets with the object of establishing a trade with the Far Eart. The initial English venture was made in 1596, when Sir K. Dudley and others fitted out three ships with the
AN ANCIENT MAP OF MACAO. (From a manuscript in the Sloane Collection at the British Museum.)
intention of trading to China. Wood, the commander, bore with him a letter from Queen Elizabeth to the Emperor of China. With the expedition also went the warm wishes of the commercial community whose hopes of establishing a trade had been raised to a high level in consequence of the reports which bad come in of the riches of the Eastern world. The enterprise, however, ended in disaster. Not a soul of the company which embarked ever returned to England to give an account of the rest. Nothing further was attempted in the direction of opening up the China trade until Sir James Lancaster's successful voyages to the Straits of Malacca, and the subsequent establishment there of factories of the newly constituted East India Company turned the thoughts of London merchants once more towards those rich markets of the Far East which the Portuguese and the Spaniards had hitherto monopolised and which the Dutch were now seriously attacking. The first direct reference to the China trade in the records of the East India Company is to be found in the year 1606. On The occasion of sending out three ships to the Eastern factories the Court issued instructions to "General" Heeling, the commander of the little squadron, directing him to cultivate a trade with the Chinese. "It is to be remembered," said the directorate, "that our Factors att Bantam doe their best endevors to p'cure the Chineses to bring from Cheney aleave and sowing silks, that we may fall into some trade with them; and see yf they can sell any of our English cloth to them that they may be brought to the use thereof." At the same lime the Court wrote to the factors at Bantam desiring them to send home particular accounts of all goods vendible, or to be procured, and directed that "yf Cheney silks are not theare (in Bantam) presenthe to be had, that then you advise the Cheneses to bringe thereof thither, both while soweinig silke, twisted of all sorts and sizes, as also rawe and sleave silke; of all which we have geven Mr. Heeling examples: the which silke yf you can p'cure to be brought thither att reasonable prices we suppose some good proffitt may be had thereby: of all which you have hitherto left us ignorant; whereby we must conceive you to be either unskillful in merchandising or unwilling to
THE GROTTO OF CAMOENS, MACAO. (From an engraving)
p'form that for which we keepe you theare." The asperity of the last remark is probably to be accounted for by the fact that the Dutch at this time were making considerable progress in the Eastern trade and were reaping rich profits at home from the products brought by their ships from the Far East. However that may be, that the manufactures of China met with great favour in the English markets at this period is very evident from these additional instructions given in 1609 to the Bantam factors: "The silk called Lankin (Nanking) is here (in London) well requested: therefore, we pray you use your best endeavours to put off our English cloth for that commodity, whereto as it steemeth by Robert Brown's (second at Bantam) letters, the Chineses were willing and desirous, if you had been furnished with any; which giveth us good hope that these people will tall to wear our cloth, so as we shall find good bent for the same hereafter; and have better means to maintain an ample trade there; for the better procuring whereof we have now and will hereafter send such cloth as shall be true both in substance and colour, and so you may assure them." In 1613-14 we find the Court in despatching four ships to Surat issuing instructions to the Company's agent at Agra to "discover the trade of Tartary." He was told to find out "what English cloth may be there vended; at what distance the Towns of Trade are situate; how the passages thither lie, and whether secure or dangerous." The writer added, "The Court conceive that much good might be done in vending our cloth in that cold country Tartary, were it well discovered." In this year the several transactions of the Company were united in one joint stock, and it was intimated that on this basis the Company intended to build an enlarged system of commercial enterprise. Bantam factors on being informed of the change were enjoined to make vigorous efforts to extend the Company's trade, particularly to Japan and China. Meanwhile, the Court asked the assistance of their agents in a matter of some importance affecting the silk trade. Difficulty was found in unwinding the Canton cross-reeled silk, and it was suggested that one or two of the Chinese or Japanese should be induced to visit England to give instruction in the matter "in order to bring the Canton silk into ​esteem and price at home." What was the outcome of this suggestion does not appear, but it may be assumed from an entry in the Court minutes which we find a little later that the early enthusiasm for the silk trade was somewhat damped by the discovery that there were tricks of the trade in China. "On account of the deceit that is used by the Chinese in their silks," the minutes recorded, "it is proposed in Court to advise Bantam that no more be brought except only raw silks, and such other as be ascertained to be very good; also to forbear the buying of sundry drugs, which prove rotten and naught, especially China roots and rhubarb." The instructions actually given to the factor at Bantam, who was proceeding eastward from thence to trade, were: "Buy no blacks of any kind of damasks or taffaties but only coloured: the colours to be grass green, watchet, blue, crimson, and carnation. Take also white, especially satins. As to raw silk it is not good to bring the Canton cross-reeled sort. But if you could obtain any ready thrown according to the sample, so as to afford it to be sold in England at a mark or 14s. per lb. some good may be done. Give orders that it be first spun single and then twisted two threads together. Let such as be made up in skains be but one thread together."
At about this period a development of the Company's enterprise in the Far East resulted in the forging of the first link which connected Great Britain with Japan. The association was brought about in a somewhat romantic fashion. William Adams, a Kent man, who in early life was apprenticed to a Limehouse pilot, inflamed by stories of the wealth of the Indies, in 1598 took service in a Dutch vessel, one of a fleet bound for the Far East. Arrived off the coast of Japan after an adventurous voyage the ship in which Adams was employed was boarded by Japanese, and he and the other members of the crew were virtually made prisoners. They were, however, kindly treated, and Adams subsequently found great favour with the Emperor, who took him into his service and bestowed a manor upon him for his maintenance. In 1611 Adams heard accidentally from the Dutch, who had by this time established a good trade with Japan, that the English had formed an establishment at Bantam. Overjoyed at the discovery of the comparative proximity of his countrymen, Adams addressed a long letter to the Company's agent in the Straits strongly urging him to send ships to open up a commercial connection with Japan. In his communication he furnished valuable details as to the character of the Japanese and the prospects of trade with their country. He added: "Could our English merchants, after settling in Japan, procure trade with the Chinese, then shall our country make great profit here, and the Company will not need to have to send money out of England; for in Japan there are gold and silver in abundance, and therefore by the traffic here they will take in exchange money enough for their investments in the Indies." The hint conveyed in this historic epistle did not fall on deaf ears. The Company, eager to extend their field of enterprise in so promising a direction, in 1613 sent out Captain Saris with the title of "Company's General" to open up a trade with Japan. Captain Saris was met on his arrival at Firando on June 12th in that year by Adams. Almost immediately the two repaired to the capital where they delivered to the Emperor a letter from James I. which Captain Saris had brought with him. The monarch, influenced by his regard for Adams, lent a favourable ear to the proposals made by the Company's agent, and formal permission was accorded to the establishment of English factories at Firando and other places, Adams in his letter to Bantam expressed a decided opinion against Firando and a preference for some port on the east coast nearer the capital. But for some reason or other, probably because objections were raised to an establishment in this locality, the English headquarters were fixed at Firando. For several years a trade was prosecuted from this point by the Company's factors with Adams as a valuable supernumerary. But the enterprise never realised the high expectations entertained of it. Commercially the times were somewhat out of joint; the Dutch opposition and rivalry also were very formidable. Moreover, as was explained in a letter of the year 1615, profits were "eaten up by great presents and charges which the country of Japan requires, although there are no customs to be paid." Adams' death, which occurred on May 16, 1620, put the final seal on the Company's failure. The factory lingered on until 1623 and the establishment was then withdrawn. Nor, in spite of persistent and repeated efforts was a direct connection again formed until the lapse of more than two centuries.
While the Company was prosecuting the operations in Japan an opportunity offered and was availed of to attempt to open a trade with China. The intermediaries in the business were three influential Chinese merchants with whom business had been done at Nagasaki. In a letter from Robert Cock, the factor at Firando, to the Company written on November 25, 1614, we have an outline of the proposals. Referring to the negotiators he writes: "The spot which they point out as desirable for the seat of a factory is an island near to the City of Languin; to which place we sale from Firando, if the wind be fair, in three or four days. Our demand is for three or four ships to come and go and to leave only factors sufficient to do the business. If we can procure this I doubt not but in a short time we may get into the mainland itself; for as the Chinese tell me their Emperor is come to the knowledge how the Emperor of Japan has received us and what huge privileges he has granted us. But the Hollanders are ill spoken of on each part by means of their continual robbing and pilfering the junks of China: the odium of which they at first put upon Englishmen, but now it is known to the contrary." In another letter of a somewhat later date to the Company's agent at Bantam some additional details are given with an injunction to "use all Chynas kindly," and to ask other Englishmen to do the like, "for," says the sanguine factor, "my hope is great since the Chynas doe complain much of the Hollanders for robinge or pilferinge of their junckes." In subsequent correspondence we catch vivid glimpses of the progress of the negotiations. Now we find an entry recording a payment for two girdles of silk as a present to the "China Captain's daughter." Next is a letter from Andreas Dittis, "the China Captain," reporting that he had great hopes of a successful issue to his mission "for that the greate men had taken 3,000 pezes (pieces of eight dollars) presented to them to make way" and warning his English friends not to let it be known that they came from Japan "because the Chinese were more averse to the Japanese than any other nation." Again, we have this quaint extract from Robert Cock's diary throwing some interesting side lights on the business; "I gave my peare (pair of) knives to the China Captain to send to his brother (or rather kinsman) in China upon hope (of) trade. As also he had 4 Looking Glasses for same purpose bought of Dutch, and 4 pss. (pieces) Chowders of 20 Rs. p. corg with Knyves; and is thought fit to geve 50 Rs. 8 to the man which carrieth the letter to pay his charge per way, and to sende a greate gould ring of myne with a whyte amatist in it, cost me 5 lb. str. in France; this ring to be sent to one of these two men named Titcham Shofno, an euenecke. God grant all may com to good effect! Amen, Amen."
The piously expressed wishes of the good factor were not destined to be realised. Civil disturbances in China, forerunners of the downfall of the Ming dynasty, delayed the business. The high-handed action of the Dutch in stopping and robbing Chinese junks also, and probably to a larger extent, interposed obstacles, for the authorities were naturally irate at the outrages, and owing to the lying stories put about by the Dutch were disposed to associate the English with them. The Company's agents in the matter, however, continued to push the request for facilities for trade vigorously. In 1616–17 the factor at Firando reported home that the affair was pursued so hotly that "the Emperor of China has sent spies into all ports where the Spaniards, Portuguese, Hollanders, and we have trade, to observe how the Europeans behave one toward the other, and also how we (the English) behave towards strangers, especially towards the Chinese." "Some of these investigators," he added, "have been in this place (Firando) and were brought by our Chinese friends to the English House, where I used them in the best manner I could, as I have recommended to Bantam, Patania, and Syam to do the like to all Chinese." The factor was very anxious that suitable presents should be sent to the Emperor of China, and particularly indicated a coral tree as a gift which would be acceptable, a similar souvenir presented many years before by the Portuguese being esteemed by the Emperor "one of his most precious jewels." Before this the Company had thoughtfully sent out for use in the negotiation two letters from James I. to the Emperor. One was amicable in tone, but the other was somewhat "stricter" in terms, and ​it was given by the authorities at Bantam to their "linguists" to interpret they intimated that they dare not for their lives translate the bold missive. Dittis and his brother negotiators, when the communications were put before them, undertook to translate them and also forward them by a certain agency. But they suggested that the one couched in a threatening tone should not be sent "for that violence would avail nothing." They further urged that they should "proceed in the negotiation in a pacific manner and trust to the character which the English had of late acquired of being a 'peaceable people.'" How far this shrewd advice was entertained we have no means of knowing, but there is little to think that James' peppery periods ever offended the august imperial eye. Whatever may have been done in that matter the fates were against the success of the negotiation. The affair dragged on for several years and was only brought to a close when the Firando factory was vacated in 1623. From first to last the negotiations cost the Company a great deal of money. Dittis alone is represented to have disbursed 13,000 taels.
As has been indicated the unjust implication of the English in the piratical transactions of the Dutch had a very injurious influence on the coarse of the negotiations for a trade with China. That prejudiced feeling was intensified when, as happened in 1619, the English entered into a treaty of defence and alliance with the Dutch. This arrangement was ostensibly designed to further the interests of both countries, their forces being joined in a "joint endeavor," to use the words of a clause of the treaty, "to open and establish free commerce in China and other places of the Indies by such ways and means as the Common Council shall find expedient." But in practice the Hollanders turned the arrangement to their exclusive advantage. They used the English when it suited them to do so, dragging the English ships into a blockade which they instituted against the Chinese junks proceeding to the Manilas, and in other ways compromising the English name with the Chinese. But when equal facilities were claimed at the ports occupied by the Dutch the demand was emphatically declined. Ultimately the ill-assorted union came to an end as it was bound to do. A tragic outcome of it was the massacre of Amboyna, an episode which left a deep stain on the English name until it was wiped out by Cromwell. Another consequence which flowed from the connection was the creation in the minds of the Chinese and the Japanese authorities of a strong distrust of the English. It is difficult to say to what extent this feeling influenced the course of events, but there is little room for question that it militated very seriously against English interests for a long series of years. We may gather some notion of the prejudice excited from the successive despatches of the Company's agents whose writings became increasingly doleful as the time went on and the consequences of the alliance were more clearly revealed. Thus, Richard Cock, the factor at Firando, in 1621 wrote to the Company's agents at Batavia in these terms: "Gonrockdono, the Governor of Nangasaque (Nagasaki), with all the merchants of that place, Meaco and Eddo, taketh the Spaniards' and Portugals' parts against us, giving the Emperor to understand that both we and the Hollanders are pirates and thieves and live upon nothing but the spoil of the Chinese and others; which is the utter overthrow of the trade with Japan, no one daring to come hither for fear of us. By which reports the Emperor and his Council are much moved against us. The King of Firando, who has married the Emperor's kinswoman, is now our only stay." He added: " The Hollanders are generally hated throughout all the Indies, and we much the worse thought of since we joined them."
After the rupture with the Dutch the English for some years confined their operations largely to the Indian trade. But they continued to cast longing eyes in the direction of China and Japan. The Dutch, who had early in the struggle with the Chinese seized and fortified a position in the Pescadores, were able to establish in course of time an indirect trade with China by way of Tywan in Formosa. This did not escape the notice of the English factors at Batavia. Writing home they furnished particulars of the Hollanders' operations, and at the same time painted a glowing picture of the prospects offered in this direction. "The trade of China now likely to settle at Tywan," they stated with a curious mixture of metaphors, "is as an ocean to devour more than all Europe can minister; wrought and raw silk
THE ISLAND OF FORMOSA. (From an ancient map in the Sloane Collection at the British Museum.)
in abundance and many necessary commodities that all parts of India must have. These are to be purchased with the pepper, spice, and sandal wood of these parts at prices as we please; also with the silver of Japan springing from the said silk of China, and by all probability with every sort of European commodities, especially woollen cloth, for the greatest part of the Chinese Empire stretcheth into the cold climate and is defended with infinite troops of soldiers whose necessities do require more than we can guess at until experimented." In another communication the advantages of Far Eastern trade were further expounded. "For these mighty monarchies Japan and China abounding with riches and also civilised peaceably to respond with all; but in a climate requiring that which neither themselves nor their neighbours enjoy or can be supplied but by the English which is clothings answerable to the magnificence of these nations, defensible against the cold and convenient for their employments in travel, wars and weather."
"Those clothes which now they wear is silk, in Summer seasons passable, but in the Winter are enforced to bombast or to wear ten coats one over the other, and that is useful. Silk being thus their clothing and all growing in China, a stop of that intercourse were so material that silk in China in one year would be as dust or dung and Japan beggard for want of clothing."
"But such stop of intercourse and devised extremity needeth not; for the natural enmity between those two nations hath so framed all for our purpose, that could Japan be furnished with any other clothing, not one Chinese durst peep into their country; which the Chinese well know; therefore, though tolerated by Japan, yet none cometh but by stealth, which would cost their lives if known to their governors in China."
The Dutch at this time were sharply antagonistic to the English at all points where their interests touched. They resented the action of their rivals in withdrawing from the treaty of defence, professing to look upon it as a gross breach of faith towards themselves. Their dominant feeling, however, was one of jealous apprehension lest the English should secure a foothold in a domain which they had marked out for their own special exploitation. This policy of exclusiveness was pursued with a persistency which could not fail to leave its marks on English trade at a period when the country's influence was not at a particularly high level in Europe. Still, the English factors at Batavia were by no means disposed to leave the Dutch with a free hand in the Far East. In 1627 the Presidency at Batavia sent home a long despatch strongly urging the desirability of making another attempt to open up trade with China. They wrote:—
"Concerning the trade of China three things are especially made known to the world."
"The one is the abundant trade it affordeth; the second is that they admit no stranger into their country; the third is that trade is as life unto the vulgar, which in remote ​parts they will seek and accommodate with hazard of all they have."
"In these three considerations it is easily conceived how and where intercourse with that nation is to he expected; for it requireth no more care than to plant in some convenient place whither they may come and then to give them knowledge that you are planted."
"This condemneth the Dutch their long-continued roamings upon the coast of China; where, after much charge and trouble, they saw their folly, and planted upon Formosa; a place not inconvenient in respect of nearness, but a barred harbour, an open road and inconvenient for shipping. Yet should we shew ourselves to trade there with the Dutch it shall be guarded with those difficulties and infinite charges as if it were a diamond mine."
"This hath occasioned us to be inquisitive concerning that commerce, how with most conveniency it may be accomplished; and so by conference with chiefs of those ports, especially with Naukadas (captains of native craft) lately come from China, we understand that none of their nation is publicly tolerated for foreign trade—only some proportioned to trade with the King of Siam; but for Cochin China he that will, and with what they please. All other trades are unlawful; and whosoever attempteth, doth it with the danger of his life, be it for the Manillas, Japan, Formosa, Java, or wheresoever."
The Presidency then go on to observe that if hereafter they might have free trade with the Dutch at Formosa they would deliberate whether to use it or not; "for the aforesaid Naukadas persuade them rather to settle upon Cochin China, which is connected with the main of China, but seven days' journey from Chin-Chew; and there is free intercourse both by sea and land between these nations, as they are indeed both one; for Cochin China was a kind of tributary to the great Emperor, but of late is free."
"The said Naukadas rejoicing at our motion profess that if we will settle in these parts they will beat their gongs in China when they hear of our coming and we shall want no trade, nor whatsoever we can desire. Further they importuned the President's kinsman to go with them to see all the accommodation of China (Cochin China), promising to return him in safety, and to leave as a pledge for his return his own brother and son."
The Presidency of Batavia adds that on their own parts they would willingly embrace this motion, did they know the inclination of the Court to coincide.
CHAPTER II.
The English Ship "London" visits China—Captain Weddell's Voyage to Canton—The Tartar Invasion of China and its Effect on Foreign Trade—Opening of Factories at Formosa and Tonkin—Trade Relations with Amoy.
No direct steps appear to have been taken at the time to carry out the recommendations of the Batavia Presidency, set out in the foregoing chapter. The next important move was deferred until 1635 when, following upon the conclusion of peace with the Portuguese, the Company's agents at Surat, at the invitation of the Viceroy of Goa, despatched the ship London to China. The venture was avowedly an experiment, and it does not appear to have been a brilliant success. Macao was visited, and the vessel remained some time there to the dissatisfaction of the Portuguese, who, apart from a feeling of trade jealousy, were influenced by a fear of the displeasure of the Chinese. They afterwards represented that they were made to pay a smart fine for opening their port to the London, and very possibly it was so for the Chinese officialdom was not likely to let slip so favourable an opportunity of making money. The year following the London's voyage witnessed a far more ambitious attempt to establish commercial relations with China. The enterprise was fathered, not by the East India Company, but by a private organisation known as Courten's Association. A fleet consisting of three small but well equipped ships—the Dragon, the Sun, and the Katherine—and the pinnace Ann, were sent out under the command of Captain Weddell, an experienced navigator. Sailing from the Downs on April 14, 1636, the little squadron anchored off Macao on the 27th of June in the following year. The journal of the voyage states that immediately after his arrival Weddell sent a boat ashore with a letter he had in his possession from King Charles to the Portuguese Governor. The boat was met by the Captain General, "a mulatta of a most perverse and pevish condition, reported to have bin a tinker." The letter was duly delivered to the Governor and his Council, and the deputation was dismissed with the statement that a reply would be sent the next day. Afterwards the procurator of the city came on board and "began to unfould a tedious, lamentable discourse (as false as prolix) of their miserable subjection to the Chinese, which would be now (as he pretended) be much more by other 4 shipps arrivall, they haveing had experience by the shipp London's only being there which cost them a great fyne. Hee said wee knew not the good they intended us (wee believed yt) but there were two main obstacles w$^{ch}$ hindered them from expressing y$^t$, viz., the non consent of the Chinese (w$^{ch}$ was meerely false), and the slender quantite of goods w$^{ch}$ they might expect y$^s$ yeare from Canton for Japan, … but the mayne excuse was that wee brought noe letters recomendatory from the Old Vice Roye of Goa (w$^{ch}$ would have done us as much good as nothing). In conclusion he told us that for matter of refreshinge yf we came neerer (w$^{ch}$ wee did) he would p'vide for us. And this he verry worshipfully and like a true Hebrew indeed p'formed: att 2 or 3 tymes the vallew on shore; and to the end that none might cheate us but himselfe, there was a stride watch of boates placed about each shipp, not p'mitting so much as a poore ffisherman to supply us with the vallew of 6d."
Captain Weddell determined to see for himself what the prospects of trade were, and accordingly despatched the pinnace Ann on a reconnoitring expedition to the Canton River. After two days' sailing they came in sight of the mouth of the river "being a verry orderlie inlet and utterly prohibited to the Portugalls by the Chineses, who doe not ​willingly admitt any strangers to the view of yt, being ye passage and secure harbour for their best jounckes both of warr and merchandice. So that the Portugall's traffick to Canton is only in small vessells through divers narrow shoald streightes amongst many broken islands adjoyning to the mayne. To whom y$^t$ was noe small wonder that wth out any pilott or any the least helpe of an interpretor our people should penetrate soe ffar. And, indeed, y$^t$ hath caused dyvers of the best understandinge amongst them to make publique confession of their own errour in refuseinge to afford us reasonable libertie of trade at our first cominge to Maccaw, whereby wee were enforced to this attempt w$^{ch}$ they prognostically (prognosticate) and wee hope truly will in a few yeares bee the ruine of their vain glorious pride and ostentacion; yet hereby the honest dealing off our nacon contrary to their slanderous reports is apparently manifested and made knowne, as well to the principall Governours of y$^t$ Province as to the principall Merchants and all sortes of people."
On the 15th the party in the pinnace (which included Messrs. Mounteney and Robinson, supercargoes) got a Chinese' boatman to conduct them to Canton. Un the l6th Mounteney and Robinson went ashore with a flag of truce, were carried overland a league to the harbour of Lampton "w$^{ch}$ is a station for their prime men of warr of the King's armada as Chattom is in England for his Ma$^{ties}$ shipps." On the 18th, as they were going up the river, they met the Chinese fleet coming down and were requested to anchor. This they did. At first the Chinese admiral "began somewhat roughly to expostulate," and demanded to know what had induced the English "to come thither and discovered p'hibited and concealed pts. and passages of so great Prince's dominions?" To this Robinson replied "that they were come from a potent prince of Europe, who being in amitye wth all his neighbours, desir'd likewise the friendshipp of ye greate King of China, and to that end had his order to treate of such capitulacons as might conduce to the good of both princes and subjects hopeinge that it might be lawfull for them as the inhabitants of Maccaw to exercise a free commerce there payinge duties as the others." Upon this the admiral became more affable and offered a small junk to take the party up the river, on the understanding that the pinnace proceeded no further. The offer was accepted, and Messrs. Mounteney and Robinson and Captain Carter, of the Ann, started the same night on their journey. When within five leagues of Canton they were met by a message from the authorities entreating them to proceed no further and promising that influence should be used with the "subordinate Viceroy for Trade" to obtain permission to trade if they returned to Macao. Deeming that they would best serve their ends by acquiescence in this request the party returned in the Ann to Macao. Shortly afterwards a reply was received from the Portuguese flatly declining to accord permission to trade. Upon this Captain Weddell summoned a council, and the matter having been "well pondered," and "the notorious treacheries of ye p'fidious Portugall's now plainly appearinge" it was agreed that the whole fleet should, with all convenient speed, depart for Lampton. On July 31st the vessels set sail and arrived off the mouth of the river on August 6th. The Mandarins came on board and these promised to solicit for them at Canton the grant of a right to trade. For eight days the fleet waited for the permit, and then an incident occurred which precipitated matters. As one of the fleet's boats was endeavouring to find a watering place it was fired on from a "desolate castle" which had been hastily fortified by the Chinese owing to the slanders of the Portuguese. Weddell was not the man to sit quietly under an act of treachery of this description. Calling his ships to arms he ranged them in position near the castle and poured in a succession of broadsides. At the end of two hours boats were landed with a hundred men and the English flag was planted on the ramparts of the now abandoned position. The ordnance was brought on board, and the Council House, which formed a part of the port, was fired. Further retaliation was later resorted to in the capture of two junks, one laden with timber and the other with salt. After this overtures for peace were made by the Chinese. Ultimately Messrs. Mounteney and Robinson proceeded to Canton, and on the 18th attended at the Viceroy's palace to present their petition to trade. They were received with great honours and their request was granted, the Mandarin blaming the treachery of the Portuguese for all the troubles that had arisen. The party returned from Canton "bringinge with them a ffirma or pattent for ffree trade and liberty to fortifie upon any convenient (place) without the mouth of ye river." The Chinese ordnance was landed from the fleet and restored to them, and the pinnace was sent to discover some island ​without the river which would be suitable for a settlement. On the 24th of August Messrs. Mounteney and Robinson went up the river with stock and presents, and after a delay of two days, attired in Chinese habits, were conveyed to lodgings in the suburbs of Canton. After paying 10,000 "rialls of eight" agreed upon for duties, they bought eighty tons of sugar besides bargaining for ginger, stuffs and other merchandise and provisions. The trade assumed such a promising complexion that Mr. Robinson was despatched to the fleet for six additional chests of money, and twenty Chinese carpenters were employed in making chests to contain the sugar and sugar candy, which we are told by the diarist "costs 1½d. p. lb. and is as white as snow." Meanwhile, "the malicious treachery and base designes of the Portugalls slept not." They insidiously poisoned the minds of the authorities against the English traders, and followed up their secret machinations with an open protest against any concession to the intruders. The outcome of these plottings was that Robinson and two other Englishmen who were accompanying him were arrested in the river on returning to Canton with the additional specie and stock. At about the same time an attack was made on the fleet by sending against it a number of fire junks. Fortunately this manœuvre was detected in time and the junks were avoided.
The party at Canton were left in close confinement in their houses for several days. Eventually, on their threatening to fire the town, their guard was withdrawn. Meanwhile, Weddell, not hearing from the merchants, cruised with his vessels about the mouth of the river pillaging and burning. At last licence was given to the merchants to write, and they did so asking Weddell to forbear.
On the 6th of October the Chumpein at Canton expressed a desire to Mounteney to taste some meat dressed after the English fashion, "whereupon they played the cookes and roasted certain henns &c. which together sent unto him, together with some bisquett, a bottle of Sacke, and some other things they sent unto him, wherewith he seemed much content, and returned them many thanckes assureing them of his friendshipp; nor did he fayle them therein to his uttmost. And at their departure told them he was sorry he could doe noe more for them, beinge the plaine truth that the Portugalls had outbribed them, and had so far p'vayled wth ye great ones, that he alone was not able to oppose soe many." He was, however, he added, soliciting the new Viceroy on their behalf.
Then followed a course of trading marked by repeated intrigues on the part of the Portuguese to nullify the efforts of the English. Finally, the Chumpein caused two "interchangeable writings," to be subscribed by either party, and so dismissed them on equal terms. The conditions of the agreement arrived at were that the Englishmen should pay a tribute of 20,000 "rialls of eight" yearly, together with four pieces of ordnance and fifty muskets. On their part the Chinese authorities agreed that the English should make a selection of any island near Macao, for the purposes of a settlement, that they should have liberty to fortify it, and that they should have the same freedom of trade with Canton as the Portuguese enjoyed. If Weddell's enterprise had been vigorously followed up there is little reason to doubt that the English might have anticipated the founding of Hongkong by two centuries. But the times were not propitious for colonial adventures of any kind, and least of all for one in such a remote region as the China Sea. Torn with internecine strife, and with the national finances in a state of great confusion, England turned her face from the path by which later she was to travel to a dazzling position of eminence as a world power.
The Tartar invasion of China, Dutch hostility, civil war at home, and a general lack of means, were circumstances which combined to circumscribe the operations of the ​Company for a considerable period after the inditing of this gloomy report. In 1654 the Dutch appear to have sent two ships to Canton from the Pescadores at the invitation of the authorities there, but the new Emperor who was greatly incensed against the Hollanders and strongly prejudiced against all foreigners, hearing of their presence at the port sent orders that they should be cut off, and cut off they would have been had not the friendly Viceroy given them a timely hint to cut their cables and depart—advice which they promptly accepted. About the same period two private English ships, the King Ferdinand and the Richard and Martha appear also to have visited Canton. They, too, had to leave precipitately, and they departed in anything but the odour of sanctity with the Chinese, for they omitted to discharge their measureage dues before leaving, a circumstance which was unpleasantly recalled five years later when the next English ship appeared in the Canton River. This vessel was the Company's ship Surat, which in 1664 sailed from Bantam with a cargo of pepper, indigo, a quantity of lead, and other produce, amounting in value to Rs. 9,573. They had difficulties as usual with the Portuguese at Macao: "They are low and proud," was the Company's supercargoes' verdict upon them. They found pirates infesting the mouth of the Canton River and exacting blackmail from all whom they could intimidate; and, most discouraging of all, they discovered that there was "no certainty of trade in any part of China under the Tartar Government."
Foiled in their endeavours to create a direct trade with China, the Company sought to achieve their end by indirect means. Their new plan was to establish factories somewhere in the vicinity of China where they could get into touch with Chinese traders. What seemed at the time to be a favourable opportunity offered in consequence of the capture of Tywan, Formosa, from the Dutch in 1664 by a venturesome Chinese chief Mandarin, who followed up his occupation of the island by establishing something like a regal authority over its inhabitants. This chief was reported to be friendly to traders. It subsequently appeared that his friendliness only consisted in a desire to have in the foreigners' ships a convenient milch cow to supply his warlike necessities. But the Company were too eager at the time to get a foothold in the China seas to examine very closely into the motives which prompted the indirect overture which was made to them. In 1670 they despatched two small ships to Tywan to reconnoitre the position. A friendly reception was given to the Company's representatives, who finally left with a signed permit from the King for the establishment of a factory. The next year two ships, the Bantam Merchant and the Crown, were sent out to Tywan, but the results of the voyage were only partially successful because, says a naive communication sent home by the factors, "of some perfidious Chinese and our yett inexperience in those parts." After this an effort was made to open up a trade with Japan by vessels sent direct from England; but the venture was a complete failure. One of the ships was captured by the Dutch, and the other, after a circuitous and protracted voyage, arrived home with little to its account, but a heavy bill of costs. The Bantam agency was anxious to resort to the old Dutch method of capturing junks to compel Japan to open her ports. But the Court with great good sense wrote, "We like not what ye wrote to become robbers or to attempt to p'cure our trade with force, although they (the Japanese) have dealt unkindly with us." The Court at the same time thought that much good might be done by cultivating the friendship of the King of Tywan, for they accounted the establishment at Tywan to be of great importance. Meanwhile, in opposition to this view, it was (From a print, of the date 1655, in De Goyer and De Keyser's "Embassy to China.") reported from Tywan that no great progress was being made. The junks proceeding to Japan refused to have anything to do with the English cloths, and there were few openings in other directions for lucrative business.
Simultaneously with the opening of a trade with Formosa the Company took measures to establish a factory in Tonkin. The Dutch had long maintained an agency there, and it was thought that the Company could not do better than follow their rivals' example, more especially in view of the determination come to to promote a circuitous trade with China. To further the enterprise the Zant frigate was sent out in 1672 with a full cargo and a capable crew commanded by W. Gyfford, one of the Company's trusted servants. The ship reached the Tonkin River on June 25th, and on the following day passed up the tideway some 14 miles. Then the frigate was ordered to stop until permission had been procured for it to proceed to Hien, the capital. A Mandarin — one Ung-ja-Thay — came on board while the vessel was lying-to, and the Company's representatives in order to get on good terms with him made him a present of "6 yards of scarlet, 2 sword blades and 2 silver hafted knives." These gifts apparently had not the desired effect, for when the ship was proceeding up the river on July 6th, "the Mandarin being this day aboard, pinioned the captain and threatened to cut off the chief mate's head, because they would not tow the ship against a violent stream." However, "at last they were forced to try but as soon as the anchor was up the tide or current carried down the ship in spite of all help; soe he was something appeased."
"Were it not that we have respect for the Company's affairs," observe the factors in their curious chronicle of the voyage, "we should have resisted any such affront, though we saw but little hopes of escaping, being so far up the river and our ship so full of soldiers."
Mr. Gyfford told the Mandarin that putting such dishonour upon them as to pinion the captain seemed very strange to them, and therefore they desired no other favour from him but leave to go back again, for they believed their honourable employers would not trade there upon such terms. The Mandarin answered "that while we were out we might have kept out; the King was King of Tonquin before we came there and would be after we departed; and that this country had no need of any foreign thing; but now we are within his power we must be obedient thereto; comparing it to the condition of a married woman, who can blame no one but herself for being brought into bondage." The Mandarin, meanwhile, made free of the ship's stores. "He calls for wine at his pleasure and gives it amongst his soldiers and secretaries, forcing them and our seamen to drink full cups only to devour it." Afterwards the Mandarin plundered the ship shamelessly, and later some of the Royal house and leading officials joined in the business. In the absence of the King of Tonkin, who was away fighting the Cochin Chinese, letters were delivered to his son asking permission to build a factory.
In a summary of the proceedings Gyfford stales the Mandarin "ransacked our ship at his pleasure carrying away all our English cloth, stuffs, lead and guns and anything else that we hoped to make profit by, and told us that the King would buy them—which is true, but it will be at his own rates. . . .  With all our industry we have not been able to do more than to unload the ship and procure a chop for settling at Hien and send of our goods during the King's absence."
​In another report dated, August 7, 1672, the factors further dilate upon their troubles: "Two voyages were made up to the city Catchao, first to procure the prince's chop to land goods and second to make prices of our goods they took from us for the King's use, which was all we hoped to gain by; but they made us such prices as the Company would lose by, except the cloth stuff and guns; and would have forced upon us silk at 40 p.c. dearer than might be procured abroad.…It would be of ill consequence to the Company's affairs to allow such an imposition, they at their own rates abating ours and raising their own goods; and measuring our cloth by a false measure contrary to custom, which is barely the Dutch ell to which they added nearly a 20th part. They are the most deceitful, craving and thievish people that ever we came among. But we are encouraged to hope that the King will hear our complaints and remedy all these things for us at his return." On the 12th of August the Zant dropped down the river and left on her return voyage. Afterwards Gyfford occupied himself in establishing the factory at Hien. In letters to Bantam and the Court, Gyfford, James and Waite, the factors, enumerated the goods that were likely to be most profitable. They concluded; "'Tis not convenient to send much goods hither. Principally send what pieces of eight you can; for the life of this trade is money, and unless the most part of the Company's stock sent hither be in money this factory cannot yield profit."
"It had been far better to have seen a trade opened northward, before we engaged in this expense, as we declared at Bantam."
"It is difficult to recover money from the prince; yet he must not be denied more goods whenever he sends for them; we understand the King pays well, but his son conceives it sufficient that he intends to do the same when he succeeds to the throne.…The usual way with the mandarins is to take goods agreeing to pay at the same time and in the same manner as the King; so that being interested, they prevent us paying him so well as he is disposed to do. He this year gave order to pay us in Plate; but the mandarins refused to obey and would pay us only in bad silk at a high price. The Dutch upon a like abuse being unable to get their petition presented to the King, brought their trumpet to the King's gate and obtained immediate access and redress. If your Honours continue here it must be upon such hazardous terms as we have related; and you cannot blame your servants who are in reality no better than slaves."
"It is the policy of the King to repress trade lest the people grow rich and rebel; of which he is very fearful by reason of the great population of the kingdom. He also receives four-fifths of the profits of the land and is very rich in gold and silver. The people if they have anything bury it and are afraid of making any unusual appearance in their houses or apparel lest they should be thought to have money; therefore it is impossible to induce them to wear anything but what they are accustomed to; neither would the King permit it, for all are habited alike according to their rank, in the distinction of which they are very exact, for not only a different title but also a different language is used according to the rank of the person addressed.…The Dutch have been settled in Tonquin forty years—for the first four years they suffered great affronts; but they bore all and in all things endeavoured to oblige the King and still continue to do so on account of the great profit they make on silk in Japan. The Dutch bring very little goods except for presents, and small quantities of such gruff goods as the King will not meddle with; their chief profit is on what they buy. Rich curiosities, instruments, or materials of war, never escape the King. Indeed, he takes whatever he fancies at his own rates. The Dutch take care to supply him with things of this description, but only with such as turn to profit;…We must do the same and forbear to furnish him with lead, for which he has only allowed one-fourth the cost and charges."
The factors experienced great difficulty in securing payment for the goods they sold, but in the end by sheer pertinacity they obtained some sort of an adjustment. Despite the discouraging results achieved, the Court in 1676–77 sent out another ship to trade in Tonkin. It was received in much the same manner as the Zant had been four years previously. The factors' old friend, Ung-ja-Thay, was early on the scene making himself pleasant in his peculiar way. He first of all wanted to beach the ship in order to inspect the cargo, but on receiving a solatium of 110 dollars he agreed "to let the ship alone and to proceed no further in his ruinous intent." The usual presents were made to the King, but His Majesty proved fastidious and returned some of them as not to his liking. The incident led to the despatch of a letter to the Bantam authorities advising them how to proceed in future in this important matter. "We would request you," says the communication, "to write them (the King and his son) letters in China characters and English or Portuguese sewed up in a piece of China gold stuff, and sealed each apart; and insert (specify?) your present to them in your letter, which must not be toys, but substantial things; as great guns, broad cloth, serges, large pieces rough amber—the deeper coloured the better, or large pieces of well-polished coral. The present of the Dutch to the King this year was four pieces of cloth, two sacker guns, a corge of fine cloth, and a chest of rosewater. So in proportion you may order your presents there, and get them up handsomely as those of the Dutch are." That these instructions were not superfluous was shown a few months after the letter was written. About that time the factors were endeavouring to obtain the grant of a site for a factory and, in order to secure his goodwill, had made a present of amber to the King's eldest son. The prince, not finding the tint of the amber exactly to his taste, returned the presents without ceremony. He took care to let it be known that the only amber which would please him must be "as red as fire." Soon after this incident a mysterious message from the King reached the ship, demanding the attendance of the commander, the gunner, and the carpenter. The trio went wonderingly, and on arrival at the palace found that His Majesty wanted to show them a great gun which his subjects had cast to fit some shot which the Company's ships had brought out. The weapon was duly inspected and discreetly commended. But it seemed that the King had not summoned them merely to survey and admire his subjects' handiwork. Clever as the Tonkinese were they had not been able to devise a contrivance for moving the gun, so the Englishmen were commanded to manufacture a crane for the purpose, on the lines of contrivances used on their vessels. The direction was obeyed and the crane duly supplied. "Yet," as the factors plaintively remark in one of their reports, "we had not so much as thanks though a man was ordered to oversee the work and did nothing else for near three months together." The King, in fact, took all that he could get and gave little in return. His subjects faithfully copied his example, in many cases indeed improving upon it. Under the strain of an intolerable situation the Company's agents became very despondent. Writing to Bantam about a month after the delivery of the crane they say: "As to the state of the Company's affairs here we know not what to advise, having to do with an unreasonable and untruthful people; for the more we endeavour to oblige them the greater disappointments we find from them." Notwithstanding the discouraging conditions, the negotiations for a site for a factory were continued until August, 1678, when, by dint of bribery, a licence was obtained from the King for the establishment of a factory on a site below the Dutch factory. The plot of ground given, the agent reported, "is not so large as we desire, but need hath no law." The consideration for the site was a brass and an iron gun and shot. The former was returned as defective, and the Tonkinese "would not hear anything alledged in proof of the goodness of the gun, for having once refused it, no replications avail, though they see the gun fired a hundred times." Apparently this allegation of the defectiveness of the gun was only a subterfuge to cover a repudiation of the bargain that had been come to. At all events, in October of the same year the report was made to Bantam that the King would not grant the ground this year "being his climacterical year, wherein he is so ceremoniously observant, that no kind of public affairs has been commenced." The affair of the site dragged on for some years, until after the death of the King. A grant was ultimately made by his successor and a regular establishment formed subordinate to Bantam, until the factory was captured by the Dutch when the control was vested in Surat.
At the station a certain amount of trade was done under restrictions peculiar to the place. One custom which proved very irksome and expensive was for the great men of the country to repair at odd times to the factory for purposes of entertainment. They did not wait for an invitation, but with their women folk dropped in just when the fancy took them. Gratuities had to be given to the women for the exercise of their vocal powers, and there were other charges which had to be defrayed out of the Company's exchequer. We have an account of one of these entertainments in the following entry in the factor's journal under date October 18, 1694: "The Duch Ung came to ye factory a little after noone, bringing with him abundance of women, his mother and severall of his wives; and presently after he had drank a cupp of Tea came about 20 Bandigaes of Tonqueen fashioned victualls of his own, he treating with them all ye factory and his own people. A little before night wee presented our entertainment likewise. He ate not himself, but ye women and his attendants all participated. They danced and sung all ye afternoone, and ye evening at their departure wee gave them 20,000 cassies." The factory lingered on for some little time after this episode, and then in consequence of heavy defalcations on the part of the leading factor and the general unprofitableness of the business the establishment was withdrawn.
The Court nevertheless gave a discretionary power to Bantam to send one of the Company's ships already with them to Canton with £3,000 or £4,000 of stock to make a trial of trade there. They further intimated that they would next year consign a ship direct to Canton with liberty to Bantam to divert her to Amoy if her proceeding to the former should be deemed dangerous. Finally the Court directed that if Bantam had disposed of the ships for the season they might hire one to send to Canton.
Before the instructions could be carried out Amoy had been recaptured from the King of Tywan by the Tartars, and the Company temporarily cut off from its principal base in the Eastern seas. In the circumstances the Court proposed that four vessels which were being sent out to Amoy should proceed in company to Macao and that a fifth vessel should voyage to the Lampeco Islands, where the Court were informed the Dutch had in one year "laden twenty vessels with goods of those parts, especially from Canton, and rode there in safety and out of command." Although the arrangements here do not appear to have been carried out in their integrity there is a record of the visit of two of the Company's ships, the China Merchant and the Tywan, to the mouth of the Canton River in 1682. On their arrival becoming known at Canton war junks came out to impede commerce and they were unable to do more than a trifling trade. The supercargoes reported home the reasons for their failure: "That which formerly made the trade of this place to flourish," they said, "was the King of Canton himselfe being a promoter of it and interested therein," but being suspected of holding a correspondence with the King of Tywan he was put to death by the Emperor's orders in 1680, and the most eminent merchants of the place were treated with "much severity." Since then Canton had been governed "by divers great Manderins," who by their vast extortions practised on the merchants whom they privately permitted to trade to the Macao Islands had "much depressed commerce and discouraged merchants from undertaking great matters."
The Tartar admiral, acting, it was stated, at the instigation of the Portuguese, ordered the two ships to leave their anchorage in the river. Subsequently they proceeded to Lampton or Twa, but finding a Tartar fleet there returned to their previous anchoring ground at Tempa Hebreda, near Macao. Here they landed what cargo they could and left early in 1682–83, for Batavia. In October of the same year the ship Carolina was despatched from England with orders to go to Macao and if they were not admitted there to proceed to Tempa Cabrado "where ye merchants of Canton," the instructions said, "will come over and deal with you for ye whole ship's loading." The supercargoes were cautioned to be very wise and circumspect in negotiating "they (the Canton merchants) being a very cunning, deceitfull people." "In standing with them to draw them to the most advantageous terms," proceeded the letter of advice, "pretend that you must speedily go to Amoy or Hockshew, and what other arguments you can think on, to cause them to mend their last rates on both sides of ye account. If you cannot do all your business to your content at Tempa Cabrado, yet if it be possible get admission to settle yourselves a factory at Canton and to have constant residence in ye citty upon ye best terms you can. The more to induce them to grant you a settlement in Canton upon good terms, you may propound our sending them four or six ships of war, to serve them in their wars against any but European nations at ye rate of 12d. per ton p. diem for twelve mos. They paying half of ye ship's freight or hire to you in hand upon the ship's first arrival at Canton.…The Court would rather send eight ships of war than two, as they would be the better able to cope with the Dutch or any other that might obstruct them." If they failed at Canton they were to attempt to found a settlement at Hockchew or Amoy.
The Carolina, in spite of the obstructiveness of the Portuguese, contrived, by bribing the Mandarins with the war boats sent out to shepherd her, to do some business. It does not appear from the records that any arrangement was made with the Chinese to afford them help in their warlike operations, or that the question was even seriously mooted. The obstinate determination of the Chinese Government to have nothing to do with the foreigner apparently was proof against all representations however attractively presented. At Amoy in 1682 it seemed for a time that the old conditions of trade enjoyed under the rule of the King of Tywan might be restored. A ship, the Delight, sent out by the Company two months later than the Carolina, put into the port, and after a lavish distribution of presents amongst the ruling Mandarins obtained permission to trade. But before the loading was far advanced peremptory orders were issued for the vessel to leave, and the captain had no alternative but to obey, although to do so meant heavy loss to the Company. Before the news of their contretemps could reach home the ship China Merchant was despatched to Amoy to prosecute the trade which it was sanguinely hoped the Delight had opened up. On arrival at Amoy the supercargoes were well received by the Mandarins, who doubtless regarded the ship as another pigeon to pluck. A letter left for the newcomers by the supercargo of the Delight, however, allowed no room for misconception as to the character of the Mandarins—"these rogues," as the writer styled them. "Gentlemen," the communication said, "these are a people of noe courtesy; they will promise you mountains but not perform a molehill.…They may chance to wheedle you to give a present to ye Poke of Hocchew and ye Booeh and likewise ye Chungisun who is generall of ye military affaires here; he may tell ye a faire story but take this from me, he has nothing to do but give ye Booeh an acc$^t$ from whence your ship is and ye like." After giving details of the tortuous dealings of the Amoy Mandarins the writer wound up with a general caution telling them to be careful to prevent disputes between the sailors and the natives, not to sell any goods to the great men without the cash in hand; to open every bundle of silk before they paid for it and never to pay for any commodity until the seller had settled the custom dues thereon.
The China Merchant appears to have profited by this good advice. It got on passably well with the Mandarins, was actively patronised by the merchants, and finally left "chock full." The reason for the contradictions manifested in the policy pursued towards different vessels of the Company at this period was explained by "the great Padre"—a French Jesuit—to the supercargoes of a ship sent out to Macao in 1684. "He ​told them that the best port for trade was Nankin. from whence the finest wrought and raw silk came. To inquiries whether it was possible to procure the Emperor's permission to settle at Amoy, Hockchew, Fochin, or Nankin, he replied that he believed that it might be obtained but that the best mode of trade was by ships 'to and again,' for there was a constant change of Governors and nothing could be done without making them presents, which retarded the conclusion of business. The Emperor was desirous of encouraging the ingress of foreigners to his ports, for which purpose he had thrown open the trade for three years, half of which was expired, and if all things went on well this freedom was likely to be continued; but the Chinese were very jealous of strangers and did not like factories or settlements. The Padre cautioned the captain not to enter any river or any way to put himself into the power of the Chinese; and instanced their conduct to the Dutch last year at Amoy, who were imprisoned till half their goods were taken for nothing and were then obliged to make large presents to be allowed to depart. The Emperor did not permit and was ignorant of such conduct, but the officers knowing their time was short 'make hay while the sun shines.'
CHAPTER III.
Efforts to open a Trade with Canton—Troubles of the East India Company with "Interlopers"—A Mission to Cochin China—First English Establishment at Canton—Formation of a Permanent China Council by the East India Company—An Establishment formed in Chusan—Abandonment of Chusan Factory and Foundation of an Establishment at Pulo Condore—Affairs at Canton.
Encouraged by the somewhat qualified success of the Amoy enterprises, and stimulated also by the activity of the Dutch, who after their occupation of Bantam made great efforts to capture the China trade, the East India Company, in 1687, sent out several ships. Two of them, the London and the Worcester, were despatched to Amoy, and there, in August of the same year, a commencement was made with the establishment of a factory by the hiring of a house. Some days afterwards the fair prospect which seemed to have opened up was obscured by a "regrettable incident." A drunken English sailor, wandering about at night, found his way to the Custom House, which he broke open. To accommodate the matter the factors went to the leading official. This person "was kind and civill and all he desired was a due punishment might be given to him (the sailor) by ourselves according (as in our opinion) ye crime meritted; w$^{ch}$ was inflicted in public view ashore by 100 stripes with a catt of nine tailes and Pickle to their satisfaction."
Amoy had its advantages, but there were no delusions at home as to its inferiority as a centre of trade compared with Canton. In 1689–90 the Court despatched the ship Defence out with special instructions to attempt to open up trade with that port. On September 1st the vessel arrived at an anchorage about "15 leagues to the Eastward of Macao," and the supercargoes landed "in a fair sandy bay in sight of ye Maccoa Islands." At a town they came to they procured three bamboo chairs and eleven wheelbarrows "much more convenient than our English ones, but somewhat more noisy, for twas easy to hear them a league off." On their way to Canton the trio were well received and strangely enough the Mandarins would neither accept presents themselves nor allow their followers to take them. Arrived at Canton the supercargoes without difficulty obtained a chop for the ship to proceed up the river; but to their mortification the captain declined to move from the anchorage to which he had proceeded about six leagues off Macao. His excuse was that he had struck his topmasts and could not get away. But it appeared that there were other and more personal reasons for his reluctance to accept instructions. He seems to have been busy doing an active private trade, "forestalling" the Company's agents in several directions. These delinquencies, however, faded into insignificance by the side of one indiscretion which had a tragic result and eventually wrecked the entire enterprise. While ashore one day the Captain got into an altercation with the Chinese about a mast. After a scuffle the captain's men bore away the trophy in triumph, but as they went off in the boats the natives, irritated at their discomfiture, pelted them with stones. Upon this the captain gave orders to his men to fire, and a volley was directed to the crowd on the shore with unfortunate results, one Chinaman being killed outright and another wounded. The fire was returned and the native pilot who stood by the captain was wounded. But this was not the worst outcome of the business. "In this confusion," says the account sent to the Court by the supercargoes, "ye poore doctor 3rd and 5th mate and 7 Englishmen on shore were not thought on, or neglected, the pinnice and long boat having cutt loose ye mast making a way from ye shoar, who had they stay'd but a few minutes longer might have received our poor Doctor, who with some others making towards ye boat was miserably cut down in their sight. Later news was brought that the doctor mortally wounded was drag'd by ye cruell Tartars into their Cajan Watch House, where he lies on ye ground chain'd in his gore most miserably, with ye stinking dead corps (after it had been carried around ye towne ye more to irritate ye Chinese) lay'd by him and none suffered to come near and dress his wounds, and all ye rest of his people (save ye two mates which (I) believe have sheltered themselves amongst ye Portuguez) bound miserably in ye same house."
The supercargoes offered 2,800 taels to accommodate the affair, but the Mandarins demanded 5,000, and not receiving this amount they detained one of the supercargoes to enforce the payment. The captain, who throughout had acted in a spirit of absolute independence, finding the turn that events had taken set sail without the supercargo, and so what seemed a most promising opening for securing a foothold at Canton ended in the official classes being turned ​once more strongly against the traders. Apart from this unfortunate episode the times were not at this period propitious for the China trade. "Interlopers" had become a source of serious anxiety to the Company. On the one hand they made things difficult in China by submitting to exactions; on the other they injured sales at home by flooding the market with goods at low rates. The Court, writing to Madras in October, 1690, thus explained the situation: "China goods of all sorts are in very low esteem here; we sell them cheaper than ever we did in times of peace. That trade hath been much overlaid of late and must be declined for a while to recover its reputation. Lacq$^d$ ware of Tonquin is a great drugg and so is Thea except it be superfine, and comes in pots, tubs or chests that give it no ill scent of the oyl, or any other matter. The custom upon Thea here is about five shillings p. pound, whereas a mean sort of Thea will not sell for above two shillings or two shillings and sixpence (p. pound)." In another communication of a somewhat earlier period the Court, depressed by the failure of their projects in the Far East, made a novel suggestion to their agents at Madras: "We have," they wrote, "no kind of thoughts of spending any part of the Company's stock in any new port or factory at present, except upon the generalls arrivall he and you should resolve to settle some place in or near the South Seas, where the Chineeses may resort to and cohabit with us (without passing by Mallacca or Batavia) under the protection of our fortification and plant sugars and Betlenut, keep shops, and do all other business as they do under the Dutch at Batavia, for which we should be content to allow them our encouragement and protection, paying us one fourth part in all respects of what they pay the Dutch, and we should order all our China ships to stop there going and returning for encouragement of the place." This proposal was not acted upon, but the entry is interesting as an indication that the Company so far back as the end of the seventeenth century grasped the importance of the possession of great entrepôts such as Singapore and Hongkong afterwards became.
The Company's fight against trade rivals at this period was of such a character as to leave it little energy for any fresh adventures. A new charter was under consideration by Parliament, and pending its issue "interlopers" were everywhere active, doing their best to capture trade which the Company regarded as its own. How bitterly the Court resented these rival efforts is to be seen in the following order which was issued in reference to trade in the early part of 1693: "We have and do continue and confirm our indulgence for all Bengall and China goods to be sent home by the Armenians and all English merchants, our owne servants and all other persons whatsoever upon the same terms of consignment and indulgence as last yeare; it being of absolute necessity for us so to do untill our Charter be thoroughly settled by Act of Parliament, without which permission and indulgence during the Company's unsettlement it will be impossible soe to curb the avaritious corrupt nature of mankind but that some officers of our owne ships or others of our servants will be tempted secretly at least to assist and countenance interlopers for the very end of sending home by the interloping ships goods prohibited by our Charter Partys—notwithstanding any oaths or other obligations they have entered into to us."
The Company secured its new charter in October, 1693. Under it its exclusive privileges were extended for a period of twenty-one years, and it was empowered to add £744,000 to its stock. The powers conferred brought a welcome addition of strength to the Company, but they did not set the trade of the Far East free from the baneful influence of the wicked interloper. When the Court was despatching the ship Trumball to Amoy, in 1697, it gave the supercargo specific instructions to hasten the voyage so as to anticipate a Mr. Gough who was sending out an interloping ship or two. "And if between you," they said, "you could secure to yourselves Amo, or whoever else you find the most considerable merchants on the place by such apt ways, and means, as to hinder his, or their, assisting the interlopers, it will be a very commendable and dexterous piece of service, which we think should not be a very difficult thing to effect, if you can make him or them rightly sensible that the Company are a permanent lasting body, likely to continue, having settlements in diverse parts of India and their friendship worth courting and preserving; whereas the interlopers are a sort of licentious people whose interests often thwart one another, at least run in different channells, and are likely never to come thither again, after having once made a voyage." The interlopers continued to give trouble for long afterwards, and complications were added by "country" ships from India attempting to cut into the trade. The latter class of rivals, however, burnt their fingers so severely over their enterprises, owing to the exactions to which they were subjected, that they speedily dropped out of the running. Meanwhile, the Court, with intent to secure a new trading centre in the China seas, opened up negotiations with the King of Cochin China, for the establishment of a factory in his dominions. This was not the first attempt of the Company to obtain a lodgment in Cochin China. Early in the century a factory had been established in the King's territory, but its life was brief and its end tragic. After numerous disputes with the native officialdom the chief agent one day openly resented the extortions practised upon him. A fight ensued, which resulted in the massacre of the entire establishment. Those were days when British prestige was at a very low ebb, and the outrage went unavenged. More than this, with the story staining its records, the Company, eighty years later, on a hint from the then King, was ready to cringe for favours which His High Mightiness might be pleased in his great condescension to extend to it. In acknowledging a letter from the monarch inviting the Company to trade, Mr. Nathaniel Higginson, the president at Madras, in a strain of exaggerated hyperbole, commended His Majesty for his liberality. The King's ancestors, the letter said, had forbidden trade, but their "luster was confined within their own bounds," but now His Majesty's fame "like the sun would shine throughout the world." Not to be outdone in flattery, the King thus responded; "Supreme Governours and Princely Councillour, who represents ye chief person of ye Western axis, which receives its name from ye Northern Pole hanging over it—the English who perfectly understand whatsoever is contained in ye Book of ye 6 Sheaths and ye Three Orations, so called among us, and containing wholesome doctrine—who have ye strength and courage of ye Bear, ye Tigre and ye Panther—who industriously nourish ye military art, and perfectly understand not only ye Heavens, but ye earth, ye wind, ye clouds and ye airy regions—whose understanding reaches ye sun, and whose hands are able to sustain ye firmament—who are so very carefull in choosing governors and ruling their subjects; in ye protecting of their people, in giving honour to great and worthy men, in kindness to foreigners—and although ye distance from us hinders our personall conversation, yet our minds are never separated from you in esteem and affection." He proceeded to say that the season was now past for trade, but that if the ship returned next year all requests would be freely granted, and thus would be introduced "a new method of trade, that making use of ye riches that are under Heaven, we may gain ye love of all ye nations of ye Northern and Southern climates."
The reception accorded to the Company's agents was hardly in accord with the unctuously friendly tone of the letter. On arrival off the coast they landed and were entertained at the hut of a fisherman "with boiled snake and black rice." After a considerable delay they were carried across the river to "ye Barre Towne" where they were received by a great company of armed men. After some general questions they were told to stand up, in order, says the factor's narrative, "that their men might feel us (it being their custom) which they did examining our pockets … as if they searched for diamonds, &c. A Common Prayer Book and other of like bulk, they must know what was writt in them, and what language with many other impertinences." Eventually the visitors were allowed to depart, but an order was given, and had to be obeyed, for the unloading of the ship in order that the cargo might be inspected. The King took what goods he wanted, but the Company was not much better off for the transactions because of the action of "certain Japaners," who priced the goods sold low in their own interests. Here for the moment we must leave the Cochin China enterprise. There was an interesting sequel, but before we come to that we must deal with a rather important development in the China trade. This was the despatch in 1698–99 by the English East India Company, as distinguished from the London Company, of the first ship sent direct to China by them. This vessel, the Macclesfield galley, arrived off Macao on August 26, 1699. Soon after the anchor had been dropped a Canton merchant, Sheamea by name, came on board and offered to take the entire cargo. It subsequently proved that his overtures were part of a conspiracy amongst the Cantonese traders to keep down prices. How the affair was worked is described in this interesting passage from the ship's journal; "Sheamea on his departure desired us to try the market and we would then finde that his offers were the best; this was part of the plot, they having agreed to bandy us about from one party to the other, and that each should offer less than the other for our goods, and advance the price of their own, till at last we should be glad to agree with Sheamea who was to make the best offers and finish the contract, in which each party was to have their determined shares. The existence of this combination was further demonstrated by the following circumstances, viz.—Having some suspicion we privately marked the silks and found that all the parties produced the same musters—one party mentioning what another party had enjoined as a secret, and on our going to visit one of them we found them all in consultation, which with other concurring circumstances left no doubt of the combination."
The Englishmen, after consulting together, thought that the Company's interest would be best served by their proceeding to Canton and disposing of their goods there. They had previously found the Chinese authorities very courteous, but the chop given them only permitted trade at Macao, and consequently a new permit would have to be obtained before the ship could be taken into the Canton River. In these circumstances two of the supercargoes, Messrs. Douglas and Biggs, were sent to Canton to negotiate with the authorities. They were kindly received on arrival in the city by the two Hoppos, and also met with a friendly reception from M. Bonac, the French agent, who had been a resident since 1698. M. Bonac invited the visitors to stay at his house, but from jealousy of the designs of the French, the factors declined the offer, though they accepted an invitation to dinner. The full permit to trade having been obtained the Macclesfield galley entered the river on October 3rd, and anchored at Whampoa near a French ship from Madras and a "Moor ship" from Surat. Six days later, on going ashore to pitch his tent, the captain was attacked by a large armed party from the French ship, and his men were severely beaten. A complaint was made to the chief Hoppo of the outrage, but he, while sympathising with the English, said that as the French ship had come with an ambassador and presents it was beyond his jurisdiction. In the circumstances as the French were overwhelmingly strong there was no alternative but for the captain of the Macclesfield galley to pocket the affront. Though this unpleasant occurrence did much to mar the harmony of the Englishmen's early days at Canton there was compensation for them in the progress which they made with their business. Following upon the grant of a right to trade they, on October 9th, laid the foundations of an English factory at Canton by occupying a house which they had rented from a merchant at the modest price of fifty taels for the monsoon season. Their early days in this new home are described in interesting detail in the journal which they faithfully forwarded home for the edification of their employers in accordance with the almost unvarying practice followed by the agents of the Company's ships. Soon after the factors had settled, the two Hoppos invited themselves to dinner. They were advised by their merchant—Hun-Shun-Quin—"to bespeak some tables of victuals from the cook shop, for the two Hoppos and their officers, and that we should allow their servants, soldiers and chairmen, about seventy in number, 5 bandareens each for their dinner." The chief factor accordingly ordered eight tables, one for each Hoppo, one for himself and assistants, and five for the Hoppos' officers. "The chiefe Hoppo's table was placed at ye upper end of ye roome, upon ye left hand side and ye second Hoppo's on y$^e$ right hand side (ye other being ye highest place according to ye Chinese and Tartar fashion) our table was placed in ye same roome, fronting ye Hoppos', with our faces towards them: ye table for ye Secretarys was in ye next (roome) adjoyning to y$^t$ where we satt; and ye tables for ye other officers where below. Every table was served with 5 or 6 dishes, dressed in whole joynts Tartar fashion (according to ye Europe manner) but brought in only one dish at a time; and afterwards severall services of China victualls, brought in after ye same manner, but not removed untill ye whole number was compleat, w$^{ch}$ was 16 in all, sett in a peculiar forme and manner and brought in att a considerable distance of time, drinkeing tea, wine or cordiall waters, between each service according to ye custome." The dinner being over the Hoppos retired until the tables were "clean'd downe, for they use no table cloths." The dessert, consisting of sixteen sorts of fruits, sweetmeats, and pickles, being placed on the tables the Hoppos returned. The chief Hoppo "being an old man drank sparingly but the second Hoppo took his cups freely and urged us to do the same."
Afterwards an official inspection was made of the goods. "The chief Hoppo fancied a pair of brass blunderbusses and the second a pair of pistols which they desired to purchase; this the linguist told me was only a genteel way of begging and advised me to give them as a present which I did and they after some pretended difficulty in taking them accepted."
Some little time after this entertainment the Chief Hoppo invited the English factors to breakfast. The account given of the function by Mr. Douglas, the chief factor, furnishes amusing reading: "Being arrived," he wrote, "we were obliged to wait the coming of the French, Captain Goosline and Mr. Fleetwood, the Hoppo having provided a breakfast for us and intending to admit us altogether. In the meantime suspecting that the French might attempt to take precedence I by the linguist informed the Hoppo of my fears, who immediately sent word that he would take care about that and appoint us our places. The expected party being arrived we were ushered into the inner apartment where the Hoppo met us at the door and received us in the most courteous manner. After the usual compliments he ordered three tables to be prepared, one for himself, one for the French, and one for the English; which being done he desired us to be seated, when the French second (the Chief being absent from indisposition) either by design or accident took the place intended for me (Douglas) which the Hoppo observing called me to his own table and seated me on his left hand, treating me with great respect."
The trading transactions of the factors were marked by interminable disputes and delays. Mr. Douglas, writing of his operations to the Court, thus concludes: "Ye many troubles and vexations wee have mett with from these subtile Chineese—whose principalls allow them to cheat and ye dayly practise therein have made them dextrus at it—I am not able to express at this time; and however easie others may have represented ye trade of China, nether I nor my assistants have found it so, for every day produces new troubles, but I hope that a little time will put an end to them all." Subsequently Mr. Douglas ascribed the delays and difficulties experienced in realising the sales and investments actually agreed upon to the great fall in the price of Europe goods and the rise in that of Nanking silk after a contract for sale had been made. Owing to the many delays it was not until July 18, 1700, that the Macclesfield galley was able to leave Canton. The vessel, after touching at various ports to complete her cargo, arrived off Portsmouth in the July following with "a rich and full cargo."
Before the Macclesfield galley had left Canton the Court at home had decided upon the formation of a permanent Council to overlook the Company's affairs in the Far East. The Commission, which was dated November 23, 1699, was to Allen Catchpoole, president, Solomon Lloyd, Henry Rowse, John Ridges and Robert Master. In order to give greater prestige to the chief of the Council the Court obtained from the King a commission appointing him and his successors in the presidential office "King's Minister or Consul for the English Nation." With this appointment may be said to begin the career of the British Consular Service in the Far East, and in a measure the commencement of the diplomatic connection of Great Britain with China. The Council's instructions were to attempt to form a settlement at Limpo or at some convenient port near Nanking or at Nanking itself. "We have been greatly encouraged to this Northern Settlement from the hopes we entertained of opening a way into the Japan trade," wrote the Court in explanation of this selection of localities for a factory. As to the personnel of the establishment thus constituted, the members of the Council were given the rank of ​merchants. It was directed that all the factors' affairs of buying and selling should be managed in Council, for which purpose consultations should be held once a week or oftener and the proceedings regularly entered by a Secretary.
The Council was empowered to dismiss any servant who defrauded the Company or betrayed their interests, or who "should commit any heinous crime as murder, theft, blasphemy or the like,—or should rent any farms or duties of the Emperor of China or his Ministers whereby they might be subjected to their arbitrary powers and the Company's estate under their management hazarded,—or if any Company's servant marry any Mahometan, Gentoo or Pagan."
To encourage their servants the Court allowed them to send home yearly what gold they pleased in order that their friends might return the proceeds to them in silver. All salaries in China were, it was stipulated, to be paid at the rate of 5s. the "piece of eight" or dollar. The jurisdiction of the presidency was to extend over the whole Empire of China and the adjacent islands.
The new Council sailed from England in the Eaton frigate at the close of 1699, and arrived at Banjarmassin on July 16, 1700. There news was received that the Company's ship, Trumball galley, had left in company with two junks on the 15th of June previously for Chusan, where it was intended to form a settlement. In consequence of this information the Eaton directed her course also to Chusan, and arrived off that island on the 11th of October. President Catchpoole met with a friendly reception from the Governors, but he could not obtain permission to form a settlement. When he pressed the matter he was referred to Peking. To approach the Emperor an embassy would have been necessary, and as this would have cost at the least £10,000, the recommendation to memorialise the throne was not unnaturally disregarded. President Catchpoole continued at Chusan in the hope that some change might be effected in the situation by persistent applications backed by gratuities to the hungry officialdom of the Government. In this expectation he was disappointed, and month after month slipped by without the Council advancing an inch in the direction in which it wished to go. Meanwhile, trouble arose through the rivalry of the London East India Company which at this time was actively competing for the China trade, notwithstanding that negotiations were going forward and, indeed, were advancing towards a satisfactory issue, for the amalgamation of the two Companies. There were constant disputes and bickerings between the two establishments, to their mutual disadvantage as far as trade was concerned. At the beginning of 1701–2 matters reached a crisis. Through the machinations of Mr. Gough, the agent of the London Company, an edict was issued by the Chinese authorities expelling Catchpoole and his establishment from the island. The terms of the order were so emphatically expressed that Catchpoole had no alternative but to obey, and on the 2nd of February he and his colleagues left in the Eaton for Batavia. In writing home at this period, Catchpoole and his colleagues reverted to their troubles and disappointments since their arrival in China. They stated that they had been "scarce a day free from insults, impositions, or hardships from the mandarins or merchants in respect of trade or government;" but, they went on to say, "nothing thereof have affected us with that concern as the treachery and undermining practices of our own countrymen and bosom friends; who whilst sitting in Council with us have been privately working the ruin of our footing with the mandarins and merchants of the place by abetting and encouraging them to force us away in the Eaton."
After an absence of about twelve months the Council returned to Chusan, the way for them having been made smooth by the usual material agencies. But it was only to renew the old struggle for ascendency with obstinate and unreasonable colleagues. On this occasion it was the captains of the Company's ships who caused the trouble. These individuals comported themselves in independent fashion, showing a contempt for authority which was resented by President Catchpoole and his Council. Their worst offence seems to have been to make themselves at home at the factory, utilising rooms which were required by the establishment. Catchpoole, in reporting their delinquencies at home, remarked à propos of an unwelcome visit from the captains: "The writers and factors lay up and down on tables. As we now are four writers lie in a room; and yet the Factory rent stands the Company in 100 taels a month. We had trouble to get Captain Palmer out of Mr. Hal's apartment: he left in such a rage that he went on board and broke open Mr. Carleton and Mr. Chitty's, the supercargoes' apartments, and has made the great cabin less. Should your honours think I act too little I must plead for myself that we are in China, where the Governors are so villainous that they embrace any opportunity to confound all, and these captains, to gratify their little pride, fear nothing."
In another communication, after further dissensions, Catchpoole wrote saying that all the captains were unruly, but there were distinctions to be made between them.
"We look upon Captain Palmer's as a giddy headed boyish distraction; but Captain Smith's rudeness grew to so great a height, that in Council we unanimously ordered him not to come into the factory; yet some few days after he did come, and falling into hot and quarrelsome words, he challenged the President out of the Factory; who did go out after him, and to avoid the porterly dispute of Boxing, threw a counting board at him and broke his head; and he having in this encounter offered to strike the President, the said Captain was again brought into the Factory and with abundance of violence forced on board the Liampo (one of the three ships in port). Which although it raised a great uproar in the town and amused the mandarins, yet it convinced them that the English Company's President has some power."
President Catchpoole came eventually to the conclusion that the position at Chusan was not worth maintaining. Trade was irregular and at the best not lucrative and the official interferences and exactions made existence almost intolerable. He had long had his eye on Pulo Condore, an island off the coast of Cochin China, which he confidently believed might with due enterprise be made to become a valuable entrepôt for the China trade. Thither he proceeded in 1703 and forthwith commenced to establish a factory. Apparently the King of Cochin China claimed sovereignty over the island, and on hearing of the occupation sent a letter of protest through a local governor. President Catchpoole acknowledged this in a strain of humility worthy of Uriah Heap. Addressing the official as "great and noble sir," he assured him that if they had been wanting in respect it was due to their ignorance of the customs of Cochin China. But now that he had been pleased "to condescend so far as to style me your brother, you shall on all occasions find me to behave with the dutifulness of a younger brother to his elder." Referring to the presence of two of the Company's servants in the King's dominions, he said that he did not doubt his countrymen would return to him "with the welcome news of the conquering King of Cochin China's leave for my settling here with my people. But I shall find some ​inconveniencing if you are not so bountiful to me as to order about 50 carpenters and bricklayers hither to build me a house and other conveniences; for those already built for the English who can't work in these hot countries, do keep not out the rain. And it will be but like an elder brother, to condescend to order what pay each man shall have." The King of Cochin China himself replied to this letter in an extraordinary effusion dated August 2, 1703. The King stated that his complaint against them was not that they showed no civility by the making of presents, but because of their illegal behaviour.
"Consider ye," he said, "and examine seriously, and fear Heaven with all your heart and all your strength and you will presently become as if we were surrounded by a wall."
"You are pleased to say in your letter that upon another occasion when a ship comes, you (will) send richer presents. How can such sort of things be precious to us? Would you know what it is we highly esteem? Upon goodness and piety we put a great value; friendship and love we reckon of great moment: what regard can we have to pearls and rich silks, if honesty and respect be wanting? But seeing you are very expert in sea and military affairs we are confident you will exert your teeth and hoofs against our enemies; and on this account you will do a considerable piece of service and worthy of you; and so long as you stay and trade in that island we freely forgive you the Customs of the goods and the tribute of the land although the old inhabitants pay both…"
"Get everything in good order, that you may come to Court yearly, whereby it will come to pass that we shall mutually, as in the Winter Season, cherish one another, and also increase our fidelity and friendship; which two blessings are so great that they can never be exhausted."
"Now the wind is favourable, the sea calm and the vessel desires to leave the port; and we have written this letter. Although the rivers be as a belt, and although the hills be as stone to rub ink upon; although also the sea be spacious and the Heavens high; nevertheless, piety, concord, gratitude and the remembrance of favours done, shall never have an end."
The immortal Chadband himself—to select another Dickensonian illustration—could not have surpassed the unctuous fervour of this communication. The amusing thing is that the King was a notorious old reprobate who worthily ruled over as thievish a lot as the East India Company ever had dealings with. From beginning to finish the attempts to trade in Cochin China were failures mainly for this reason. The Pulo Condore factory was a particularly bad bargain. The place was unsuited in every way for the purposes for which it was designed, and the establishment, after the expenditure of a considerable amount of money upon the enterprise, was withdrawn. With it disappears from the scene the pompous figure of President Catchpoole, "the King's Consul," and the first official chief of the Company's establishments in China.
The chief centre of interest once more shifts to Canton. Relations of some kind appear to have been maintained with that city by the Company during the period of President Catchpoole's sojourn in Chusan and Pulo Condore. In 1704 an unpleasant new departure was made by the Chinese authorities by the appointment of a functionary known as the Emperor's Merchant, who was invested with authority to monopolise the trade. This "new monster," as he was termed by the indignant English factors in their reports to the Court, was a man "who formerly sold salt at Canton and was whip't out of the province for being caught defrauding the Emperour of his dutys on that commodity, but not being whip't out of all his money, he had found means to be introduced to the Emperour's son and successor who for a sum of money reported to be 42,000 Taels had given him a patent to trade with all Europeans in Canton exclusive of all other merchants." The discontent aroused by this new and formidable obstacle to trade took shape in a strong representation to the Quang-choo-foo, as to the disastrous results which would ensue if the system were continued. This official set an inquiry on foot and found that the Emperor's Merchant had literally no goods, and that the other traders were debarred from selling goods in consequence of his patent. In the end an agreement was come to by which the Emperor's Merchant allowed others to participate in the trade in consideration of a payment to him of a duty of 5,000 taels per ship. Besides having to bear this heavy imposition trade about this period was penalised by an import duty amounting to 4 per cent. of the value of the goods. In 1704 the charge is spoken of as "an imposition lately crept upon us by the submission of our predecessors the two preceding seasons." The character of the duty is thus explained: "One per cent. of the four is what has been usually given by the Chinese merchants to the linguist upon all contracts, and the linguist was used to gratify the Hoppo out of the sum for his employment. The other three were first squeezed from the China merchant as a gratuity for upholding some particular men in monopolising all the business, and this used to be given in a lump, so that by undervaluing the goods and concealing some part they used to secure half the charge; but to show how soon an ill precedent will be improved in China to our disadvantage, the succeeding Hoppos, instead of the persuasive arguments such as their predecessors used, are come to demand it as an established duty."
CHAPTER IV.
Regular Trade at Canton—Accession of the Emperor Kienlung—Liberal Trade Policy—Commodore Anson and the Mandarins—Trade Confined to Canton—Arrest of Mr. Flint, a Supercargo—Special Mission despatched to Canton by the East India Company—Regrettable Incidents—A British Sailor delivered up to the Chinese and executed by them.
Before the eighteenth century had far advanced the trade with Canton had assumed to a large extent a regular character. The Company's instructions provided that the supercargoes in China should keep but one table, and should meet at least twice a week for consultation upon the Company's affairs. As to the ships, the general practice was for them to await off Macao until the supercargoes had ascertained whether the conditions at Canton were favourable to their approach to that city. If a satisfactory report was made the vessels were taken to Bocca Tigris where the Hoppo's officers boarded them. Through the linguist an intimation was conveyed to these personages that the supercargoes wished to wait upon the Hoppo. Subsequently an interview took place with this high official, and after the exchange of compliments, a demand was made for free trade under stipulated conditions. The main conditions were that the trade should be with all people without restriction; that the Company's servants might entertain in their service what Chinese servants they pleased, and discharge them at their pleasure; that if their English servants committed any fault deserving punishment they should be dealt with by the supercargoes; that they should be at liberty to buy all sorts of provisions for the factory and the ship at their will; that they should pay no custom or other duties for any goods they should bring on shore and not dispose of; that they should have liberty to set up a tent ashore, to mend and fit their casks, sails, and rigging; that their boats should have liberty to pass the several custom houses or boats as often as should be thought fit without being called to or examined on any pretence whatsoever where the British colours were hoisted, and that at no time should their seamen's pockets be searched; that the Hoppo should protect them "from all insults and impositions of the common people and Mandarins who were annually laying new duties and exactions which they were forbidden to allow of." Finally, it was demanded "that the four per cent. be taken off and that every claim or demand the Hoppo had should be demanded and determined the same time with the measurement of the ship." It was usual for the Hoppo to signify his assent to all the demands, with the exception of the last, which he could not agree to. The supercargoes were accustomed to press the point, and on finding that there was no prospect of concession would discreetly "let that argument drop."
In 1720 a new source of embarrassment to the trade arose in the formation of a combination of native merchants to secure the ​fixing of prices at levels which they approved. A movement of the kind was set on foot as we have seen more than twenty years earlier, but this was by no means so formidable a manifestation of the genius of the Chinaman for exclusive dealing as that with which the factors were now faced. Finding how matters stood the supercargoes adopted a bold line. They declined to wait on the Mandarin at Whampoa or to commence the trade until the Co-hong, as the combination was called, was abolished, and they were at liberty as heretofore to trade without restraint. The Isontock, hearing of the dispute, summoned the principal native merchants before him and told them that if they did not dissolve the Co-hong he would find means to compel them to do so. This plain speaking had its effect, and trade dropped into its old channels. But within a year a further source of anxiety arose in one of those episodes with which the history of British trade in China teems. One of the Hoppo's officers was accidentally killed at Whampoa while engaged in the discharge of his duties amongst the shipping. Though no blame attached to any one the local officials seized two mates and four of the inferior officers of the Cadogan, one of the Company's ships, who were quietly walking in the street near the factory at Canton. An indignant protest was made to the Hoppo against this despotic action, and a plain intimation was given that unless redress was immediately afforded the Company would be recommended to transfer their commercial dealings from Canton to some other port. As usual when firmly treated the authorities were quite reasonable. The Mandarin who committed the affront was degraded from his office and a promise was given that he should be bambooed and rendered incapable of being again admitted into the Emperor's service. It may be doubted whether the punishment was ever inflicted, or if inflicted, whether the right person suffered, but the fact that the Hoppo thought it worth while to give even formal expression to his displeasure shows that the Chinese officials at this time had learned to value the privileges which trade brought in its train too highly for them to part with them readily. The sweet reasonableness shown by the Mandarins in this affair was, however, but a passing manifestation. Before many months had elapsed the old tactics were revived and practised with irritating persistency. In 1728, following upon a series of disagreeable incidents, came the levy of an additional duty of 10 per cent. on all goods sold by the merchants. The burden imposed by this charge was so serious that the European trading community decided upon the somewhat bold course of making a a personal protest to the Isontock. Assembling at the factories they proceeded in a body to the Isontock's residence. They were admitted after some delay to the Mandarin's presence, and delivered their address to him through one of his officers. After cursorily perusing the document the great man told them, not too affably, that they should deal with responsible merchants and pay their customs. With this advice, with which they could very well have dispensed, they were dismissed. Alter the interview there was some relief from the more obnoxious of the regulations, but the 10 per cent. duty was maintained in spite of repeated protests and representations to the Court of Peking.
A new and important era in the history of European trade in China was reached in 1736 on the occasion of the accession to the throne of the Emperor Kienlung. Of all the modern rulers of China Kienlung deserves to be regarded as by far the greatest. He entered upon his long and eventful reign of more than sixty years animated by the highest principles. While performing the customary rites on the day of his installation, the youthful monarch made a vow that "should he like his illustrious grandfather, Kang-hy, be permitted to complete the sixtieth year of his reign, he would show his gratitude to heaven by resigning the crown to his heir, as an acknowledgment that he had been favoured to the full extent of his wishes." Kienlung lived to redeem this pledge, and by so doing gave a remarkable example of royal sincerity. The first public act of the Emperor was to recall from exile all the members of the Royal family who had been banished by his predecessor in consequence of their attachment to the Christian religion. Associated with this tolerant measure was the issue of an edict relative to foreign trade, the general tendency of which was liberal. The rescript abolished the 10 per cent. duty and made other notable concessions. On the other hand there was a provision in the imperial decree that all vessels on arriving at Whampoa should land their armament and leave it in the custody of the imperial officials. In due course the edict was promulgated, and the opportunity was availed of by the British traders to make the Isontock handsome presents, in the expectation, afterwards realised, that the order in reference to the delivery of guns, &c., might be dispensed with. Matters proceeded smoothly after this until 1741, when the arrival of Commodore Anson, in His Majesty's ship Centurion, the first King's ship to visit the Canton River, caused some excitement and led to a fresh crop of difficulties. Under the Chinese law the admission of warships to the river was forbidden, and obstacles were interposed to the Centurion's passage. Finding how matters stood. Commodore Anson hired a boat with the intention of proceeding to Canton to interview the authorities. As he was embarking the Hoppo declined to grant him a permit, and forbade the boatmen to proceed. Not to be thwarted in this fashion, Anson told the Hoppo that if by the next day a permit was not forthcoming he would arm the Centurion's boats and force a passage. This had the desired effect of breaking down the opposition to the famous officer's visit to Canton. Elated at his victory, Anson would have insisted upon an interview with the Viceroy at Canton, but he was dissuaded from pressing for this by the British traders, who feared that high-handed action would react unfavourably on commercial relations. After refitting and provisioning his ship, Anson put to sea with the view of intercepting the valuable Spanish ship bound annually from Acapulco and Manila to Lisbon. He succeeded in his venture and took his prize into the Canton River with the, to him, surprising result that the Chinese authorities promptly demanded the customary duties for both vessels. Anson emphatically declined to accede to this demand, and with a view to contesting the matter with the high Chinese authorities, repaired with his boat's crew in full dress to Canton. Actuated by a desire to ensure the safety of the shipment of stores for his vessels, he refrained from seeking an interview with the Viceroy for some days. At length, wearied with the procrastinating policy pursued towards him, he sent a letter by one of his officers demanding to see the Viceroy. This application would probably have met with but scant courtesy but for a happy incident which won the good will of the authorities. Two days after the letter was despatched a serious fire broke out in Canton. It would have ravaged a considerable quarter of the city but for the prompt and efficient aid rendered by the Centurion's men, who, by arduous work, were able to confine the outbreak within comparatively narrow limits. In gratitude for this signal service the Viceroy appointed a day for an interview. Anson attended at the time fixed, and, with a sailor's frankness, detailed to the Viceroy the various grievances under which the British traders laboured. He concluded with the expression of a hope that orders would be given which would prevent the recurrence of the events complained of. No immediate reply was given to this bold harangue. After a time the interpreter intimated to Anson that he did not believe that any reply would be given. The audience closed with the expression by the Viceroy of a hope that Anson would have a prosperous voyage.
The deliberate reticence of the Viceroy on this occasion was doubtless only a courteous ​way of intimating that the policy pursued hitherto would not be altered, notwithstanding all that had been urged against it. This, in fact, was the attitude assumed later and persisted in in the face of the most strenuous representations from the British trading community. One feature of the administration, which at this period was productive of bitter resentment, was the practice of naming security merchants for each ship. Under the system a particular merchant was held responsible to the Government for the payment of all duties and customs on goods imported in the ship, whether purchased by the security merchant himself or any one else. In like manner he was made accountable for the duties on export cargoes, while he was subjected to heavy financial charges of an irregular character on the strength of his position. The natural effect of the system was to prejudice the Company's business transactions in various ways, but more particularly in enhancing the cost of commodities which its agents purchased. In 1754 the Isontock was approached with a view to the abolition of the practice. These merchants were received courteously, but the Isontock declined to give them a written reply. Afterwards he appointed two security merchants to each ship, in the illusory hope, apparently, that the increase in the number of the sureties would meet the objections of the merchants.
Marked by some vicissitudes, but on the whole showing a satisfactory measure of progress, the trade continued until 1757. In that year a striking change in its conditions was made by the issue of an imperial edict confining the foreign trade of the Empire to Canton. Up to this point, as the narrative has shown, Amoy and Limpo in Chusan had both been the resort of British ships, and though Canton had with the advance of the century become more and more the real centre of the China trade, thoughts were from time to time longingly directed by the Court of Directors towards other ports. At the very time that the edict was being promulgated a vessel despatched by the Company was on its way to China charged with a mission to open up a more regular trade with Chusan. Mr. Flint, who went as supercargo, was instructed to reside if possible for some time at Nanking, and while there to direct attention to the silk trade to which the Company attached great importance. Mr. Flint, on arriving at Limpo, found it impossible to get even common necessaries, much less to carry on a trade. This attempt to open a trade after the issue of the edict was keenly resented by the Chinese authorities, who saw in it a deliberate defiance of the imperial orders. On Mr. Flint proceeding to Canton in December, 1759, to report himself, he was summoned to the presence of the Isontock. The supercargoes deemed it expedient that they should accompany him, and accordingly the entire party proceeded to the Isontock's palace. The officials there would have confined admission to Mr. Flint, but the supercargoes determined not to be excluded. They were received by a Mandarin and proceeded through two courts with the apparent acquiescence of the officials. On arrival at the gate of the inner court of the palace, their swords were taken from them and they were hurried into the Isontock's presence. There an attempt was made to compel them to pay homage after the Chinese fashion, and on their resisting they were thrown down. The Isontock perceiving that the supercargoes were resolute in their determination not to humiliate themselves, ordered the attendants to desist. Afterwards he directed Mr. Flint to advance towards him, and this gentleman having separated himself from his colleagues he was told that an order had been received from the Emperor for his banishment to Macao for three years, and for his ultimate exclusion from China, for going to Limpo after His Imperial Majesty had positively ordered that no ship should trade there. It was further intimated that a man, who had written a petition which Mr. Flint had caused to be publicly displayed at Tientsin with the object of attracting the notice of the Emperor, was to be publicly beheaded that day for treacherously encouraging such a step. The indignation which this extraordinary episode excited found vent at a united meeting of European traders at the British factory three days later. All present agreed to send home lo their respective companies a report of the unwarrantable action of the Isontock, and they doubted not that a method would be found and measures taken to make the facts known to the Emperor, "who they were convinced would avenge the affront put upon them as they were fully persuaded he was well disposed to favour them." The sanguine belief here expressed in the ultimate repudiation of the Isontock's despotic behaviour was not justified by events. Mr. Flint was kept in close confinement at a place near Macao for nearly three years. Such was the rigour of his treatment that even letters were not allowed to reach him.
With a view to ameliorating the situation the Court, in 1760, determined to send out a special mission to Canton. To represent them they appointed Captain Skottowe of the Company's ship Royal George, and they entrusted him with a letter from themselves to the Isontock. Elaborate instructions were given to the envoy as to his behaviour in the Far East. He was not to be seen in the shops, &c., purchasing chinaware; if he wanted any goods he was to send for the merchants, and not go for them himself; he was never to appear in undress in the streets, or at home when he received visits; above all he was to be called Mr. Skottowe, not Captain, and it was to be given out that ​he was the brother of His Majesty's Under Secretary of State who had the honour to write the King's letters. The Court might have spared themselves this petty deceit. Captain Skottowe's mission was a complete failure, not a single point of the list of demands he presented being conceded. Thereafter, for some years, events pursued their accustomed course. The only development of interest was the revival of the Co-hong, in 1760, with consequences very detrimental to the Company's trade. The supercargoes were instructed to pay constant attention to this conspiracy and to other restrictions on trade, but at the same time they were told "that in all their proceedings pacific and conciliatory measures only were to be observed, and the utmost care taken not to give any just reason for umbrage to the Chinese government." In I764 the visit of the British warship Argo to the Canton River led to trouble of a new kind. The Chinese authorities, on the appearance of the ship, insisted on measuring her with a view to the payment of the ordinary dues. The captain resented this on the ground that the officials had no power over a king's ship. In consequence of the attitude he assumed the merchants refused to be responsible for the Company's ships, and trade was stopped. To alleviate the situation the supercargoes offered to pay dues for the Argo at the same rate as that charged for the largest Company's ship; but this was declined. The Hoppo stated that he intended to proceed to Whampoa to measure the ship, and that if his request was refused she would have to leave. The Isontock took an even higher line. He wanted to know what the supercargoes meant by offering to pay the measureage in lieu of the ship being measured? Such procedure, he intimated, was contrary to all custom, and he concluded by saying that if the ship was not measured, the supercargoes would have to leave the country, and the merchants would be bambooed and banished Canton. In view of the official attitude the supercargoes strongly urged the captain of the Argo to submit in order to avert the injurious results which would, in their opinion, certainly flow from a refusal. After due deliberation the captain assented, and the ship was measured, to the great relief of the traders, whose affairs had been at almost a complete standstill during the four months that the dispute continued. In connection with the Argo's visit to Canton we find, in a minute of the Court of the Directors of the period, one of the first references to that traffic in opium which was destined, a good many years later, to exercise a powerful influence on the course of events in China. The Court, adverting to the stoppage of trade caused by the incident just narrated, state that they had heard that, besides other goods, opium had been shipped in the Argo in the way of private trade, and they requested that a full account might be sent home of the matter, as opium was prohibited and the importation might be most detrimental to the Company's interests. The fact that the Company's ships were the only vessels exempted from search on account of opium no doubt lent point to this instruction.
By this time the British trade in China had dropped into a regular groove, and it was yearly growing in importance. In order that their interests might be better safeguarded the Court, in 1770, ordered that their surpercargoes, instead of going backwards and forwards with the ships, should reside permanently in China. An almost immediate outcome of this change in system was the dissolution of the Co-hong, which the supercargoes were able to effect through an intermediary, though only at the cost of 100,000 taels. The removal of this barrier to trade had a beneficial effect, but in general the position of the British traders did not improve with the lapse of years and the growth of their mercantile relations. Regrettable incidents were still of frequent occurrence. They were not always due to faults on the Chinese side, but in their adjustment the Chinese officialdom invariably put themselves in the wrong by their arrogant and unfair attitude. One of the most important of these imbroglios occurred in 1784 through the accidental killing of two Chinese by the firing of a saluting gun from the British ship Lady Hughes. On the occurrence becoming known the authorities, accompanied by the native merchants, waited on the President of the British factory to demand that the man who had fired the gun should be given up in accordance with the laws of the Empire. The reply given was that it could not be ascertained who the man was, that in all probability the gunner had absconded, and that they (the supercargoes) had no power over private ships, to which category this vessel belonged. However, the supercargo of the Lady Hughes agreed, at the instance of the Select Committee—as the Company's governing body at Canton was styled—to go to Canton in order to explain the circumstances. This individual subsequently accompanied the Chinese officials to their destination, and after an examination for form's sake, he was decoyed away and conveyed by an armed guard into the city. The seriousness of the turn that events had taken was recognised by the European communities of all nationalities. With one accord they agreed to stand by the British in their demand for the release of the supercargo. In order to give emphasis to the protest armed boats of the several ships at anchor at Whampoa were called up to Canton.
Notwithstanding this display of force, the Chinese resolutely declined to hand over the supercargo until the gunner or some substitute had been provided. The Select Committee ultimately weakly conceded the point by delivering over to the custody of the Chinese the man who fired the gun on the fatal occasion. When he was surrendered the Mandarins desired the Europeans present "not to be uneasy as to his fate." This was thought at the time to be reassuring. But the Select Committee were reckoning without the ingrained devotion of the Chinese to the spirit of their law of homicide, under which the causing of death in all circumstances, even the most innocent, is a serious crime. On January 8, 1785, in consequence of an order received from the Emperor, the unfortunate man was put to death by strangling. Afterwards representatives of the various European factories were summoned to attend the Mandarins, and were informed by them that the Emperor was greatly displeased at their having so long delayed giving the man up. The official spokesman commented on the extreme moderation of the Government in demanding the life of only one foreigner while the lives of two Chinese subjects had been lost by the accident. He added that the Government expected a readier compliance with their demands on any future occasion of a similar character. It does not appear that any further protest was made by the British representatives against the arbitrary action of the authorities. Probably it was recognised that such would have been useless. Whether that is the true explanation or not the episode cannot be said to reflect credit on the British representatives of the period. They seem to have blustered at the outset and then to have handed this wretched man over without the smallest guarantee as to his treatment. They might have known from earlier experiences of the same type that the surrender in the circumstances was tantamount to acquiescence in a sentence of death. Reviewing the whole circumstances of the deplorable incident later the Court made some sensible remarks on the general attitude of the Chinese. "Experience had shown," they wrote, "that the Court of Pekin would use its power to carry into execution whatever it declares to be the law. Individual Chinese
CHAPTER V.
Lord Macartney's Mission to China—Friendly Reception by the Emperor—Stately Court Ceremonies—Unsatisfactory Negotiations—Return of the Mission—The Emperor's Letter to King George—Affairs at Canton.
The cumulative effect of vexatious interferences, the arbitrary displays of authority, the unfair exactions, and the ever present manifestations of jealous exclusiveness which went to make up the Imperial Chinese policy, was to produce in England a feeling that an organised effort should be made lo place matters on a better footing. In the view of influential authorities, the China trade was too important to be subjected, as it often was, to the caprice of local officials. It had developed in remarkable fashion and would develop to a still larger extent if the heavy restraints put upon it were removed, or even materially modified. Furthermore, there was the consideration that while other nations, through missionaries or scientists, had long been able to maintain direct intercourse with the Emperor, Great Britain, though possessing by far the greatest stake in the country, had never been represented at the Imperial Court. It was suspected that the loss from this absence of contact was a good deal more than the negative one of lack of influence. On the one hand foreign intrigues were promoted, there was reason to believe, by the spirit of aloofness which was maintained by the Court, while, on the other, abuses were created as the direct result of giving local officials practically unlimited powers, and denying all right of appeal to the supreme head of the Government. In all the circumstances it was held that the time was ripe for the despatch of a special mission to China to invoke the imperial protection for British subjects and to attempt to widen the opportunities for trade between the two countries. The idea took definite shape at the beginning of 1792, when the Court of Directors were informed by the Government that they contemplated sending an embassy to Peking for the purpose of placing our intercourse with China on a firmer and more extended footing. Doubts were expressed by the chairman and deputy chairman, who were first consulted, as to the probability of any substantial advantage accruing from the projected step. But in view of confident expressions of opinion in a contrary sense, emanating from other quarters, and of the strong desire evinced to make the experiment, they did not allow their misgivings to go to the extent of opposition lo the proposal. The Court subsequently took a very active part, in consultation with Ministers, in perfecting the arrangements for the mission.
The choice of the Government for the office of ambassador fell upon Lord Macartney, a distinguished Ex-Governor of Madras, who had specially qualified for diplomatic work early in life by conducting a successful mission to the court of Catherine of Russia. He was an accomplished man of the world, tactful, dignified, and resourceful, and he had shown in his dealings with Orientals in his Indian appointment that savoir faire which of all personal qualities is perhaps the most important in that connection. A better selection indeed could scarcely have been made, and ​it was approved with something like enthusiasm by the East India Company. The mission sailed from Spithead on September 26, 1792. Macartney and his suite of ninety-five persons embarked on board the Lion man-of-war of sixty-four guns, and the East India Company's ship Hindoostan, one of the finest of the Company's fleet, accompanied the warship, together with the brig Jackall. After calling at Batavia and Turon Bay in Cochin China, the little squadron arrived at Chusan. The Embassy was well received here and at other ports at which the vessels touched, and abundant supplies were furnished by the authorities. On August 5th Lord Macartney and his suite, embarking in the smaller vessels of the squadron, proceeded up the Peiho River, where a yacht was awaiting to convey them to Tongsion, the landing place for Peking. The Ambassador was most favourably impressed, not only with the higher officials who were assiduous in their attentions, but with the common people who thronged the shore at every point. "I was so much struck with their appearance," he writes in his diary, "that I could scarce refrain from crying out with Shakespeare's Miranda in the 'Tempest'—
"Oh, wonder! How many goodly creatures are there here! How beauteous mankind is! Oh! brave new world, That has such people in it.'"
On August 6th the mission landed. They were received with much ceremony and were conducted to the Temple of the Sea God, where they were formally welcomed by the Viceroy of the province. After partaking of tea the party proceeded to business.
"The Viceroy began by many compliments and inquiries about our health, and talked much of the Emperor's satisfaction at our arrival, and of his wish to see us at Gehol, in Tartary (where the Court always resides at this season), as soon as possible. To these we made the proper return of compliment, and then informed the Viceroy that the train of the Embassy consisted of so many persons, and that the presents for the Emperor and our own baggage were so numerous and took up so much room, that we should require very spacious quarters at Peking. That as we found it was the Emperor's wish for us to proceed to Gehol, we should prepare ourselves accordingly, but that we should find it necessary to leave a great part of the presents at Peking, as many of them could not be transported by land to such a distance without being greatly damaged if not totally destroyed. We explained to him the high compliment intended by the first Sovereign of the Western World to the Sovereign of the East by sending the present Embassy, and hoped it would be attended with all the good effects expected from it. That as it was equally my duty and inclination to promote these views to the utmost of my power, I requested the Viceroy would be so kind as to give me such information and advice as might enable me to render myself and my business as acceptable to the Emperor as possible."
The Viceroy, who was described by Lord Macartney as "a fine old man of seventy-eight years of age … calm, venerable, and dignified," listened with perfect politeness to the Ambassador's representations and expressed in unaffected manner his complete compliance with them. On August 7th the mission commenced their journey to the interior. The entire party were embarked on thirty-seven yachts or junks, "each yacht having a flag flying at her mast head to distinguish her rank and ascertain her station in the procession." The emblems also bore in large Chinese characters these words, "The English Ambassador bringing tribute to the Emperor of China." Besides the boats accommodating the mission were numerous craft conveying Mandarins and officers who were allotted to the service of the visitors. Indeed, as Sir G. Staunton, the official historian of the Embassy, records, "No slight magnificence was displayed, and no expense seemed to be spared." But the mission had not got very far before it had a taste of the unpleasant side of Chinese officialdom. A Tartar Mandarin in high office, styled the Emperor's Legate—one Chin-ta-gin—who had been told off to accompany the Embassy to Gehol, raised difficulties in regard to the disposition of the presents. In somewhat brusque fashion he intimated that the Emperor would expect to have all the presents carried to Gehol and delivered at the same time. Macartney answered him "that the Emperor was certainly omnipotent in China and might dispose of everything in it as he pleased, but that as the articles which I meant to leave at Peking would certainly be totally spoiled if managed according to his notions, I requested he would take them ​entirely into his own hands, for that I must be excused from presenting anything in an imperfect or damaged state, as being unworthy of his Britannic Majesty to give and of his Chinese Majesty to receive." This view of the matter "startled" the Legate and together with the Viceroy's opinion induced him to recede from the position he had taken up. But Macartney "could not help feeling great disquiet and apprehension from this untoward disposition so early manifested by the Legate." Later the Legate and his brother officials essayed to give the Ambassador lessons in court etiquette and more particularly in the ceremony known as the kotow. This was done "with a degree of art address and insinuation that Macartney could not help admiring." They said, "they supposed the ceremonies in both countries must be nearly alike, that in China the form was to kneel down on both knees and make nine protestations or inclinations of the head to the ground, and that it never had been and never could be dispensed with." Macartney replied that the English form was somewhat different and that though he was most anxious to do everything that might be agreeable to the Emperor his first duty was to do what was agreeable to his own king. This ended the discussion for the period, but a few days afterwards the subject was revived. The Mandarins pressed Macartney most earnestly to comply with it, and said it was a mere trifle. "They kneeled down on the floors and practised it of their own accord to show me the manner of it, and begged me to try it whether I could not perform it." Macartney remained obdurate, but he subsequently relented to the extent of agreeing to conform to their etiquette provided a person of equal rank with his were appointed to perform the same ceremony before his sovereign's picture as he should perform before the Emperor himself.
After a short stay at Peking en route, the Ambassador entered Gehol in great state on September 8th. Here the old controversy about the etiquette of the reception was renewed. Finally, it was decided that the English ceremony should be used, but that Macartney should not kiss the Emperor's hand, this being deemed repugnant to Chinese custom. The reception by the Emperor took place on September 14th. Macartney gives an interesting description of it in his diary. "We alighted at the park gates," he wrote, "from whence we walked to the imperial encampment and were conducted to a large handsome tent prepared for us on one side of the Emperor's. After waiting there about an hour his approach was announced with drums and music on which we quitted our tent and came forward upon the green carpet. He was seated in an open palanquin, carried by sixteen bearers, attended by a number of officers bearing flags, standards and umbrellas, and as he passed we paid him our compliment by kneeling on one knee whilst all the Chinese made their usual prostrations. As soon as he had ascended his throne I came to the entrance of the tent, and holding in both my hands a gold box enriched with diamonds in which was enclosed the King's letter, I walked deliberately up and ascending the side steps of the throne delivered it into the Emperor's own hands, who having received it, passed it to the minister by whom it was placed on the cushion. He then gave me as the first present to his Majesty the Ju-eu-jou or Giou-giou, as the symbol of peace and prosperity and expressed his hopes that my sovereign and he should always live in good correspondence and amity. … The Emperor then presented me with a Jeu-eu-jou of a greenish coloured stone of the same emblematic character; at the same time he very graciously received from me a pair of beautiful enamelled watches set with diamonds." Other presentations were made and the members of the Embassy then sat down to a most sumptuous banquet. "The Emperor sent us several dishes from his own table, together with some liquors which the Chinese call wine, not, however, expressed from the grape, but distilled or extracted from rice, herbs, and honey. In about half-an-hour he sent for Sir George Staunton and me to come to him, and gave to each of us with his own hands a cup of warm wine, which we immediately drank in his presence, and found it very pleasant and comfortable, the morning being cold and raw. Amongst other things he asked me the age of my king and being informed of it, said he hoped he might live as many years as himself, which are eighty-three. His manner is dignified, but affable and condescending, and his reception of us has been very gracious and satisfactory. He is a very fine old gentleman, still healthy and vigorous, not having the appearance of a man of more than sixty. The order and regularity in serving and removing the dinner was wonderfully exact, and every function of the ceremony performed with such silence and solemnity as in some measure to resemble the celebration of a ​religious mystery. … The commanding feature of the ceremony was that calm dignity, that sober pomp of Asiatic greatness, which European refinements have not yet attained. … Thus have I seen 'King Solomon in all his glory.' I use this expression as the scene recalled perfectly to my memory a puppet show of that name which I recollect to have seen in my childhood, and which made so strong an impression on my mind that I then thought it a true representation of the highest pitch of human greatness and felicity."
At a later period the visitors participated in the solemn ceremonies incidental to the celebration of the Emperor's birthday. The Emperor did not show himself on the occasion, but remained behind a screen where he could see what was taking place without inconvenience. At first there was slow music. "On a sudden the sound ceased and all was still; again it was renewed and then intermitted with short pauses during which several persons passed backwards and forwards, in the proscenium or foreground of the tent, as if engaged in preparing some grand coup de theatre. At length the great band struck up with all their powers of harmony, and instantly the whole Court fell flat upon their faces before the invisible Nebuchadnezzar, 'He in his cloudy tabernacle sojourned the while.' The music was a sort of birthday ode or state anthem, the burden of which was 'Bow down your heads, all ye dwellers upon earth, bow down your heads before the great Kien Lung, the great Kien Lung.' And then all the dwellers upon China earth there present, except ourselves, bowed down their heads and prostrated themselves upon the ground at every renewal of the chorus. Indeed, in no religion, ancient or modern has the Divinity ever been addressed I believe with stronger external marks of worship and adoration than were this morning paid to the phantom of his Chinese Majesty." On September 18th the Ambassador had another opportunity of conversing with the Emperor. The occasion was a theatrical performance in the palace to which the members of the mission were invited. At this meeting the Emperor handed to Macartney a casket which he said had been in his family for eight centuries and which he desired should be presented to the King as a token of his friendship. This and other imperial courtesies showed the old Emperor in a most amiable light. But as far as the great objects of the mission were concerned Macartney was able to make no progress. His efforts to open up negotiations were at first politely ignored, and when he became importunate it was plainly hinted to him that the Emperor regarded the mission at an end. After this the courtesies which had been paid to the Ambassador became less marked. There seemed even a disposition to humiliate him, as, for example, in compelling his attendance at three o'clock on a cold morning to wait for hours for an audience with the Emperor who never put in an appearance. The results of the mission were tersely summed up in the following words by Aeneas Anderson, who accompanied Lord Macartney in a subordinate capacity and wrote an account of the Embassy: "In short, we entered Peking like paupers, we remained in it like prisoners, and we quitted it like vagrants." The mission bore home with it a letter from the Emperor to the King which set forth in unequivocal terms the determination of the Chinese Government to adhere to the exclusive policy which it had hitherto maintained. It stated that the proposals of the Ambassador went to change the whole system of European commerce so long established at Canton, and this could not be allowed. Nor could his consent by any means be given for resort to Limpo, Chusan, Tientsin, or any northern ports, or to the stationing of a British resident at Peking. He mentioned that the Russians now only traded to Kiatcha and had not for many years come to Peking; and added that he could not consent "to any other place of residence for Europeans near Canton but Macao." In conclusion, after remarking that the requests made by the Ambassador militated against the laws and usages of the Empire, and at the same time were wholly useless to the end proposed, he read his royal correspondent a sort of lecture on the virtue of resignation to his supreme will, "I again admonish you, O King!" he wrote, "to act conformably to my intentions that we may preserve peace and amity on each side and thereby contribute to our reciprocal happiness. After this, my solemn warning, should your Majesty, in pursuance of your ambassador's demands fit out ships in order to attempt to trade either at Ning Po, Tehu San, Tien Sing, or other places, as our laws are exceedingly severe, in such case I shall be under the necessity of directing my mandarins to force your ships to quit these ports, and thus the increased trouble and exertions of your merchants would at once be frustrated. You will not then, however, be able to complain that I had not clearly forewarned you. Let us, therefore, live in peace and friendship, and do not make light of my words. For this reason I have so repeatedly and earnestly written to you upon this subject."
Regarded in its main aspect as an attempt to open up the trade of China the Embassy was beyond cavil a conspicuous failure. But that it was not without some beneficial effect is a fair assumption from the course of events in the years following the reception of the mission. The vexatious interferences of Mandarins in the conduct of business were abandoned, and the costly and inconvenient practice of stopping the whole trade on the smallest pretext also apparently became a thing of the past. A shooting incident which occurred in 1800 marked very conspicuously the change which had come over the attitude of officialdom since Lord Macartney's Embassy. On the night of the 11th of February, the officer on watch on H.M.S. Madras at Whampoa, having hailed a boat which had been at the ship's bows for some time, and receiving no answer fired into her under a conviction that an attempt was being made to cut the vessel's cable. By the discharge a Chinaman in the boat was wounded and a second man in the course of a struggle with one of the crew of the Madras either jumped or fell overboard. The Chinese authorities demanded that the officer who fired the shot should be given up for examination, and that the man who caused the man to fall overboard should be confronted with his accuser. Finally it was demanded that a basket of vegetables stated to have been taken out of the boat should be restored. The Captain of the Madras proceeded to Canton and from thence, on the 22nd of February, addressed a letter to the Viceroy respecting the thievish conduct of the Chinese, and stated that he had no doubt they would meet with proper punishment. He maintained that an attempted theft led to the firing of the shot which wounded the man, and he asserted in regard to the second man that he jumped overboard and was not pushed into the water. The demand for the return of the basket was treated as a trifle but a promise was given, nevertheless, that it should be returned. To the Chinese merchants who were asked to deliver the letter a statement was made that the captain would not give up the man without seeing the Viceroy, and that he would not even be placed in the charge of the Select Committee. The discussion continued for some weeks and eventually was amicably closed, a settlement being greatly facilitated by the recovery of the wounded man and a confession on the part of the second Chinese concerned that he had thrown himself overboard. Owing to this occurrence, the President of the Select Committee applied ​for a copy of the laws of China with special reference to the crime of homicide. In reply they received a paper containing extracts from the Chinese code of laws.
The principal clauses cited were:
   1st. A man who kills another on the suspicion of theft shall be strangled, according to the law against homicide committed in an affray.
   2nd. A man who fires at another with a musket and kills him thereby shall be beheaded as in cases of wilful murder. If the sufferer is wounded (but not mortally) the offender shall be sent into exile.
   3rd. A man who puts to death a criminal who had been apprehended and made no resistance shall be strangled according to the law of homicide committed in an affray.
   4th. A man who falsely accuses another innocent person of theft (in cases of greatest criminality) is guilty of a capital offence; in all other cases the criminals whether principals or accessories, shall be sent into exile.
   5th. A man who wounds another unintentionally shall be tried according to the law respecting blows given in an affray, and the punishment rendered more or less severe according to the degree of injury sustained.
   6th. A man who, intoxicated with liquor, commits outrages against the laws, shall be exiled to a desert country, there to remain in a state of servitude.
   "The foregoing are articles of the laws of the Empire of China, according to which judgment is passed on persons offending against them, without allowing of any compromise or extenuation."
After a long period of immunity from trouble the more or less friendly relations existing between the British factory and the authorities at Canton were rudely interrupted by an incident of the familiar kind. On February 24, 1808, some sailors from the Company's ship Neptune got into an altercation with a party of natives near the factory. The men were promptly withdrawn to the factory precincts, but they were followed by a Chinese mob who commenced to throw stones at the factory and at every European passing. Eluding their officers the men rushed out and attacked the mob, causing the death of one of the number. The Select Committee decided to comply with every reasonable demand that might be made upon them in connection with the unfortunate incident, but to resist with firmness anything of a contrary nature. After long discussions between the British and the authorities it was arranged that an examination of 52 men of the Neptune should take place at the factory, where the Chinese consented to hold the court of inquiry. At the inquiry the forms of a Chinese Court of Justice were observed, but seats were provided for Captain Rolles of H.M.S. Lion, the members of the Committee, and for Sir George Staunton, while two of Captain Rolles' marines with fixed bayonets were posted as sentries at the door of the factory during the whole of the proceedings. The Chinese produced no evidence, but Captain Buchanan and the officers of the Neptune admitted that eleven men had been specially singled out by their violence in the affray. It was hoped that the assignment of some punishment to these men would have satisfied the Chinese, but the Chinese officials made it clear that they would not be satisfied until some one person had been named. Eventually the name of the ringleader, Edward Sheen, was given, and there seemed every indication that the payment of a sum of money as compensation would now settle the business. As, however, the members of the Committee were about to leave for Macao a demand was made upon them for the custody of Sheen. The claim was resisted, and it was not until Captain Rolles was about to take the man with him on board the Lion that the Mandarins yielded. Ultimately a settlement was effected on the payment of a pecuniary fine. Thereafter trade which had been at a complete standstill during the prolonged discussions was resumed. The Court of Directors were so gratified with the ability and firm conduct displayed on the occasion that they passed a special resolution of thanks and voted a sum of £1,000 to Captain Rolles for his part in the transaction.
CHAPTER VI.
The effect of the War between France and England—British occupation of Macao—Indignation of the Chinese Government—Peremptory demand for the evacuation of Macao—Stoppage of Trade—Withdrawal of the British Troops—Further Incidents at Canton—Outrageous Conduct of the Chinese Officials—Sir George Staunton protests—British leave Canton—Trade resumed—Lord Amherst's Mission—Arrival in China—Ships of the Mission anchor in Hongkong Harbour—Failure of the Mission—Arrogant Policy of the Chinese—Formal Complaint made by British Merchants to the Select Committee of 1832—Appointment of Lord Napier as Superintendent of Trade—His ill-treatment and death.
The prolonged state of war between France and England at the close of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth century from time to time influenced the China trade. The British mercantile ships for a considerable period were regularly convoyed, and in 1804 there was a brisk action in the China seas between a homeward bound fleet of sixteen sail under Sir Nathaniel Dance, and a French squadron under Admiral Linois. The utmost gallantry was shown on this occasion by the British ships with the result that the attacking fleet was beaten off. It was estimated that the value of British property at stake on the occasion reached the high figure of sixteen millions. Consequent upon the frequent visits of the King's ships to the China coast at this juncture negotiations were opened up with the local Chinese authorities for the use of Anson's Bay in the Canton River as an anchorage. The Select Committee were unable to obtain avowed sanction for the use of the bay, but the authorities permitted supplies of provisions to be sent up from Whampoa, and having secured this material concession the Committee were the less anxious on the other points involved as they were convinced that the anchoring of the ships in the bay would be tolerated, and in time become an established privilege.
In 1808 a serious difference arose between the British and the Chinese authorities owing to action that was taken in connection with the war. A vague report having been transmitted to the Bengal Government to the effect that the French contemplated the occupation of Macao a combined naval and military expedition was sent from India to forestall the intended move. A landing was effected in September in opposition to the sentiments of the Portuguese Governor and to the known wishes of the local Chinese. A formal protest was promptly made by the Hoppo against the occupation, and this was followed by a more emphatic remonstrance from the Viceroy. Later, Chinese troops were ordered to the spot to compel the evacuation of the port by the British force, and the threat was held out that in the event of the occupation being continued the ships at Whampoa would be fired. Notwithstanding this hostile attitude on the part of the Chinese a second detachment of troops was landed on the 20th of October. By this time trade was at a standstill, and the usual relations between the authorities and the Select Committee through the Chinese merchants had been broken off. A letter was forwarded by the Committee on the 5th of November to the Viceroy requesting that some person might be appointed to receive their representation. A reply came through a Mandarin that the Viceroy had seen their letter, but did not think a compliance necessary "as the troops must be removed, their remaining on shore being contrary to the law of the Empire." The Committee intimated that in view of the haughty conduct of the Isontock the Admiral could not remove the troops as such action might have the appearance of fear. The discussion now waxed warmer. As the Viceroy declined to receive a further communication the President stated his intention to order all British subjects to quit Canton in forty-eight hours. To this threat the Viceroy replied on the 21st of November that if they wished to make war on China he was prepared, but that he would not commence. He added that the Committee might, if they pleased, remove the ships, but that if they went they would not be permitted to return. Matters remained in abeyance until the 4th of December, when the Select Committee, then assembled at Macao, received an imperial edict for the withdrawal of the troops. Instead of complying with this the British redoubled their preparations for the defence of the positions they held. As a consequence the batteries at the Bogue forts fired at the ships going up and down the river and the fire was returned. Then came something in the nature of an ultimatum from the Viceroy—a declaration that while there remained a single soldier in Macao and the laws were disobeyed the British should not trade, and that if the Admiral hesitated a moment "innumerable troops would be sent to destroy him." Finding that further resistance was useless the President gave orders for the withdrawal of the troops and the evacuation was completed by the 20th of December. The settlement was a distinct triumph for the Chinese authorities. Having made a demand at the outset they never wavered in their determination to enforce it, and in the end they completely carried their point. There can be little question that the incident did much to lower British prestige. An immediate result which flowed from it was that obstacles were placed in the way of the free entrance of the Company's ships to the river. The Court of Directors recalled the President and constituted a new Select Committee and took other measures to efface the unpleasant impression left by the bungling policy of the old Committee. But it was not until the end of October that the Emperor's orders were received for the placing of foreign trade on its old footing. Thereafter events dropped once more into their accustomed groove, though it was not long before new disputes arose to interrupt the course of trade, and the manner in which these episodes were treated by the Chinese officials indicated that they had not forgotten their triumph in the Macao business.
By far the most important of the controversies raised raged around the presence in Chinese waters of H.M.S. Doris during the ​war with America. In April, 1814, the Doris arrived in Macao Roads with, as a prize, the American ship Hunter, captured off the Ladrones. A communication was addressed to the President by the Chinese authorities pointing out that the action taken was a violation of the functions of the Celestial Empire, and desiring that the Doris might be directed not to intercept American ships going out of the river. Protracted discussions ensued as to the legitimacy of the course which had been pursued. As the American ship had been taken without the limits of the Chinese jurisdiction the Committee did not consider that the Chinese Government had any locus standi. They caused it to be known that the Americans had declared war against the British, and that the British commander had orders to capture American vessels. The Chinese retort was that "if the English and Americans have petty quarrels let them go to their own country and settle them." At the same time the Select Committee were required to order the Doris away. While the war of words was at height the Viceroy aggravated the situation by issuing an order prohibiting the employment of native servants at the factory. In vain the Select Committee represented that for one hundred years they had been allowed to employ native servants, and that a change in the custom now would cause great confusion. The Government, finding that their edict was not obeyed as promptly as it anticipated, or at least wished, sent emissaries into the factory with orders to seize all native servants they might find there. A vigorous protest was lodged by the Committee against the outrage, but its only effect appeared to be to stimulate the Chinese authorities to greater insolence. Traffic was suspended, one of the Company's captains on his way from Whampoa to Canton, though travelling with an official pass, was stopped and forcibly carried to the official headquarters, and, finally, the Committee's linguist was seized. The Select Committee, after deliberating over the best course to pursue in the face of this outrageous conduct of the Canton officials, decided ultimately to depute Sir George Staunton to Canton to open up negotiations for a settlement with the Viceroy. In furtherance of the arrangement Sir George Staunton, on the 20th of October, proceeded to Canton accompanied by Sir Theophilus Metcalfe. At the interview which took place Sir George stated "that he was charged by the Committee with several communications of importance, but in none of them was anything proposed for themselves more than the prosecution of a fair and equitable commerce under the protection of His Imperial Majesty; that they entertained every disposition to obey his laws; that they sought for no innovations, nor were desirous of interfering in any affairs of Government in which they were not concerned." After a series of meetings the Viceroy suddenly broke off the negotiations. Sir George Staunton therefore quitted Canton, having previously desired all British subjects to leave also. The Company's ships were by his directions removed from Whampoa to a point near the Bocca Tigris. Here they remained until the middle of November, when deputations of the hong merchants came from Canton to request that further movement of the ships might be suspended in view of the fact that the Viceroy was willing to depute a Mandarin to discuss the remaining points in dispute. Sir George Staunton, responding to the representations made by the deputations, returned to Canton; but he had no sooner arrived there than he was informed by Howqua, the leading merchant, that the Mandarin would not be sent until trade was resumed. Incensed at this double dealing, Sir George Staunton announced his intention of immediately quitting Canton and at the same time took occasion to point out "the unparalleled disgrace and dishonour which must fall upon himself (Howqua), his Government, and his country if the promises, upon the truth of which the English gentleman had returned to Canton, were to be so shamefully violated." The hong merchants pleaded that if the Mandarins retracted it was not their fault. Sir George Staunton retorted that such a breach of national faith could not take place without infamy and heavy responsibility attaching somewhere. The interview ended with a promise on the part of the merchants that they would consult the Mandarins. They did so, with the result that a meeting was after all arranged and took place without the stipulated prior opening of trade. A series of proposals bearing upon recent incidents were subsequently drawn up for consideration by the Chinese authorities. Some days after they had been submitted the Viceroy's reply was given through Howqua. Most of the demands made were conceded, though in one or two points the language of the reply seemed to be deliberately obscure.
The capricious and vexatious action of the local authorities at Canton in this and other cases, combined with a desire to establish the China trade on a footing of permanent stability, suggested the advisability of sending another mission to the Emperor of China. In the first instance the proposal emanated from a gentleman who had been a member of Lord Macartney's suite, and Lord Liverpool's Government were not disposed to think that there was sufficient to justify the great expense involved in the despatch of the mission. But the Court of Directors adopted the scheme so warmly and brought forward such strong arguments in its favour that the Government ended by extending to the project their hearty support. Lord Amherst was selected to fill the office of ambassador. This nobleman had not the great qualifications for the office which were possessed by his predecessor and in the light of subsequent events it may be questioned whether the Government choice was altogether a wise one. He was, however, no novice in public affairs and had had training in diplomatic work for some time previously as British representative in Sicily. He embodied in his person the average qualifications of a British diplomat of the period. What he lacked was a knowledge of Orientals and their ways—a very serious shortcoming in the circumstances. With Lord Amherst went as chief assistant Mr. Henry Ellis, who had carried through some delicate negotiations with the Shah of Persia, and the Ambassador's son, the Hon. Jeffery Amherst, also accompanied him. The Alceste, a frigate of forty-six guns was set apart for the accommodation of Lord ​Amherst and his suite, and in attendance upon it were the East Indiaman General Hewitt and the brig Lyra. Quitting Spithead on February 8, 1816, the vessels arrived off the Lamma Islands on the 10th of July and found awaiting them there two of the East India Company's ships having on board Sir G. Staunton, who was to accompany the Embassy in the important position of interpreter, and other gentlemen who were to discharge various duties in connection with it. Two days subsequent to the meeting the squadron, now numbering five ships, dropped anchor in Hongkong Harbour. The occasion was the first on which the position had been brought into prominence by association with important events in the history of British relations with China, but the harbour had often been used previously by merchantmen trading on the China coast, and its advantages were well known though few at the time could have suspected the great destiny which was marked out for the island. Soon after the squadron's arrival news was brought to Lord Amherst that the Emperor was prepared to receive him. The sojourn at Hongkong was, therefore, cut short, and the vessels sailed on the 12th of July for the mouth of the White River in the Gulf of Pechili, which was reached on the 28th of July. ANCIENT VIEW OF PEKING. (From De Goyer & De Keyser's "Embassy to China.") The Ambassador was kept waiting on board his ship for some days pending the arrival of the Imperial Legate. When at length this functionary put in an appearance the mission landed at Tientsin, reaching that port on August 12th. At the very outset the question of the kotow was raised. The Chinese put the performance of the ceremony forward as an indispensable condition of an audience, and they had the effrontery to assert that in complying Lord Amherst would only be following the precedent set by Lord Macartney, who had conceded the point. A further argument used was that trade at Canton would suffer if the Ambassador persisted in his objection to the ceremony. Lord Amherst courteously but firmly declined to entertain the proposal for a moment. He understood the immense importance which attached to his maintaining an unyielding attitude, and steadily rejected all proposals made to him on the subject. At length, when the controversy had raged for three days, the Ambassador was aroused from his bed one morning to receive a message from the Emperor to the effect that he must either perform the kotow or return to England. Lord Amherst's reply was an offer to perform the ceremony provided that he received a formal engagement on the part of the Emperor that any subject of his deputed to England should be ordered to perform the same ceremony to the British sovereign. The Chinese officials declined to entertain this compromise and they formally took their leave while the heads of the boats were turned down the river as if in preparation for a return. Whether this was done in order to test the firmness of the Ambassador, or in obedience to the Emperor's instructions was not made plain. AN ANCIENT VIEW OF THE PALACE AT PEKING. (From a print in the British Museum.) But on the following morning the two Mandarins who acted as conductors of the Embassy stated that two officers of very high rank had been appointed to meet the Embassy at Tung Chow, 12 miles from the capital, to renew the negotiation as to ceremonial, and it was suggested that in the meantime a rehearsal of the ceremony should take place. The proposed rehearsal was declined, but the offer was made of a written promise to perform the ceremony before the Emperor on the terms already stated. The Mandarins seemed to be satisfied with this, and having obtained from the Ambassador the formal document gave orders for the journey to be continued to Peking. Four days subsequently the subject was re-opened by the Mandarins with the object of preparing the way for the reception of the delegates who were to give instruction in the ceremony. It was artfully suggested that the Ambassador might very well yield as "such report as he saw fit might be made to England." The notion that the home authorities should be deceived was promptly spurned, and with renewed emphasis a statement of the limits to which Lord Amherst was prepared to go was made. Some Mandarins who brought the message relative to the conference behaved very rudely in the presence of the mission. They treated the objections raised to the performance of the ceremony with insolent contempt. Their mental attitude is well illustrated by the remark of one of them, "that as there was only one sun in the firmament, so there was only one sovereign in the universe, the Emperor of the Heavenly Empire." The discussions continued until the mission reached the palace of Yuen-ming-Yuen at Peking on the evening of the 29th of August. Prostrate with the fatigues of a long journey, unnecessarily protracted in its final stage for some purpose not easy to define, Lord Amherst was about to retire to rest when he received a peremptory summons into the presence of the Emperor. The Ambassador was considerably taken aback by having so extraordinary a demand made upon him, and ​expressed his intention not to go. One of the leading Mandarins thereupon took him somewhat roughly by the arm with the object apparently of compelling him to proceed. The Ambassador shaking himself free stated that nothing short of the exercise of violence would induce him to wait on the Emperor at that time. Finding that Lord Amherst was inflexible in his determination the Chinese authorities without more ado issued orders for the immediate return of the mission. The instructions were carried out to the letter. Though tired and indisposed the Ambassador and his suite the next day were despatched along the route by which they had travelled with a haste which can only be described as indecent. As was remarked at the time, the Chinese treatment of the mission "comported more with the barbarity of a Tartar camp than with conduct which could have been expected even from the most uncivilised of crown heads." The mission made its way to Canton overland passing down the Grand Canal and over the famous Meling Pass. As it receded from the capital the bearing of the Chinese officials towards it improved. The Mandarin in charge of it showed the utmost deference and at every military fort that the travellers passed honours were paid them. The Embassy arrived at Canton on New Year's Day, 1817, and it embarked for home on the 20th of January following. Misfortune dogged its steps to the end. On the way through the China Sea, when off the island of Pulo Leat, the Alceste struck on a sunken rock and foundered. No lives were sacrificed, but Lord Amherst and his suite lost all their belongings, including the presents which they were conveying home. They arrived in England at last with a very substantial bill of expenses for the nation to liquidate, but with very little else to their record. It is a moot point whether in any circumstances good would have come from the mission. The Emperor Kiaking was a different type of man to Kienlung who had received Lord Macartney. He was a despot of a very narrow type—haughty, cruel, and capricious. He entertained an unrelenting hatred towards the "outer barbarians," and never missed an opportunity of displaying that dislike. Still, there were circumstances in connection with the arrangements for the mission which appeared to indicate that the imperial mind might have been influenced in the right direction if Lord Amherst had humoured the Emperor's whim of summoning him to an immediate interview. Kiaking was so far complaisant that he was willing to receive the Ambassador with the English ceremonial which had marked his predecessor's reception of Lord Macartney, and there is good reason to think that his command for Lord Amherst to attend upon him directly after his arrival was due not so much to an intention to show disrespect to the mission as to a desire to satisfy a curiosity to see the strangers. An opportunity was undoubtedly missed, and though Lord Amherst's action was supported by Sir George Staunton and other expert authorities on Chinese affairs in his suite, it is impossible not to feel that the situation was not handled with the tactfulness which it demanded. Whatever degree of responsibility may have attached personally to the Ambassador for the failure of the mission, the result was accepted as decisive at home. "It may, we think, be clearly inferred," observed the Court of Directors in their review of the mission, "that in the event of future disagreements with the Viceroy of Canton, no dependence can be placed on the efficacy of an embassy, though appointed and commissioned by the Crown."
As the previous history of British relations with the Chinese authorities must have led the trading community at Canton to expect, there was no alleviation in the local situation as a result of the mission. On the contrary the condition of affairs grew appreciably worse as the years passed by and it became clearer that no effectual bar could be opposed to the high-handed actions of the Mandarins. After a series of incidents of a familiar character matters reached something like a crisis in 1821. On the 15th of December in that year some seamen from the British warship Topaze were attacked while ashore at Lintin by a large mob of Chinese, and several of the men were wounded. In order to effect the re-embarkation of the party, the officer in command of the frigate fired some round shot and sent two cutters manned and armed to protect the barge conveying the seamen from the shore. The incident on being reported to the Chinese authorities elicited from them a demand that the wounded men should be sent ashore for examination. Very naturally Captain Richardson of the Topaze declined to entertain the proposal, and he further emphatically rejected a suggestion that was put forward that the men who had fired the shots (which had resulted in the death of two men) should be handed over to the Chinese power. The Canton authorities, finding that nothing was to be obtained from Captain Richardson, stopped the trade and endeavoured by coercing the Select Committee to obtain an acceptance of their demands. The position now became so threatening that the Company's treasure was removed from Canton to Whampoa, and preliminary measures were taken for the removal of the English community from the city. Before embarking, the Committee, on the 10th of January, addressed a letter to the Viceroy stating that they had no control over His Majesty's ships, but that as they had been held responsible they had accordingly determined to quit China. The Viceroy in reply to an application for permission to ship goods, stated that he would not allow so much as "a thread of silk or the down of a plant" to be embarked until the foreign murderers were delivered up by the chief. The British traders on leaving Canton proceeded to Chuenpee, from which place the negotiations were continued for some little time. On the 8th of February the Topaze sailed and with her departure events took a more favourable turn. Finally, on an assurance being given that the whole affair would be reported by Captain Richardson to the Home Government who would apportion the blame, the Viceroy, on February 22nd, issued an edict re-opening trade. Three days later the establishment returned to Canton, their arrival there being followed by the issue of a supplementary edict of considerable length containing a gross travesty of the facts bearing upon the Lintin affair. On a report of the incident reaching England, the Government issued orders that in future during peace none of the ships of the navy should visit any port in China, excepting on a requisition from the Governor-General of India, or from the Select Committee of supercargoes at Canton. The Court, in forwarding a copy of these instructions to Canton, urged that only in a case of extreme necessity should a requisition be made for a warship. They intimated that they intended to give the most express orders to the captains of their ships as to the custody of firearms, with a view to rendering impossible their unauthorised use by members of the crew. It was hoped that with this action the inconvenient spectre of Lintin had been laid, but from time to time rumbling echoes of the affair were heard, and in 1827, on the appointment of a new Viceroy, the question was re-opened, and for a time threatened to give rise to new trouble. The firm attitude assumed by the Committee, however, had eventually the desired effect of bringing the authorities to see that nothing was to be gained by continuing the controversy.
Though for their own reasons Chinese officials might allow a particular incident to pass into oblivion nothing apparently could change their rooted hostility to the foreign ​traders. Before very long the situation became worse than ever. A set of new regulations was introduced which placed fresh obstacles in the way of trade, and simultaneously with their promulgation there set in a policy of a deliberately provocative character. A stoppage of trade was precipitated in May, 1831, by a series of acts of exceptional insolence. Early in the morning of the 12th of the month the Foo-yuen, one of the leading officials, with a guard of soldiers forced an entrance into the Company's factory, and entering the public hall directed that the portraits with which it was adorned should be uncovered. When that of George IV. was pointed out to him he ostentatiously ordered the back of his chair to be turned to it, and seated himself in a manner plainly indicating contempt. A more serious outrage perpetrated by this official was the issuing of orders for the removal of an embankment which had been made on the river side of the factory in extension of the Company's premises. This embankment had been constructed from rubbish removed from the factory after a great fire in 1822 which consumed most of the buildings. The work had been carried out with the sanction of the Chinese authorities and though it added a considerable area to the factory enclosure it did so without injury to other interests. The arrogant official, without entering into any explanation, ordered the removal of the rubbish composing the embankment. The excavated material was loaded into boats and conveyed by them to a point about fifty yards below the factory where it was thrown into the river, as if to show that the desire was not to remove a public obstruction but to offer a public insult to the Company's representatives. These measures created much indignation amongst the British community, and they were regarded even by the Chinese mercantile community as outrageous and improper in the highest degree.
In view of the increasingly hostile disposition shown by the Chinese officials to British traders, and the growing difficulties of carrying on trade it was decided to make a formal representation to the home authorities in order to secure an amelioration of the conditions by Government action. The opportunity of obtaining an effective ventilation of grievances was afforded in 1832 by the appointment of a Select Committee of the House of Commons to consider the question of the future of China trade. A petition embodying the opinions of the British community was drawn up and in due course presented. It displayed a striking picture of the humiliations to which Europeans at that period were subjected. The document referred to "the many studied indignities heaped upon foreigners by the acts of this Government and by contumelious edicts placarded on the walls of their very houses, representing them as addicted to the most revolting crimes, with no other object than to stamp them in the eyes of the people as a barbarous, ignorant and depraved race, every way inferior to themselves."
"No privation or discomfort," the petition went on to say, "is too minute to escape notice in the pursuit of this ever present purpose. Free air and exercise are curtailed by precluding access to the country or beyond the confined streets in the immediate vicinity of their habitations. Even the sacred ties of domestic life are disregarded in the separation of husband and wife, parent and child, rendered unavoidable by a capricious prohibition against foreign ladies residing in Canton, for which there appears to be no known law, and no other authority than the plea of usage." The petition also stated: "They (the Chinese) subject foreigners to treatment to which it would be difficult to find a parallel in any part of the world"; "they make no distinction between manslaughter and murder as applied to foreigners"; the Government "withholds from foreigners the protection of its laws, and its power is felt only in a system of unceasing oppression, pursued on the avowed principle of considering every other people as placed many degrees below its own in the scale of human beings"; "bribes are openly demanded by low and unprincipled men who possess an arbitrary power of levying the import duties on goods"; and "the local authorities at Canton are a venal and corrupt class of persons who impose severe burdens upon commerce."
This tremendous indictment of the Chinese methods of dealing with British traders had no small influence in bringing about the change which occurred at this period in relation to the China trade. Hitherto the East India Company had enjoyed a practical monopoly of the commercial intercourse with the Far East. What private trade there was was carried on without official recognition and under serious disadvantages. In 1833, on the expiry of the Company's charter, the Government decided to throw the trade open to all, and to appoint official superintendents to act as intermediaries between the Chinese officials and the traders. The highly responsible post of Chief British Superintendent was entrusted to Lord Napier, and as his assistants Mr. (afterwards Sir) J. F. Davis, and Sir G. B. Robinson were sent out. Lord Palmerston, who was Foreign Secretary at the time, drew up the instructions for the three representatives. He was a distinguished public man, thoroughly versed in European diplomacy and statecraft, but he had a profound ignorance of the Oriental character, and he made the glaring mistake of assuming that the punctilio, indispensable in the case of a European power, was not necessary where an Oriental government was concerned. Lord Napier and his colleagues were sent out to fill what was practically a diplomatic position without any preliminary inquiry as to whether they would be received. The natural consequence was that their official character was completely ignored, and they were treated with a degree of disrespect which could not have been exceeded if they had appeared in the character of mere private personages. On their arrival at Canton the tide waiters officially reported that "three foreign devils" had landed without leave. Shortly afterwards the Governor issued an edict declaring that the presence of the British superintendents in Canton was an infringement of established laws, and that "the barbarian eye" (Lord Napier) ought to have awaited orders at Macao. Lord Napier, therefore, addressed a letter to the Governor explaining that he had come in an official capacity, and asking an interview. The missive was returned to the writer unopened, with a contemptuous message that it could not be received because it was not superscribed as a humble petition. In vain Lord Napier requested that his communication might be accepted. Not a single person could be found to risk official displeasure by delivering it. The next stage in the business was the issue (in August) of an edict demanding that Lord Napier should return to Macao, and threatening to stop trade in the event of his non-compliance with the order. The edict was ignored by the British representatives with the result that trade was stopped on September 2nd. To emphasise their displeasure the authorities put a Chinese guard on the British factory. Lord Napier's response to this was to call up two British frigates to protect the lives and properly of British subjects. These vessels, the Andromache and the Imogene, on passing through the Bogue were fired upon from the forts and returned the fire. In the engagement there were several casualties on both sides. The two ships forced their way up the river to Canton, where they landed a body of blue jackets and marines at the factory. The energy shown had a salutary effect upon the Chinese officials, who dropped their boasting and insolence, and sought an accommodation. Unfortunately, at ​this particular juncture. Lord Napier, overcome by the heat and the strain of the negotiations, became seriously ill. The situation, consequently, did not receive the amount of attention which its importance demanded. The outcome of the negotiations with the authorities was an arrangement which enabled the Chinese to completely turn the tables on the British representatives. It was decided that the frigates should be withdrawn, and that Lord Napier should go to Macao to recruit. The step, in any event, was a measure of weakness, but as it was carried out it was a positive humiliation. Instead of proceeding as he should have done to Macao in one of the frigates, Lord Napier took passage in a native craft provided by the Chinese authorities. The Chinese, seizing the opportunity which the carelessness of the British offered, took good care to make the most of "the barbarian eye." He was represented as a prisoner of offended Chinese authority who was being sent in disgrace to Macao. The journey was prolonged in every possible way, and all sorts of minor indignities were heaped upon Lord Napier's head. When the British Superintendent did arrive at Macao he was in a state of such extreme prostration that he took to his bed and died within a fortnight. His body was interred with military honours in the Protestant cemetery at Macao, but the remains were afterwards exhumed and taken to England to find a final resting place on his native soil. This deplorable episode in British relations with China did not end with Lord Napier's death. The Emperor, on hearing of the advance of the frigates to Canton, degraded the Mandarins responsible for permitting the outrage upon Chinese authority. Afterwards, on receiving a report that Lord Napier had been driven out and the British warships "dragged over the shallows and expelled" he revoked the edict and restored most of the Mandarins. In gratitude for favours received, and in order to show that their zeal had not abated, the Chinese authorities carried their crusade against the British intruders to Macao. The Governor of that place put a number of his subordinates to the torture "to ascertain if they had been guilty of illicit connexion with the foreigners," and on his instructions several natives who had printed some papers for Lord Napier were severely bambooed and thrown into prison. Of all the blunders committed by the British in their dealings with the Chinese the thrusting of Lord Napier upon the Chinese authorities, and the acquiescence in his subsequent ignominious treatment were possibly the greatest. The mismanagement and feebleness shown in this connection gave strength to the reactionary influences in China at this period, and led to a state of affairs from which there was no outlet but war.
CHAPTER VII.
The Opium Traffic—Commissioner Lin's Campaign at Canton against the Trade—Imprisonment of the Superintendent of Trade and Merchants at the British Factory—Surrender of Opium and its destruction by Lin's orders—Withdrawal of the British to Macao and subsequently to Hongkong—Unsuccessful attack by the Chinese Fleet on the British Ships in Hongkong Harbour.
Before the events narrated in the concluding portion of the last chapter had reached their tragic consummation a new factor had come into prominence to add bitterness to the relations between the Chinese Government and the British trading community. This disturbing agency was, it may be readily surmised, the opium trade. For a great many years before this period the drug had been imported into China. There are traces of the traffic well back into the eighteenth century. Until 1773 the traffic was in the hands of the Portuguese who annually imported 200 chests from Goa. Then English merchants engaged in the trade in a desultory fashion until 1781, when the East India Company took the sale of the drug into their own hands. Thereafter the traffic developed considerably. Indeed, the Chinese had become so addicted to the opium habit by 1796 that the Emperor acting at the instigation of the Canton Viceroy, "an upright, bold and rigid minister," issued a strongly worded rescript expressive of his "deep regret that the vile dirt of foreign countries should be received in exchange for the commodities and money of the Empire," and expressing fear "lest the practice of smoking opium should prevail among all the people, to the waste of their time and the destruction of their property." This denunciation was followed at irregular intervals by other edicts even more emphatic in language. But the trade increased in spite of the imperial fulminations. Their only perceptible effect was to drive the operations to a certain extent underground. The opium came in in sufficient quantity to satisfy demands, but it came in not as an ordinary import but as a contraband on which a corrupt officialdom levied a heavy toll. In the first instance the smuggling transactions were carried through at Macao, but the rapacity of the Portuguese drove the trade to the island of Lintin. There the drug was stored in armed ships and delivered to the Chinese runners on written orders from the Canton merchants to whom the money for the drug had previously been paid. Such was the perfection of the arrangements that the trade was prosecuted with the utmost smoothness, and as the nineteenth century advanced it underwent a marvellous expansion. The following figures illustrate the position as it developed in the period antecedent to Lord Napier's arrival:—
| Year. | Chests. | | Dollars. | Total Dollars. |
| 1821 | 4,628 | average price | 1,325 | 6,122,100 |
| 1825 | 9,621 | average" price" | 723 | 6,955,983 |
| 1830 | 18,760 | average" price" | 587 | 11,012,120 |
| 1832 | 23,670 | average" price" | 648 | 15,338,160 |
Thus in eleven years the importation increased fivefold. This enormous development attracted anew the notice of the Chinese Government to the habit which from the time of the Emperor Kienlung's edict had been fitfully condemned. Practical rather than moral considerations probably influenced ​their action. The payment for the opium being made in silver there was a constant and increasing drain upon the country's resources. The position was not so bad as it actually appeared, because as a set-off to the opium traffic there had grown up with it a trade in tea of almost equal value. But political economy was and is not a strong point with the Chinese Mandarins, and they regarded the money paid out at Canton for opium and European goods as a dead loss to the Empire. The Government strove furiously to repress a commerce which touched them on such a very tender point. "Terrible laws and decrees," says a well-known writer, "were fulminated by the Imperial Court against all smokers, senders or purchasers of opium. They were to be beaten with a hundred strokes of the bamboo, to stand in the pillory, and to receive other punishments. But the very persons charged with the execution of these laws were themselves the most habitual and inveterate infringers of them, and nearly every man on the sea coast was a smuggler of opium." An Imperial State paper gives the official view of the state of affairs at this period in some interesting sentences. "It seems," said the Emperor, "that opium is almost entirely imported from abroad: worthless subordinates in offices, and nefarious traders first introduced the abuse: young persons of family, wealthy citizens, and merchants adopted the custom, until at last it reached the common people. I have learnt on inquiry, from scholars and official persons, that opium smokers exist in all the provinces, but the larger proportion of these are to be found in the Government offices: and that it would be a fallacy to suppose that there are not smokers among all ranks of civil and military officers, below the station of provincial governors and their deputies. The magistrates of districts issue proclamations interdicting the clandestine sale of opium, at the same time that their kindred and clerks and servants smoke it as before. Then the nefarious traders make a pretext of interdict for raising the price. The police, influenced by the people in the public offices, become the secret purchasers of opium, instead of labouring for its suppression; and thus all interdicts and regulations become vain." It is a striking picture that is thus drawn with the imperial pen. But as the writer already quoted points out the denunciation might have been made far more general. "The highest mandarin or prince of the blood smoked his opium pipe, and so did the poorest peasant, when he could get it. At Canton and all the frequented seaport towns there were public houses exclusively devoted to opium smoking. At Peking, in the very palace, the ladies of the imperial harem and their emasculated attendants smoked opium, and would not be without it; and if the Emperor himself had wholly foregone the practice, which is problematical, he had notoriously been an opium smoker."
The throwing open of the China trade had a marked effect in aggravating the controversy which arose over the opium trade. Not only was an impetus given to the importation of the drug, but a sense of irresponsibility in regard to many phases of the commerce was developed which tended to increase the official irritation. An almost endless series of "incidents" occurred of greater or less importance. Captain Elliot, R.N., who had attained to the position of Chief Superintendent of British trade, did his utmost to conciliate the Chinese. By his exertions the trade was practically driven out of the Canton River and the smuggling of the drug was made a difficult and precarious business. The Chinese, however, were not to be placated by any measures, however energetic or well intentioned. Their objection was not so much to the opium trade as to all foreign trade, and they apparently had come to the conclusion at the time that they would exclude it. Towards this end they unceasingly strove. No overt steps, however, were taken by the Chinese authorities until December 12, 1838, when preparations were made for strangling a native opium dealer in front of the British factory. An emphatic protest was made against this outrage by Captain Elliot, and when the deed had been perpetrated all the foreign flags were struck as a mark of the indignation felt at so extraordinary a proceeding. It was soon made abundantly clear that the authorities were in earnest in their determination to push the opium dispute to extreme lengths. Early in March, 1839, there suddenly descended upon Canton a high imperial official charged with extraordinary powers for the suppression of the opium trade. This functionary, whose name—Lin—was subsequently to become a household word in England, announced himself by a proclamation dated the 18th of March, as a specially appointed Imperial Commissioner with "great irresponsible authority," and as being "sworn to stand or fall by the opium question." On the previous day the hong merchants had received an edict commanding them to inquire into the state of the opium trade. The manifesto declared that the utter annihilation of it was his first object and that, therefore, "he had given commands to the foreigners to deliver up to Government all the myriad chests of opium which they had in their vessels." The merchants were called upon to subscribe to a bond in the Chinese and foreign language jointly declaring that thenceforth "they would never venture to bring opium, and that if any should again be brought, on discovery thereof, the parties concerned should immediately suffer execution of the laws and the property be confiscated to Government." These bonds, it was intimated, were to be obtained by the hong merchants and the same reported to the High Commissioner within three days on penalty of death. On the 19th of March the Hoppo issued an order to the merchants directing them to notify the foreigners that pending the High Commissioner's investigations they were not at liberty to proceed down the river to Macao; in other words, that they were prisoners in the factories. With a view to making the order effective, a strong land and water guard was posted at the factories, furnished with instructions to allow of no egress from them. Captain Elliot, R.N., who was at Macao at the time, took a very serious view of this action on the part of the Chinese Government. He issued a proclamation, dated the 22nd of March, to the following effect:—
"The Chief Superintendent of the trade of British subjects in Canton having received information that Her Majesty's subjects are detained against their will in Canton, and having other urgent reasons for the withdrawal of all confidence in the just and moderate pretensions of the Provincial Government, has now to require that all the ships of Her Majesty's subjects at the outer anchorages should proceed forthwith to Hong Kong and hoisting their national colours be prepared to resist any act of aggression on the part of the Chinese Government." The next day he issued another proclamation in which, after referring to the Chinese war preparations and "the threatening language of the High Commissioner and provincial authorities of the most general application and dark and violent character," he intimated that he should forthwith demand passports for all such of Her Majesty's subjects as might think fit to proceed outside within the space of ten days. He counselled all Her Majesty's subjects to make immediate preparations for moving their property on board the ships Reliance, Orwell, and George the Fourth, or other British vessels at Whampoa. Captain Elliot followed up his second proclamation by proceeding to Canton in person with a view, in his own words, "to put an end to the state of difficulty and anxiety then existent by the faithful fulfilment of the Emperor's will." On arrival he respectfully asked that the rest of the foreign community might be set at liberty in order that he might calmly consider and suggest adequate remedies for the great evils so justly denounced by His Imperial Majesty. He was answered by a close imprisonment of more than seven weeks, with armed men by day and night before his gates, under threats of privation of food, water, and life. "Was this," he asked in one of his remonstrances, "becoming treatment to the officer of a friendly nation recognised by the Emperor, and who had always performed his duty peaceably and irreproachably, striving in all things to afford satisfaction to the Provincial Government?"
Lin was not in the least moved by Captain Elliot's earnest representations. If anything, he put the screw on tighter when he found that his decrees were disregarded. At length he caused not obscure threats to be conveyed to the imprisoned merchants that if they did not yield obedience to his orders he would cause them to be put to death. Captain Elliot now realised that if a catastrophe was to be prevented the Commissioner's demands must be conceded. He therefore demanded of the British merchants in the name of the King that they should hand all the opium in their possession over to the Imperial Commissioner. The opium was at Hongkong, Lintin, and other places beyond the port limits, and yet twenty thousand chests were freely surrendered. Notwithstanding this extensive acquiescence in the official demands, Lin was not satisfied. His calculation was that the importation should amount to 20,283 chests, so that Captain Elliot, in order to meet him, had to make up the balance by purchases, paying with bills drawn on the British Government. The operation of collecting the opium took several weeks, and in the meantime Lin had been in communication with Peking as to the disposal of his capture. Orders were finally received from the Emperor to this effect: "Lin and his colleagues are to assemble the civil and military officers and destroy the opium before their eyes, thus manifesting to the natives dwelling on the sea coast and the foreigners of the outside nations an awful warning. Respect this. Obey respectfully." The opium was destroyed at the rate of three hundred chests a day in an enclosure near the temporary residence of the Imperial Commissioner. In the enclosure were three vats of about 75 by 150 feet, each opening by sluices into the river. The chests of opium, after being re-weighed and broken up in the presence of high officers, were brought down to the vats, and the contents were crushed ball by ball upon platforms and then pushed by the coolies with their feet into the receptacles beneath. When the process was completed the sluices were opened and the muddy compound was emptied into the river. "Every precaution," says a writer who witnessed ​the operation, "seemed to be used by the officers to ensure the complete destruction of the drug, the spot being well guarded, the workmen ticketed, &c." This view of the complete destruction of the drug was not universally held at the time. It was affirmed that the whole of the drug was not destroyed, that a goodly portion of the best quality was withdrawn and ultimately disposed of to the great advantage of the horde of officials engaged in the work.
Captain Elliot soon found that the enormous sacrifice which he had made to win over the Chinese officials was a vain one. "The servants," remarked the British Superintendent in an indignant remonstrance, dated June 21, 1839, "were not faithfully restored when one fourth of the opium had been delivered up; the boats were not permitted to run when one half had been delivered up; the trade was not really opened when three fourths had been delivered; and the last pledge, that things should go on as usual, when the whole should have been delivered, has been falsified by the reduction of the factories to a prison, with one outlet, the expulsion of sixteen persons, some of them who never dealt in opium at all, some clerks (one a lad), and the proposing of novel and intolerable regulations," and in consequence of this faithlessness and want of security for life, liberty, and property, the members of the British community had decided to leave Canton.
He added: "The merchants and ships of the English nation proceed to Macao and Whampoa, because the gracious commands of the Emperor for their protection are set at nought; because the truth is concealed from His Imperial Majesty's knowledge; because there is no safety for a handful of defenceless men in the grasp of the Government of Canton; and because it would be derogatory from the dignity of their Sovereign and nation to forget all the insults and wrongs which have been perpetrated till full justice shall have been done, and till the whole trade intercourse has been placed upon a footing honourable and secure to the Empire and to England. That time is at hand. The gracious Sovereign of the English nation will cause the truth to be made known to the wise and august prince on the throne of this Empire, and all things will be adjusted agreeably to the principles of the purest reason." The trade was accordingly stopped. The British merchants repaired in the first instance to Macao, but on a dispute occurring near Hongkong between some English and American sailors and the Chinese, in which one of the latter was killed, an attempt was made by the Chinese authorities to compel the surrender of the seamen concerned in the affair. Upon this Captain Elliot gave orders for the removal of the entire fleet to Hongkong, the splendid harbour of which had in years immediately preceding been frequently used by British vessels. When Lin heard of this move he issued furious edicts prohibiting all intercourse with the audacious traders and their "barbarian eye." As these did not appear to intimidate the British community, he took overt measures to assert the outraged Chinese authority. Furious proclamations were issued calling all loyal Chinese to assemble and wage a war of extermination against "the red-bristled foreigners." A ship supposed to be British, but actually Spanish, was on September 12, 1839, seized and confiscated. Meanwhile, preparations were made for launching against the British all the naval might of this port of the Chinese Empire as represented by a considerable fleet of war junks. The bolt was shot on the 3rd of November when Admiral Kwan sailed through the Bogue Passage to attack the British frigates Volage and Hyacinth which were cruising about the entrance of the river. It was a very unequal combat that ensued. With the greatest ease the two war vessels with their well-manned modern guns beat off the Chinese squadron. One of the junks was blown up, three were sunk, and the rest sailed away badly maimed. The engagement caused the greatest consternation in Canton, where a confident expectation had been entertained of a brilliant and easy victory over the barbarians. So serious was the blow that Lin did not dare to send a true report of the episode to his imperial master. The Emperor was led to suppose that the Chinese had won a great triumph, and acting on this belief, he bestowed a titular distinction upon Admiral Kwan. The truth leaked out afterwards, but the honour was not withdrawn as Admiral Kwan was a valuable servant and his imperial master was loth to part with him. Possibly he also had hopes, with Admiral Kwan's assistance, of being able to retrieve the disaster of the 3rd of November. Whether that was the case or not, the early months of 1840 were utilised by the Chinese in making great preparations for a renewal of the combat. Meanwhile, the British had not been idle. In view of the serious turn that events had taken, a considerable armament under Sir Gordon Bremer was despatched from India to reinforce the squadron already at Hongkong. The Chinese authorities, greatly alarmed at the strengthening of the British forces, decided to strike a bold blow for victory. They sent against the intruding vessels a great number of fire ships with the intention of destroying them utterly by this means. This coup was even less successful than Admiral Kwan's ill-starred attack. Most of the fireships exploded prematurely, and those which did not were easily sunken before they could do any damage.
CHAPTER VIII.
The First Chinese War—Expeditionary Force under Sir Gordon Bremer occupies Chusan—Operations in the Canton River—Sir Hugh Gough assumes Command—Submission of the Chinese—Temporary Resumption of Trade—Renewed Outbreak of Hostilities—Canton at the Mercy of the Expeditionary Force—Arrangement of Terms with the Chinese—Arrival of Sir Henry Pottinger as Sole Plenipotentiary—Continuance of the War—Occupation of Amoy—Attacks on Chinhai and Ningpo—Attack on Shanghai—Expedition in the Yangtse Valley—Conclusion of Peace—The Treaty of Nanking.
It had now become perfectly clear that the situation had got beyond the reach of diplomatic action. To the force used by the Chinese force must be opposed if British prestige was not to be irretrievably compromised. In the Queen's speech at the opening of the Parliamentary Session in 1840 reference was made to the strained character of the relations between the British and the Chinese in the Far East, and later it was known that an expedition was in preparation, as Lord John Russell explained on behalf of the Government, to obtain reparation for insults and injuries offered to British subjects, to secure for British merchants in China indemnification for the loss of their property incurred by threats of violence, and "to obtain a certain security that persons and property in future trading with China shall be protected from insult or injury and that their trade and commerce be maintained upon a proper footing." The expeditionary force, which was mainly drawn from India, consisted of fifteen ships of war, four steam vessels, and twenty-five transports with four thousand troops on board, Under the command of Sir Gordon Bremer it arrived off the mouth of the Canton River in June, 1840. Lin, so far from being intimidated by this display of power, was only stimulated by it to more outrageous acts. He issued edicts offering rewards proportioned to the rank of the victims for the killing or capture of individual Britishers, and holding out tempting promises to those who would prove bold enough to seize a ship. Inspired by the proclamations, some of the more daring Chinese did capture a number of British subjects, who were handed over to the authorities and carted about the country in cages as proofs of the valour of the all-conquering Chinese. Amongst the number of these unfortunates was a female who it was at first proposed should be dressed up in rich clothes and represented as a sister of the late Queen Victoria. This design was not carried out as it was thought that even the confiding Chinese would not accept quite such an audacious lie, but the wretched woman nevertheless was subjected to the indignity of public exposure in a cage on the ground of her influential status.
Sir Gordon Bremer instead of carrying the war directly into the enemies' country—the particular enemy of the moment being Lin installed in arrogant plenitude of power at Canton—went with his expeditionary force northwards to the beautiful island of Chusan, which he occupied without difficulty on the 5th of July. The island made an admirable depôt for the British force, and from this point of view there was no doubt a great deal to be said for its occupation. But the need of the moment was for vigorous action in the vicinity of Canton, and the fact that such was not undertaken led to misconception on the part of the Chinese and undoubtedly stiffened their opposition to all demands. The idea of Sir Gordon Bremer seems to have been to open up communication with the authorities at Peking at the earliest possible moment, the assumption being that if this could be done a settlement might be made over Lin's head. In furtherance of this idea Her Majesty's ship Blonde was despatched to Amoy, but on a boat being sent ashore with a flag of truce it was fired on by the Chinese and the inmates narrowly escaped death. A similar contretemps attended a further effort to open communications at Ningpo. Nor did a better fate attend an elaborately prepared effort, conducted under the cover of an imposing naval force, to open up negotiations by way of the Peiho River. The squadron arrived off Taku on the 9th of August, and Captain Elliot proceeded by steamer to Tientsin. There he entered into negotiation with Keshen, the Viceroy of the province, who had just been appointed Imperial High Commissioner. Keshen was a wily diplomat, who proved more than a match for the straightforward and too confiding British official by whom he was confronted. The great object of the Chinese was to get the British fleet out of the Peiho at all cost. To this end Keshen beguiled Captain Elliot with visions of a possible settlement if only the negotiations were directed from Canton. The British negotiator fell into the trap, and by the end of October the fleet was back at Chusan. While the bulk of the force had been engaged in this barren attempt to force the front door of the Chinese Empire, another section of the fleet had been carrying on active hostilities against the Chinese forces encamped outside Macao. The trouble arose owing to the capture and removal to Canton of Mr. Vincent Stanton, a British subject. As no reply was made to repeated demands for the release of this gentleman, it was decided to attack the Chinese camp. The business was carried through in a workmanlike manner by Her Majesty's ships Hyacinth and Larne. After a destructive bombardment of the forts and war junks, a force of four hundred bluejackets was landed and the camp was rushed. There were very few casualties on the British side, and the Chinese fled too precipitately to lose heavily. There was, however, a considerable capture of guns and the demolished forts constituted a satisfactory outward and visible sign of British prowess.
The return of the fleet southward was followed by a period of inaction. Lin had fallen under the imperial ban and been replaced by Keshen at Canton, and Mr. Vincent Stanton had been released, but otherwise the position was unchanged. All attempts made to secure an arrangement proved abortive. Keshen substituted for the truculence of Lin an evasiveness which was about as irritating, and as far as the end ​sought—the discomfiting of the barbarian—quite as effective. The patience of the British representatives was at length exhausted. Towards the end of 1840 it was recognised that the only way to bring the Chinese to reason was to give a practical demonstration of British power in a quarter where the weight of the blow would be felt. On January 7, 1841, operations were opened by an attack on the Bogue forts. The outer forts of Chuenpee and Tae-cok-tow were reduced without difficulty, and the rest would have followed had not Captain Elliot, with strange disregard of the teachings of Chinese warfare, accepted overtures for a truce. The cessation of hostilities was followed by numerous excesses on the part of the Chinese. Edicts were issued by the Canton authorities putting a price upon the bodies of Englishmen dead or alive; generally it was made manifest that peaceful measures would not meet the exigencies of the situation. The British held their hand until an opportunity had been afforded for the Chinese to ratify the conditions of peace which Keshen had provisionally accepted; and which included a large indemnity, the cession of Hongkong, and direct official intercourse between the two Governments. But when it became evident that there was no intention on the part of the Chinese Government to confirm the arrangement, the attack on the Bogue forts was resumed. On the 26th of February the assault was commenced, and by the 1st of March the whole of the forts were in our hands. Admiral Kwan and a host of Chinese fell in the bombardment and the subsequent assault, and a vast quantity of guns and war munitions were captured. The British losses were trivial owing to the excellent dispositions made and the cowardice displayed by the Chinese garrison. On the 2nd of March Sir Hugh (afterwards Lord) Gough, who had been sent out from England to take over the command of the land forces, arrived. At this time Canton was practically at the mercy of the British fleet, but yielding to the urgent entreaties of the local officials hostilities were suspended, the British commander contenting himself with the occupation of the foreign factories and Fort Napier. A proclamation was issued on the 6th of March to the people of Canton promising to spare the city from bombardment if the Chinese authorities refrained from offering opposition to the invading force. Meanwhile, a decree arrived from the Emperor ordering Keshen's return to Peking to suffer the extreme penalty of the law. He was subsequently tried and condemned to death, but by an act of special favour the sentence was commuted, and he was banished to Tibet, where he resumed his official career as resident at Lhassa.
Commercial relations were now resumed at Canton with eagerness on both sides, and some visits of ceremony paid by leading local officials to Captain Elliot appeared to offer a hope of an amelioration of the diplomatic situation. But it soon became evident that the successes of the British, so far from bringing conviction of the necessity of the acceptance of the demands made had only increased the Emperor Taoukwang's determination to drive the hated foreigner out of his dominions. The officials who had waited on Captain Elliot acted, it was found, without any authority whatever from Peking. The real power was vested in three commissioners and a governor who had been specially charged by the Emperor to inquire into the position of affairs more with a view to the concocting of measures for the driving out of the British than the satisfaction of their claims. It was not long before the British discovered the true position of affairs. Their suspicions were aroused when they found that the new commissioners held studiously aloof from them; and as the days wore on they had reason for serious apprehensions in the fact that ominous preparations were being made all round them obviously with the design of re-commencing hostilities. Captain Elliot's eyes were completely opened on the 11th of May when he paid what was intended to be a friendly visit to the Prefect of Canton. His discourteous reception on that occasion, and the evidences which confronted him on all sides of military arrangements, so impressed him that he proceeded forthwith to Hongkong to concert measures with Sir Hugh Gough to meet the crisis which he felt certain was impending. The storm burst on the night of May 21st. When darkness had set in batteries which had been erected on the river banks by the Chinese opened fire on the factories and the ships, and simultaneously fire rafts were sent in amongst the latter with the hope and intention of destroying them. The British, who were prepared for attack, had no difficulty in frustrating the designs of the enemy. One ship—the Nemesis—burned upwards of sixty of the fire rafts, and some smaller war vessels effectually disposed of the batteries. All the available troops were now called up from Hongkong, ​and on their arrival at Canton on the 24th of May operations against the city commenced in earnest. The landing of the troops from the transports took place on the evening of that day, and it says much for the military incapacity of the Chinese that 2,500 men were conveyed to the shore in absolute safety. On the 25th of May the force moved out in two columns on the positions which the Chinese had taken up on the hills above the city. The troops were subjected to a galling fire from the walls of the city as they marched forward, but they kept steadily on, their advance being covered by the artillery. When the British came within about rifle range of the four principal forts which were the special object of attack the Chinese evacuated a greater part of the position. Only in one fort was anything like a fight made, and there the resistance was easily overcome when the British tars to whom the capture of the fort was entrusted came to close quarters with the defenders. After the occupation of the main defences, Sir Hugh Gough, who personally superintended the operations, gave his attention to the outlying positions. These were soon in our possession, and when night fell the battle was completely won, the British losses amounting only to seventy killed and wounded. Canton was now completely at the mercy of the British, and military policy as well as political expediency suggested the advisability of bombardment as a means of bringing the Chinese Government to reason as well as of conveying a lesson to the local officials that treachery did not pay. But on the morning of the 27th of May just as the gunners stood with their guns loaded and primed ready for firing the shots which would seal the doom of the city, a special messenger arrived from Captain Elliot with the intimation that he had come to terms with the enemy. The conditions that he had made were that the imperial commissioners and all the troops should within six days withdraw to a position not less than 60 miles from the city, and that an indemnity of six million dollars should be paid "for the use of the English Crown." Strong dissatisfaction was expressed by the military at this arrangement, which they regarded as affording another example of Captain Elliot's incapacity to deal with the Chinese in the manner which their peculiar characteristics demanded. But the bombardment would have been a terrible business and would have resulted in immense loss to the very classes of Chinese who were most friendly to foreigners. In the circumstances the decision arrived at had many supporters at the time and it was even justified on military grounds, the smallness of the British force being urged as a sound reason for not perpetrating an act which would have given the whole country over to anarchy. As things were, Canton during this period was the scene of the most ferocious conflicts between the citizens and the lawless soldiery from outside, who occupied themselves after the fighting in which they had played so poor a part in plundering their fellow countrymen. It was stated that in one conflict alone between the factions over a thousand lives were lost. Wise or unwise, the arrangement met with prompt ratification at the hands of the Chinese. Within four days five millions of the indemnity was paid, and though Sir Hugh Gough had to resort to a threat of bombardment to secure the withdrawal of the troops as stipulated, the entire conditions were ultimately satisfactorily fulfilled, and the British forces were withdrawn. The generosity shown to the Cantonese was ill requited by these turbulent and fanatical people. After the departure of the troops there were repeated outrages on foreigners traceable to sheer vindictiveness. Though business was resumed it was conducted as it were under the shadow of the sword. In point of fact no one regarded the Canton Convention as anything more than a temporary provision—a truce and not a peace.
A new turn was given to affairs by the arrival in the Macao Roads on August 10, 1841, of Sir Henry Pottinger, armed with full powers as sole Plenipotentiary to the Court of Peking. This officer found on his arrival increasing dissatisfaction at the conduct of the Chinese. Insulting edicts continued to be issued, there was gross ill-treatment of a number of prisoners who were still retained in the hands of the Mandarins, and the authorities, in defiance of the convention, were busily engaged in re-erecting the river defences. Sir Henry Pottinger was not the man to allow a situation to be compromised by lack of energy. He had had long training in Oriental methods in that best of all schools—the Indian Government—and he knew that decisiveness was an indispensable quality in dealing with Easterns. His first step, after he had made himself acquainted with the position, was to give a clear intimation to the Chinese authorities that they must either accede to the British demands or take the consequences. The requirements he made were that the opium destroyed by Lin should be paid for, and that certain ports in addition to Canton should be opened to British trade. To enforce his demands he despatched an expedition to Amoy, the famous trade centre which figures ​so conspicuously in the earlier chapters of this work. The squadron detailed for this work arrived off the port on August 26th. Immediately after they had dropped anchor a boat came from shore with an inquiry from the leading Mandarin as to the reason for the visit of so many ships, and a request that the commander should specify the commodities he wanted. The childlike curiosity of the functionary was satisfied with a verbal statement to the effect that the fleet had not come to trade; while Sir Henry Pottinger, in a letter addressed to the chief military officer of the province, explained that, differences having arisen between Great Britain and China, it was essential that he should have possession of the town, and requesting its surrender to avoid bloodshed. No direct response was made to the letter, but that the Chinese officials appreciated the character of the crisis that had arisen was shown by the energetic efforts they made to fortify every available position. Finding that the Chinese meant to fight, the British Commander drew his ships up in battle array and proceeded to the attack. The repeated broadsides from the ships made little impression upon the stone wall defences which the Chinese had raised, but a landing force consisting of about twelve hundred troops soon put the defenders to rout. Many of them were killed in their flight, and not a few officers, overwhelmed with the disgrace of defeat, committed suicide. The town was entered by our troops, but was not occupied for more than a few days. At the expiration of that time the occupying force was withdrawn, and after posting a garrison at Kulungsu, a small rocky island forming part of the fortifications of the port, Sir William Parker, the British commander, took his fleet to Chusan, which was re-occupied after a brief struggle. The next point selected for attack was Chinhai, a large and opulent city at the mouth of the Ningpo River. Thither Sir Hugh Gough and Sir William Parker, the joint commanders, proceeded, together with Sir Henry Pottinger, who was ready to take up the diplomatic threads as soon as the opportunity offered. The town occupies a position at the foot of a lofty hill, on the summit of which is the citadel, a highly important defensive position, surrounded by a strong wall supplied with massive gates. On two sides the citadel is inaccessible excepting at one point where a narrow path winds from the sea, which skirts the base of the hill. The town itself is encircled by a wall about 37 feet in thickness. It was a position of immense strength, and defended by good troops would have been well-nigh impregnable. When the British expedition reached the town it found every prominent point occupied by batteries and the surrounding hills covered with military encampments. Profiting by the experience at Amoy, the British commanders decided not to waste any time on a preliminary bombardment. On the morning of the 10th of October two thousand men with twelve field pieces and mortars were landed to attack the citadel and entrenched camp. Sir Hugh Gough without loss of time divided his little force into three columns, and, assuming the command of the centre column, ordered the advance. The two flank columns, owing to the irregularities of the ground, went forward unobserved from the citadel, and the garrison, thinking they only had to deal with the small centre column, went out boldly to meet them. Before the engagement had barely commenced the flank columns opened fire. So unexpected was the attack that the Chinese broke and fled in all directions. In their flight hundreds were shot and bayoneted and hundreds of others were drowned. To save useless slaughter, Sir Hugh Gough sent out a flag with an inscription in Chinese informing the routed troops that their lives would be spared if they yielded, but not more than five hundred availed themselves of the offer. Altogether not fewer than fifteen hundred of the Chinese fell in this one-sided engagement. While this land encounter was proceeding the ships were engaged in bombarding the town defences on the sea side and driving the soldiers out of the town. The effect of the combined operations was to convince the Chinese commander, Yukien, that the day was lost. In his despair he attempted to drown himself, and, foiled in this effort, he fled to the country, where he terminated his existence in another manner. His determination not to survive his discomfiture was in keeping with high Chinese traditions, which regard suicide as a legitimate means of escape from the dishonour of defeat. It is not improbable, however, that a fear of falling into the hands of the British had some influence in bringing about his decision, for he had put himself beyond the pale by his ferocious brutality towards two foreign prisoners who by his orders had been done to death, one by flaying and the other by burning alive.
As soon as the occupation of Chinhai had been made effective, the British commanders turned their attention towards Ningpo, a city of great commercial importance 12 miles away. The place fell without opposition. ​Indeed, the inhabitants were so anxious to avoid giving offence that they helped the British soldiers to scale the walls, and when the troops entered the streets they found painted on the doors of the houses the words Shun min, meaning "submissive people." Ningpo offered such advantages that Sir Hugh Gough determined to occupy it as the winter quarters of his troops. The people continued to be friendly and there was no difficulty in obtaining supplies for the large and ever increasing British force. But that the townsmen were not quite happy in the presence of their foreign visitors was shown by a paper which one day was thrown over the wall addressed to the British. This document adduced many arguments to show how much better it would be for the invaders if they would only return home, and wound up with this curious appeal: "You have been away from your country long enough; your mothers and sisters must be longing for your return. Go back to your families, for we do not want you here."
The successive British victories ought to have convinced the Emperor that the time had come for concessions, but Taoukwang's obstinate determination to rid his country of the detested foreigner was unshaken. At his command extensive preparations were made all over the empire for a renewal of the struggle. Meanwhile, fresh edicts were issued calling for the extermination of the barbarians. In March, 1842, desperate efforts were made to recover Chinhai and Ningpo. The attacks were repulsed, but the Chinese forces only retired to establish themselves at a point about 11 miles out of Ningpo, from which they endeavoured to cut off the supplies to the British forces. Their encampment was promptly attacked and the imperial forces were put to flight with the loss of six hundred of their number. At about this time heavy reinforcements of the British forces arrived from India. Lord Ellenborough, the new Governor-General, sent with them fresh instructions which, subsequently adopted, had a marked effect on the course of events. Lord Ellenborough's view was that attacks of positions along the coast were by themselves of little use, and that if the Chinese authorities were to be brought to reason the operations must be extended to the interior. The Yangtse-Kiang, one of the noblest of the world's great rivers, suggested the direction in which the British forces should carry anew the flame of war. Evacuating the positions at Ningpo and Chinhai the expeditionary force, on the 7th of May, sailed northwards. The plan of campaign was to proceed to Nanking and capture that city as a prelude to an advance on Peking, in the event of the Emperor declining to come to terms. Before, however, the objective could be reached it was necessary to reduce several places en route. The first of these was Shapoo, the authorised port and landing-place for vessels coming from Japan. Extensive measures of defence had been taken here, and it seemed that the struggle would be a severe one, but under Sir Hugh Gough's able direction a landing force of two thousand men made a completely successful attack on the defending force, driving them from their positions and scattering them in all directions. One body of desperate men, three hundred in number, took refuge in a temple, and under the mistaken idea that they would be given no quarter if they surrendered fought determinedly until they had all been killed but forty. This remnant of the gallant band finally surrendered, and after a period of detention were sent home to their families. In the town, the women of the men who were killed in the temple, fearing that if caught they would be subjected to a life of perpetual slavery, threw their infants into the tanks and wells and jumped in after them. Many of the poor creatures were rescued by the British troops, but there were melancholy evidences all around that the loss of life from this cause alone was very great.
Leaving Shapoo with its bitter memories of disaster behind, the expedition proceeded to Woosung, the port of Shanghai. Strong batteries guarded the approach to the port, and the intricacy of the channel presented serious difficulties to the invading force. The arrangements for the attack, however, were so skilfully made by the naval commander that the shore batteries were soon silenced, and a landing was effected on June 16th without serious loss. Subsequently the troops advanced to the important native city of Shanghai which was taken after a slight resistance. The place was occupied only to be evacuated. The more important work in hand claimed the service of the troops and they marched back to Woosung and were re-embarked. Not many days later the fleet entered the Yangtse-Kiang—"the child of the ocean." As the imposing flotilla passed up the great waterway the Chinese flocked ​in crowds to the shore to gaze on the then novel spectacle of steamers progressing against the current. On the 20th of July the fleet dropped anchor off Chinkiang-foo, a strongly fortified town, which, having regard to its commanding position at the entrance to the river, is looked upon as one of the keys of the empire. A strong Tartar garrison held the town, and the hills above the river were covered with encampments of Chinese troops. After a careful reconnaissance it was decided lo attack the two sections of the opposing Chinese forces simultaneously. The work of dealing with the hill encampments was entrusted to a brigade under Lord Saltoun, and the assault on the town was conducted by the remaining troops under Sir Hugh Gough's personal command. Lord Saltoun's force met with very little resistance, the bulk of the Chinese fleeing immediately they observed the British force approaching. In the town greater resistance was offered by the sturdier Manchu soldiery, who sold their lives dearly in street fighting which, with the severe heat of the day, severely tried our troops. Only as the day closed was the position completely occupied, and by that time our men were so exhausted by their exertions that they were unable to push home their victory. The defenders on their part scorned in many instances to take to flight. They salved their wounded honour by self destruction. The method of the brave Tartar general's exit from the world was characteristic. When he found that the battle had gone against him he retired to his house, and taking his seat in his favourite arm chair ordered his servants to fire the building. The next day his body was found much burned, but retaining the sitting posture in which he had placed himself. The British dropped a sympathetic tear over their gallant enemy, whose defence they had reason to remember, for their losses here were greater than in any engagement during the war. After a fortnight's interval to rest and recruit the troops, the advance on Nanking was resumed. On the 5th of August the fleet arrived off the city, which is one of the most important commercial centres in the Empire. The place was garrisoned by fourteen thousand troops, and there were expectations of another sanguinary battle when the ships hove in sight of the far-spreading quarters of the great centre of Chinese power and caught a glimpse of the picturesque outlines of the historic Porcelain Tower which was then a dominating feature of the landscape. (From and old drawing in the Manuscript Room at the British Museum.) NANKING FROM THE PORCELAIN TOWER. (From Allom & Wright's "China.") Happily, however, these expectations were not realised. Just as the expeditionary force was about to deliver its attack, letters arrived for the British commander informing him that three imperial delegates were on their way for the purpose of negotiating a peace. Confirmation of the satisfactory news was forthcoming shortly afterwards in the arrival of the members of the mission. They were men of high distinction in the empire. Elepoo, the head, was a former governor of Chekeang; Keying, the second, was an uncle of the Emperor; while the third delegate, Niu Kien, was Viceroy of the Two Kiang. There was a protracted discussion of the preliminaries of peace, in which Sir Henry Pottinger took up a very firm attitude. The Emperor found it hard to swallow the bitter pill offered him, but eventually he was reluctantly persuaded by irrefragable arguments to assent to an arrangement on the lines set out by the British Plenipotentiary. The demands which were subsequently incorporated in the Treaty of Nanking, were certainly of a character to cause not a little misgiving and even consternation in the imperial circle. They were the payment of an indemnity of $21,000,000; the opening of the five ports of Canton, Amoy, Foochow, Shanghai, and Ningpo to British trade, with right of appointing consuls to reside in them; the cession of Hongkong; the establishment of regular tariffs of import and export duties; the unconditional release of all British subjects detained as prisoners; and the granting of a free pardon by the Emperor to all those of his own subjects who had incurred penalties by holding intercourse with the British officers. On the 20th of August the delegates paid a formal visit to the Cornwallis, the admiral's flagship, to discuss the terms of peace. They were received with every mark of courtesy, but in order that they might be left in no doubt as to the intentions of the British in the event of the failure of the negotiations they were confronted with an imposing display of force, both naval and military. The interview passed off very satisfactorily, and there was a spirit of equal harmony manifested on the ​26th of August when Sir Henry Pottinger returned the commissioners' visit and renewed ashore the negotiations which had opened so auspiciously on board the Cornwallis. Three days later the signatures were appended to the Treaty on the Cornwallis. The three commissioners first signed and then Sir Henry Pottinger inscribed his name. The running up of the flags of Great Britain and China on the mast of the Cornwallis, and the firing of a salute of twenty-one guns, announced to the outer world the completion of this most important diplomatic act. Immediately after the signature of the Treaty the ships began to leave the river, and on the payment of the first instalment of the indemnity, the troops were withdrawn from Chusan. By the end of October the expeditionary force had been broken up, the various units having returned to their several stations with the exception of a body of seventeen hundred troops which was left to garrison Hongkong. Several unfortunate incidents occurring shortly after the signature of the Treaty imperilled for a time the peace which had been concluded. In one case the authorities in Formosa massacred the shipwrecked crews of two vessels manned mainly by British-Indian subjects. Shortly afterwards a Cantonese mob made an attack on the British factory, plundering it and setting it on fire. In both instances the Chinese Government showed a very commendable spirit in punishing the offenders, and the episodes were overlooked. But the arrangements consequential upon the Treaty dragged somewhat, and it was not until June 4, 1843, that the ratifications of the Treaty were exchanged at Hongkong, while six weeks further elapsed before Sir Henry Pottinger found himself in a position to issue a proclamation announcing that he had signed the arrangements for the conduct of trade which were the most important provisions of the Treaty. Simultaneously with the publication of the British proclamation a formal announcement was made by Keying, the Chinese commissioner, who had conducted the elaborate negotiations with Sir Henry Pottinger, that henceforth trade at the five ports named in the Treaty was open to "the men from afar" without distinction, and the hope was expressed that "the weapons of war being for ever laid aside, joy and profit shall be the perpetual lot of all." There was one important omission in the settlement which was thus completed. No reference whatever was made in the Commercial Treaty to the opium trade. Sir Henry Pottinger had striven to obtain from the Chinese Government the legalisation of the traffic, but the Peking authorities had steadily declined to entertain any proposal of the kind, and failing this the British Plenipotentiary deemed it advisable to leave the matter unsettled. It was an unfortunate decision as it supplied an opening for fresh trouble, and trouble was not slow in coming. Almost before the ink was dry on the official proclamations announcing the completion of the Treaty arrangements an acute controversy arose as to whether opium was admissible under the Treaty or not. The mercantile class held that it could be imported under the final clause of the tariff, which provided that all articles not expressly named should be admitted at an ad valorem duty of 5 per cent., but this view was promptly repudiated by Sir Henry Pottinger, who issued an official intimation declaring in emphatic terms that such a construction was untenable as "the traffic in opium was illegal and contraband by the laws and imperial edicts of China." The position taken up by the British authority was severely criticised, and it undoubtedly tended to produce an unpleasant impression not only amongst the British traders, but in Chinese official quarters where there was a failure to comprehend the logic and equity of a policy which admitted the illegality of the opium trade as far as China was concerned, and yet took no measures to prevent the importation of the drug.
CHAPTER IX.
The Acquisition of Hongkong—Early History of the Island—The building of Victoria—Hongkong declared a Free Port—Dark Days—R. M. Martin's Scathing Denunciations of the Colony—The Select Committee of 1847 and Hongkong.
From the exclusively British standpoint the great central fact of the Nanking Treaty was the formal cession of Hongkong. The acquisition of this island gave Great Britain what no other Western nation, save the Portuguese, had in China, a national pied à terre—a station which would supply a rallying centre for her trade, and a strategic point for her navy. The desirability of forming a settlement of this kind had long been contemplated. The occupation of an island off the coast was, as we have seen in the earlier chapters, suggested by Chinese traders as a means of overcoming the difficulties which in the eighteenth century attended the conduct of the trade. Coming to later times. Sir George Staunton, in speaking in the House of Commons in 1833, expressed the view that when the trade was thrown open, if it should prove impracticable to give it the benefit of a national connection emanating directly from the Crown, it might become expedient to withdraw it altogether from the control of the Chinese authorities and establish it in some insular position upon the Chinese coast. In a general way the value of Hongkong harbour as an anchorage had been recognised for a great many years. In the eighteenth century ships occasionally visited it, attracted by the security of the position and the admirable facilities offered for watering ships in the rivulet of purest water—the "Heang Keang," or fragrant stream—which in old time was perhaps the most conspicuous natural feature of the island. These casual visits familiarised British commanders with the harbour, and during the protracted war with France at the end of the eighteenth and the commencement of the nineteenth century, it was frequently resorted to by vessels of our squadrons. The place came into special prominence on the occasion of Lord Amherst's mission to the Peking Court in 1816–17. The vessels conveying the members of the mission, as has been already noted, anchored in the harbour on their arrival in China, and during their brief stay a careful survey was made of the harbour and island—the former by the naval authorities and the latter by Dr. Charles Abel, who accompanied the mission as medical officer. When the mission returned to England a glowing account was given of the great natural advantages of the position. "In all points, both of facility of egress and ingress, and in its perfectly land-locked situation, this harbour can hardly have a superior in the world," wrote the official historian of the mission. These words of enthusiastic commendation bore no direct fruit, perhaps because the failure of the mission did not tend to encourage a policy of exploitation. But when the opium troubles occurred at Canton, Hongkong harbour became the resort of all British shipping, and ultimately (in 1837) a settlement was formed on the rocky shore. And so when Captain Elliot got into difficulties with the Canton authorities in 1839, and found the officialism of Macao to accord ill with the British constitution, it was the most natural thing in the world that he should withdraw to Hongkong, which, though remote enough to be free from Chinese surveillance, was sufficiently near Canton to allow of touch being kept with the authorities. Probably at first the idea was only to use the harbour temporarily, but when Lin, by his violent policy, forced matters to an issue, the formation of a permanent settlement became a definite object of policy. During the operations which culminated in the attack on the Bogue forts in 1841, the island was only used to a limited extent, Chusan then being the principal base for the expedition; but as soon as Keshen had been compelled to sue for peace in the early weeks of the year, the cession of the island was made a prominent condition of the settlement, and on the terms put forward being conceded by the Chinese Commissioner, the troops were removed from that place to Hongkong, and its incorporation in the British Empire was formally notified by Captain Elliot in a proclamation dated January 29, 1841. The act of taking possession occurred four days earlier. It is thus noticed in Sir Edward Belcher's "Voyage of H.M.S. Sulphur": "We landed on Monday the 25th January, 1841, at fifteen minutes past eight a.m., and being the bonâ fide first possessors Her Majesty's health was drunk with three cheers on Possession Mount. On the 26th the squadron arrived; the marines were landed, the Union Jack hoisted on our fort, and formal possession taken of the island by Commodore Sir J. G. Bremer, accompanied by the four officers of the squadron, under a feu de joie from the marines and the royal salute from the ships of war. On the Kowloong Peninsula were situated two batteries, which might have commanded the anchorage, but which appeared but thinly manned; these received due notice to withdraw their men and guns as agreed by the late Treaty." Nearly two years were to elapse before the final notification of the Treaty of Nanking placed the occupation of the island on a thoroughly legal basis, but practically January 26, 1841, marks the commencement of the organised life of the settlement.
The important island which had thus become British territory was formerly a part of the Chinese district of Sin-ngan. It was mainly owned by an ancient family of the name of Tang, whose title deeds extended back several centuries. The representatives of this family had paid the land tax for the island for two centuries prior to the occupation to the Chinese Government, and they were recognised by the authorities as the landlords. In the arrangements for the transfer, however, no provision was made for the rights of these proprietors, and though a sum of eight or ten thousand dollars was disbursed amongst the occupants of certain fields, the members of the Tang family do not appear to have benefited. Before the advent of the British the population of the island was confined to a few thousand souls who obtained a precarious living by fishing or tilling the rocky soil. In 1837 the site of the town of Victoria was a mere rugged slope of rock shelving in most places precipitously to the water's edge, with a narrow pathway winding along the cliff to which the fanciful name Kün-Tai-Lu, or Petticoat String Path, was given by the inhabitants. To the eye the island was more picturesque than pleasing. There was little or no vegetation, and the only buildings were a number of ramshackle habitations on the shore constructed out of old junks. The inhabitants were friendly, and they seemed industrious, but there were strong grounds for believing that they took a very free hand in the piracy that at that time was rife at the mouth of the Canton River.
To these interesting details may be added the facts that the first official building to be erected was the Court House, which came into existence within the first year of the occupation, and that a gaol was also provided and a cemetery laid out. While this infant Hongkong was growing up steps were taken to perfect the official organisation. Captain Elliot continued to discharge the duties of Chief Superintendent of Trade, and he added to them those of ex officio Governor of the island. He appointed Captain Caine Chief Magistrate, and Mr. Johnson was made Deputy Superintendent of the Colony. On the 1st of May appeared for the first time the Government Gazette; a weekly official publication which has continued to this day. Its first number contained a warrant appointing Captain Caine, and, amongst other notifications, rules for shipping frequenting the port. The second issue gave a list of the villages and hamlets on the island, from which it appears that there were twenty places officially recognised by the authorities. At the time of the official occupation Chek-chu was the most important of these places, and Wong-nei-chung was the next. Hongkong itself, a hamlet of only two hundred inhabitants, stood third on the list. The relative insignificance of the material interests existing in the island when the British took possession may be gauged from the fact that only 250 acres of the entire area was under cultivation.
By far the most important step taken in the second year of the occupation was the issue of a proclamation by Sir H. Pottinger declaring Hongkong a free port. The experience gained at Singapore had no doubt suggested the advisability of this step, but even the most sanguine of those who assisted in the founding of the Colony could not have foreseen the remarkable results which would follow from the adoption of this policy. At the most they probably only hoped to establish an entrepôt which, while it would pay its own way would allow trade to be conducted without interruption. However, it was by no means all plain sailing in the early days of the occupation. Amongst the thousands of Chinese who flocked across the channel from the mainland as soon as the British flag was hoisted was a large proportion of bad characters. They came attracted by the hope of gain or plunder, and they were so protected by secret compact as to defy the ordinary regulations of police for detection or prevention. The respectable shopkeepers who did migrate left the bulk of their property and their families behind, and so, while working in Hongkong, they were almost as much under the control of the Mandarins as if they were in China. These circumstances all militated against the smooth conduct of the administration in the infant days of the settlement, and it did not tend to increase confidence in the stability of the occupation that in March of 1842 a despatch was received from Sir Robert Peel intimating that Her Majesty's Government had not decided upon the tenure upon which land should be held in the island. But perhaps the most unpleasant factor of the situation of all was the unhealthiness of the island. Disease was rife amongst the troops and the mortality reached an alarming figure. The outbreaks were attributable to some extent to inadequate attention to sanitation, a not unnatural result of the bringing together of large bodies of people, the vast majority of them possessing the most rudimentary ideas of hygeia. But the trouble was chiefly due to local causes which at the outset were very imperfectly understood.
It is not remarkable that the report of the Select Committee was influenced by these gloomy vaticinations. The facts were in many instances uncontrovertible, and Mr. Martin's survey undoubtedly as a whole produced upon the mind an overpowering impression of the unsuitability of the choice that had been made of a settlement. In summing up their conclusions the Committee made this reference to the subject:—
"From Hongkong we cannot be said to have derived directly much commercial advantage, nor, indeed, does it seem to be likely by its position to become the seat of an extended commerce. It has no considerable population of its own to feed or clothe, and has no right to expect to draw away the established trade of the populous town and province of Canton, to which it is adjacent. From the only traffic for which it is fitted, that of a depôt for the neighbouring coasts, it is in a great degree debarred, except in regard to the five ports, by treaties, which stipulate distinctly for the observance of this restriction. In addition, however, to these natural and necessary disadvantages it appears to have laboured under others created by a system of monopolies and forms and petty regulations, peculiarly unsuited to its position and prejudicial to its progress."
By the time the Committee's report reached China the condition of things which had led to the expression of the unfavourable views cited in the foregoing paragraph had passed away. The period of reaction had spent itself, and with the improvement of trade a healthier spirit, both moral and physical, pervaded the settlement. Sir John Davis, in some observations upon the Committee's report, penned on January 21, 1848, was able to show how very inadequate a notion the Committee had formed of the Colony's condition and prospects. "The population, exclusive of troops," he wrote, "has gradually increased from less than 5,000 on its first occupation in 1842 to 23,872. This population, instead of consisting of mere vagabonds, comprises in its number contractors for expensive works, executed (by the testimony of the engineer officers) as well as they would be in England, and of numerous owners of respectable shops, where almost any of the productions of China can be obtained. Life and property are now acknowledged to be ​secure. The revenue, with a single tax upon commerce, has progressively increased since my arrival from £9,534 to £31,078 in 1847; and the civil expenditure diminished from £66,000 to £50,959 in the same year, of this £15,169 has been for public works incidental to a new colony, which being deducted from the total charge for the year leaves £35,790 for the fixed expenditure, being only £4,712 beyond the revenue. The shipping return for 1847 amounts to 229,465 tons for European vessels, and for Chinese junks 840,990 piculs."
After the conclusion of the Treaty of Nanking steps were taken by the Home Government to organise a district Colonial Government at Hongkong by transferring the management of local affairs from the Foreign Office to the Colonial Office. The superintending of trade and the direction of the new Consular service in China were, however, for the present combined with the office of Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Colony. On this basis an Order in Council was issued (January 4, 1843) establishing in Hongkong the Court of Justice with criminal and Admiralty jurisdiction, which nominally had existed since the time of Lord Napier in Chinese waters under an Order of the Privy Council of December 9, 1833. This court was now endowed with jurisdiction over British subjects residing within the Colony or on the mainland of China or on the high seas within 100 miles of the coast thereof. Three months later (April 5, 1843) the Privy Council issued letters patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom creating the settlement on the island of Hongkong into a Crown Colony by charter, and on the same day a Royal Warrant was issued under the Queen's Signet and Sign Manual appointing the Chief Superintendent of Trade, Sir Henry Pottinger, Bart., K.C.B., as Governor and Commander-in-Chief. When the ratifications of the Nanking Treaty were exchanged on June 26, 1843, between Sir Henry Pottinger and the Chinese commissioners, who had come to Hongkong for the purpose, the Charter of Hongkong and the Royal Warrant were read out at Government House before a large assembly of residents, and subsequently published (June 29, 1843) by proclamation in the Gazette. It is noted by Dr. Eitel as an interesting fact that this proclamation fixed the name of the settlement as "the Colony of Hongkong (not Hong Kong as previously used) and the name of the city as Victoria."
The newly established Legislative Council was somewhat late in getting to work, for it was not until January 11, 1844, that it assembled. But it fully atoned by its activity when it did meet for any lack of expedition there may have been in bringing it together. In the first four months of its existence it compiled, considered, and passed no fewer than twelve colonial and five consular ordinances, some of them of an important character.
CHAPTER X.
The Five Treaty Ports—Early History of Shanghai—Growing Trade of the Settlement—First Consular Appointments—Difficulties at Foochow and Amoy.
We may leave the early history of Hongkong at this point and turn to survey the five ports thrown open to trade by the provisions of the Treaty. Canton, the oldest and at that time most important seat of European trade in Far Eastern seas, demands first notice. Recalling the history of the place and the unvarying hostility of the official classes to trade, it is not a matter for surprise that the concessions wrung from the Government under the Treaty gave intense mortification to the ultra patriotic inhabitants of this City of Unrest. They were not slow in showing in an emphatic way the feelings they entertained on the subject. First there was a serious attack by a riotous mob on the British factory, culminating in the plundering and burning of the building. Afterwards there was an active agitation set on foot by the secret societies with the deliberate aim of inflaming the populace against the foreigners. An outcome of this movement was the issue of incendiary proclamations calling upon the inhabitants to wreak their vengeance on the insolent barbarians. One of these productions, which was approved at a great public meeting held with the cognisance if not the approval of the Mandarins, after a reference to the greatness of the empire, said: "But there is that vile English nation! its ruler is now a woman and then a man, and then, perhaps, a woman again; its people are at one time like birds, and then they are like wild beasts, with dispositions more fierce and furious than the tiger or wolf and hearts more greedy than the great snake or the hog. These people have ever stealthily devoured all the western barbarians and like the demon of the night they now suddenly exalt themselves. During the reigns of the Emperors Kien-lung and Kiaking these English barbarians humbly besought an entrance and permission to deliver tribute and presents; they afterwards presumptuously asked to have Chusan; but those divine personages, clearly perceiving their traitorous designs, gave them a peremptory refusal. From that time, linking themselves with traitorous Chinese traders, they have carried on a large trade and poisoned our brave people with opium. Yes, the English barbarians murder all of us that they can; they are dogs whose desires can never be satisfied; and, therefore, we need not inquire whether the peace they have now made be real or pretended. Let us all rise, arm, unite and go against them. Yes, we here bind ourselves to vengeance and express these our sincere intentions in order to exhibit our high principles and patriotism! The gods from on high clearly behold us: let us not lose our first and firm resolution!" A counter agitation was attempted by a body of merchants and others who plainly realised the folly of these violent courses; but this peace party was small in numbers and it was soon overwhelmed by the spread of the spirit of fanaticism which the emissaries of the secret societies had so assiduously fanned. Outrages were of common occurrence, and property became far less secure than before the war. With strange unwisdom the British Government ​left the Canton merchants for considerable periods without the protection of a single man-of-war. On one occasion in July, 1844, the British community owed their safety to an American brig of war which, on a riot occurring at the factory, promptly went to their assistance from Whampoa. At another period of emergency the situation was saved by the accidental arrival of a Danish man-of-war. Remonstrances were made by the British Cantonese against the apparent lack of consideration shown, but without much effect. The mot d'ordre at the time was to do nothing to arouse Chinese resentment, and so the little society of Britishers at Canton were left for a period very much to their own devices. That they could at a pinch very well take care of themselves was shown on July 8, 1846, when a vigorous attack was made by the mob on the factories. The merchants promptly stood to their arms, and, by shooting down about twenty of their assailants, carried terror into the ranks of the attacking party and saved the factory from destruction. But the policy of allowing outrages to continue practically without check was a mistaken one and bore its inevitable fruit afterwards. The difficulty no doubt was the weakness of the Chinese authority at this period. The local government was powerless against the wave of anti-foreign sentiment which under the stimulating influences of the secret societies was sweeping the province. It probably would have wished in its own interests to do nothing to arouse British anger; but in practice it found it easier to ride the storm than to direct it.
Happily the turbulent spirit so conspicuously manifested at Canton found little or no expression at other centres affected by the Treaty. There were difficulties, but they were not of a serious character, and were overcome by the exercise of tact and goodwill on both sides. Next to Canton, Shanghai was the port to which most importance was attached by the mercantile community. Though few at the time foresaw the great position it was ultimately to reach, traders were not slow to appreciate the splendid facilities for the extension of trade in the interior of China which the situation offered. A brief summary of its history may be appropriately given here. Shanghai, or Shanghae, the foreign settlement and treaty port, is included in the district of Shanghai in the province of Keeang-so. For a long period before the place attracted European notice it was an important centre of trade. Native vessels discharged here, and their cargoes were taken inland to the great emporium of Soochow, and were thence transhipped to the interior by way of the Grand Canal. The earliest British notice of the place is to be found in a memorandum drawn up in 1756 by Mr. Frederick Pigou, one of the members of the East India Company's service. At that time the Company were looking out for convenient outlets in the Far East for their trade, and Mr. Pigou recommended this port as one well deserving of attention. A good many years later the place was visited by the the Company's ship Lord Amherst, but with such unsatisfactory results that when Sir James Brabazon Urmston, president of the Company's factory, in 1833 published his "Observations on the China Trade and the importance of removing from Canton," he made no reference to Shanghai. It remained for Admiral Parker and Sir Hugh Gough in their Yangtse campaign of 1841 to discover the advantages of the situation. These officers were greatly struck with the position of Shanghai in its relation to the vast trade of the Yangtse, and its inclusion amongst the ports to be opened to British trade under the provisions of the Treaty of Nanking followed almost as a matter of course. When the ratifications of the Treaty had been exchanged Captain Balfour was sent as British Consul to establish the new settlement. "At this time," says a well known writer, "the native city and its suburbs lying on the W. bank of the river were separated by an expanse of some two miles of reedy marshland, partially cultivated and sparingly built upon, from a stream running into the Hwang-fu from the East, just at the point where the river makes an abrupt curve to the Eastward. This stream, known to foreigners as the Soochow Creek, was adopted by the British Consul as the boundary of the British Settlement which extended Southward for three-fifths of a mile to a narrow canal called the Yang-King-pang running parallel to the Northern boundary stream. The river formed the Eastern limit of the Settlement, whilst inland no boundaries were defined. A tract of land within the ​elbow formed by the junction of the Soochow Creek with the Hwang-fu was leased as the site of the British consulate, whilst British subjects generally were authorised to purchase the buildings of native landowners within the limits described; but for several ensuing years there was little encouragement for foreigners to establish themselves at this port and the number of residents remained extremely small. As trade developed in later years a French settlement was established on the south side of the Yang-King-pang Creek, stretching thence to the city walls, whilst later still, a consul was appointed by the United States and a settlement planned for United States citizens upon the bank of the river east of the Soochow Creek. Several years elapsed, however, before the expectations that had been formed of a prosperous commerce at Shanghai were fulfilled. Foreign merchants were slow to remove to so great a distance from their establishments then centred at Canton and Hongkong; whilst the dull apathetic character of the natives of the place disqualified them from the bustle and energy inseparable from European commerce. At the end of the first year of its history as an open port Shanghai could count only 23 foreign residents and families, the consular flag, 11 merchants' houses and 2 Protestant missionaries. Only 44 foreign vessels had arrived during the same period."
"The facilities which the port offered, notwithstanding, for the growing trade in silk gradually attracted more and more residents to the spot, and the marshy waste ground along the bank of the river was bought up at low prices from the Chinese owners, on whose former holdings of reed beds, paddy fields or garden patches, the residences of large British firms were successively erected in a style of mingled solidity and elegance which has almost entitled Shanghai to contest with Calcutta the designation of the City of Palaces. The influx of foreigners other than British within the limits of territory officially assigned as the British Settlement, led at an early date to the necessity of devising some method by which undertakings for the public good, such as the maintenance of a police force and the formation of roads and trams, could be voluntarily conducted by subscriptions which the Consul for Great Britain was not empowered to levy upon subjects of other nationalities than his own, and a committee of residents was elected by the votes of all the renters of land, for the purpose of superintending the interests of the community in respect of the above mentioned necessary matters. From this germ has sprung the complicated system of municipal government which now administers the internal affairs of the vast and heterogeneous city into which the British Settlement at Shanghai has developed."
In the foregoing description we have an admirable summary of the history of the Treaty Port of Shanghai in its earliest days. The successful and entirely harmonious establishment of the settlement was, as we have indicated, in a considerable measure due to the cordial relations which existed between the British and the Chinese authorities. The Taoutai—the chief Mandarin—was a man of honour and good feeling. He frequently exchanged visits with Captain Balfour, and his example was followed by the lesser officials. The native population also were very friendly. The British occupation of 1842 was conducted with such tact that it left no resentment behind. Moreover, the inhabitants were naturally of a more peaceful type than the turbulent Cantonese with whom the foreign element had formerly mainly had to deal. The only interruptions to peace came from an occasional scrimmage between intoxicated foreign sailors and the junkmen from Fokeen—a noisy and irascible class of native visitors who from their readiness to enter a quarrel were given the name of the Irishmen of China. But these incidents were never allowed to interfere with the general course of trade or to become a source of bickering and strife between the British representatives and the Chinese officials.
Mr. (afterwards Sir) Rutherford Alcock, who succeeded Captain Balfour as consul, in a report on the trade of Shanghai for 1847—the first of its kind issued—gave some extremely interesting details relative to the growth of the port. The shipping had increased by one-fourth since the previous year, but it was noted as a rather disquieting feature of the trade operations that there was the large balance of £541,143 in favour of the Chinese. The total imports, however, reached £1,066,172 in value, and of these, goods worth £898,228, were brought out in British vessels, chiefly sailing direct from England. The export trade amounting in value to £1,517,299 was also mainly in British hands. For example, of 15,863,482 lbs. of tea exported no less than 13,313,519 lbs. went to Great Britain. The United States stood next in the order of importance in the trade returns. More than a fifth of the total tonnage entering the port sailed under the American flag. The development of the settlement showed even more than the trade returns, the confidence reposed by the mercantile community in Shanghai's future. In the four years which had elapsed since the opening of the port, Mr. Alcock remarked, a little town had sprung up on the banks of Hwang-fu which presented the appearance of a British colony rather than the settlement of foreigners on Chinese territory. "The residences of the principal merchants extend a quarter of a mile along the river front from the consulate site, and backwards twice that distance, with gardens, burial ground and racing ground intervening. There are now located at Shanghai twenty-four mercantile firms within the British limits (three of which are American), and twenty-five private residences have also been built on the ground; five shopkeepers' stores, an hotel and clubhouse have all been erected within the last year, showing a degree of prosperity and activity which I trust each year will make more apparent." Mr. Alcock further mentioned that public jetties and roads had been completed along the whole river front and throughout the settlement by a committee of residents appointed at a public meeting, a church had in like manner been built with assistance from Her Majesty's Government, and a new burial ground had been procured—further removed from the residences. Finally, a beginning had been made of the effective lighting of the port by the erection of a beacon on the most dangerous part of the shoal on the north bank of the Yangtse-Kiang. A return appended to this interesting report showed that at the time British subjects held within the limits of the settlement 140 acres of land, which was purchased at an average cost of £85 per acre. Upon the sites thus acquired buildings had been erected to the estimated value of £131,836. Title deeds were issued in January, 1847, for the land thus disposed of. They were signed by the Taoutai and the British Consul jointly, and copies were placed in the Chinese and British archives respectively for future reference.
A reference must be made in dealing with the establishment of Shanghai to the important part that the tea and silk trade played in building up the early prosperity of the settlement. In 1844 the export of the former amounted to 1,558,453 lbs. The next year saw an extraordinary advance to 9,338,422 lbs. In 1846, owing to a native bankruptcy which dislocated business, a check was given to the trade, but the export, nevertheless, amounted to 10,073,578 lbs. By 1847 the consignments of the commodity reached, as we have already noted, the high figure of 13,313,599 lbs., or about one-fourth of the total export of tea. Such was the recognition of the splendid facilities offered by the port for the trade that native merchants at this time set up in Shanghai premises for the preparation of the leaf for export. Arrangements were also ​made for the sending out of European agents to the tea districts to buy teas direct from the growers—a remarkable innovation on the additional methods of transacting foreign business in China. As regards silk striking results were also manifested in the earliest returns of Shanghai trade. The shipments increased from 5,087 bales in 1844 to 18,158 bales in 1847. The value of the trade in 1847 was upwards of a million pounds.
While Shanghai was developing apace in the manner described, the new system was making more moderate progress at other ports. Consular representatives were appointed at an early date. Captain Balfour, as has been stated, was sent to Shanghai; Mr. G. T. Lay was appointed to Canton; Mr. Henry Gribble to Amoy, and Mr. Robert Thorn to Ningpo. The interpreters chosen for the ports in the order given were Mr. W. H. Medhurst, jun., Mr. Thomas Meadows, Lieut, (afterwards Sir) Thomas Wade, and Mr. Charles Sinclair. Mr. (afterwards Sir) Harry S. Parkes was at the time an assistant of the Rev. Charles Gutzlaff, who filled the post of Chinese Secretary. No appointment was made immediately to Foochow. It was not, indeed, until the latter part of 1844 that steps were taken to introduce the Consular system there. The duty was then entrusted to Mr. Lay, who as an experienced official was well equipped for what was realised would be a difficult and delicate work owing to the fact that the Emperor had only with the greatest reluctance allowed Foochow to be included in the list of Treaty ports. The anticipations of trouble were abundantly realised. Mr. Lay, on landing, found the officials indisposed to grant him a suitable place for residence, and he noticed symptoms of a disposition to slight his authority. At the outset he had to be content with a site in the insalubrious vicinity of the river suburb. But by tactful negotiations he was ultimately able to acquire the lease for resident purposes of a temple on an eminence known as Black Stone Hill, overlooking the city. This temple was beautifully situated amid pleasant groves and terraced gardens and it constituted in every way an agreeable contrast to the ill-placed building at first set apart for the Consulate. After the transfer a better feeling appears to have arisen for a time between the British and the Chinese officials. Of their own accord the Mandarins introduced into the contract for the execution of work at the temple to fit it for residential purposes a clause prohibiting work on Sunday, and in the same spirit before paying the Consul a visit, they sent to inquire whether it was a Sunday or not. The temple authorities also showed an agreeable disposition to make their tenants comfortable. Supplies of all sorts were forthcoming, and the Abbot himself, in the character of head gardener, might be seen every day busily superintending the requisite alterations and repairs. The Abbot, also, of an adjoining Taouist temple, with a remarkable absence of bigotry, for a small monthly sum willingly admitted one of the officers of the Consulate as a tenant of a portion of the sacred building. There was a temporary break in these pleasant relations towards the end of 1845, when a Consulate interpreter was attacked and pelted with stones as he was walking on the wall of the city near the Manchu quarter. A grave remonstrance was made to the authorities in consequence of the incident, and the threat was held out that if satisfaction was not granted a man-of-war would be called up to exact reparation. At the outlet the Mandarins were disposed to treat the matter lightly, but when they found that the Consul was in earnest they caused six Tartars to be arrested for the offence, and had three of them bambooed while the other three were treated to the degrading punishment of the cangue for a month. The novel and unprecedented event of a Manchu Tartar wearing the cangue, from which mode of punishment they had hitherto enjoyed a prescriptive immunity, and the humiliating announcement attached as usual to the wooden plank of the crime for which they were punished, and that, too, an assault committed on a newcomer and a stranger were doubly mortifying to the pride of this arrogant class of inhabitants, as they were also a subject of invidious exultation among the purely Chinese portion of the population.
At Amoy there were also difficulties associated with the introduction of the new régime. The troops remained in occupation of this port as well as of the island of Chusan, pending the payment of the indemnity. The British post was established on the island of Kulangsu, and the guns of their fort at the southern end dominated the ​city. It proved to be a most unhealthy position, rather strangely so, because before the advent of the British the place had been regarded as salubrious. The island was, however, associated with the early trading transactions of the British, and on that account, as well as from its good strategic position, seemed to be marked out as the site of the future settlement. But it unfortunately happened that Kulangsu, for some reason or other, was not mentioned to the Emperor when the provisions of the treaty were being discussed, and strong opposition was offered to its permanent occupation by the Chinese authorities. The British representatives, influenced doubtless by the insanitary condition of the place, did not strongly press the point. In the beginning of 1845 the occupying force was withdrawn. The few British residents who remained at the time crossed the straits and settled in the city of Amoy, where they found no difficulty in obtaining suitable houses. The Chinese authorities subsequently took drastic measures to obliterate every evidence of the British occupation. "The barracks, the forts, the flagstaffs, and even the framework of the windows and verandahs, were all speedily demolished, and the materials converted into firewood. The work of destruction continued till no remnants of the foreigners remained and the houses were restored to their primitive condition. The work of purgation was vigorously persisted in. The roads were dug up and the fields had again begun to assume the appearance of cultivation. The power of superstition and the aid of heathen priests were duly invoked. Scarcely a clay passed without processions of idols, which were to be seen passing in boats through the harbour amongst the fleet of junks, each of which, with loudly sounding gongs, saluted the deity as it passed under the vessel towards the island on the opposite side. The fearful mortality which carried off so many of the British, had continued to prevail to an alarming extent during the previous summer, notwithstanding the gradual resumption of tillage. In one family known to the missionaries, and occupying one house, out of nine persons seven had fallen victims to the prevailing fever. Even those who tilled the ground generally returned after the day's labour to the less insalubrious residence of Amoy to spend the night. The fears of the ignorant imputed the common calamity to the evil spirits of the English who had been buried on the island. The superstitions of the people magnified every little event; and the villagers were to be heard expatiating on the mysterious scenes which they had witnessed of the ghosts of barbarians running up and down the hills at night and 'talking English fearfully.'"
Ningpo at the outset attracted very little trade. In the official reports for 1847 there is a record which shows that only six small vessels visited the port during the year. The imports reached but £11,785 16s. in value, and the exports stood at the paltry figure of £622 18s. 4d. At the whole of the five ports in 1847 the number of foreign residents was only 470. They were distributed as follows: Canton 312, Amoy 20, Foochow 7, Ningpo 15, and Shanghai 116. It is noted that at Foochow the British community ashore was reduced to the members of the Consulate. The captains of the opium clippers had dwelling houses at Nantai, but they seldom resorted to them.
CHAPTER XI.
Sir J. F. Davis's Administration—Mob attack on Englishmen at Fatshan—British Troops occupy Canton Defences—Chinese Authorities agree to admit Foreigners to Canton City—Murder of six young Englishmen near Canton—Demand for Reparation—Execution of Murderers—Assassination of the Portuguese Governor of Macao—Death of the Emperor Taoukwang—The Taeping Rebellion—Alarm at Shanghai—Formation of Volunteer Corps.
It will have been gathered from the foregoing chapter that before the ratifications of the Treaty of Nanking had been fairly exchanged the storm clouds had once more begun to gather in the quarter in which most of the disturbances of the peace had hitherto arisen. In June, 1844, Sir Henry Pottinger left Hongkong, handing his duties over to Mr. (afterwards Sir) J. F. Davis. The new British Superintendent of Trade and Governor of Hongkong was an experienced Anglo-Chinese official whom we have met before, first as a member of Lord Amherst's staff on the occasion of his embassy to Peking in 1816, and later as successor for a brief period to Lord Napier as the head of the British Commission. He was a ripe Chinese scholar, a writer of acknowledged authority on Chinese questions, and a gifted man of affairs. From every point of view his selection for the principal appointment in China appeared to be an excellent one. He had the advantage of the assistance in the post of Colonial Secretary of Mr. Frederick Bruce, whose distinction it was in later years to be the first to fill the high office of resident minister at Peking. Mr. Davis's administration at the outset was largely occupied, as has been indicated in a previous chapter, with the pressing work which he found awaiting him at Hongkong. The settlement was growing rapidly, and with its development problems were arising which called for the exercise of judicious statesmanship. Therefore, while the new Governor was not unmindful of the larger interests committed to his care, he had no temptation to look outside his immediate environment for difficult tasks to discharge. There was the less necessity for him to do so as the policy of letting sleeping dogs lie as far as possible was the one which had been deliberately entered upon in view of the great advantages gained under the Treaty of Nanking and the manifest expediency of introducing the new system at the earliest possible moment with a minimum of friction. It was in pursuance of this principle that the ebullitions at Canton were not treated with that seriousness which they seemed to demand. The remonstrances made, emphatic enough as far as the language used was concerned, lacked the one thing necessary to make them really effective—a display of force. As we have seen, so far from making demonstrations, the British Government at this juncture rather ostentatiously refrained from sending ships to the Canton River. Having annexed Hongkong it felt, and with reason, that the ships of the navy were in their right places in the magnificent harbour there rather than in Chinese waters. An untoward incident in the Canton River in the early part of 1847 came, however, to break down this policy of masterly inactivity. A small party of Englishmen made an excursion by boat from Canton to Fatshan, a large manufacturing town situated some little distance up the river. On landing the visitors were received in a distinctly hostile manner. In their alarm they proceeded to the Yamen, or residence of the chief official, for protection, but this individual unfortunately was out at the time, and the move instead of allaying the popular excitement added to it. The Mandarin, on returning shortly afterwards, readily gave prompt assistance to the strangers. He not only drove off the crowd, but personally conducted the party back to their boat and shielded them at considerable risk to himself from the stones which were thrown by a large mob which had gathered by the riverside in anticipation of the embarkation. No one happily was seriously injured, but Sir John Davis (as he had now become) took such a serious view of the episode that, collecting all the available forces at Hongkong, he descended on Canton in person to demand satisfaction for what he regarded as a gross violation of the Treaty of Nanking. The Bogue forts were seized without a shot being fired and the outer defences of the city also fell an easy prey to the British force. By the 3rd of April Canton was once more completely at the mercy of the British. The advantage gained did not have the expected effect of reducing the population to submission. On the contrary their fanatical hatred of the barbarian was aroused to fever pitch by the spectacle of British troops occupying positions near the city. Ferocious proclamations were issued, calling upon the people to attack the insolent strangers and denouncing Keying, the Imperial Commissioner, as a traitor. The Chinese authorities on their part, while probably sympathising with the mob, realised that if graver trouble was to be averted they must make peace. Accordingly they accepted the British demands, the chief of which were that the city of Canton should be opened to the British ​within two years from April 6, 1847, and that the Queen's subjects should be at liberty "to roam for exercise or amusement" in the neighbourhood of the city, conditionally on their returning the same day. After this the troops were withdrawn to Hongkong. It was a well organised, well conducted little expedition, but it did not commend itself to the Government at home, who were exceedingly apprehensive lest the country should be dragged into another costly war. The official wigging which Sir John Davis received on this occasion led him to turn an even deafer ear than hitherto to the demands constantly forwarded to him from the British community at Canton for protective measures. Apart from this, he seems almost to have been persuaded at the time that the situation really had vastly improved owing to the steps taken in April, 1847, for we find him on November 20th in that year, in a despatch to Lord Palmerston, the then Foreign Secretary, quoting with complacent approval some peaceful sentences from a communication he had received from Keying. The wily old Commissioner had written: "The old habits of the Canton populace are now gradually improving, and we also observe that the (Chinese) guard of the foreign factories proves very effectual so that in this quarter no calamity will take place. If there are one or two loose vagabonds who, without cause, create disturbance I shall order them to be punished. You the honourable envoy will feel no uneasiness on this point. War is disastrous, but peace rich in blessings. If we henceforth on both sides control our merchants and people, we shall ensure a lasting peace and the trade will daily become more flourishing." The Governor of Hongkong, while endorsing these sentiments very heartily, took occasion to refer to the exaggerated statements which had been sent home concerning the position of affairs at Canton by the British merchants resident there. His letter adds another to the many examples which the history of foreign trade with China affords of the danger of optimism. Seventeen days later Sir John Davis received at Hongkong a statement from Mr. Macgregor, the British Consul at Canton to the effect that six young Englishmen, clerks to merchants at Canton, had been murdered while on an up-river excursion. The reports showed that the young men landed near the village of Hwang-chu-ke and were surrounded and attacked by the inhabitants. In the affray which ensued two of the visitors were killed; the others fled but, after a hot pursuit by villagers, they were at last overtaken at a place called Hang-Kaon, where they were overpowered and put to death after a mock trial. Sir John Davis proceeded immediately to Canton and peremptorily demanded from Keying reparation for the outrage which he described as "perhaps the most grievous that England has experienced from the Chinese." Keying promised redress, but as after the lapse of ten days the demands of the British for the punishment of the villagers and the destruction of their villages had not been complied with he fixed a further week as the limit beyond which he could not continue the negotiations. Eventually four of the principals implicated in the murders were executed in the presence of Sir John Davis, who was attended by a strong guard of British soldiers. Sir John Davis considered this very inadequate reparation for a grievous and unprovoked outrage, and continued to press Keying for a more extensive compliance with his earlier demands. Keying temporised after the manner of Chinese officialdom and under various pretexts avoided any further concessions. Meanwhile, the Canton merchants, greatly incensed and alarmed at the outrages, had memorialised Lord Palmerston to give them the protection which they were entitled to under the Treaty. They reminded the Foreign Secretary of their request in 1846 for a warship to be permanently stationed at Canton, and they recalled the reply they received that "wherever British subjects are placed in danger in a situation which is accessible to a British ship of war, thither a British ship of war ought to be and will be ordered." "It was," they proceeded, "with the utmost surprise and regret, therefore, that we beheld that officer shutting his eyes to the danger that menaced us, overlooking all manifestations of the ill-feeling of the people … disregarding the murderous manifestoes of the banded ruffians by whom we are surrounded, and withholding the protection he had been directed to afford." The memorialists asked his lordship whether living, as they did, "among a people who had achieved their last bloody triumph in the slaughter of our countrymen," they did not require "the efficient, constant, and present protection of Her Majesty's forces." Lord Palmerston replied to the memorialists that he did not see how a steam vessel stationed in front of the factories could have prevented the outrage, and expressed his regret that the merchants had not used their influence amongst the young men of their establishments to induce them to desist, at least for a time, from excursions which were known to be attended with personal risk. The controversy arising out of the incident, after continuing for some time, was settled after a fashion by the promulgation by the Chinese of a series of regulations designed to afford greater protection to foreigners at Canton and its vicinity.
Less than a twelvemonth after the Fatshan incident another outrage of a ​similar character was perpetrated at Tsingpu, a town about 30 miles distant from Shanghai. A party of missionaries, three in number, left the British settlement one day in March, 1848, with the intention of conducting their proselytising work at the town. On arrival they commenced to distribute their tracts when they were molested by a party of rowdies. Soon the attack developed into a serious one and the missionaries thought it wise to take to flight. They did so, but were pursued and captured, and were then subjected to severe maltreatment. The officials and respectable classes finally rescued them from their dangerous position and they were helped back to Shanghai, sorely wounded and with the loss of all their possessions. Mr. Alcock on hearing of the occurrence sent a war vessel with the Vice-Consul, and Mr. Harry Parkes as interpreter on board, to Nanking to demand satisfaction. Meanwhile, an embargo was laid upon the sailing of the rice boats. Li, the Viceroy, on being interviewed, proved most anxious to settle the matter amicably. He gave orders for the removal of the Intendant of Soochow, and appointed another official with special instructions to inquire into the incident. Later, ten men implicated in the outrage were punished with flogging, the cangue and banishment. In this way what had threatened to be a very tiresome and protracted business was concluded to the complete satisfaction of the British community.
If the spirit shown by the officials on this occasion had been manifested in the south no further rupture would probably have occurred, at all events for a good many years. But Canton would not have been Canton if it did not do its best to embitter the relations between the native and the foreign elements. It will be recalled that one of the conditions wrung from Keying by Sir John Davis in 1847, was that the gates of Canton should be opened to British subjects on April 6, 1849. As the day approached for the carrying out of this clause in the agreement it became evident that the population were bitterly opposed to any concession of the kind. There was no desire on the part of the British to carry matters to extremes, and when the Emperor's decree arrived expressing his opposition to any attempt to force the populace to receive foreigners into the city against their will, it was deemed expedient to acquiesce in the imperial decision. After this there was a brief lull, but the atrocious murder of the Portuguese Governor of Macao in 1850 proved that the Chinese spirit of antagonism to foreigners was as potent for evil as ever. The outrage was a peculiarly dastardly one, and it was committed under circumstances which left little doubt as to the complicity of the Chinese officials. M. Amaral, the unfortunate victim, desirous of restoring the prestige of his country, had introduced several changes in the administration. He did nothing that was not in keeping with the spirit of the recently concluded agreement, but the Canton authorities were greatly incensed at his action and made up their minds to compass his death. Placards at their instigation were issued, inflaming the native populace against him, and in other ways the path was prepared for the crime. The blow was struck swiftly and remorselessly. M. Amaral when riding out one day, accompanied only by one officer, was attacked, on the outskirts of the town, by a party of ruffians who lay in ambush. He was dragged from his horse and put to death with great cruelty. Afterwards his head was cut off and sent to Canton as a trophy. There it was received with every manifestation of delight. Su, the Governor-General of the province, in communicating the fact of the assassination to the Emperor, said that the barbarian's crimes merited public punishment of the most fearful kind, but that it had pleased the gods to interfere and make an example of him, by allowing his death at the hands of some men who had private injuries to avenge. To throw dust in the eyes of the Portuguese, the same official caused a criminal to be decapitated, and sent his head, with that of the Portuguese Governor, to Macao, with an intimation that the crime had been avenged by the execution of the principal murderer. The Portuguese declined to accept this as adequate reparation, and reinforcements were summoned from Lisbon, to impress upon the Canton officials a sense of the infamy of the outrage that had been committed. After months of negotiation several of the real criminals were captured and executed. A number of other men implicated in the crime had met their deserts previously at the hands of British forces engaged in suppressing piracy in the Canton Estuary.
The death of the Emperor Taoukwang on February 12, 1850, gave a new turn to the course of events in China. The old despot's declining days were dogged with misfortune, and he left to his successor, Hienfung, a legacy of internal trouble and international complications which was to shake the imperial power to its foundations. Hienfung was only a young man of nineteen when he ascended the throne, and his impressionable mind seems to have fallen under the spell of those of the imperial counsellors who were inimical to foreigners. One of his first acts was to disgrace Keying and another Mandarin who had shown in their official career some leaning towards the British. Whether intended as an indication of hostile policy or not the action taken was interpreted in that sense by the great majority of Chinese officials, and indications were soon forthcoming of the change in sentiment. At Foochow difficulties were raised against the British residing in the city, on the ground previously taken up that the concession of trading facilities referred not to the city but to the landing place at the mouth of the river. Lin, the old enemy of the British, was in residence at this time in the vicinity of Foochow, and it was suspected, not probably without reason, that he had a hand in fomenting the agitation which arose on this question. Whatever the truth may have been on that point, the ebullition was thoroughly in keeping with the sentiments which had always inspired him. Moreover, the selection of ground for the dispute showed the mark of his cunning hand; for the British were undoubtedly in the wrong in their interpretation of the terms of the concession. The Treaty conferred permission to the British to reside in the Kiang-Kan, or mart at the mouth of the river, but not in the ching or town. Upon this fact being borne in upon them the British officials withdrew their pretensions, leaving the question open for adjustment afterwards as opportunity might offer.
Hienfung's antagonism to foreigners was peculiarly ill-timed in the circumstances in which he commenced his reign. Throughout the vast limits of his empire there was discontent and unrest. The formidable secret organisation known as the Triads had raised the standard of rebellion in alarming fashion in Kwangsi. In vast bands they ravaged the country, laid siege to towns, and fought pitched battles with imperial troops. The imperial authorities were powerless to make any real headway against the movement. The small advantages gained were more than counterbalanced by crushing defeats. At length the rebels had the audacity to put forward their chief, Tien Wang, as a rival for the imperial throne itself. Tien Wang was a man of low birth and inferior educational attainments, but he had unquestionable genius as a leader, and the common people, impressed by his successes, pinned their faith in his destiny with remarkable devotion. He justified the popular confidence reposed in him after his assumption of royal rank by carrying in the early part of the year 1851 ​the important military station of Nanning and occupying a great tract of country about it. Thereafter he proceeded to attack Kweiling, the provincial capital which commands one of the important roads into the interior of China. Frenzied efforts were made by the Imperial Government to cope with the situation, but by this time the Taeping Rebellion, as it was to be known in history, had assumed such proportions as to be almost beyond the powers which could be exercised from Peking. Instead of Tien Wang being suppressed by the forces sent against him he derived confidence from their ill-directed efforts, and in the end conceived the bold design of marching his forces northwards into Hoonan. It is unnecessary for our purpose to follow the course of events so lucidly described in Mr. Demetrius Boulger's great work on China. Suffice it to say that by the month of April, 1853, the rebels, after a triumphal march, had captured and occupied Nanking and firmly established themselves in the valley of the Yangtse-Kiang.
The course of the rebellion had been watched with intense interest by foreigners in China and by none more closely than by the British community. As a rule sympathy was strongly enlisted on the side of the rebels. In them Britons saw a people struggling for freedom against a desolating despotism, and they attributed to them patriotic virtues which it is to be feared they never possessed. After the astounding successes achieved in the valley of the Yangtse the British authorities deemed it advisable to take special measures to discover the true meaning of this wonderful movement which seemed to be on the point of laying the proud Manchu power in the dust. Consequently in April, 1853, Sir George Bonham, who had succeeded Sir John Davis in the supreme charge of British interests in China, proceeded to Nanking in the warship Hermes. The vessel was fired upon by the batteries at Chinkiang and Kwachow, but the compliment was ignored and in due course the party reached Nanking. After a week spent in interviews and negotiations with the Taeping leaders. Sir George Bonham left in the Hermes. His mission, there can be no doubt, was a mistake. While it accomplished nothing practical, it had the effect of instilling the jealous and suspicious minds of the Peking authorities with the belief that Britain was for her own purposes fomenting the rebellion. After Sir George Bonham's visit to Nanking a section of the rebel forces marched northwards with the intention of attacking Peking. The enterprise failed for various reasons, and very few of those who left Nanking ever returned to it. But signal as were the imperial successes they had no decisive result on the course of the rebellion. The flame of revolt continued to blaze with fierce intensity at many and widely separated points, and occasional outbreaks in quite new centres pointed the inevitable results of slackened authority. At the British Treaty ports the continuance of the rebellion was regarded with a feeling almost akin to consternation. The effect upon trade was most disastrous, and the proposal was seriously mooted by the Shanghai mercantile community that the custom duties should no longer be paid. Mr. Rutherford Alcock, however, emphatically declined to entertain any such idea, pointing out that the provisions of the Treaty of Nanking must be upheld, and urging that it behoved British subjects to maintain strict neutrality in the crisis through which China was passing. On another point—the putting of the settlement in a condition of defence—Mr. Alcock was able to enter into hearty co-operation with the mercantile community. Under his auspices an influential meeting of the residents was held in April, 1853, to devise a plan for the protection of the community. The most notable decision arrived at was that the British residents should form a volunteer corps under the direction of Captain Trowson, an officer who had seen service in the Bengal Fusiliers, and that the supreme command and direction of the military preparations should be vested in Captain Fishbourne, the senior officer on the station. At a subsequent meeting the members of the other foreign communities decided to associate themselves with their British confreres in these protective measures. Events soon proved the wisdom of the action taken. After some preliminary threatenings the rebels in September, 1853, descended upon the native city and with the aid of the local disaffected seized the Taoutai's quarters, killed a number of officials, and assumed the government. The occurrences excited great alarm in the settlement, which from its proximity to the scene of the disturbances and its open character, was a bait calculated to attract the lawless mob which had so dramatically obtained the ascendency in the adjacent Chinese district. Every precaution was taken to guard against surprise and to meet an attack. The men-of-war in port trained their guns upon the approaches to the settlement and were ready to land armed parties at a moment's notice. Meanwhile the volunteer force patrolled the European quarter day and night. As time wore on it became evident that the rebels had no intention of provoking an encounter. Apart from the inevitable risks which they would have to face there was the certainty that interference with Europeans would break down the policy of neutrality which had been steadily pursued in regard to them. So what at first had been regarded as a menacing danger assumed the aspect of a somewhat tedious but not entirely uninteresting struggle upon which foreigners could look with an air of detachment. The attempts of the imperial forces to recover possession of the city were ludicrous in their ineffectiveness and provided daily diversion for Shanghai people, who in the intervals of business went out to watch the operations of the contending forces. In the interests of commerce, which was suffering greatly by the civil distractions, attempts were vainly made to induce the rebels to surrender. Short of intervention, however, there seemed no way of bringing the siege to a close. The British authorities steadily declined to entertain all proposals to this end. But the French, whose settlement was nearest the native city and, therefore, most liable to attack, in December, 1854, elected to throw the weight of their influence into the imperial scale with a view of putting an end to the state of war in which the district had been involved for the past three months. The French guns did a good deal of damage to the city walls, and it seemed that the Triads, as the rebels were locally known, were in for a very bad time. When, however, the French with a force of some four hundred sailors and marines attempted to assault the city in co-operation with the imperial forces, they were met with such a determined resistance that they were compelled ultimately to fall back with a loss of four officers and sixty men killed and wounded. This unpleasant reverse had the effect of killing for the time being the idea of foreign intervention. The contending factions were left severely alone and the siege went on in its old desultory way. Before very long the rebels, feeling the pinch of want, made a desperate effort to cut their way out. The bulk of them fell either by the sword of the imperialists or later at the hands of the executioners, who carried out their sanguinary work with a remorseless severity characteristic of Chinese methods. The two leaders, Lew and Chin-ah-lin, escaped, though a heavy price was put upon their heads, and a few of the lesser lights of the rising also got away by taking refuge in the foreign settlement. In other directions at this period the imperial authorities achieved successes over the rebels, and the circumstance undoubtedly tended to stiffen their opposition to demands which shortly afterwards were made upon them by the British Government.
CHAPTER XII.
Sir John Bowring's Administration—He demands an Interview with the Viceroy Yeh—Refusal to grant a Meeting in Canton—Outrage on the British Lorcha "Arrow"—Sir Michael Seymour bombards Canton—Continuance of Hostilities—Troops requisitioned from England—Lord Elgin appointed Special Envoy—Expeditionary Force sent out but diverted to India to deal with the Mutiny Crisis—Ultimate advance on Canton—Bombardment of the City—Capture and deportation of Yeh—Allied British and French Fleets capture the Taku Forts and enter the Peiho River—Conclusion of the Treaty of Tientsin.
Mr. (afterwards Sir John) Bowring in 1853 succeeded Sir George Bonham in the chief control of British interests in China. He was a man who had had a remarkable career. In 1832, when travelling in France, he was arrested as a spy. The intimate friend of Jeremy Bentham, and one of the earliest school of philosophical Radicals, he was the first joint editor of the Westminster Review, and wrote largely on political and economic questions. He was employed by the Governments of the day on many important commissions, and in 1841 entered Parliament as a Radical. Six years later he went as Consul to Canton. It was from this post that he was transferred to Hongkong. His instructions, on appointment, were to avoid all irritating discussions with China, and when a new Government came into power in England a short time later the instructions were repeated with emphasis. In strict conformity with them Sir John Bowring (as he became soon after his appointment) sought an early opportunity of entering into friendly communication with the Chinese authorities. The Viceroy Su, in acknowledging his communication, complimented him on his appointment, but begged to be excused a personal interview on the ground that his hands were full of the operations against the rebels. Nothing was done for some little time, Sir John Bowring deeming that he was precluded from pushing the matter by the strict injunctions given to him on appointment and several times repeated. When, however, in the early part of 1854, Lord Clarendon, who had succeeded to the office of Foreign Secretary, addressed him a despatch in which an admission was made of the desirability of securing free and unrestricted intercourse with the Chinese officials and "admission into some of the cities of China, especially Canton," he felt that he might appropriately venture to raise afresh the question of the opening of Canton to the British. The opportunity offered on the appointment of Yeh as Viceroy in succession to Su. Sir John Bowring addressed a communication to the new commissioner notifying his definitive appointment as Governor of Hongkong. Receiving no reply to this he sent a second communication requesting an interview but intimating that such could only take place within the city of Canton at the official residence of the Viceroy. Yeh sent an evasive reply, saying that though he would be pleased to see Sir John Bowring if possible his duties in connection with the management of the military arrangements in the province were such that he could not name a day. The British Governor, not to be put off in this way, sent Mr. Medhurst, his official secretary, to Canton, charged with the duty of fixing an interview with Yeh if such an arrangement could be made. Mr. Medhurst speedily found that his mission would be an abortive one. The Mandarins detailed to meet him were men of inferior rank, and he could get no satisfaction. He gathered, however, that the arrangement made by Keying for the opening of the gates of the city was repudiated by the Viceroy, and that the utmost concession that would be made was that a meeting should take place at the Jinsin Packhouse on the Canton River—a position outside the city limits. Sir John Bowring resolutely declined to entertain this proposal, and finding that Yeh was obdurate he left Hongkong for Shanghai with the view of getting into direct communication with the Peking authorities. On arrival at the northern settlement, he addressed a letter to Eleang, the Viceroy of the Two Kiang, making a complaint of Yeh's discourtesy to him and expressing a desire to negotiate either with him or some other high official of the Empire. Eleang replied in a letter which is a masterpiece of courtly irony. After saying that he could not interfere with Commissioner Yeh, who was a high official specially appointed by the Emperor to conduct the relations with foreigners, he wrote: "I have no means of knowing what kind of treatment your Excellency or your predecessors received at the hands of the Commissioner at Canton. It is, to my mind, a matter of more consequence that we of the central and other ​nations have made fair dealing and good faith our rule of conduct, and thus for a length of time preserved entire our amicable relations. Familiarity or otherwise in social intercourse and all such trifles, are, in my opinion, to be decided by the laws of conventionality. As your Excellency cherishes such a dislike to discourteous treatment, you must doubtless be a most courteous man yourself—an inference which gives me sincerest pleasure, for we shall both be able to maintain Treaty stipulations, and continue in the practice of mutual goodwill to your Excellency's everlasting honour." Sir John Bowring let the matter sleep for the best part of a year and then (in June, 1855) prepared an explicit demand for the official reception either of himself or of Mr. Rutherford Alcock, who by this time had been transferred from Shanghai to Canton. Yeh, after taking a month to reply, sent a letter saying that the reception of a consul was out of the question, and that as the Governor himself had refused the meeting outside the city, there was an end of the matter. He added that though the rebel movement had been got well under, he was still largely occupied with military matters. In acknowledging this communication Sir John Bowring intimated that there was little likelihood of British and Chinese relations being put on anything like a satisfactory footing until the city question was satisfactorily settled. Here for the present the controversy ended. Mr. Alcock returned to his old post at Shanghai, and his place at Canton was filled by Mr. (afterwards Sir) Harry Parkes. The altitude of the Cantonese meanwhile, was such as to cause grave anxiety. Following upon a series of minor insults a gross and entirely unprovoked attack was made in 1856 in the outskirts of Canton upon Mr. Berkeley Johnson and Mr. Whittall, two of the leading British merchants. In spite of the indignant remonstrances of Mr. Parkes, the Chinese authorities took no action whatever to punish the offenders. The utmost that they could be induced to do was to secure the withdrawal of an inflammatory placard directed against Europeans.
The deadlock which had been reached might have continued indefinitely had not, as had often happened before, in the history of foreign trade in China, an event occurred which forced matters to an issue. Early in October, 1856, a lorcha, or fast sailing boat, named the Arrow, British owned and commanded, and flying the British flag, while lying at anchor in the Canton River was boarded by a party of Mandarins attended by a substantial escort. In spite of remonstrances the intruders hauled down the British flag and carried off the Chinese crew prisoners. On the circumstances of the incident becoming known to Mr. Parkes he demanded satisfaction for this "very grave insult," and as a preliminary requested that the captured crew should be released. Yeh sent a reply which was a vindication of the proceedings of the officials. His explanation was that one of the crew was a criminal, and that the others were required as witnesses against him. Moreover, he asserted that the Arrow was not a foreign lorcha—a contention which had colourable justification in the fact that through an oversight the boat was not at the time of the affair actually registered at Hongkong, though it was believed that she was so registered, and in any event she was most certainly under British protection. Beyond question the boarding of the boat and the carrying off of her crew was an unwarrantable proceeding, and one which could not possibly be overlooked without grave injury to British prestige.
Failing to obtain redress from Yeh the British authorities decided to institute reprisals. The first step taken was the seizure of a junk believed to be a Chinese Government vessel, by the British Naval Commodore at Canton. When this move had been carried out Mr. Parkes wrote to Yeh telling him what had been done, and reminding him that the question of the Arrow still remained unsettled. The Chinese Commissioner affected to be not in the least moved by the British action. The junk seized, he intimated, was not a Government vessel, and as for the matter in dispute it was where it was, the lorcha not being a British vessel the British had no right to interfere. After waiting a few days for an apology which was not forthcoming it was decided to give an additional turn to the screw with a view to bringing Yeh to a more reasonable frame of mind. To Sir Michael Seymour, the Admiral on the station, was entrusted the task of applying the pressure. This took the form of battering the Barrier forts and dismantling and spiking the guns. The operation was accomplished on the 23rd of October, with the accustomed facility. Proceeding up the river to Canton the British admiral delivered a communication in the nature of an ultimatum informing Yeh that unless he complied at once with every demand made, the British forces would "proceed with the destruction of all the defences and public buildings of this city and of the government vessels in the river." As no reply was vouchsafed to the message Sir Michael Seymour proceeded to dismantle the forts in the vicinity of Canton itself, and having landed a body of marines for the protection of the foreign factories manoeuvred his ships into such a position as to lead to the supposition that he meant to bombard the city. Yeh, so far from being intimidated by the naval menace was only aroused by it to greater fury. He sent a defiant message to the British telling them that the rage of the people who suffered by the operations undertaken would speedily retrieve the injuries that might be inflicted. Meanwhile, he placed a price on the head of every Englishman that might be brought to him. This uncompromising attitude made the adoption of further coercive measures indispensable. For two days the British ships, after due notice had been given to the inhabitants, bombarded those parts of the city in which the Government buildings were situated. Thereafter, a body of marines was landed, and when they had occupied Tsinghai gate, Sir Michael Seymour and Mr. Parkes proceeded to the Viceroy's yamen. This demonstration having been made the positions occupied in the city, which were not easily defensible, were evacuated, and the force was withdrawn either to the ships or to the positions occupied by the river. It was a well-planned and ​well-executed business, but it unfortunately did not bring a settlement a whit the nearer. Nothing further of importance occurred until the commencement of November, when Sir Michael Seymour attacked and destroyed a fleet of war junks which were threatening his communications. On the 9th of November he issued another ultimatum giving notice that hostilities would be prosecuted actively if a settlement was not reached in twenty-four hours. As the only response vouchsafed was an evasive communication in which stress was laid on the growing indignation of the Chinese people at the British action, Sir Michael Seymour on the 12th and 13th of November attacked and captured the Bogue forts, which at the time were armed with four hundred guns. Still there were no overtures for peace from the Chinese. On the contrary the Cantonese showed the greatest activity in perfecting their defensive measures and waging hostilities in their peculiar fashion. Stragglers were cut off and ruthlessly butchered, in some instances after horrible torture; attempts were made to fire ships, and forts were blown up. Finally, successive attempts were made to fire the foreign factories, attempts which in the long run were so successful that the entire foreign settlement was completely destroyed. The position ashore at length became so difficult to hold that Sir Michael Seymour elected to withdraw his men to the ships, and to conduct the negotiations from them. The Chinese, elated at this retrograde move, now redoubled their efforts to annihilate the hated barbarians. Unwary Europeans who happened to be moving about at this period were captured and murdered. In one instance a daring attack was made upon a postal steamer plying between Canton and Hongkong, and the ship captured and destroyed, and the Europeans on board put to death. This deadly activity was stimulated by the rewards offered by Yeh, which at this juncture amounted to as much as thirty pounds a head.
The hostilities went on in desultory fashion for some weeks, the Chinese gaining confidence as they realised how impotent Sir Michael Seymour was to deal with them effectually. Towards the end of January, 1857, the British and American docks and factories at Whampoa were destroyed by fire. Wherever it was deemed safe to attack the property of foreigners the attack was delivered. To deal with the marauding Chinese junks, which were able to avoid encounters by taking refuge in the numerous shallow creeks where the large ships of the navy could not follow them, Sir Michael Seymour manned and armed a number of native ships and carried the war very successfully into the heart of the enemy's country. But these measures had only a local and transient effect. They left Yeh absolutely indifferent, and if they moved the populace at all it was only to add fuel to the flames of their patriotic ardour. In the face of such a situation, Sir Michael Seymour could not do less than apply to the home authorities for that material aid which he needed to carry out a comprehensive plan of campaign. At the close of 1856 he sent home a demand for 5,000 troops and meantime called to his aid as many of the units of the garrison of the Straits Settlements as could be spared. War by this time was not only in sight—it had arrived.
The Home Government treated Sir Michael Seymour's requisitions with the seriousness that they merited. They saw that whether they liked it or not they had to deal with a difficulty of more than ordinary importance in its military as well as in its diplomatic aspects. They therefore decided to send out the Earl of Elgin as special envoy to direct any negotiations which might be entered into with the Chinese Government. Lord Elgin was a nobleman thoroughly qualified by temperament and experience in public life for the duty. His views were broad and statesmanlike and he had sufficient of the national quality of caution to make it certain that he would not rush the country into reckless courses. He left England at the end of April, 1857, intent on making his way to the seat of disturbances as quickly as possible. But neither Lord Elgin nor the Government at home had foreseen a crisis in India with which the China difficulty was by comparison insignificant. While Lord Elgin was on the sea the flames of mutiny were sweeping over Northern India, placing the British power in the deadliest peril it had been in for generations. On arrival at Singapore on the 3rd of June, a letter from Lord Canning, the Governor-General of India, met the Envoy, representing in the most urgent terms the peril of the position in which the paramount power was placed and imploring him to divert the China expedition to the assistance of the sorely tried British forces in the North West Provinces. It was impossible, of course, to resist so pressing an appeal. The necessary orders were given and the British regiments drawn from England and Mauritius were promptly despatched to Calcutta, where they arrived to materially alleviate a very dangerous situation. Meanwhile Lord Elgin resumed his journey to Hongkong, which port he reached in the first week of July, 1857. In the months preceding his arrival, Sir Michael Seymour had been busily occupied in carrying home to the mind of the enemy the fact that war for them was a very costly business. A great fleet of Government junks was destroyed in the Escape Creek, an inlet lying between Hongkong and the Bocca Tigris, smaller expeditions were conducted up the other creeks in the locality, and, most important of all, on the 1st of June the Admiral, with a small force of men, stormed and captured immensely strong positions held by the enemy in and about the town of Fatshan. The latter operations were carried out with a dash and gallantry characteristic of the senior service, and though they resulted in somewhat heavy casualties—thirteen killed and forty wounded—the price was not a heavy one to pay for what was unquestionably a valuable piece of work.
Lord Elgin, on deliberating carefully over the position of affairs which confronted him at Hongkong, came to the conclusion that the operations against Canton with a view to the crushing of Yeh's power must be suspended pending the arrival of fresh troops from home. The decision arrived at caused some discontent amongst the mercantile community, who were naturally anxious that a decisive blow should be struck without delay in view of the certain misconceptions which would arise from a slackening of the operations. But though the arguments used in support of this view were exceedingly weighty, there is little doubt that Lord Elgin was entirely in the right. To attack Canton with a reasonable prospect of success at least four thousand troops, it was calculated, would be required. At Hongkong at that time the total garrison only numbered fifteen hundred, and of these a considerable number were ineffectives. The utmost force that could have been mustered with the assistance of the fleet was two thousand men. This body, even if successful in capturing the enemy's positions, was altogether too small to hold them. Moreover, without reserves for the expeditionary force to fall back upon, the British power would have been greatly imperilled in the event of a disaster. Lord Elgin, though opposed to active measures in the Canton River, was not content to sit down and do absolutely nothing. He proposed to the Home Government that he should make a demonstration with the fleet off the Peiho, with the object, if possible, of getting into touch with the Peking authorities. Lord Clarendon, the Foreign Secretary of the period, wrote entirely approving of the suggestion; but local opinion was strongly ​against the adoption of a course which would extend the area of operations. The contention was that the quarrel was with Yeh and that it should be dealt with at Canton. It was impossible to gainsay the force of these views, so Lord Elgin decided to drop his project for the time being and await the course of events with as much equanimity as he could. In order that he might be fully acquainted with the intentions of the Indian Government as regarded the troops diverted from China to the peninsula, he paid a flying visit to Calcutta. What he learned on the way about the gravity of the position induced him to take with him seventeen hundred additional troops which were on the way out to China. These reinforcements were of incalculable value to India, but their despatch destroyed any lingering expectations that the envoy entertained of being able immediately to prosecute a vigorous diplomacy in China. Returning to Hongkong in September, he found, however, that preparations were in active progress for the expedition to Canton, whenever it should be made. The time for action came with the close of the year. By that period the authorities had completed their military arrangements. Their position, furthermore, had been strengthened by the conclusion by the Home Government with the French authorities of a working agreement by which it was arranged that the two powers should jointly prosecute the demand for redress for outrages committed and for freedom of diplomatic intercourse. Altogether a force of six thousand, including nine hundred French, was available for the important business in hand.
The seizure of Canton and the overthrow of Yeh were important achievements, but they left unsolved the larger problem of establishing direct diplomatic intercourse with the Chinese Government. When therefore, the war had been completed in the south, Lord Elgin and Baron Gros, the French representative, forwarded to the Chinese Government despatches recounting the proceedings adopted at Canton, and setting forth in conciliatory but firm language the demands which they had been commissioned to prefer. It was specifically stated that the official chosen to discuss affairs with them would be required to hold his commission direct from the Emperor. The communications in due course found their way to Peking and elicited a characteristically Chinese reply from Yuching, the Emperor's Chief Minister. In lofty style the missive discussed the position of affairs at Canton, describing the action taken by the allied powers as being "without parallel in the history of the past." But, the letter went on, "His Majesty is magnanimous and considerate. He has been pleased by a decree which we have had the honour to receive, to degrade Yeh from the Governor-Generalship of the Two Kwang for his maladministration and to despatch His Excellency Hwang to Kwantung as Imperial Commissioner in his stead to investigate and decide with impartiality; and it will of course behove the English Minister to wait in Kwantung and there make his arrangements. No Imperial Commissioner ever conducts business at Shanghai. There being a particular sphere of duty allotted to every official on the establishment of the Celestial Empire, and the principle that between them and the foreigner there is no intercourse being one ever religiously adhered to by the servants of our Government of China, it would not be proper for me to reply in person to the letter of the English Minister. Let Your Excellency, therefore, transmit to him all that I have said above, and his letter will in no way be left unanswered." The time had passed when British diplomatists could be diverted from their purpose by the evasive policy of the Peking Government, of which Yuching's letter is a good example. Lord Elgin, who had proceeded to Shanghai at the end of March, sent a reply from there, pointing out the serious character of the infractions of the Treaty of Nanking, and intimating that he proposed to proceed north in order to get into closer communication with the higher officials of the Imperial Government. In pursuance of plans already formed, Lord Elgin and his French colleague, early in April, proceeded to the mouth of the Peiho, the allied fleet meanwhile being directed to assemble at that point with all possible expedition. On arriving at their destination, the plenipotentiaries sent to Yuching a letter demanding in temperate language the appointment of a minister duly authorised by the Emperor, to discuss questions at issue. An intimation was given that if, at the expiry of six days, a satisfactory reply was not forthcoming, it would be considered that the pacific overtures of the plenipotentiaries had been rejected, and that other measures must be adopted to obtain satisfaction. The reply to this was the appointment of three commissioners of moderate rank, who lacked the requisite powers to negotiate. Some weeks were spent in abortive negotiations which at each successive stage emphasised the fact that the inordinate obstinacy and arrogance of the Chinese Government could only be overcome by the exercise of force. Lord Elgin, on his part, was ready to apply this touchstone to the problem at an early date, but, unfortunately, there was some misunderstanding about the movements of the fleet, and an adequate force was not at hand when wanted. In his irritation at the delay Lord Elgin penned a despatch home in which he complained in strong terms of Sir Michael Seymour's lack of energy, and he described the non-arrival of the fleet as "a most grievous disappointment," inasmuch as he believed that if he had had ten or twelve gunboats he would have been allowed by the forts to proceed, unresisted, to Tientsin, and that the Emperor's Government would have yielded at once everything that was demanded of them. Sir Michael Seymour was not directly approached on the subject by Lord Elgin, but when he became aware of the tenor of the allegations made against him he put in a defence which, in the view of all impartial and competent personages, was a complete vindication of his professional character and reputation. He directly traversed the idea that an early move up the river would have served to bring the Chinese to reason. Speaking from an experience of two years of Chinese warfare, he confidently asserted that "nothing but the conclusive evidence of irresistible force will ever fully satisfy the Imperial Government." As the despatch was written after the war he was able to strengthen his position by referring to the course of the final operations, which, in almost dramatic fashion, as we shall see, brought about a settlement. The controversy was decidedly an unfortunate one, and the manner in which it was raised reflected some little discredit on Lord Elgin.
By the middle of May the naval preparations were sufficiently advanced to enable Lord Elgin to put into execution his plan of campaign. On the 19th of the month the allied fleet, under the joint command of Sir Michael Seymour and Admiral Rigault de Genouilly, appeared off the forts and summoned the commandant to surrender. No reply to this demand being received, a bombardment was commenced, and it was so effective that at the end of an hour and a quarter it was possible to land parties to seize the practically deserted forts. Proceeding up the river the allied fleet was attacked in vigorous fashion by the Chinese, who made strenuous efforts to destroy the foreign vessels by means of fire ships. Their plans, however, were completely frustrated, and the invaders were able without much further difficulty to establish themselves firmly at the village or town of Taku. The losses incurred by the allied forces in the course of the operations were slight; they were a small price for the advantages gained, which were of a substantial and, as it proved, conclusive kind. By their victory the allies had free access to Tientsin, and with it the practical command of the Grand Canal and of a safe line of advance on Peking. The results achieved were so striking that even the Chinese Government was convinced. On learning the perilous position of affairs from the three commissioners, the Emperor despatched, with instructions to proceed with all haste, two high dignitaries—Kweiliang and Hwashana—to make terms with the troublesome foreigners. These imperial negotiators on appearing at Tientsin manifested the utmost anxiety to make terms, and as they were endowed with ample ​powers and were prepared to make the most liberal concessions, it seemed that peace was well in sight. The fair prospect was momentarily dimmed by the appearance on the scene of Keying, who as a sort of informal extra negotiator showed a disposition to enforce terms which fell considerably short of those which the two other commissioners were prepared to agree to. It appeared later that this was a desperate effort on the wily old Mandarin's part to reinstate himself in the favour of the Emperor. The scheme failed because the allied powers were too much in earnest to be induced to forego any of the fruits of their success. Keying went back to Peking a disappointed and disillusioned man. He was promptly arrested and brought before the Board of Punishment, who found him guilty of acting "with stupidity and precipitancy," and ordered him to be strangled. The sentence was not actually carried out because "as an act of extreme grace and justice" the Emperor sent him an order "to put an end to himself," which he obeyed. Meanwhile, the negotiations at Tientsin with the two approved commissioners were proceeding slowly but satisfactorily. Considerable opposition was manifested to the demand for a resident minister at Peking. Indeed, this was the crux of the negotiations. The commissioners represented that compliance with so unheard of a proposal would be perilous both to the minister who might be appointed and the Chinese Government. They also raised difficulties about etiquette, and revived the old question of the Kotow. Lord Elgin declined to be moved from the position which he had taken up at the outset, that there must, as an essential feature of any arrangement, be a provision for direct diplomatic intercourse. At length, on the 11th of June, the commissioners in a despatch practically conceded all demands. They suggested, however, that the visit of a British Ambassador to Peking should be deferred for a time. A treaty was drawn up on the terms of this despatch, and it was formally signed on the 26th of June. The ratifications were exchanged on the 4th of July. Afterwards the important question of the revision of the tariff was taken in hand. Great Britain acted in this matter alone, but there was no question of exclusive privileges, as a most favoured nation clause extended the concessions granted to all powers having treaties with China. The two imperial commissioners who had negotiated the Treaty of Tientsin were joined with the Viceroy of the Two Kiang to conduct the negotiations on the Chinese side, and Mr. (afterwards Sir Thomas) Wade and Mr. Oliphant (Lord Elgin's Secretary) represented the British. The parties met at Shanghai, and there threshed out the details with a commendable amount of expedition. In the result a striking set of regulations was agreed to. A maximum tariff of 5 per cent. ad valorem for both imports and exports is the guiding principle of the arrangement. But the most dramatic feature of the regulations was a clause legalising the importation of opium on the payment of a duty of thirty taels per chest. It was a concession wrung without any very serious difficulty from the Chinese. In their practical way they doubtless realised that while they were giving little, since opium was freely introduced in spite of imperial edicts, they were providing themselves with a useful weapon with which to attack the foreigner on the softer side. They were not slow to use it. Before the negotiations had been completed the commissioners reverted to the question of the establishment of a permanent diplomatic representative at Peking. Once more they represented the grave dangers which would attend the carrying out of the proposal, more especially in view of the Taeping Rebellion, and besought the British officials not to press the point. The latter were not insensible to the force of the arguments used. They also recognised that it was good policy at the moment to be conciliatory; so the question was allowed to stand over, though it was clearly intimated that there could be no falling away from the principle of direct diplomatic intercourse. Thus the Treaty of Tientsin was carried to completion with this one little loophole, which was subsequently to allow of the opening once more of the floodgates of war. Lord Elgin, when he left China on the completion of his work in March, 1859, could not be insensible to the risks which attended the situation. While the negotiations were in progress active steps were taken to restore the efficiency of the Peiho forts, and secret edicts were in circulation invoking the national spirit of the Chinese against the foreigner. At Canton there had been almost continuous trouble from the time of Yeh's deposition. In the city itself martial law rigorously administered by a British commissioner and a native governor repressed to some extent the turbulent instincts of the population. But in the adjacent districts persistent efforts were made, and not without success, to harass the barbarians. Investigations showed that the unrest was the work of the new Viceroy, Hwang, who had been sent to succeed Yeh, supported by a powerful committee of provincial notabilities. Such was the patriotic ardour which directed, or misdirected, the efforts of this combination, that a reward was offered on its behalf of thirty thousand dollars for the head of Mr. Parkes. The occupation was prolonged in consequence of these manifestations, and measures were adopted to convince the Chinese that hostility to the foreigner was a policy which did not pay. In course of time, by means of well-arranged expeditions to centres of disturbance, a more peaceful spirit was infused into the relations between the two races. But the impression was left that the full lesson which the military operations were intended to convey had not been learned.
CHAPTER XIII.
The Third Campaign—Repulse of the British Fleet by the Taku Forts—Despatch of allied British and French Expeditionary Force—Capture of the Taku Forts—Advance on Peking—Mr. Parkes, Mr. Loch, and others made Captives by the Chinese—Attack on Peking—Occupation of the Summer Palace and its subsequent Destruction—The Treaty of Peking.
If the British Government could have had the arrangement of the course of events nothing would have suited it better than to allow trade to pursue the tranquil and prosperous course which was marked out for it under the Treaty of Tientsin. That instrument vastly extended the area of diplomatic and commercial action in China. Access to the fountain head of Government was seemingly assured, the conditions of trade were fixed on a moderate basis, and, perhaps most important of all from the British standpoint, the opium difficulty which had been an obstacle to peaceful relations for generations was removed. So much, in fact, had been gained that there was little that was immediately practicable left to secure. But peace is a blessing which cannot be commanded, and it proved in this instance as in others that the British Government, though actuated by the most pacific of sentiments, was driven to assume once more an attitude of determined hostility towards the Chinese. The source of trouble was the familiar one in our relations with the Celestial Empire—bad faith in the execution of treaty pledges. And the rupture followed quickly on the heels of the conclusion of peace, arising in fact out of the ratification of the Tientsin Convention. Mr. Frederick Bruce, brother of Lord Elgin, who had acted as secretary to that nobleman during his embassy, had been entrusted with the duty of carrying the final formality through at Peking, and arrived at Hongkong in April for that purpose. His definite instructions were to exchange the ratifications nowhere but at the capital, but he quickly discovered that this was a counsel of perfection in the circumstances of the hour. The rumours which were brought with every fresh ship from the mainland were of military preparations, and of a determination to resist the indignity to the imperial person of a mission to Peking. Knowing he stood on firm ground Mr. Bruce did not waste any time in futile negotiations in the south. Having despatched a letter formally announcing his pending departure for Tientsin, and expressing a hope that adequate means would be provided for his conveyance to Peking and his accommodation there, he proceeded northwards. At Shanghai he found the imperial commissioners still there, and it was ominous that they manifested a disposition to discuss certain unsettled points of detail which they calmly assumed were still open to debate. Mr. Bruce was not to be drawn into any side issue by efforts however speciously framed. His mission was to get to Peking as quickly as possible and ​he faithfully adhered to it. In view of the attitude of the authorities the fleet was ordered to assemble at the Peiho River, and with it went a body of troops from the garrison at Canton. When Mr. Bruce arrived off the Peiho, on June 20th, he found a substantial portion of the China squadron under its new commander, Admiral Hope, awaiting him there. Communication had already been opened up with the shore, but with very discouraging results. The passage of the river was found to be barred by a row of iron stakes backed by a formidable boom, and the British boat's crew were warned not to land by an armed and angry crowd. A second attempt to get into touch with the officials elicited an even more uncompromising display of hostility, and was equally unsuccessful. The attitude assumed by the Chinese was felt to leave no alternative to a forcing of the defences. The belief entertained at the British headquarters was that if this were successfully accomplished, and a landing effected, the local officials would be disowned and there would be no further opposition to the passage of the mission to Peking. It was a theory which the previous history of British relations with China justified. But Admiral Hope and Mr. Bruce had reckoned without the spirit of courage which, despite all that detractors may say, is to be found in the Chinese soldiery when properly handled and led. They had not long to wait for a display of this quality. When the attack commenced on the 25th of June, the British ships, on reaching the boom, were subjected to a destructive fire from the forts. Four of the British force of eleven vessels engaged the forts at close quarters, and a fierce tight was waged for the best part of three hours. The fire from the forts then slackened, but the British ships had been so badly damaged that they were unable to take advantage of the lessened resistance. On drawing off it was found that three of the gunboats were in a sinking condition, while there was not a unit in the squadron which had escaped severe injury. The check, it was thought, might be retrieved by a demonstration on land, and the force of marines and engineers which had been sent up from Hongkong was told off to attempt the capture of the forts by storm. The enterprise proved to be an even greater failure than the sea attack. The men were galled by a dropping fire from the forts on landing, and after struggling on against hopeless odds for some time they were withdrawn. The net result of the day's disasters was a loss of three hundred men killed and wounded, and a crippled squadron. Over and above this was the damaging effect which the British reverse was calculated to have on the situation in China. Altogether it was one of the worst days' work to the British account since their first connection with China.
After the fight Mr. Bruce withdrew to Shanghai and Admiral Hope sent his ships to points where he thought they might be useful in the event of anti-foreign ebullitions. A serious outbreak at Shanghai which resulted in the death of two Englishmen, and disturbances at the other Treaty ports showed that the precaution was a prudent one. In point of fact the Taku defeat, doubtless magnified beyond all recognition, had given a dangerous stimulus to the lawless and ultra patriotic element of the Chinese populace. The unrest was the more marked as it was impossible to do anything immediately to wipe out the memory of the rebuff. The Home Government naturally had to decide in the important crisis that had arisen, and as those were days when cable communication was unknown, months necessarily elapsed before their views were known. The decision they took, it would seem with considerable reluctance, was to despatch a military expedition to enforce the realisation of the objects of British policy. It was not until November, 1859, that the arrangements for the new movement were matured. Then it was announced that a joint plan of action had been discussed and agreed upon between France and England, and that the military expedition that was to be sent out would occupy the island of Chusan as an advanced base for the contemplated operations in the Gulf of Pechili.
The new expedition was conceived on a more formidable scale than any that had ever been sent to China to enforce foreign demands. The British force consisted of ten thousand men, afterwards increased to thirteen thousand, mainly drafted from India. The French contingent numbered about six thousand men of all arms. In addition to this large land force there was a powerful naval squadron representing the combined strength in Far Eastern waters of ​the allied powers. SIR J. HOPE GRANTSir Hope Grant, a distinguished Anglo-Indian general, who had done good service in the operations around Canton, commanded the British forces, while General Montauban was at the head of the French contingent. The naval command on the British side remained in the hands of Admiral Hope. The diplomatic arrangements were in harmony with the size and importance of the expedition. Mr. Bruce, who had continued to represent the British Government, and, indeed, on the 8th of March presented the ultimatum embodying the demands of the British Government, was superseded by his brother, Lord Elgin, and the French Government again sent out Baron Gros to represent them. Nothing this time was to be left to chance. The instruction given to the plenipotentiaries was to demand an indemnity equivalent to five millions for the losses inflicted upon the two countries by the non-ratification of the Treaty. A reply sent by the Chinese Government to Mr. Bruce's ultimatum clearly showed that there was not the smallest chance of securing peacefully the acceptance of the stipulated conditions. A blank refusal was given to the demand for an indemnity and an apology, and while it was intimated that the British might perhaps be allowed to proceed to Peking by way of Pehtang, it was at the same time announced that in no circumstances would the use of the route by Taku and the Peiho be permitted. It was probably never anticipated that the Peking authorities would make other than an unfavourable reply. At all events, the military preparations were continued without a break as soon as the word had been given for the despatch of the expedition. In view of the advent of the very large body of troops forming the expeditionary force, a lease was obtained in perpetuity of Kowloon and Stonecutter Island, positions which from their greater openness of situation were far more healthy than the island of Hongkong. Here the troops on arrival from India or England were received, and as the summer advanced an imposing and inspiriting spectacle was presented by the various camps. VALE OF TINGHAI, CHUSAN.The first move, one which excited a good deal of criticism then and afterwards, was the occupation of Chusan by a body of two thousand British troops. The island was not subsequently used to any appreciable extent in the conduct of the operations, and its capture had not the smallest influence on the course of the operations. The really important centre at this juncture was the mouth of the Peiho, where there was a very nasty reverse to be avenged and the conviction to be carried to the headquarters of the Chinese power that Treaty rights must be respected. Thither by-degrees the allied forces were despatched, Shanghai being made an advanced base. There was considerable delay due to differences of opinion between the British and French commanders as to the plan of campaign. Eventually, about a year after the failure of Admiral Hope's effort to force the passage of the river, all was in readiness for the execution of a plan mutually agreed upon to attack and capture Pehtang and take the Taku forts in the rear. The troops, who were led by Sir Hope Grant in person, effected a landing without opposition, and they bivouacked for the night on an elevated causeway near the shore. A reconnaissance the next morning showed that the enemy had evacuated the fort which guarded the spot, but they had thoughtfully left a mine to be exploded by the moving of some gunlocks, which were placed where they were certain to be trodden upon by the incoming troops. Fortunately the trick was exposed in time, with the result that the trap was avoided. Pushing into the country after three days of inaction, reconnoitring parties came across a strongly entrenched Chinese camp, from which a heavy fire was opened, compelling the British to withdraw. As this camp commanded the road leading to the interior it was obvious that it must be carried, but the position presented very considerable difficulties to an attacking force, owing to the circumstance that the country all about was little better than a swamp. The discovery by Colonel (afterwards Lord) Wolseley of a cart track suitable for the passage of troops suggested the possibility of a flank movement and to some extent improved the situation. But with an enemy more enterprising than the Chinese the assault would have been a matter of great danger. As it was the obstacles proved so formidable that it seemed at one time that the movement would have to be abandoned or at least deferred. Describing the march subsequently. Sir Hope Grant wrote: "The horses got bogged, the guns sunk up to their axletrees, and the waggons stuck fast. At last we were compelled to leave the waggon bodies behind us, and content ourselves with the gun and waggon limbers." In the end, however, dogged persistence and pluck carried the day. The enemy's position was vigorously attacked on the flank as well as in front, and after a brief resistance the Chinese defenders broke and fled. But this fight was only a preliminary to another and more stubborn engagement. Beyond the village of Sinho, which the allied troops had captured, was the far more important position of Tangku, a strongly fortified village protected by well-placed batteries. An attack was made on this by the expeditionary force as soon as a careful reconnaissance had shown the most practicable line of advance. Thirty-six pieces of ordnance were brought to bear upon the fortifications, with the result that the Chinese fire was soon got under. But the defenders, contrary to the usual practice of the Chinese, still held their ground. Nor was it until the guns had been brought almost up to the walls and the men of the attacking force were streaming in that the evacuation was begun. The success at Tangku removed the last obstacle in the way of an attack on the Taku forts. The only question was whether attention should be directed first to the forts on the northern or to those on the southern side. Sir Hope Grant was in favour of an immediate attack on the northern defences, as in his view their capture would render the southern forts untenable. General Montauban took the view that the southern forts should be dealt with first, but he ultimately agreed to accept the plan of campaign proposed by his British colleague. On the 21st of August, after a series of careful reconnaissances, the attack opened with a brief ​cannonade from the splendid guns of the expeditionary force. The Chinese replied with spirit, and it was soon apparent that the Allies were not to have an easy victory. One of the principal magazines in the fort was exploded by a shell and yet the Chinese gunners fought on. A series of attempts made to scale the wall of the fort were baffled with heavy loss to the Allies. At length by a happy chance the British discovered a drawbridge, and by cutting the ropes which held it up they secured for the attacking party an easy means of access. The Chinese fought to the last and it was computed that out of a garrison of five hundred but one hundred escaped. On the side of the Allies the losses were considerable: the British alone had 22 killed and 179 wounded. The engagement, however, was a decisive one. Four other forts on the northern side were captured without loss, and the southern forts surrendered without a shot being fired. It only remained for the positions to be formally occupied on August 22nd simultaneously with the entrance of the fleet into the river.
Before the affair of Tangku overtures for peace had been received from Peking, but in view of earlier contretemps brought about by a too precipitate acceptance of negotiations it was deemed advisable by the representatives of the Allies to settle the business of the Taku forts before bringing diplomacy into play. Even after the positions had fallen the Allies manifested no disposition to abandon the sword for the pen. An immediate advance to Tientsin was commenced. Touch was obtained with that place on the 23rd of August, and in three days the bulk of the expeditionary force had reached the city. No resistance was encountered from the regular Chinese forces, and the inhabitants showed what in the circumstances was an amazing disposition to turn the invasion to account by opening up a brisk trade with the troops. In the meantime communication had been established with the Chinese authorities. The logic of events had driven home into the imperial brain the necessity of action, and Kweiliang, who had negotiated the Treaty of Tientsin, was despatched in hot haste to make the best terms he could with the Allies. On notifying his arrival to Lord Elgin he was informed that the three indispensable conditions of peace were an apology for the attack on the British flag at the Peiho, the payment of an indemnity including the cost of the war, and the ratification and execution of the Treaty of Tientsin, including the clause which provided for the reception of a British representative at Peking. No great objection was urged to any of the conditions by Kweiliang, but when it became known that it was proposed to march the army to Tungchow, within 12 miles of Peking, a distinctly uncompromising attitude was taken up. Finding that the object of the negotiations was only to gain time, and being anxious to complete the campaign before the approach of the winter season, the allied representatives decided to continue the advance. The first detachment, fifteen hundred strong, accompanied by Lord Elgin and Sir Hope Grant, marched out on the 8th of September and camped at the village of Hosiwu, about half way to the capital. The strength of the advanced force having been brought up to a division, the advance was resumed a few days later. No opposition was encountered until the expeditionary force reached Chan-chia-wan, a point some distance further on the road, when the way was found blocked by a large army.
Throughout the march from Tientsin the semblance of diplomatic courtesy had been kept up. The British leaders were in constant communication with the Chinese officials, and no outward demonstration of hostility had been encountered. So pacific was the outlook that on the day prior to Sir Hope Grant's getting into touch with the Chinese forces, a party consisting of Mr. Parkes, Mr. Henry Loch (afterwards Lord Loch), Mr. De Normann, and Mr. Bowlby (the latter the special correspondent of the Times) had been despatched, with an escort of six English dragoons and twenty Sikh cavalry-men, to arrange the final preliminaries for the camping of the expeditionary force at Tungchow, and the interviews with the representatives of the Chinese Government. The members of this body looked forward to some interesting experiences, but they were totally unprepared for the startling adventures which fell to their lot. The journey to Tungchow was made without incident. At one or two points the riders were challenged by military parties, but on intimating that they were proceeding to the quarters of the imperial commissioners they were at once allowed to pass. There was even a friendliness shown, as, for example, at one point where a Mandarin of high ​rank rode up, and announcing himself as the commander of the Chinese troops at Sinho, intimated that there would be peace now, and expressed a desire to take by the hand those who fought him on that day. The visitors had not been at Tungchow long, however, before they discovered that all was not to be plain sailing. The commissioners, whether owing to direct orders from the Emperor, or to the knowledge which was brought them that a great military force had been brought upon the scene, in the place of the former courtesy assumed an arrogant, almost offensive, attitude. They placed all sorts of obstacles in the way of an arrangement, and it was only after four hours' discussion that they could be brought to assent to plans for the accommodation of the expeditionary force. There seems very little doubt now that they were utilising the negotiations simply for purposes of delay—to allow of the advancing Chinese troops to close in more effectually upon the invading force. But Mr. Parkes, though suspicious of the bonâ fides of the Mandarins, did not divine the true state of affairs until he was on his way back to the British camp on the following morning. Then he realised only too well what the true position was. On every side troops were encountered, obviously collected for the execution of some grand coup. Taking in the situation as he passed along, the dense masses of cavalry ready for instant action, the guns being placed in position, and the marching and countermarching of considerable bodies of braves, Mr. Parkes had not the slightest difficulty in understanding that the object of the Chinese was to attack the expeditionary force at a disadvantage. Immediately the truth dawned upon him he took steps which seemed to him to be demanded by the occasion. He first of all despatched Mr. Loch with two Sikhs, to carry to Sir Hope Grant the news of what he had to expect. He himself decided to return to Tungchow, for the double purpose of demanding an explanation of the commissioners and extricating from the dubious position in which they were placed the main body of the escort, which, with Messrs. De Normann, Bowlby, and Anderson, had been left there to point out the camping ground to the expeditionary force on its arrival. Mr. Loch performed his task with difficulty, but he was not content that his mission should end there. He thought that his duty impelled him to return to the Chinese lines to help his quondam associates out of their difficulty, so taking Captain Brabazon and an escort of two Sikhs with him, he rode as fast as he could through the enemy's ranks to Tungchow. The party had an uneventful ride, and on arriving at Tungchow they found that the British members of the party were away in the town shopping, in blissful ignorance of the critical position of affairs. There was, however, a letter from Mr. Parkes instructing the officers to prepare for instant flight, and stating that he was himself seeking Prince Tsai. Not long afterwards the entire party met to face what was momentarily becoming a more dangerous situation. Mr. Parkes' interview with Prince Tsai left not the smallest doubt that war was intended, and apart from this, there were sufficiently ominous movements visible to show that the sword was to be drawn, if it was not already out of its scabbard. It was speedily decided to make a bold bid for safety. This could only be done by riding with the least possible delay back to the British lines. But the expeditionary force was 10 miles away, and it was known that, according to an understanding arrived at between Mr. Loch and Sir Hope Grant, the British attack would be delivered at the expiration of two hours from the time of the former's departure. With none too confident feelings, therefore, the little band of Britons commenced their journey. All went well until they had passed through Chan-chia-wan. Then they found themselves in the rear of the Chinese army, with the battle already raging in front. After a council of war it was decided not to take a direct course, but to endeavour to get round the right flank of the Chinese force and by a detour reach the British lines. When an attempt was made to give effect to this decision the Chinese immediately interfered. The British were told by a Mandarin that if they persisted they would be fired on, but that if they would accompany him to the general's presence he would procure a safe conduct for them. The offer was perforce accepted, and Mr. Parkes and Mr. Loch, separating themselves from their companions, and attended only by a Sikh trooper, rode off in search of Sankolinsin. the Chinese general. They came suddenly upon a large body of infantry, who attacked them with such ferocity that they would inevitably have been killed, but for the intervention of the Mandarins, who rushed between them and their men and commanded the latter not to fire. Sankolinsin, on being encountered shortly afterwards, treated the representations made to him with scornful flippancy. By his orders the unfortunate Britishers were dragged from their horses and subjected to all manner of indignities, and finally were despatched prisoners to Peking. The remainder of the party were later subjected to similar ill-treatment and followed their companions in misfortune to the Chinese capital.
The battle meanwhile was proceeding rapidly to its inevitable culmination. In the final dispositions for the struggle the French had taken up position on the right, and they early became vigorously engaged with the best portion of Sankolinsin's troops. The Tartar cavalry charged the guns with so much spirit that a battery narrowly missed falling into their hands. This charge was met by a counter charge, which, however, produced little effect on the dense masses of the enemy. Sir Hope Grant, fearing the prolongation of the conflict, decided to assail the enemy's left vigorously. The movement was carried out very effectively, the great feature of it being a brilliant charge by some squadrons of Probyn's Horse. The enemy now began to give ground slowly. Their progress rearwards might have been hastened had not the French been too exhausted to participate further in the fight. Sir Hope Grant, making the best use of available material, was, however, able before night fell to occupy Chan-chia-wan and drive the enemy out of a strong camp one mile on the other side of the town. The British commander was under no misapprehension as to the character of his victory. The Chinese, though beaten, were not demoralised. They had fought bravely and well, and there was no reason why they should not again measure swords with the expeditionary force. In the circumstances Sir Hope Grant considered that prudence demanded that he should strengthen his force with a view to future eventualities. He therefore ordered Sir Robert Napier to join him with all available troops from the Tientsin garrison. On the 2lst of September Lord Elgin arrived at the military headquarters, and about the same time the French troops were reinforced by a fresh brigade. The hostilities were then recommenced with vigour. The Chinese, emboldened by the delay, made another stand at the Palikao bridge which crosses the Peiho west of Tungchow; but they were no match for the carefully trained and well equipped troops pitted against them, and on the bridge being brilliantly rushed by the French, they quickly dispersed. Peking was now practically at the mercy of the invaders. That the circumstance was appreciated in the imperial entourage was made manifest the ​next day, when Prince Kung, the Emperor's brother, forwarded a letter stating that he had been commissioned to arrange a peace and asking for the temporary suspension of hostilities to allow of a discussion of details. Lord Elgin replied to this communication with a somewhat stern letter in which he intimated that there could be no negotiations for peace until the prisoners in Chinese custody had been set free. Prince Kung was warned that if the prisoners were not sent back in safety the consequences would be most serious for the Chinese Government. Prince Kung was indisposed to accept the view that the prisoners must be released as a condition precedent to negotiation, and as after a week he showed no signs of yielding orders were given for the march of the expeditionary force to Peking. It was decided by the allied commanders to avoid the city itself, and to make the Summer Palace the objective. In pursuance of this plan the advance was continued, but on the way the British and French forces became separated, and though the arrangement was that the French should bring up the rear, they managed to get to the common destination first. Practically no opposition was met with by either portion of the force. The fact that on the approach of the invaders the Emperor had fled to Gehol was no doubt accepted by the complaisant officialdom as a sufficient reason why they should not continue the resistance. Whatever may be the truth on that point the surrender paved the way for the infliction of a blow on the imperial dignity the like of which had never before in its history been experienced. The despoiling of the Summer Palace was the first step in this humiliating process. Immediately the French arrived they promptly proceeded to sack the beautiful pavilions, scattering and destroying such of their contents as they could not take away. "It was pitiful to see the way in which everything was being robbed," wrote Sir Hope Grant in describing the scene which he witnessed on arrival at the Palace. The work of destruction once begun in this fashion could not be stopped, and soon little was left that was worth taking away. But even when the Palace had been stripped and left in a condition of forlorn desolation the heavy hand of the conqueror was not removed. The reckoning had to be paid for the outrage perpetrated on Mr. Parkes and his party. After the Allies had entered Peking an intimation was received through Mr. Parkes that he and his fellow prisoners, French and English, who had been detained in the Kaon Meaon Temple, near the Tehshun Gate, were to be surrendered on the 8th of October. The story they told was one which was calculated to fire the indignation of their countrymen. Insult upon insult had been heaped upon them, and outrage upon outrage, and no artifice was spared to induce them to be false to their country by furnishing information or using their influence to its disadvantage. Still, their lives had been spared, and in view of this fact and of the extreme anxiety displayed by Prince Kung, the representative of the Chinese Government with whom he had to deal to arrange a peace. Lord Elgin deemed it expedient not to press the matter too far. He did not know then the story of the other prisoners who had been separated from Mr. Parkes and Mr. Loch. That was a melancholy sequel reserved until the arrival of eight Sikhs and a Frenchman who were of the party which had been made captive after the seizure of Mr. Parkes and Mr. Loch. It appeared from the accounts of the Sikhs that the five Englishmen who were of the number had been bound with ropes and maltreated with fiendish ingenuity. Under the terrible strain Lieut. Anderson, one of the Dragoon officers, became delirious, and died on the ninth day of the captivity. A week later Mr. de Normann died, and he was followed to the grave at short intervals by the other Europeans. Such a monstrous crime against civilisation and humanity called aloud for vengeance, and Lord Elgin, though extremely anxious to conclude peace, decided that before terms could be settled some signal step must be taken to indicate to the Chinese populace the detestation in which the treatment of the prisoners was held by their countrymen. When the question of the character of the punitive act came to be considered there was no doubt entertained by the British representatives that the most striking and appropriate retribution which could be exacted was the destruction of the Summer Palace. Strangely enough, having regard to the earlier action of the French troops at the Palace, the French commander declined to be associated with this measure, the necessity for which he failed to recognise. Lord Elgin and Sir Hope Grant, however, were quite prepared to accept all responsibility, and in due course—on the 18th of October—the Summer Palace was set on fire and utterly destroyed. Nothing in the whole of the campaign more impressed the Chinese mind than this act of vengeance. "It was," wrote Lord Wolseley in his narrative of the war, "the stamp which gave an unmistakable reality to our work of vengeance, proving that Lord Elgin's last letter was no idle threat, and warning them of what they might expect in the capital itself unless they accepted our proffered terms. The Imperial Palace within the city still remained untouched; and if they wished to save the last remaining place for their master it behoved them to lose no time. I feel convinced that the burning of Yuen-min-yuen considerably hastened the final settlement of affairs and strengthened our ambassador's position." The arrangement of the peace terms, at all events, followed swiftly on the destruction of the palace. The circumstances under which the settlement was concluded were such as to leave an indelible impress upon the mind of the Chinese populace of the completeness of the victory won. To Mr. Parkes and Mr. Loch was entrusted the duty of selecting a suitable place for the ratification of the treaty. Riding through the streets of the city at the head of an escort of British and Sikh cavalry, they decided that the Hall of Ceremonies was the building best adapted for the purpose. The Chinese, who had recently seen the two officials as helpless captives, could not fail to have read in this triumphal entry, in which they figured as the leaders, a lesson not readily to be forgotten. Nor were they likely to have missed the significance of the selection by Lord Elgin and Baron de Gros as their place of temporary residence in Peking the palace of Prince Tsai, whose hostile action and attitude towards the Allies throughout had been particularly marked.
The ceremony of ratification took place on October 24th, amid every circumstance which could lend it importance. Lord Elgin proceeded in a chair of state to the Hall of Ceremonies accompanied by a brilliant suite, and also by Sir Hope Grant with an escort of one hundred officers and five hundred troops. Prince Kung, with an imposing body of Mandarins, attended to submit the necessary imperial authorisation to the conclusion of peace and to affix the imperial seal to the treaty. He was extremely nervous—"anxious and hesitating" was Mr. Loch's description of his attitude—but the general impression left was of an amiable young man who had passed through a trying ordeal with dignity. The work in connection with the treaty was not considered to be at an end until the Emperor's edict for its publication had been received from Gehol. That, however, only entailed a delay of a few days, and by the 9th of November the last of the allied troops had left Peking on their homeward journey. Lord Elgin also departed about the same time, leaving Mr. Frederick Bruce behind as first Resident ​Minister to the Chinese Court. The Treaty of Peking, besides providing for the making of reparation for the outrages upon British subjects and the payment of an indemnity of eight million taels to cover the expenses of the war, amplified and extended in important directions the facilities for trade. One of its clauses threw Tientsin open to foreign trade; another provision ceded to the British the Kowloon peninsula at Hongkong, which, as has been noticed, was already leased to the Hongkong Government; and a further stipulation which was to have a powerful influence on British trade was that there should be freedom granted to Chinese subjects to emigrate to British colonies. But, of course, the greatest achievement of all of the Treaty was to settle for ever the long discussed question of direct diplomatic intercourse with the Chinese Government. The liberty granted by the Treaty to send representatives to Peking was not confined to the Allies. Like other concessions wrung from the Chinese Government by force of arms it was of general application, and it was not long before Mr. Bruce and his French colleague had to keep them in countenance in the Chinese capital representatives of other foreign powers. A new era, in fact, was opened up by the Treaty—an era fraught with much prosperity for foreign trade, and not a little peril for the imperial Chinese authority.
CHAPTER XIV.
Progress of Hongkong—Popular Element introduced into the Legislative Council—Stormy closing days of Sir John Bowring's Administration—Sir Hercules Robinson's Administration—The Kowloon Peninsula—Prosperous Days followed by a Period of Depression—Sir R. G. MacDonnell's Administration—Financial Reform—The Stamp Act—Disputes with the Colonial Office over the Gambling Licences—"The Blockade of Hongkong"—Prosperous Trade—Sir A. E. Kennedy's Administration—Sir J. Pope-Hennessy's stormy Rule.
In tracing the history of Anglo-Chinese relations in the important period which concluded with the ratification of the Treaty of Peking, we have necessarily had to overlook the development of the great colonial experiment which was entered upon with the occupation of Hongkong. Our last glimpse of the Colony was a sombre one. A small community was maintaining an arduous struggle against heavy odds with only a faint prospect of ultimate success. The commercial position, which, as we have seen, was gradually improving in 1847, continued to gain strength, though slowly, in the administration of Sir George Bonham. In other respects progress was made. It is to this period that is to be dated the introduction of the popular element into the government of the Colony. At the end of 1849 Sir George Bonham selected fifteen of the unofficial Justices of the Peace and summoned them to a conference. He informed them that Earl Grey had sanctioned his proposal for the admission of two members of the civil community into the Legislative Council, that the nomination rested with him, but that he thought it better for the justices themselves to elect two of their number. At a meeting of the justices held at the club on December 6, 1849, Messrs. David Jardine and J. F. Edger were nominated as the first unofficial members of the Legislative Council. Another important matter discussed at the same conference was the question of Municipal Government. Sir G. Bonham, while agreeing with the principle that taxpayers should have control of their municipal affairs, doubted whether such a scheme was practicable in Hongkong. However, he requested the justices to consult on the question of a Municipal Committee of Police Commissioners. The justices passed a resolution to the effect that no advantage could be derived from having a Municipal Council unless the entire management of the police of the streets and roads within the limits of the town, and of all other matters usually given to corporations, were confided to it, and that the amount raised in land rents, together with the sums derived from licences and rents, should, with the police assessments, be applicable as far as possible for municipal purposes. The demands made were impossible ones in the then circumstances of the Colony, and they were rejected. But in January, 1851, Sir George Bonham offered to place the whole management of the police under a Municipal Committee on the condition that the entire expense of the police force was defrayed by an adequate police tax. He also agreed to hand over to a municipal authority the management of streets, roads, and sewers on condition that the requisite funds were provided either by an assessed tax on real property or by a tax upon horses and carriages. Both offers were declined by the justices, and here the matter ended for the time.
Sir John Bowring's administration witnessed the steady growth of the community in influence and importance, but unhappily during the later years of his term of office the Colony was torn with internecine disputes—"an internal chronic warfare, the acerbities of which beggared all description" is Dr. Eitel's picturesque but absolutely accurate description of the condition of affairs. The initial disturbing element was a newspaper published under the title of The Friend of China and edited by a discharged civil servant. This journal delivered a series of attacks spread over a long period on the official classes and particularly on the Lieutenant-Governor, against whom an allegation of complicity in corruption was not obscurely advanced. For years these insinuations were made without any action being taken, but ultimately the editor was prosecuted, and on September 21, 1859, sentenced to a term of imprisonment for libel. Before this drastic retribution had been meted out a charge had been made by another paper—The Daily Press—against the Registrar-General, who was accused of being the tool of unscrupulous conspirators and in league with pirates. The Registrar-General, consequent upon the charge, sent in his papers, but the Government, having perfect confidence in him, induced him to withdraw his resignation. This event happened in 1856. Less than two years later The Daily Press again distinguished itself by charging the Governor with corruptly favouring the firm of Jardine, Matheson & Co. in the matter of public contracts, but this time it had reckoned too much on the official tolerance of scurrility, for Sir John Bowring caused a prosecution to be instituted against the paper, with the result that the editor was sent to gaol for six months. An Attorney-General, a politician who had been sent out from home for the not uncommon reason that he was a nuisance there, added to the liveliness of the situation by quarrelling with nearly everybody, and capping all by charging the Acting Colonial Secretary with collusion with the new opium farmer, from whom he accepted a retainer. A commission appointed to inquire into the matter exonerated the accused official of any dishonourable conduct, though it held that some slight blame attached to him. Fresh charges arising out of this incident were brought by the Attorney-General, notably one which attributed to him the burning of the account books of a convicted pirate to screen himself and the Registrar-General from a charge of complicity with pirates. The outcome of the business was the suspension of the Attorney-General by the Governor and the reference of the matter to England. The Secretary of State in his reply exonerated the Acting Colonial Secretary, but that officer voluntarily resigned his office on August 28, 1858. An action subsequently brought against The Friend of China for libel in connection with the repetition of the charge anent the burning of the pirate's books, resulted in a verdict of not guilty and the awarding of costs against the Government. An incident which heightened the public interest in the proceedings was the hurried departure of Sir John Bowring to Manila to avoid service of a subpœna in the case. The scene of the conflict was now transferred to England, where the Attorney-General started an agitation with a view to compelling the Government to take action for the vindication of the national honour, which was supposed to have been impugned by the conduct of the Registrar and the Acting Colonial Secretary. The movement, though skilfully directed, came to very little. The Government spokesman in the House of Commons, while promising a careful inquiry into the facts, stated that a dispassionate consideration of the papers induced the Government to come to the view that the Governor's decision as to the suspension of the Attorney-General must be confirmed. ​The Times on March 15, 1859, caustically commented on the state of affairs at Hongkong which the controversy disclosed. "Hongkong," it said, "is always connected with some fatal pestilence, some doubtful war or some discreditable internal squabble; so much so that, in popular language, the name of this noisy, bustling, quarrelsome, discontented little island may not inaptly be used as a euphemous synonym for a place not mentionable to ears polite. Every official's hand is there against his neighbour. The Governor has run away to seek quiet or health elsewhere. The Lieutenant-Governor has been accused of having allowed his servant to squeeze. The newspaper proprietors were, of late, all more or less in prison or going to prison or coming out of prison on prosecutions by some one or more of the incriminated and incriminating officials. The heads of the mercantile houses hold themselves quite aloof from the local disputes and conduct themselves in a highly dignified manner, which is one of the chief causes of the evil. But a section of the community deal in private slander, which the newspapers retail in public abuse. Of the Hongkong Press, which every one is using, prompting, disavowing and prosecuting, the less we say the better. A dictator is needed, a sensible man, a man of tact and firmness. We cannot always be investigating a storm in a tea pot where each individual leaf has its dignity and its grievance."
Sir John Bowring was not happy in his administration in other respects than those to which particular reference has been made. He entered into a quarrel with the Legislative Council over the construction of a praya or sea wall, which was to extend along the whole front of the town from Navy Bay to Causeway Bay and to be named the Bowring Praya. The project aroused determined opposition from the mercantile community, the property of individual members of which was likely to be adversely affected by the construction of a wall. A draft bill legalising the scheme passed its first reading with only one opponent. But when the Council assembled on February 4, 1859, to discuss the second reading of the measure the Chief Justice and the Lieutenant-Governor were absent and to the Governor's intense mortification a motion that the Praya scheme be deferred sine die was carried by six votes against three. The only votes cast in favour of the bill were those of the Acting Attorney-General, the Colonial Treasurer, and the Auditor-General. The Colonial Secretary, the Chief Magistrate, and the Surveyor-General all exercised the luxury of voting against the Government. The Governor did not question the right of the official members to vote according to their convictions, but he gave a plain indication of what he considered to be the mainspring of their action by attacking the system under which public functionaries like the Attorney-General and the Surveyor-General were allowed to accept private practice. In a despatch he wrote:—"The enormous power and influence of the great commercial houses in China, when associated directly or indirectly with personal pecuniary advantages which they are able to confer on public officers, who are permitted to be employed and engaged by them, cannot but create a conflict between duties not always compatible. … One of the peculiar difficulties against which this Government has to struggle is the enormous influence wielded by the great and opulent commercial houses against whose power and in opposition to whose personal views it is hard to contend."
When Sir John Bowring retired in 1859 the Chinese, as a mark of the genuine esteem in which he was held among all classes of the native population, tendered him some magnificent presents, including a roll of satin inscribed with two hundred names. In his autobiographical recollections Sir John Bowring thus refers to his period of service in Hongkong:—"My career in China belongs so much to history that I do not feel it needful to record its vicissitudes. I have been severely blamed for the policy I pursued, yet that policy has been most beneficial to my country and to mankind at large. It is not fair or just to suppose that a course of action, which may be practicable or prudent at home will always succeed abroad."
Sir Hercules Robinson, who succeeded Sir John Bowring in the office of Governor on September 9, 1859, and administered the affairs of the Colony for nearly six years, was an official in every respect qualified for the difficult post which he had to fill. A man of strong character, shrewd, tactful, and with more than a common share of intellectual attainments, he was precisely the type of administrator to unravel the discreditable tangle into which affairs in the Colony had got under the rule of his predecessor. His administration was a brilliantly successful one and marked the turning point in the fortunes of the Colony. His earliest efforts were directed to a much needed reform of the civil service. In some matters he was unable to carry his Council with him, but he nevertheless contrived to evolve a new system the main feature of which was a cadet scheme introduced for the better government of the Chinese portion of the inhabitants. Side by side with these reforms were formulated proposals calculated to induce the Chinese inhabitants to take a more intelligent interest in the affairs of the Government. A Chinese edition of the Government Gazette was issued, a translation office was organised to secure the correct publication of all Government documents, and, finally, the old system of governing the Chinese through their own headmen was abandoned in favour of a system of direct control by the Registrar-General. Another innovation which met with less general approval was the introduction of rules designed to deprive the official members of the privilege of independent voting which they had exercised to Sir John Bowring's marked discomfiture. The power is probably one which cannot be dispensed with in a crown colony system of government in which the autocratic principle necessarily is in the ascendant, but the position was not so well understood a half century ago as it is to-day, and there was much grumbling at the limitations imposed on the Council. Sir Hercules Robinson, however, pursued his course undeterred by hostile criticism and the proceedings of the Council were kept by him in a groove which left little room for the violent surprises which had characterised its history in an earlier period. There was only one occasion on which the Governor had any difficulty in enforcing the rule of official solidarity in voting. This was in 1865 when the question of the payment of a military contribution to the imperial funds came up for consideration. Owing to the improvement in finances brought about by Sir Hercules Robinson's strong administration the Home Government deemed that the Colony was prosperous enough to contribute something to the upkeep of the garrison, and in 1864 put in a demand for £20,000 a year for five years. The claim was strongly resisted by the Government on the grounds that Hongkong was an imperial rather than a local station, that owing to its insular position it required no military protection, that its finances were not equal to the strain which such a contribution would make upon them; and that the Colony had already contributed in the shape of land for naval and military purposes to the cost of the military garrison. In spite of these representations, however, the demand was insisted upon, and the Governor had no alternative but to include the military contribution asked in the estimates for 1865. On the proposals being brought up for decision, they were opposed by all the unofficial members and also by the Colonial Treasurer, and in the end were only carried by the casting vote of the Governor. The Colonial Treasurer got a severe wigging subsequently from the Secretary of State for his independent action. But that he had strong sympathies on his side was shown by the action of the Council in passing a resolution subscribed to by all the official members (excepting the Chief Justice) apprising "that the maintenance of troops in Hongkong is not necessary purely for the protection of Colonial interests or the security of the inhabitants, and that the Colonial revenue cannot fairly be charged with any contribution towards the Imperial military expenditure in China and Japan."
The cession of the Kowloon Peninsula under the terms of the Peking Convention was one of the leading events of Sir Hercules Robinson's administration. The ceremony of handing over the territory took place on January 19, 1861, amid much pomp. At the outset a Mandarin tendered to Lord Elgin a paper containing soil in token of the cession. Then the Royal Standard was hoisted amid the salutes fired by the men-of-war in harbour, and by a battery on Stonecutter's Island. An acute controversy arose out of the cession of Kowloon between the military and the civil authorities. The former urged that the idea of appropriating the peninsula had originated with them, that the Colonial Office had approved of its appropriation for military ​purposes, and that consequently it should be converted into a purely military cantonment. To this view Sir Hercules Robinson on behalf of the Government offered strenuous opposition. He maintained that the civil authorities originally mooted the question of the acquisition, and that in doing so they had in view the necessity of providing for the wants of the general population as well as of the military garrison. He strongly urged that the peninsula was indispensable to the welfare of the Colony, inasmuch as it was required to keep the Chinese population at some distance, and to preserve the European and American community from the injury and inconvenience of intermixture with the Chinese residents. The Imperial Government, with a strange disregard of colonial interests, decided in favour of the military view. The ultimate decision given in 1864 extended the military occupation over the bulk of the peninsula and gave them prescriptive rights over the remaining area, which was divided between the Colony and the navy.
The construction of public works occupied a leading place in the work of Sir Hercules Robinson's administration. Early in his term of office he invited plans for a scheme of water supply, which had been tentatively discussed in his predecessor's time. Elaborate plans were sent in by several competitors, and ultimately those of Mr. S. B. Rawling, Clerk of the Works of the Royal Engineers, were selected by the committee appointed to adjudicate in the matter. Tenders were immediately called for, and an ordinance was passed empowering the Governor to appropriate from current revenues the sum of £30,000 as the works proceeded, and to supply any deficiency of funds if necessary by mortgaging the water rate at 2 per cent. on the gross annual value of house property according to assessment. In 1863 the work was completed and was hailed as a great success. But events soon proved its inadequacy for the needs of the Colony. Another project with which Sir Hercules Robinson closely identified himself was Sir John Bowring's much criticised scheme for the construction of a sea wall. The work had been prosecuted in a desultory way, and a good proportion of wall was completed in 1862, but the masonry was deficient in solidity and palpably would not stand the strain of a storm. Sir Hercules Robinson decided to rebuild the whole praya wall, and to use the opportunity which the works afforded of extending the praya seawards by reclaiming from the sea a further strip of land 100 feet in width. He soon found, as his predecessor had done, that he had to reckon with a determined opposition from the marine lot holders. Eventually Sir Hercules Robinson so far yielded as to intimate that the extension would not be enforced where not desired by the lot holders.
In many ways Sir Hercules Robinson left a vigorous impress upon the Colony. During his administration it advanced to a very marked extent on the path of prosperity. This was not altogether due to his work, but there can be no question that with a less able man at the helm or one who had a lower sense of dignity and discipline, the position might have been a very different one to what it was when he quitted Hongkong in 1865. Sir Hercules Robinson's influence is seen in the financial statistics of the Colony. When he went to the island the revenue was only £65,226; on his departure the exchequer receipts were more than double that sum. The position is best illustrated by the following figures, showing the revenue and expenditure of the Colony over a series of years from the time of the occupation:—
| Year. | Revenue. | Expenditure. |
| 1846 | 27,046 | 68,351 |
| 1847 | 31,078 | 50,959 |
| 1848 | 25,091 | 62,658 |
| 1849 | 23,616 | 38,986 |
| 1850 | 23,526 | 34,314 |
| 1851 | 23,721 | 34,115 |
| 1852 | 21,331 | 34,765 |
| 1853 | 24,700 | 36,418 |
| 1854 | 27,054 | 34,635 |
| 1855 | 47,973 | 40,813 |
| 1856 | 35,500 | 42,426 |
| 1857 | 58,842 | 65,497 |
| 1858 | 62,486 | 62,979 |
| 1859 | 65,226 | 66,109 |
| 1860 | 94,182 | 72,390 |
| 1861 | 127,241 | 109,632 |
| 1862 | 131,512 | 122,223 |
| 1863 | 120,028 | 121,888 |
| 1864 | 132,884 | 259,022 |
| 1865 | —— | —— |
The progressive increase in the revenue it will be noted dates from 1857—two years before Sir Hercules Robinson appeared on the scene. While this fact indicates that the tide of good fortune had already set in strongly when he was appointed, the greatly accelerated pace at which the revenue increased during his administration may fairly be attributed in considerable measure to his successful government and the confidence it inspired in quarters where confidence implied commercial support.
The spell of prosperity which marked Sir Hercules Robinson's term of office was unfortunately not maintained. Almost as soon as he had left the Colony black clouds began to fill the financial horizon. The effect of the monetary crisis in Europe was felt in Hongkong. Property was seriously depreciated and commercial transactions on all sides were restricted. "Yet," says Dr. Eitel, "public works, the praya, the new gaol, the mint, the waterworks, the sea wall at Kowloon, commenced or constructed in a period of unexampled prosperity, had now to be carried on, completed, or maintained, from the scanty resources of an impoverished and well-nigh insolvent treasury." Nor were financial difficulties alone the obstacles with which the Government had to contend. "New laws were clearly needed for the regulation of the Chinese, whose gambling habits were filling the streets with riot and honeycombing the police force with corruption. Crime was rampant, and the gaols overflowing with prisoners. Piracy, flourishing as ever before, was believed to have not only its secret lairs among the low class of marine store dealers, but the support of wealthy Chinese firms, and to enjoy the connivance of men in the police force. A sense of insecurity as to life and property was again, as in days gone by, taking possession of the public mind." In these depressing circumstances Sir R. G. MacDonnell, who ​had been appointed Sir Hercules Robinson's successor, took up the reins of office on March 11, 1866, after an interregnum of twelve months, during which the Hon. W. T. Mercer, a former Colonial Secretary, administered the Government. The new Governor was greatly surprised at the state of affairs which confronted him, as he had been led to expect to find a colony with an overflowing treasury and a prosperous and contented community. He set to work with energy to straighten things out once more. As the stress was to a large extent the product of monetary trouble, it was to finance that he gave his first consideration. The position with which he had to deal was no ordinary one. In 1865 there was a surplus of assets over liabilities of $298,000, but the next year this had fallen to $184,000, and in January, 1867, there was a mere nominal surplus of $24,000 made up of unavailable assets. In 1865 there was an excess of expenditure over revenue of $94,361, and in 1866 this had increased to $167,877. Sir Robert MacDonnell effected sensible economies by readjusting offices in the Civil Service, and by cutting down redundant expenditure in all directions. In this way he at once reduced the outgoings from $936,954 to $730,916, though the full reduction was only effected by leaving the military contribution in arrear. On the revenue side he devised a lucrative new source of income by putting in force a stamp act. The measure was strongly opposed by the commercial community, and the Chinese traders, as far as they dared, ignored the enactment when it was enforced, but as the need of a new source of revenue was imperative the scheme was persisted with, and eventually it came to be recognised as a legitimate and innocuous means of revenue production. As far as the finances of the Colony were concerned its effect was immediate and marked. In 1868, the first year of its enforcement, the tax brought in the large sum of $101,000. The income for the year generally was good, the revenue reaching the unprecedented sum of $1,134,105. As the expenditure for the period was no more than $991,811 there was a surplus of $140,000. The finances of subsequent years were seriously embarrassed by a difficulty which arose between the Governor and the Colonial Office in reference to some measures for the regulation of gambling houses in the Colony which the Government introduced. Sir Robert MacDonnell, conceiving that gambling was an ineradicable vice of the Chinese, deemed it better to regulate it than to make futile efforts to suppress it. He accordingly decided to introduce the farming system, under which the right to keep gambling houses was let out to licensees for a sum of money. The system was in force at the Portuguese Colony of Macao, and it prevails to this day in the Federated Malay States under quasi British rule. But at home the idea of any part of the Colonial revenue being derived from vice was received with disfavour, and the Colonial Secretary (the Earl of Carnarvon), while reluctantly giving permission to a trial of the system, stipulated that the licence fees must not be farmed out but treated as matters of police and not as revenue. Sir Robert MacDonnell in a despatch pointed out the impossibility of proceeding by any other method than farming the licence, and suggested that a discretionary power should be given to the Governor in Council to exercise authority under the ordinance as circumstances might render expedient. The Duke of Buckingham, who had succeeded Lord Carnarvon, concurred in his predecessor's instructions, and expressly declined to sanction the farming system. In another despatch he intimated that the licence fees should be limited to an amount covering police arrangements connected with the system. The ordinance having been confirmed, with the qualifying conditions indicated. Sir Robert MacDonnell proceeded to enforce it. The licence fees were, to meet the demands of the home authorities, placed in a distinct special fund, which amounted to $155,000 on May 23, 1868, to $221,733 on June 28, 1869, and to $277,334 on December 31, 1869, When the scheme had got fairly under way there was a strong outburst of indignation from a section of evangelical churchmen who regarded with horror the fact that the Government had had anything to do with the unclean thing. The agitation commenced in the Colony was carried to England, and the flames of sectarian fanaticism were assiduously fanned by the ex-Attorney-General and the former editor of the Daily Press, who were glad of the opportunity afforded of having another fling at the administration. While this agitation was proceeding. Sir Robert MacDonnell was conducting a very lively controversy with the Colonial Office in reference to the manner in which he had interpreted his instructions. The Duke of Buckingham, realising the extent to which the Government had been committed, expressed his entire disapproval of the proceedings, and threatened "to stop the licensing altogether." Sir Robert, replying to this despatch to Earl Granville, who had succeeded the Duke at the Colonial Office, alluded to the ducal despatch as embodying "sweeping comments which implied a general censure on the Hongkong Government." Earl Granville thereupon lectured the Governor upon the peculiarly unbecoming tone of his remarks, and at a subsequent date passed heavy censure upon Sir Robert for his dealings with the money in the special fund and ordered him to pay back into the fund all unauthorised appropriations amounting to $129,701. The end of the controversy was that the scheme had to be abandoned and drastic measures of economy adopted to make up for the deficiency in the revenue caused by the withdrawal of the appropriations.
Apart from domestic questions, Sir Robert MacDonnell's administration was of some importance, in that it coincided with the raising of some notable controversies affecting the relations of the Colony with the Chinese Empire. The chief of these was the question of what came to be known as "the Blockade of Hongkong" by the Chinese authorities. The measure referred to was an effort made to regulate the junk trade between the Colony and Chinese ports. The first exercise of the supposititious power was experienced about the middle of October, 1867, when the steam cruisers of the Canton Customs, aided by some gunboats, stopped and searched several native craft leaving the harbour. Subsequently, the blockade was rigorously enforced, every junk quitting or entering the harbour being boarded and overhauled. In cases where the papers were not in proper order the junks were detained and double duty was levied in the case of goods shipped at Pakhoi and Canton, or other Treaty ports, by junks which, en route, touched at Hongkong. The ostensible object of the blockade was the prevention of smuggling, but the effect of it was to impose heavy disabilities upon the native trade by driving the shipments made into foreign bottoms, the freight charges of which were heavier than those of the junks. Great indignation was excited amongst the mercantile community at the action of the Chinese Government, but it was found that the hands of the Hongkong Government were to some extent tied, by the fact that the scheme was suggested to the Chinese Viceroy at Canton by the British Consul—Mr. (afterwards Sir) D. B. Robertson. Nevertheless, the Governor took energetic action within the limits of what was possible and expedient. He strengthened the water police force, and obtained a steam launch to assist the Colonial gunboat Victoria in patrolling the Colonial waters to prevent trespass by the Chinese craft on the Colonial territorial limits. He also compelled the Chinese warships to fly a special official flag as a condition of their being allowed to anchor in the harbour. Discovering that the object of the Chinese Government in instituting the blockade was to levy a special war tax, called likin, which was not only applied to opium but to a large list of ordinary goods. Sir Robert demanded of the Canton authorities a copy of the tariff upon which the charges were based. His request in this matter was not complied with, but his energy had unquestionably a salutary influence in curbing the excessive zeal of the Chinese officials. Meanwhile, the local mercantile community had adopted a strongly worded memorial to the Secretary of State protesting against the blockade, and demanding its withdrawal. The agitation was kept alive by the Chamber of Commerce, and from time to time vigorous philippics were delivered against what was regarded as a subversion of the rights of the Colony. But the representations had little effect on the authorities at home, who, animated by what seemed to Hongkong people as an overweening desire to keep on good terms with the Chinese Government, refrained from taking steps to secure the removal of the blockade. In the end the Chinese merchants deemed it wise to pay the imposts demanded of them, and the system, having been thus acquiesced in by the parties most affected, was continued until it became an established institution. Another matter of diplomatic interest which agitated the public opinion of Hongkong at this period was the appointment of a Chinese consul in Hongkong. When the proposal for the establishment of a Chinese consulate in the Colony was made, strong objection was taken by the local merchants on the ground that the power which a Chinese consul would gain over the local Chinese population would constitute a veritable imperium in imperio, and subject the native community to an intolerable system of official espionage, and to the insatiable rapacity of a corrupt officialdom. Sir Rutherford Alcock, then British Minister at Peking, dismissed these objections lightly as "fears more or less chimerical and exaggerated," and the Earl of Clarendon, Foreign Secretary at the time, concurred in the main with his views. But though the establishment of a Chinese consulate in Hongkong was accepted in principle, no steps were taken to give effect to the proposal.
All this time the trade of Hongkong was advancing rapidly. Many causes contributed to bring about this result. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1865 was one important factor. This important measure gave new life to the trade of the Far East, and especially to those forms of trade which from the outset have flourished at Hongkong. The establishment of bonding houses and the formulation of a liberal tariff in Japan in July, 1866, was another contributory cause of some moment. Furthermore, the connection of San Francisco with Hongkong ​by a regular line of large fast steamers added greatly to its prosperity. The evidences of these improved conditions are to be found in the opening on June 15, 1867. of a new dock at Aberdeen and the formation of various joint stock enterprises for the improvement of port facilities. There was a temporary check to the Colony's prosperity at the close of 1866 and in the beginning of 1867, but the crisis, though severe while it lasted, passed away without leaving any permanent ill effects, and in 1870 there were abundant proofs forthcoming that the Colony was commercially quite itself again. The next year was remarkable for the establishment of cable communication between the port and distant parts of the world. Shanghai was brought into direct touch with the Colony on May 26th; New York and London were coupled up on June 9th, and Saigon and Singapore on August 1st.
Sir Robert MacDonnell's successor in the Governorship was Sir Arthur E. Kennedy, who had previously served in leading administrative capacities in Western Australia and West Africa. His administration, which extended from April i6, 1872, to March 1, 1877, was an uneventful one. The matters of chief interest which occupied the attention of the community were a series of incidents arising out of the Chinese blockade of the port which was continued with, if anything, increased rigour. Yielding to mercantile pressure the Governor appointed a commission to inquire into abuses connected with the action of the Chinese maritime customs. The report supported the views of the local community but it had no influence on the Home Government, which was too definitely committed to a policy of non-interference to take action in the direction desired. The arrest, in May, 1874, of a Chinese revenue junk caught in the act of firing at fishing boats in colonial territorial waters seemed to promise a new development, but the Chinese Government having tendered ample apologies for the incident, and promised to punish the offenders, the Attorney-General was ordered to enter a nolle prosequi in the proceedings which had been instituted in the High Court against the men. and the episode was thus quietly closed. Memorials continued to be sent home against the system, including one from the Chamber of Commerce on August 3, 1874, in which the blockade was condemned as an organised invasion of the freedom and sanctuary of the port. Lord Carnarvon, the then Secretary of State, in replying to these representations, while admitting that abuses had occurred in connection with the action of the Chinese revenue cruisers, denied that the exercise of the right of search in close proximity to Hongkong affected the freedom of the port and afforded valid excuse for diplomatic remonstrance. Lord Carnavon subsequently saw fit to modify these views, and it was announced in January, 1876, that the Home Government were of opinion that the community of Hongkong really had a grievance and were entitled to relief. Sir Arthur Kennedy afterwards submitted a series of proposals for the future regulation of the junk trade. These were (1) that all Chinese cruisers should be prohibited interfering with Hongkong junks, except those of the Hoppo; (2) that a definite Chinese tariff of import and export duties, applicable to Hongkong junks, and fixed regulations for the Hoppo's dealings with Hongkong junk masters be published and adhered to; (3) that a joint board should be appointed to investigate all complaints of illegal seizure. The suggestions, which were endorsed by the Chamber of Commerce, were sent home, and ultimately formed the basis of discussions which were conducted between Sir Thomas Wade, the British Minister at Peking, and the Tsung li Yamen. The two first proposals were rejected by the Chinese Government and a modification of the third was embodied in the Chefoo Convention in the form of an arrangement for the creation of a mixed commission consisting of a British consul, a Hongkong officer, and a Chinese official to arrange a set of regulations calculated to benefit the revenue collection of China without interfering with the commercial interests of Hongkong.
A tremendous typhoon, which is accurately described by Hongkong's historian as "the severest disaster that ever befell the Colony of Hongkong," burst over the island on the evening of September 22, 1874. "On the morning of September 23, 1874," says Dr. Eitel, "the town looked as if it had undergone a terrific bombardment. Thousands of houses were unroofed, hundreds of European and Chinese dwellings were in ruins, large trees had been torn out by the roots and hurled to a distance, most of the streets were impassable, being obstructed by fallen trees, roof timbers, window frames and mounds of soil thrown up by the bursting of drains. Business was at a complete standstill for several days. The praya was covered with wrecked sampans and the debris of junks and ships, whilst in every direction dead bodies were seen floating about or scattered along the ruins of what was once the praya wall. Thirty-five foreign vessels, trusting in their anchors, were wrecked or badly injured. Over two thousand lives were lost in the harbour within the space of about six hours, during which time the screams of the Chinese in distress on the water were heard by residents on the upper levels of the town, to rise above the terrific din of the storm… The amount of property destroyed in Hongkong within those terrible six hours was estimated at five million dollars."
Chequered as had been the history of Hongkong, the period upon which it entered after the retirement of Sir A. E. Kennedy was to be memorable for its unrest and excitement. The new Governor was Mr. (afterwards Sir) John Pope-Hennessy, an Irish Conservative who, as a member of the House of Commons from 1859 to 1865, attracted Disraeli's notice, more because of his political views than from any great regard for his personality. Mr. Pope-Hennessy entered the colonial service as Governor of Labuan and Consul-General of Borneo in 1867, and he subsequently served as Governor of the West African Settlements, of the Bahamas, and of the Windward Islands. He was a man of peculiar temperament and endowed with more than a common share of the pugnacity which is traditionally attributed to his race. Both at the Bahamas and the Windward Islands he was in continual hot water, owing to his indiscreet championing of the interests of the native community. So bad did the relations between himself and the European community at length become that a strong movement was set on foot for his recall, and ultimately he was withdrawn. In Hongkong he was received (on April 22, 1877) without prejudice, though with no excess of enthusiasm. But he had not been in office long before he gave a taste of his peculiar qualities. In October, 1878, after a series of minor incidents illustrative of the Governor's facility for creating trouble, the community were startled and outraged by the announcement that the selection of an acting successor to Mr. C. C. Smith, the Registrar-General, who had been promoted to the Colonial Secretaryship of the Straits Settlements, had fallen upon Mr. J. A. da Carvalho, a Portuguese clerk in the Treasury. The indignation was the greater because Mr. Carvalho was not even a British subject. The protests made would probably not have had much effect had it not been for this circumstance. As it was, the appointment was revoked because of the inability of Mr. Carvalho to qualify by taking the oath of allegiance. Another appointment which created much dissatisfaction at the period was the nomination on January 22, 1880, of Mr. Ng Choy, a Chinese barrister, to a vacant post on the Legislative Council. The position had been held previously by the Hon. Mr. H. B. Gibb, and if the ordinary rule had been followed the choice of his successor would have been a European colleague of his. But it was not merely in personal matters that the Governor showed the cloven hoof. His entire administration was tinctured with a prejudice which did not favour the predominant section of the community. Even when he acted rightly he so contrived matters as to invite condemnation. One of his pet official hobbies was a scheme of criminal reform based in the main on the philanthropic ideals which obtained in England. Whipping, branding, and deporting—features of the penal system of the Colony as he found it—were strongly condemned and eventually abolished by him, and he made other changes in the direction of greater leniency. The Chinese lower classes were naturally grateful for the favours received, and dubbed the Governor "the merciful man"; but the European community, with a profounder knowledge of the springs of Chinese criminal nature, were profoundly dissatisfied at what they regarded as the dangerous workings of the policy adopted by the Governor. A great outburst of serious crime which took place in 1878 lent point to the indignant representations of this important section of the population, and as month succeeded month and the crimes increased in seriousness it was determined to hold an indignation meeting to protest against the action that had been taken. The demonstration took place on October 7, 1878, ​on the cricket ground. It was one of the most important gatherings of the kind ever held in the history of the Colony. Mr. H. B. Gibb was in the chair, and he was supported by practically all the leading merchants of the Colony excepting the senior unofficial member of the Legislative Council (the Hon. Philip Ryrie), who for particular reasons held aloof. With practical unanimity resolutions were passed affirming that life and property had been jeopardised by the policy of undue leniency that had been adopted, and asking that a commission from outside the Colony should be appointed to investigate the application of criminal laws, the carrying out of sentences of the courts, and the relation between the Governor and his officials. This European protest evoked a counter demonstration from the Chinese inhabitants, who organised an address to the Queen expressive of confidence in the Governor. The resolutions and the address were duly forwarded, and, after taking nearly twelve months to reply, the Colonial Secretary (Sir Michael Hicks-Beach) in a despatch admitted the reasonableness of the alarm felt in the Colony, but declined sending out a commission, on the ground that the action of the Governor had removed all cause for fear. The reference was to the introduction of a more stringent system of dealing with criminals by the Governor. The system of deportation was resumed and old offenders, instead of being tried before magistrates, were sent to the Supreme Court, where they received punishment commensurate with their crimes. On the main points—the question of flogging and branding—Sir J. Pope-Hennessy carried the day, for in November, 1880, Lord Kimberley (who had become Colonial Secretary) sent out a despatch directing the permanent discontinuance of branding and prohibiting flogging, excepting in cases of the class in which it would be inflicted in the United Kingdom.
As the years of Sir J. Pope-Hennessy's administration went on the tide of his unpopularity increased in volume. The breach between him and the European community ultimately became irreparable, and the strange prospect was seen in Hongkong of the Queen's representative living an existence of isolation from the great bulk of his fellows. The effect of such a state of affairs upon the Colony's interest could not fail to be extremely bad, and only the natural strength of its position enabled it to come through the period of stress and trouble without marked injury. A great sigh of relief went up when it was announced in March, 1882, that the Governor was shortly proceeding to Europe on six months' leave. The statement was interpreted to mean that Sir J. Pope-Hennessy was leaving finally, and there was no disposition shown to resent the valedictory compliments subsequently paid to him by the Chinese and Portuguese communities. The general feeling was one of gladness that the period of turmoil and bitterness was at length at an end. Afterwards there was a disturbing rumour that Sir J. Pope-Hennessy was returning to Hongkong, and in hot haste strong remonstrances were sent by the leading merchants to Downing Street. Then it was made known that the incubus of a discredited and unpopular Governor was not to be inflicted on Hongkong, Sir J. Pope-Hennessy having been appointed to the Governorship of Mauritius.
CHAPTER XV.
Development of Shanghai—The Establishment of the Chinese Maritime Customs Department—New Municipal Constitution—Operations of the "Ever Victorious" Army around the Settlement—Land Speculations.
The conclusion of the Treaty of Peking was the signal for a great development of mercantile activity throughout the Treaty ports. Perhaps its influence was most marked at Shanghai, which, from its proximity to the new fields of enterprise opened up in Northern China by the Treaty and its immediate predecessor—the Treaty of Tientsin—was best placed to reap the advantages of the new order of things. "The model settlement," as it was and is still called without excess of modesty, in its earliest years showed the disposition which all new trade centres have to hang fire somewhat. It developed, but its growth was, comparatively speaking, slow. There was nothing in the nature of a "boom"—to adopt a modern phrase. The disturbed condition of the country owing to the Taeping Rebellion no doubt militated against its complete success. But it was not alone that factor which kept Shanghai from marching to its inevitable destiny of a great port and commercial entrepôt. The restricted character of the openings for trade and the repressive and obstructive policy pursued by the Chinese Government had an even wider influence on the settlement's fortunes. All this, however, was changed by the two treaties. Under the Treaty of Tientsin that great waterway, the Yangtse-Kiang, was opened up to British trade, and a regularised status was accorded to merchants at the important riverain towns of Chinkiang and Hankow. The same instrument allowed British merchants access to Newchwang, Tangchow, Taiwan (Formosa), Chanchow (Swatoa), and Kiungchow (Hainan); while the Peking Convention had given further significance to these widened facilities by adding Tientsin to the list of Treaty ports. Thus, for the first time in history, a real opening was afforded to the vast markets of Central and Northern China. No port was better placed to take advantage of the situation than Shanghai. On the one side the broad bosom of the Yangtse was open to it; on the other was easy access to the capital and the great districts of the north; while in the country behind were some of the greatest trade markets of the Celestial Empire. It seemed to many that at last Shanghai's day had really come.
Before an account is given of the stirring times which followed the conclusion of the Treaty of Peking it may be desirable to take a brief glance at Shanghai as it was in the years preceding that event. Even at that early period, says an old resident in a description of its early life, the settlement was a striking-looking city. "The magnificent hongs which thronged the riverside with their compounds, their flags flying (for nearly every hong represented some consular dignity) and the fine broad terrace fronting the river, and commonly called the 'Bund,' had a grand and imposing appearance, which was truly astonishing in a place of such recent growth. The bund was the most wonderful scene of business and bustle. Chinese coolies or labourers were everywhere hurrying to and fro with burdens slung to bamboos carried upon the shoulders of these indefatigable beings who uttered a sort of monotonous 'Hee Haw' song as they moved along. In the centre of the bund was situated a striking looking Chinese building, the Custom House, in those days managed by Chinese with the assistance of two European gentlemen… So little were these customs officials heeded that the captain of an American steamer who was about to export a cargo of rice, which is strictly forbidden both by Chinese law and treaty stipulations, is actually stated to have pitched one of them overboard for attempting to interfere with him."
The Custom House organisation referred to by the writer came into existence as a direct result of the complications arising out of the Taeping Rebellion. A brief reference made to the matter in an earlier chapter may be supplemented by a more detailed statement of the origin of this important institution. In March, 1853, when Nanking and Chinkiang had fallen into the hands of the rebels, and there was a report that the rebel fleet proposed to attack Woosung, there was a complete cessation of business in Shanghai. The Chinese customs officials were all scattered or in hiding, and for a time there was no apparent machinery in existence for the collection of customs. "One morning," says the author of an interesting sketch of Shanghai history, published on the occasion of its jubilee celebrations in 1873, "it was found that a Weiyman had established himself during the night in a mat-shed, amongst the ruins of the Customs House, and hung out a flag and chop sealed by the Taotai authorising him to receive customs dues, but the foreign consuls concluded that this gentleman's position was not exactly legal, and Mr. Alcock, the British Consul, therefore, consulted with the captain of the Spartan, the result being that a squad of English men-of-war's men hustled the poor Mandarin and his assistants ignominiously out of his improvised custom house. The Weiyman then attempted to get over the difficulty by saying that he would receive the duties on board a junk which was moored in the river opposite the French concession, and Mr. E. Cunningham, who was acting as American Vice-Consul, fell in with the suggestion and ordered his nationals to pay their dues on board this floating collectorate, but the Americans promptly ​objected that they could not find her… In this dilemma Mr. Alcock and Mr. Cunningham sent round a notification to the effect that they would undertake the collection of duties, and would not clear any British or American vessels in respect of which duties had not been paid, or undertakings to pay given. This was at once strongly opposed by the merchants, who argued that they could not be called upon to pay duties to a government that was unable to give them any protection, and that had no proper, visible machinery available for collecting the revenue, and that the British and American Consuls had no right to usurp any functions of the Chinese Government which had not been legally delegated to them. The Consuls of the other powers represented adopted the same view, and the French Consul took the lead in declaring that he would clear any French ship that applied to him, without the payment of any duties whatsoever, until the Imperial Chinese Government re-asserted its authority. … The British Consul and the American Vice-Consul were left almost alone on one side in the struggle to uphold the claims of the Chinese Government, while the representative of the Chinese Government, the Taotai, Sam Qua, from his safe retreat in the Keechong hong, contented himself with issuing exhortative notices to his countrymen to do right in the matter of paying customs dues, while, with reference to the foreigners, he was only too thankful to them for whatever small quotas of these dues they were content to pay him."
In the face of the division of consular opinion the British and American Consuls found it impossible to maintain the position they had taken up. Several ships, American and British, got away without the payment of any duties, and in 1854 the principle of clearance without payment of duties had been tacitly accepted. The Chinese Government, however, was naturally not content to allow a lucrative source of revenue to be diverted from it without a struggle, and about the middle of 1854 consular intervention was invoked to secure a restoration of Chinese rights in the matter of the levy of customs. A conference took place at which the Taoutai, Sam Qua, with the Consuls of Great Britain, America, and France assisted, and as the outcome of it, it was decided to introduce an entirely new system. Under the arrangement the duty of collecting the customs dues was vested in three officers nominated by the three Consuls participating in the conference. The Chinese officials were left to discharge the ordinary duties of supervision. It was a tentative measure devised to meet a sudden emergency which had arisen, but the system worked so satisfactorily that it ultimately broadened out into a great organisation, which under a name to become familiar throughout the civilised world—the Chinese Maritime Customs—extended its operations to the whole of the Treaty ports.
Another important Shanghai institution which was emerging from the chrysalis stage at this period was the Municipal Council. As originally instituted the body was known as the Committee of Roads and Jetties. Its income was as modest as its designation, for altogether the municipal collections in 1852 did not amount to more than $5,000. Of this sum $2,400 came from wharfage dues, and the balance from a tax of ¼ per cent. on land and 1 per cent. on houses. The expenditure for the year was $8,000, that amount including the repayment of a loan of $2,000 which had been borrowed at 10 per cent. But the exigencies of the situation created by the Taeping Rebellion necessitated some more comprehensive arrangement, and about the middle of 1854 there were frequent consultations between the Taoutai, Sam Qua, and Messrs. Alcock, the British Consul, R. C. Murphy, the United States Consul, and M. B. Edau, the French Consul with a view to devising a new system of local control. The upshot of the deliberations was the issue on July 5, 1854, of a notification to the foreign community to the effect that a new code of municipal and land regulations had been drawn up, and would henceforth govern the residence of foreigners in the three concessions. The regulations thus promulgated with some subsequent changes and additions are practically the constitution under which the settlement is governed. Under the rules the local authority designated for the first time a Municipal Council was to consist of a chairman and six members elected by the land-renters instead of the "three upright British merchants appointed by the British Consul," of whom the first early Committee of Roads and Jetties consisted. Another important change was the substitution for the old methods of raising revenue of a regular assessment based on the value of property and area of land, on residences and wharfage within the settlement. The new system was found to work most satisfactorily. Henceforward there was no looking back in matters municipal in Shanghai. In 1863 the administration lost its exclusively British character by the interests of the British concession being merged with those of the American settlement at Hongkew on the north of the Soochow Creek. The French, who, as has been stated, occupied a strip of territory adjacent to the native city, elected to maintain their separate jurisdiction, and they have done so to this day, with the result that there is a marked distinction between the two sections of what is in reality one settlement.
While Shanghai was preparing to avail itself of the openings offered by the Treaty of Peking, the developments of the Taeping Rebellion were once more furnishing her citizens with excitement of a varied kind. The rebels, encouraged by the weakness of the imperial authority, had during the years from 1857 to 1860 enormously extended their sphere of influence. They continued in possession of Nanking in spite of all efforts to dislodge them, and by the end of the last named year their authority was established almost to the sea. Such was the gravity of the situation that, prior to the advance on Peking, the Governor-General of the province of the Two Kiang actually invoked the aid of the British and French in support of the imperial power. The French representative was willing to render the assistance, and offered fifteen hundred troops if the British would send five hundred; but Mr. Bruce prudently declined to allow the British authority to be mixed up with the internal troubles of the Chinese Empire. A proclamation, however, was issued on May 26, 1860, in the name of all the foreign representatives, intimating that Shanghai would not a second time be allowed to fall into rebel hands.
Though official foreign aid was denied the Chinese authorities, they were not to be without European assistance in their efforts to suppress the rebellion. A movement set on foot by patriotic Chinese merchants, and encouraged and supported by European firms, resulted in the getting out at Shanghai of a foreign contingent for service in the disturbed area. Ward, an American subject, was the leader of the organisation, and he had as his chief lieutenant and quartermaster a fellow countryman named Burgevine. Ward was a swashbuckler of a pronounced type—unscrupulous, rapacious, and cruel. He had been a mate on an American sailing vessel trading to China, and had served on a flotilla fitted out some time previously by the Taoutai to operate against the rebels on the Yangtse. In that capacity he had attracted the attention of the wealthy Chinese merchants, and his selection to command the foreign legion was the result. A pretty free hand was given to him in the matter of the engagement of recruits. Pay at the rate of £20 per month was offered, and in addition the prospect was held out of a share of loot. About one hundred Europeans in all were collected, together with about double that number of Manila men. The Europeans were a nondescript lot of adventurers drawn from the shipping and the local stores and offices. They were bound by the loosest ties of discipline and were ignorant in many cases of the rudiments of military science. The initial operation of the contingent was an attack on Sunkiang, a large walled town about 20 miles south-west of Shanghai. It was for various reasons a conspicuous failure. Ward, however, was not to be discouraged by a single rebuff. Collecting reinforcements, he renewed the attack with a successful result. The town through his exertions was given over once more to the possession of the imperial forces. The achievement brought him passing fame and, what was more to his purpose, a considerable accession of Chinese confidence and support. Ward was soon invited to try his skill in another direction. The new task allotted to him was the capture of Tsingpu, a walled town of some little importance. Having recruited a fresh body of men, including 25 Europeans and 280 Manila men. Ward marched out of his camp at Sunkiang. On arrival outside Tsingpu he speedily found that he could accomplish little, owing to ​the lack of suitable guns. He had only two 6-pounders with him and these were quite powerless against the Taeping position, which was one of considerable strength, and defended, moreover, by the rebels under the direction of an Englishman named Savage. Nevertheless, the attack was delivered on the night of August 2, 1860. It ended in a disastrous repulse, in which all the Europeans save six were either killed or wounded. Ward, though himself wounded in the jaw, elected to make another attempt to win the great reward which was offered for the capture of the position. Proceeding to Shanghai, he enlisted a fresh force of 150 Europeans, purchased two 18-pounder guns and ammunition, and replenished his stores. He then returned to Tsingpu and commenced a vigorous bombardment of the town. Fortune favoured him even less on this occasion than it did previously. After the attack had proceeded some days Ward's force was surprised by a body of the rebels under Chang Wang, a famous leader, and put to utter rout. The contingent lost its guns and most of its stores, and had the enemy been enterprising the entire body would have been annihilated. Encouraged by the success, Chang Wang made an effort to recapture Sunkiang, and, being foiled in the attempt, turned his attention to the city of Shanghai. The Allies, acting up to their proclamation, took measure to assist the Chinese imperial authorities in their defence. The rebels, therefore, had a very warm reception when they appeared outside the city. They persevered, however, in their enterprise, returning again and again to the attack. Eventually, when the best part of a week had elapsed, Chang Wang drew off his forces, sending previously a valiant message in which he blamed the French for his discomfiture, and said that but for the foreigners he would have been triumphant.
As a result of the attack on Shanghai the British authorities deemed it expedient to have a clear understanding with the Taepings as to the precise limits of their operations. For this purpose the British Naval Commander, Admiral Sir James Hope, as previously narrated, proceeded to Nanking and opened up communications with Tien Wang, the rebel chief. The outcome of the negotiations was an arrangement under which the Taepings pledged themselves not to make any attack on Shanghai in the next twelve months, and that the Taeping forces should not advance to any point within a radius of 20 miles of that city. A further development of the situation at this period was the arrest, in May, 1861, of Ward in Shanghai, as a disturber of the public peace. Ward subsequently obtained his release by declaring himself a Chinese subject, but his career at Shanghai was nearing its close. His fate as a commander of European auxiliaries and that of the force which he had got together were sealed by another disastrous failure before Tsingpu, in which out of 80 men 23 were either killed or wounded. Ward and Burgevine, after a temporary period of inaction at Shanghai, turned their attention to the drilling of Chinese after the European method. Their operations were destined to bear noteworthy fruit, for out of the little band of men they trained developed the Ever Victorious Army, which was to win back for the Chinese Government the authority which had so narrowly missed slipping altogether from their hands.
In the closing months of 1861 the Taepings achieved some conspicuous successes against the imperial forces. The important cities of Ningpo and Hangchow fell into their hands, and there were minor triumphs which greatly enhanced their prestige and brought thousands of recruits to their standards. The occupation of the first named place without British opposition seems to have encouraged the belief at the rebel headquarters that Shanghai might now be taken in spite of the arrangement come to between Admiral Hope and Tien Wang. The victorious Taeping forces appeared outside the city and settlement at the end of the second week in January, 1862. Before them were driven great numbers of Chinese who sought refuge in flight from the horrors which almost invariably marked the onward rebel march. Thousands of these unfortunates invaded the foreign settlement in the expectation of finding an asylum there from the dire woes which menaced them across the border. The best that was possible was done for them, but there was much inevitable suffering, an exceptionally severe winter adding to the horrors of the situation. Meanwhile the flagrant infraction of the Yangtse understanding by the rebels was being met by the British authorities in the only possible way—by retaliating. The military force at Shanghai at the time—two native regiments and some artillery—was too weak to allow at the outset of more than defensive measures, and encouraged by the inactivity the rebels showed great boldness, plundering and burning on the outskirts of the settlement, and at one time even threatening Woosung, the port at the mouth of the river. The French made a successful onslaught on a body of rebels which appeared outside their concession, and on the arrival of Sir John Michel with a small body of English troops as a reinforcement of the garrison, a regular plan of campaign was instituted against them by the British and the French. The operations commenced on February 21st, when a mixed British and French force, about 500 strong, with 600 of Ward's newly disciplined troops, marched out under the command of Admiral Hope to the village of Kachiaou, where the Taepings had a strong position. On coming into contact with the enemy there was some sharp fighting, but nothing could withstand the ardour of the attacking force, who, with Ward's men leading, carried the village in gallant style. The Taepings, undismayed by this reverse, gave a considerable amount of trouble to Admiral Hope, and even at one time compelled him to retire. But on his receiving a substantial reinforcement of 450 Europeans with 700 of Ward's Chinese and 7 howitzers, he was able to very effectively continue his little campaign. Tseedong, another strong position of the rebels, was attacked, and while the British sailors operated in front Ward's men made a detour and came upon their rear. Between the two fires the rebels suffered terribly, more than seven hundred being killed. The steadiness shown by Ward's disciplined levies on the two occasions they were under fire, led the British authorities to take a very favourable view of their capacity and usefulness and to give support both diplomatic and practical to measures for their increase. For some weeks following the Tseedong affair, there was, however, a lull in the operations. It was not, in fact, until the end of March, when General Staveley arrived from Tientsin with the 31st and 67th British regiments that any further serious effort was made to deal with the rebels. Then was commenced the task of clearing the country for 30 miles around Shanghai in accordance with the terms of the agreement. In pursuance of this plan the village of Wongkadsa, about 12 miles west of Shanghai was captured, but on an attempt being made by Ward's men to carry a stockade to which the rebels had retired, the attacking party was repulsed and Admiral Hope, who had accompanied it, was wounded. The next day this failure was wiped out and the enemy were subsequently driven out of Tsipoo. Next, attention was turned to Kahding, a strong walled city, which was captured with little loss. A desperate attempt to fire Shanghai, happily frustrated, caused a brief interruption in the operations, but early in May the train was ready laid for an important series of movements, in which a powerful body consisting of 1,429 British troops and 20 guns and mortars, 380 men and 5 guns, Naval Brigade, and 800 French troops with 10 guns took part. The allied force proceeded first to Tsingpu, the journey being made from Sunkiang by boat owing to transport difficulties. A bombardment with the powerful guns carried with the force soon paved the way for an assault which was completely successful, though the Taepings fought well. Afterwards Nanjao was captured and a brilliant little series of movements was closed with an engagement at Cholin which terminated in the complete discomfiture of the rebels. The good effects of this campaign was unfortunately almost completely wiped out by a disaster which overtook an imperialist force about the middle of May at Taitsau, to the north-west of Shanghai. Such was the impression made that General Staveley deemed it expedient to withdraw his forces to Shanghai, Kahding being given back to the rebels. As a set off against this serious state of affairs the imperialists had to their account the recapture of Ningpo which had about the same period fallen into their hands after a desperate conflict. Chung Wang now threatened both Tsingpu and Sunkiang, and as there was nothing to be gained in the circumstances in holding the former place, it was evacuated. Ward after this devoted himself energetically to the training and equipping of a force to recover the lost ground. He soon had a body of five thousand men under his command, and with these carried the war into the enemy's ​country. After an unsuccessful attempt Tsingpu was retaken, and probably this would have been the starting point of a new career for Ward had he not been mortally wounded in an attack on Tseki, near Ningpo, whither he had proceeded at the call of the Government. On a refusal of the post by Colonel Forrester, Ward's chief lieutenant, the command of the Ever Victorious Army devolved upon Burgevine, who was little adapted either by temperament or capacity for so responsible an office. Li Hung Chang, to be famous in later years as one of China's greatest statesmen, had about this time succeeded to the chief control on the Chinese Government side and he seems very early to have formed a very unfavourable impression of the new commander. Burgevine, indeed, was generally distrusted by the leading Chinese officials and merchants. They disliked his dictatorial ways, and they doubted his loyalty to the cause which they had at heart. Furthermore, what little they knew of his capacity for military leadership did not impress them. In the circumstances it is not surprising that difficulties should soon have arisen between the American and the Mandarins. The latter were so seriously dissatisfied with Burgevine that they went the length of asking General Staveley to remove him from the command and supply his place with an English officer. The British commander declined to interfere at the moment, but when in the first week of January, 1863, Burgevine's force openly mutinied, and Burgevine himself perpetrated a grave outrage by using personal violence to Takee, a leading Shanghai merchant, who was the life and soul of the patriotic movement, the summary dismissal of the adventurer by the Chinese Government was acquiesced in. The direct result of this disciplinary action was to bring into the scene of perhaps his greatest triumphs the hero of Khartoum—Charles Gordon—then a practically unknown officer of Engineers. Gordon did not actually take up the command until March 24th, as the Home Governments approval to his nomination by General Staveley had to be received, and. moreover, he wished to complete the survey of the country around Shanghai upon which he was then engaged before assuming active military work. But he interested himself informally in the duties pertaining to his new post and may be said practically to have commenced his connection with the force on Burgevine's dismissal. The story of his skilful organisation and direction of the Chinese forces, of his indomitable courage and perseverance in combating the rebel forces, and finally, the complete reassertion of Chinese imperial authority, through the exertions of the Ever Victorious Army under his leadership, is too familiar to need recapitulation here.
The crisis in Shanghai's life came, as we have stated at the commencement of the chapter, after the conclusion of the Treaty of Peking. One of the earliest symptoms of it was an inflation of land values due to the belief that the settlement was bound to undergo enormous expansion. The theory was sound enough, but, as often happens in these cases, an altogether exaggerated conception of the possibilities of the situation was formed. The period of speculation with its ups and downs and its various manifestations is vividly described by the writer already quoted. "The site of the old racecourse was put up and sold at auction at fabulous prices, and the cricket ground was treated in a similar manner, a very small proportion of money sufficing to supply their places at a short distance beyond, and the balance of the funds being reserved for purposes of public improvement or recreation. Land had become the great subject for speculation, and was being bought up in every conceivable direction with the greatest avidity. Plots which a few months previously had been purchased for garden purposes at fifty taels per mow, equal to about £100 sterling per acre, now realised at least a thousand taels per mow and even more, and for a long time this remained the standard value of the land. For miles in the country upon purely Chinese territory, and for miles down the river upon both its banks, did speculators buy up every available inch of ground at daily increasing prices in the most visionary manner. Fortunes upon fortunes were made upon its re-sale to still more reckless gamblers, but only to be re-invested in the same unsound manner and eventually to culminate in loss. But it was not alone in land that speculation ran wild. Chinese houses sprung up in every direction, and Shanghai in a couple of years from the modest 'model settlement' had become a very London."
"Joint stock companies now commenced to be started, and shares were eagerly applied for. The number of banks which established agencies was perfectly fabulous. The shores of the river for miles down the stream were covered with newly-erected wharves and as many as 300 foreign vessels were in the harbour at one time. New local improvements were commenced, regardless of expense. The New Club, a magnificent building, and conducted on the most extravagant scale, was hurried on. The new racecourse and the cricket ground were completed; roads were constructed for miles out into the country, and villa residences and model farms began to abound. The municipal institutions were constructed on a scale of extravagance hitherto unknown; and professional jockeys and trainers, sparring matches, badger baiting and rat pits became the fancy. Shanghai had gone perfectly mad."
At this time the population of Shanghai was estimated at 420,000, of whom 6,000 were foreigners. It was, as far as the foreign element was concerned, a mixed community, but was full of enterprise and virility. Its spirit was manifested in a rather striking way when the Chinese Government, having disposed of the Taeping rebels, thought it might recover some of its losses by imposing a likin, or war tax, upon those of its subjects who resided in the settlement. To this proposition the Municipal Council offered emphatic opposition. It was pointed out that, as the responsibility of protecting such an enormous concourse of refugees fell upon the foreign municipalities and their British and foreign protectors, it was only right that the Chinese inside should bear their proportion of the regular expenses. The argument had no effect on the Chinese officialdom, and as their claim was backed by the British Minister, the tax had to be allowed. Feeling on the subject ran very high in the foreign community and a scheme was seriously mooted, by an influential section, for repudiating all Chinese rights and constituting the settlement a free city, somewhat on the lines of the Hanse towns. The idea, of course, was absurdly visionary, and it was laughed out of existence almost as soon as it was mooted. But the fact that it was suggested indicates the extent to which even business men had been carried off their feet by the wave of speculation which was sweeping over the port.
CHAPTER XVI.
Last Days of the Emperor Hienfung—Coup d'état at Peking—The New Régime—The Young Emperor Tungche assumes the Reins of Government—Reception of Ministers at Peking—Death of Tungche and Accession of Tsai Tien—Murder of Mr. Margery—The Chefoo Convention.
An immediate outcome of the Treaty of Peking was the establishment in the Chinese capital of a body known as the Tsung-li-yamen, to deal with the foreign affairs of the empire. Up to this time there had been no provision in the Chinese Governmental system for conducting intercourse with foreign nations, and the absence of machinery had tended more than anything else to create difficulties. To a very large extent, therefore, the change was an advantageous one. But it was very far from being a sign of grace on the part of the imperial authorities. The Emperor himself showed at this time, indeed, a marked disposition to emphasise his dissatisfaction with the new order. He retired to Gehol and surrounded himself there with the most bigoted and fanatical Mandarins, chief amongst whom was Tsai, the hero of the disgraceful episode of Tungchow decribed in the previous chapter. It was believed at the time that the main purpose of his withdrawal was to avoid lending by his presence any countenance to the establishment of the diplomatic system at Peking. Whether that was the case or not when Mr. Bruce took up his residence at the Chinese capital towards the end of March, 1864, he had to be content with such maimed rites as could be extended to him by Prince Kung, the enlightened brother of the Emperor, upon whom the burden of arranging matters with the Allies had fallen. The Emperor's absence was the cause of much discontent amongst the Pekingese, and it was condemned even by members of the imperial family, who suffered heavily in pocket owing to the cessation of their allowances during the period that the court was at Gehol. It is probable that ​trouble would have arisen out of the imperial action had not matters been brought to a sudden issue by the serious illness and subsequent death of the Emperor. This event, which took place on August 22, 1864, was followed by the circulation of a proclamation announcing the accession of Hienfung's son, a child of six years of age, and of the appointment of a Board of Regency consisting of eight members, with Prince Tsai at their head, to control matters during his minority. Prince Kung and his associates at Peking were left entirely out in the cold in the arrangements for the succession, and it soon became obvious that they did not intend to sit down quietly under the exclusion. The day following the state entry of the young Emperor into Peking (the 2nd of November), Prince Kung appeared at the palace with an imperial edict, which he had secured from the Empress Dowager, ordering the dismissal of the Council of Regency. Prince Tsai and his colleagues made an attempt to obtain the reversal of the decree, but the only effect of their action was to bring about their arrest and the issue of a second decree directing their degradation from their official and hereditary rank and their punishment for "outrageous conduct." Later on the entire party were brought to trial before Prince Kung, with the result that all were condemned to death. One regarded as the leader was publicly executed, but the others were, as a special favour, given a silken cord with which to put an end to their existence. Under the new régime the power was vested in the Empress Dowager and the Emperor's mother, and Prince Kung occupied the supreme ministerial positions with vast powers of control. Prince Kung directed affairs ably and skilfully, showing an enlightened regard for foreign opinion which tended to smooth the paths of diplomacy. Apparently he soared too high, for in April, 1865, to the surprise and even consternation of the British Minister and his diplomatic colleagues, an edict appeared in the name of the two Empresses degrading him for having grown arrogant and assumed privileges to which he had no right. It was feared that the incident might seriously prejudice foreign interests, but to the satisfaction of the European community Prince Kung was, after the lapse of five weeks, restored to favour, though he was no longer allowed to hold the post of President of the Council. Some little time after this incident Sir Frederick Bruce's term of office as minister at Peking expired. His successor was Sir Rutherford Alcock, the erstwhile consul at Shanghai, whose services prior to his going to Peking had been utilised as minister to Japan. Sir Rutherford Alcock in his turn was succeeded at Yeddo by Sir Harry Parkes, another eminent Anglo-Chinese official who figures conspicuously in our narrative.
During the entire period of Mr. Bruce's service at Peking the relations between the British and the Chinese were most cordial, largely owing to the admirable tact of the minister on the one side and the broad-mindedness of the chief minister on the other. One awkward question, however, arose which might have been productive of considerable danger to the peace if it had not been properly handled. Mr. Horatio N. Lay, who had some time before been appointed by the Chinese Government to assist in the collection of customs in the Shanghai district, was in 1862 commissioned, in conjunction with Captain Sherard Osborn, to go to Europe to purchase a fleet of gun-boats of small draught for the suppression of piracy on the Chinese coasts and the policing of the shallow estuaries and creeks thereabouts. The vessels—seven gunboats and one storeship—were purchased and taken out by Captain Osborn. Meanwhile, Mr. Lay proceeded direct to Peking to complete the arrangements for the disposal of the embryo Chinese fleet. He was greatly concerned to find that Sir Frederick Bruce would have nothing whatever to do with his enterprise without specific instructions from home; while, what was more disconcerting, Prince Kung raised difficulties as to the arrangements Mr. Lay proposed for the working of the new system. The points of difference developed between the Minister and Mr. Lay had reference to the control of the squadron. The former, perhaps not unnaturally, considered that the power should be vested in the Government in the ordinary way; but Mr. Lay claimed that he should be directly responsible under the Emperor for the administration and movements of the fleet. He flatly declined to entertain a proposal that a Chinese official should be appointed as joint commander, and he as resolutely rejected a suggestion that he should act under the orders of the provincial authorities. In the circumstances it is not altogether surprising that Prince Kung should have manifested an indisposition to take over the fleet. The ships remained idly at anchor all through the period during which they would have been useful against the Taepings, and when the crisis had passed away the Chinese Government considered they could do without them. Finally, in November, 1863, Mr. Lay was dismissed from the Chinese Government service, and orders were given for the return of the ships to Europe for disposal. Mr. Lay was very wroth at the treatment meted out to him, and invoked the powerful aid of friends at home to obtain redress. But he gained very little support in official quarters in his campaign against Chinese officialdom. The points in the controversy were very concisely put by Sir Frederick Bruce in a despatch which he penned on the subject. "I do not think," the British Minister wrote, "that the Chinese Government are open to the charge of bad faith, as the conditions they were called upon to ratify are not such as the authority given to Mr. Lay entitled him to assent to in their name. Mr. Lay mistook his position and overrated his influence when he resolved on starting this flotilla, without having previously ascertained that the terms agreed upon with Captain Osborn would be accepted." Mr. Lay retired with a handsome monetary solatium, and in his place there succeeded to the control of the Imperial Maritime Customs, Mr. (now Sir) Robert Hart, the able official whose long and honourable service in China is, as these pages are passing through the press, receiving such widespread and honourable recognition in Europe. Another well-known Anglo-Chinese who came to the front about this time was Sir Halliday Macartney, a gentleman who in later life played a conspicuous part in the domain of Chinese diplomacy in Europe, as the English Secretary to the Chinese Embassy in London. Macartney went out to China in the first instance as Assistant-Surgeon to the 99th Regiment, and served through the Peking Campaign. Afterwards he drifted into the employ of the Chinese Government, which he assisted in various capacities. His most important service was as organiser of the first Chinese arsenal at Soochow. He manifested great ability in the prosecution of this undertaking, but, owing to the development of defects in some of the guns manufactured at the establishment, he had differences with Li Hung Chang, with the result that he resigned his office. The enterprise which he had initiated was continued under other direction and paved the way for an extensive organisation for the manufacture of munitions of war.
The decade following the conclusion of the Treaty of Peking was a period of comparative tranquillity in the relations between the Chinese Government and the European powers. For this state of affairs thanks were largely due to the wisdom and moderation of Prince Kung, who continued to direct the ​councils of the empire; but some credit also attached to the British representatives who in their dealings with the Chinese Government resolutely set their faces against the pushing of extravagant claims and the multiplication of points of difference. The two great Mahomedan rebellions in the provinces of Yunnan and Shensi and Kansuh, the suppression of which taxed to the utmost the resources of the Chinese Government during a greater portion of the decennial period, also was a factor which made for harmony between the Peking authorities and the Western powers. The only unsatisfactory phases in the situation were occasional outbursts of popular feeling against the missionaries who at this time were actively prosecuting their propaganda in various parts of China. At Yangchow and Formosa, and later at Swatow and Foochow, there were outrages more or less serious. But in each instance reparation was promptly made and it was manifested that the Chinese Government was sincere in its desire to ensure protection for the foreigner to the utmost of its ability. The worst episode was one which occurred at Tientsin in 1870 and which, but for the outbreak of the Franco-German War, might have involved China in war with France. On the 21st of June in that year a disorderly mob gathered outside the Roman Catholic Mission House in Tientsin, murdered M. Fontanier, the French Consul, who endeavoured to restrain them, and subsequently attacked the Mission House, murdering its inmates, who included M. Simon, a member of the French legation at Peking, and his wife, a French storekeeper and his wife, three priests, ten sisters of charity, and a Russian merchant and his wife. A great sensation was created by this crime, which surpassed in horror any that had hitherto been perpetrated against the foreign community, and on the one hand there was an insistent demand from Europeans for retribution and on the other a wave of anti-foreign exultation. The Chinese Government fortunately recognised the extreme gravity of the crisis and decided to send a special mission to France to offer what amends it could for the outbreak. Chung How, the Superintendent of Trade for the three northern ports, who was present at Tientsin at the time of the riot, and whose lack of initiative was indirectly responsible for the occurrence, was selected to head the mission. It otherwise lacked nothing which could lend it importance as a manifestation of the Government's regret at the event. In Paris the mission was received in a not unfriendly spirit, but the intimation was given that as a recognition of the moderation shown in the matter the French Government would expect that the right of audience would be conceded to the French Minister at Peking. The demand was received with mingled feelings in Peking, where the old jealous feeling of exclusiveness was still in the ascendant. The question remained in abeyance until the young Emperor Tungche, four months subsequent to his marriage, was, in February, 1873, invested with full powers of government. Then, the time being ripe for pressing the claim, the Foreign Ministers in a joint note preferred a request to be received in audience. At the outset the old question of the kotow was raised, but on a clear indication being given that there would not be the slightest concession on this point. Prince Kung and the ministers yielded, and the young Emperor duly received the ministers of the foreign powers in audience on June 29, 1873. The event marked an epoch in the history of the diplomatic relations of the European nations with China. Once and for all the claim to superiority so arrogantly and insistently put forward on behalf of the Chinese Emperors was abandoned.
After this for some little time the course of Chinese history ran, if not smoothly, at all events with less serious incident than heretofore. In 1873 trouble arose between Japan and China over the murder of the crew of a junk wrecked on the Loochoo Islands some years before, but thanks to the mediation of Mr. Wade an amicable settlement was reached by the terms of which China paid an indemnity, and the Japanese evacuated Formosa, which they had occupied to bring pressure to bear on the Peking authorities. Another episode of a more personal character which was the subject of diplomatic representations was an attack by pirates in August, 1874, on the river steamer Spark while on her way from Whampoa to Macao. The vessel was plundered and the only English passenger, Mr. Walter Mundy, was seriously wounded and left for dead on the deck. Mr. Mundy was permanently injured by the treatment he received; but the Home Government declined to support his claim to compensation though there was no question that the piratical attack was due to the failure of the Chinese authorities to carry out the provisions of one of the principal clauses of the Treaty of Tientsin.
The death of the Emperor Tungche on January 12, 1875, seemed to offer promise of serious internal trouble, but eventually the succession was peacefully arranged by the selection of Tsai Tien, a child of tender age, the son of Prince Chun or the Seventh Prince. The new Emperor was proclaimed on the 13th of January with the name of Kwangsu, and he commenced his reign under the auspices of the two Empresses and Prince Kung, who, by their judicious direction of affairs were able to look forward to a further spell of uncontrolled power. Before the new ruler had been many weeks on the throne an event occurred which rudely threatened the peaceful relations which had grown up between the Chinese and the British Governments. Towards the close of 1874 the Government of India decided to despatch a special mission of exploration under the command of Colonel Horace Browne to Yunnan, the extreme western province of China. The enterprise was promoted with the approval of the Peking authorities, who issued special orders to the local authorities concerned to give the mission every assistance. Mr. Raymond Augustus Margery, a talented Chinese scholar, and an official thoroughly versed in Chinese ways, was appointed to accompany the mission as a coadjutor of Colonel Browne. He journeyed through the interior of China from Peking and joined his chief at Bhamo, on January 26, 1875. Three weeks later the mission started on its way. As it approached the Chinese frontier it was met by rumours of opposition to its advance on the part of Lisitai, a Chinese commander who had control of the frontier. In order to ascertain the true state of affairs, Colonel Browne despatched Mr. Margery on an expedition of inquiry across the frontier. Riding out on the 19th of February, Mr. Margery reached Momein, a town on the Chinese side of the border, the same day, and sent from thence a letter saying that all was quiet at that place. Nothing further was heard from him or of him until several days later, when the news was spread that he and his attendants had been treacherously murdered at Manwein, a place some little distance to the eastward of Momein. The startling information was supplemented by a statement that a large Chinese force was advancing with the intention of attacking the expedition. Any doubts that may have been entertained as to the accuracy of the news were dispelled on the 22nd of February by the appearance of a hostile body of Chinese troops on the heights near the camp of the expedition. Preparations were made by Colonel Browne to meet the threatened danger, but the Chinese general, seeing the bold front that had been assumed, thought better of his enterprise and withdrew his force. When news of the outrage reached the outer world, a great cry of indignation ​went up from the British organs of public opinion, and the amplest backing was given to the demand promptly made at Peking by the British Minister (Mr. Thomas Wade) for reparation. The Chinese Government showed at the outset very little disposition to satisfy the claims preferred, which primarily were for an investigation into the circumstances of the murder by a mixed commission of British and Chinese officials. At length, however, it agreed to the proposed inquiry and appointed Li Han Chang, Governor-General of Honkwang, and brother of Li Hung Chang, to conduct the investigations. This functionary, with the British members of the commission, Messrs. Grosvenor, Davenport, and Baber, met in the closing days of the year in the district which was the scene of the outrage and commenced their inquiry. It was soon discovered by the British commissioners that as far as the infliction of punishment on the really guilty parties was concerned their mission was likely to prove futile. Li Han Chang temporarily suspended the Futai for neglect of duty, but this was the extent of the censure of the local officialdom he would permit himself. The responsibility for the murder was thrown upon the lawless frontier tribes, and to lend colour to the view several miserable villagers were seized, on the ground that they were accessories to the murder, and their lives were offered as an atonement for the offence. Very naturally the British Government resolutely declined to accept the course proposed as adequate redress. Sir Thomas Wade (as he had now become) was instructed to bring home to the Peking authorities the seriousness of the situation which had been created by this shameful outrage on a British expedition, and this he did in the most emphatic way by intimating that diplomatic relations must be broken off until the Chinese Government were prepared to satisfy the just demands made upon them. Sir Thomas Wade subsequently quitted the Chinese capital, and his withdrawal coincided with the appearance of a strong British fleet off the Peiho. Alarmed at these evidences of offended British honour, the Peking officials at length consented to discuss under satisfactory conditions the question of redress. Chefoo was selected as the scene of the negotiations, and there the British and Chinese representatives (Sir Thomas Wade and Li Hung Chang acting as principals) assembled in August, 1875. The result of the deliberations was the agreement known as the Chefoo Convention. This document provided for the payment of an indemnity to Mr. Margery's relatives and for the despatch to England of a special mission bearing a letter expressive of the regret felt by the Chinese Government for the murder. An important article of the Convention was a provision calling upon the different Viceroys and Governors to respect and afford every protection to all foreigners provided with the necessary passport from the Tsung-li-yamen, and warning them that they would be held responsible in the event of such travellers meeting with injury or ill-treatment. There were also embodied in the arrangement a series of regulations with reference to trade, and notably one relative to the likin or transit duties.
CHAPTER XVII.
The Development of Shanghai—Chinese Commercial Enterprise—The Shanghai-Woosung Railway—Establishment of a Native Cotton Mill—New Municipal Constitution—Later History of Hongkong.
At the period of the conclusion of the Chefoo Convention, Shanghai trade, in common with Chinese commerce generally, was passing through a somewhat serious crisis. The financial stress was mainly due to over speculation consequent upon the opening of the Suez Canal and the establishment of direct telegraphic communication with Europe. With the completion of those great enterprises dawned a new era in Far Eastern commerce—an era rich in promise for European trade—but merchants, in their impatience to reap the harvest which they confidently expected awaited them, did not take sufficient account of the fact that a period of ripening was essential. As a result serious losses were incurred, which for the time being crippled the resources of a good many of the leading firms, particularly in Shanghai. While European activity was somewhat circumscribed owing to the untoward course that commerce had taken, the Chinese at this period gave evidence of remarkable enterprise. In 1872, under the direct patronage of Li Hung Chang (at that time Governor-General of Chihli) was formed at Shanghai a company under the name of the Chinese Merchants Company, for the purpose of owning and running steamers. Ostensibly the company was established for the purpose of carrying tribute rice to Tientsin en route for Peking, but it soon became evident that its real object was the far more ambitious one of competing with European owned vessels for the trade of the coast and of the Yangtse. Furthermore, the arrangements indicated that the floating of the company was designed for political as well as commercial ends. One of the articles of the company prohibited the holding of shares by foreigners. The offices established at Shanghai, Hankow, Tientsin, Hongkong, and Canton were under Chinese managers; and the only foreigners employed in the company's service were the masters of vessels. Finally, as evidence of the determination to give a purely native aspect to the venture, was the fact that two of the earliest vessels in the company's service were built at the Foochow Arsenal.
In another direction at this juncture was demonstrated in a striking way the determination of the Chinese to stay the march of foreign encroachment. In December, 1872, was formed in Shanghai, by a number of leading residents, a small private company, under the title of the Woosung Road Company. It seemed an innocent, non-committal kind of venture, but its simple title covered a project of deep significance, the ​real object of the promoters being nothing more nor less than the introduction of railways into China. The idea of giving the blessings of railway communication to the empire was not new. As far back as July, 1863, an application had been made to the Chinese authorities for permission to construct a line between Shanghai and Soochow, but the reception given to the proposal was such as to indicate that the Government were not likely to readily sanction the innovation. When, therefore, the idea was taken up again it was decided not to approach the Chinese governing power, but to seek to reach the goal indirectly. The company's object was stated to be the improvement of road communication, and to give effect to their aims they purchased a strip of land about fifteen yards wide extending from Shanghai to Woosung, a distance of about nine and a quarter miles. Almost simultaneously, at their instigation, the district magistrate, under the direction of the Taoutai, issued a proclamation, giving notice that they had acquired possession of the land, and that they had a right to build bridges, cut ditches, erect fences, and construct roads suitable for the running of cars.
The scheme having now assumed a practical shape, a new company was formed and registered July 28, 1874, under the Limited Liability Act, as a company having its head office in Canton, with a capital of £100,000. This new company took over the lands and rights of the old company, bought a considerable amount of extra land, and formed an embankment along the entire length of the route, the whole of the area being about the level of high water spring tides, and under the level of exceptionally high tides. The agents of the company in China were Messrs. Jardine, Matheson & Co., with whom Mr. J. Dixon of London entered into a contract to construct a light railway on the embankment referred to, and work was commenced in January, 1876. Some difficulties hereupon ensued with the Chinese authorities, but on the company's making certain concessions as to the deviation of the line at some points, the work was allowed to proceed, and half the line, viz., that portion from Shanghai to Kangwan, was opened for public traffic, the inaugural trip being run on June 30, 1876. Subsequently the Chinese authorities, who had been much displeased at the laying down of a railway without their previous permission, made an arrangement with Her Majesty's Minister, through the medium of his Chinese secretary, Mr. Mayers, to the effect that they should buy the railway, and certain articles of agreement for carrying out this arrangement were drawn up at Nanking. These articles were afterwards agreed to by the company, subject to certain conditions, and the payment of 285,000 Shanghai taels was arranged between the two parties as the price of the property. It was further settled that this sum should be paid in instalments, extending over one year, during which time the company were to retain possession of the line and work it to their own profit. The running of trains, which had been stopped for a time, recommenced on December 1, 1876. During July and August the traffic amounted to a total of 16,894 passengers. During December the number of passengers was 17,527, of which number 15,873 were third class. When the Chinese entered into occupation of the railways they discontinued the running of trains and proceeded to tear up the rails. Subsequently the entire plant was despatched to Takow, in the island of Formosa.
Thus ended the pioneer effort to introduce railways into China. The project was a bold one, and its results during the brief period during which the railway was working showed that commercially the prospects were good. But the scheme was born out of time. China at that juncture was not ready for railways. Moreover, foreign action was deeply distrusted, owing to the events of the previous decade, and Chinese statesmen realised that they must at all costs keep the control of matters in their own hands. As evidence of the spirit which was in the ascendant we may quote a few passages from a memorial sent to the Throne by Tseng-Kwo-fan, sometime Viceroy of the Two Kiang, who was described by a British official writer of note in 1877 as "the greatest statesman China has produced during the present century." "If," observed Tseng, "small steamers be allowed on inland waters, native craft of every size, sailors, and pilots will suffer; if foreigners are allowed to construct telegraphs and railways, owners of carts, mules, chairs, and inns will suffer, and the means of living be taken away from the coolies. The same may be said of all demands of foreigners, except the working of coal mines; it would enrich China to borrow foreign appliances for the extracting coal, and it would appear to deserve a trial. If foreigners are allowed to introduce small steamers, railroads, &c., they will monopolize the whole profits of the country; if our people are allowed to join with them in introducing them, the rich will benefit at the expense of the poor—neither plan is practicable. With respect to the points which are not highly obnoxious we should grant them if asked; it is only as to railroads, steamers, salt, and residence in the interior for trade, as destructive to our people's interest, that a strenuous fight should be made." Here we have the guiding spirit of the most enlightened Chinese policy at this period. The foreigner was to be tolerated where it was thought he would do no mischief, but he was to be kept at arm's length where the means of communication and residence in the interior were concerned. It may seem to our view an essentially narrow way of looking at things; but recalling the later history of railway concessions in China, who shall say that "Tseng's opinions were not from his patriotic standpoint absolutely sound?
There was no doubt in the years following the conclusion of the Treaty of Peking a ferment in the Chinese mind which led to developments calculated to cause anxiety in the ranks of the Peking autocracy. An example of these tendencies is the drift to the foreign settlements and notably to Shanghai, of well-to-do Chinese subjects. Referring to this movement the British Consul at Shanghai, in his report for 1876, says; "From a vague apprehension of future calamities many men of substance have removed here with their families from the interior and in several instances have even taken foreign houses in preference to Chinese hongs. The shopkeepers have also improved in their style of buildings, and as the old rickety tenements are from time to time swept away by fires they are invariably replaced by buildings superior to the ordinary run of Chinese houses. The natives are likewise learning the value of brick walls and adopt them in the capacity of fire walls." Meanwhile the foreign residents were showing more and more a disposition to leave their houses in the heart of the settlement and establish themselves in the country. The Consul speaks in his report for 1874 of villa residences springing up like mushrooms in various directions beyond municipal limits, and he reverts to the tendency towards a substitution of Chinese tenements for foreign houses in the heart of the settlement, and the consequent depreciation in value of the larger houses.
Another sign of the times upon which stress is laid in the communications of the British officials of the period is the growth of the purely native press. In referring to the opening of the Chinese Polytechnic Institution in 1875 the Consul at Shanghai mentions that at the period there were no fewer than five Chinese daily papers, and that in addition there were a number of weekly and monthly organs—most of them very popular and ​increasing in circulation. It should be mentioned, however, that side by side with this literary activity so characteristic of the new spirit was revealed a jealous adhesion to the old economic ideals. In 1876 an attempt was made to establish a steam cotton mill company at Shanghai for the purpose of manufacturing cotton piece goods from native grown cotton of a similar quality and weight to the goods manufactured by the Chinese. The scheme at the outset received the support of influential natives. But after a time the Cotton Cloth Guild took the alarm and instituted in the native press a crusade against the project. The idea was circulated that the hand cloth trade would be immediately ruined if the mill started working, and when the apprehensions of the native community had been sufficiently aroused the Guild passed a resolution to the effect that no cloth made by machinery would be permitted to be purchased. About the same time that this declaration was made there appeared on the scene a well-known native resident named Peng with a project for prosecuting a Chinese Joint Stock Company with the same object. It was stated at the time that this gentleman obtained one of the prospectuses of the British Company, and after altering it to suit his purpose presented it to the Superintendent of Foreign Trade as a venture deserving of support. His scheme was approved by the authorities and was duly launched with a respectable native backing. In 1879 the foundations of the mill were laid and an agreement was entered into with a British merchant for the supply of the requisite machinery for an eight hundred loom mill. But the enterprise, owing to the incapacity of the directorate, soon got into difficulties, and operations were suspended for two years. At the expiration of that period a new company was formed under the patronage of the Government, and Peng was removed from the chairmanship of the directorate, and Tai, another influential resident and an expectant Taoutai, appointed in his place. In the reorganised company the capacity of the factory was reduced to two hundred looms, and orders for the machinery were placed in America. Meanwhile, the original contract was annulled, Tai paying the stipulated forfeit of fifteen thousand taels. It is unnecessary at this point to follow the fortunes of the venture further. The facts as they stand are sufficiently complete to illustrate the point which was being emphasised—that the traditional Chinese exclusiveness was taking the new form of an endeavour to supplant the foreigner in his own sphere.
Shanghai all this time was developing rapidly into the fine city it ultimately became. In 1873 the report of the British Consul embodied the enclosed table showing the value of the assessments of land and houses in the settlement and the number of inhabitants:—
Land Assessed. :
| English settlement— | English settlement— | Taels. |
| | Foreign… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 4,812,000 | Foreign… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 4,812,000 |
| Native… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 100,000 ||
| Hongkew— | Hongkew— | |
| | Foreign… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 530,000 | Foreign… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 530,000 |
| Native. No assessment yet made… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … — ||
| | | 5,442,000 |
| Houses. |||
| English settlement— | English settlement— | |
| | Foreign… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 450,000 | Foreign… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 450,000 |
| Native… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 503,000 ||
| Hongkew— | Hongkew— | |
| | Foreign… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 73,000 | Foreign… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 73,000 |
| Native.… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 70,000 ||
| | | 1,096,000 |
| Census Average. |||
| | Chinese, resident… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 62,844 | Chinese, resident… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 62,844 |
| Chinese," employed in foreign hongs… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 5,556 ||
| Chinese," boat population and vagrants… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 9,957 ||
| Foreigners… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … 2,000 ||
| | | 80,367 |
* ↑ Actual value supposed to be double.
* ↑ Under new assessment will be 80,000 taels.
As an indication of the progress made in the years which followed the issue of this table, it is to be noted that in February, 1881, the Chamber of Commerce published a report which gave the estimated value of property in the united settlements at £14,250,000. Trade all the time was increasing with great rapidity. More than three-fourths of it was with Great Britain, and the bulk of the shipping which entered and cleared the port was British. Germany at this time was practically nowhere. Indeed, she seemed to be actually slipping behind in the race. Of 4,248 vessels which visited the port in 1878 only 154 were German, and the Acting Registrar of shipping in his report for the year spoke of German interests as "steadily declining." He added: "Of the many famous German business houses which used to do a large business here, only one or two remain." Twenty years later a very different tale was told, and to-day no one speaks of German commercial decay in the Far East.
The rapid development of Shanghai, and with it the increase of the European population, suggested the desirability of a reform of the municipal constitution. The discussions on the subject led to the appointment, towards the end of 1879, of a committee, with Mr. F. B. Forbes as chairman, to consider the question. A report was forthcoming suggesting various changes, the result of which, if carried out, would have been to increase the electorate from 403 to 508, and to swell the number of resident voters from 255 to 360. The report was considered at a ratepayers' meeting in March, 1881, and approved. Subsequently, the revised regulations were sent to Peking for ratification by the foreign ministers; but for some reason or other the requisite assent was withheld at the time. Not until November, 1898, after a fresh demand had been made by the ratepayers, did the diplomatic body at Peking pass the new constitution. In addition to the reforms recommended by the committee of 1879, a number of changes suggested by widened experience of municipal administration in the settlement were introduced. The principal of these had reference to the compulsory acquisition of land, promotion of sanitation, and the regulation of building operations. There was also a provision for the appointment of a Board of Land Commissioners to safeguard the interests of foreign renters and native owners. These reforms, it should be stated, applied only to the joint British and American settlement. The French concession has its own municipal constitution, which, in its present form, dates back to 1868.
The later history of both Hongkong and Shanghai is so largely covered in other portions of the work that it is only necessary to touch upon the more prominent points. At Hongkong, after Sir John Pope-Hennessy's troubled regime there was a brief interregnum, during which Mr. (afterwards Sir) William Marsh, the Colonial Secretary, officiated. In March, 1883, Sir George Bowen arrived to take charge of the administration, and directed the affairs of the Colony on healthy progressive lines for close upon three years. When he left Hongkong, on December 19, 1885, Mr. Marsh again temporarily assumed the control of affairs and continued to discharge the duties until his retirement in April, 1887. ​He handed over charge to Major-General Cameron, who officiated until Sir William G. des Voeux, the new Governor, arrived in the October following. The next four years, during which this official held office, though not particularly eventful, were fruitful of useful work. Amongst other improvements the praya reclamation scheme was carried out. Besides contributing materially to the attractions and conveniences of the city the project added 57 acres to the available land of the island at a point where space was greatly needed. The execution of the work was the more welcomed as it synchronised with a period of remarkable expansion in Hongkong. So rapid indeed was the increase of population that some of the most difficult problems of the administration were connected with the housing of the people, who were crowding into the already congested districts of the city. Sir William des Voeux, dealing with the subject in his report for 1888, spoke of relief having to be sought by the opening up of the interior of the island by tramways, and with prophetic vision he foreshadowed a time when the whole of the island would be covered with dwellings or manufactories. In the same report Sir William des Voeux drew an interesting comparison between the Hongkong of that period and the island as it was before the occupation. In place of "a bare rock with a fisherman's hut here and there, as the only sign of habitation, and a great sea basin only very rarely disturbed by a passing keel," was "a city of closely-built houses, stretching for some four miles along the island shore, and rising tier over tier, up the slopes of the mountain, those on the upper levels interspersed with abundant foliage; while, on the opposite peninsula of Kowloon .… and along the whole seaboard, are numerous houses, together with docks, great warehouses, and other evidences of a large and thriving population. Again, the silent and deserted basin has become a harbour, so covered with shipping that even if a visitor has been round the whole world, he could never before have seen so much in a single coup d'œil. At anchor or moving are some forty to fifty ocean steamers, including ships of war, large European and American sailing vessels, and hundreds of sea-going junks; while in the space intervening and around, are many thousand boats, for the most part human habitations, with steam launches rushing in all directions." This picture of a prosperous Hongkong was not a bit over-coloured at the time it was painted, but after Sir William des Voeux had retired, in May, 1891, a period of depression and public misfortune set in, which left its mark on the record of the Colony. First there was commercial trouble, the product of overspeculation and uncertain exchange, and then, in 1894, loomed up that ghastly spectre of the plague, which unhappily, has never yet been completely exorcised from the island. The history of the epidemic, or series of epidemics, which have afflicted the inhabitants is told elsewhere. It is only necessary to say here that the visitations called forth the highest administrative and scientific skill and that though, in the fight, the authorities have had some disappointing checks, they have brought about an enormous improvement in the condition of the Colony. The heaviest and most notable work in connection with the epidemics occurred during the governorship of Sir William Robinson, who arrived in the Colony on December 10, 1891, and who served continuously until February 1, 1898. But it was left to the administration of his successor, Sir Henry Blake, to apply the chief remedies which were recommended by two sanitary experts, Mr. Osbert Chadwick and Dr. Simpson, who were specially sent out from England for the purpose of investigating the matter. The term of office of Sir Matthew Nathan, who followed Sir Henry Blake in the governorship, was, unfortunately, not free from serious plague troubles. His administration, however, will always be memorable from the fact that it covered the period of the memorable typhoon of September 18, 1904—a catastrophe of appalling, and as far as Hongkong is concerned, unprecedented magnitude. Over ten thousand lives were lost in the disaster, and property to the value of many millions of dollars was destroyed. Amongst the victims was the Right Rev. J. C. Hoare, D.D., Bishop of Victoria, who was drowned in the harbour. Another event, of more cheerful import, which marked Sir Matthew's term of service, was the inauguration of the Kowloon-Canton railway scheme—an enterprise which, when completed, as it will be, it is expected, in 1910, will bring Hongkong into direct land communication with the great markets of Southern China. After a busy and useful administration Sir Matthew Nathan handed over the reins of office to his successor, Brigadier-General Sir F. D. Lugard, in April, 1907.
CHAPTER XVIII.
The War between China and Japan—Intervention of Russia, Germany, and France—German Occupation of Kiaochau—Russian Occupation of Port Arthur—The British at Weihaiwei—Railway Concessions—The Boxer Rising—The Siege of the Legations at Peking—The International Expedition—The Peace Protocol—The Russo-Japanese War—Conclusion.
In recent years the general course of Chinese history has been prolific of dramatic surprises and events of the deepest international import. The story of this memorable period is too fresh to need more than brief recapitulation here. A convenient starting point is the war waged by Japan on China in 1894. That struggle arose over a dispute as to the government of Korea. Disturbances having occurred at Seoul, the Korean capital, Japan and China sent troops for the protection of their respective subjects. Afterwards the Japanese Government put forward a scheme for the execution of reforms under the joint supervision of the two powers, but China declined to entertain the proposals on the ground that her traditional policy was not to interfere in the internal affairs of a vassal state. The refusal led to strained relations between the two Governments and finally, after a series of incidents, to actual warfare. Japan was triumphant on both sea and land. Her army, commanded by Field Marshal Count ​Yamagata, inflicted a signal defeat on the Chinese forces in North Korea on September 17th, and the same day the Chinese fleet was badly worsted in an engagement at the mouth of the Yalu River. The tide of war thereafter swept into Manchuria, and Port Arthur was besieged and captured. A similar fate befell Weihaiwei, where the Chinese fleet, under Admiral Ting, was either sunk or taken; the capture of Yingkow placed Newchwang at the mercy of the invaders. Recognising the logic of events, the Chinese Government made overtures for peace, and a treaty of peace negotiated by Li Hung Chang at Shimonosaki was concluded on April 17th and ratified on May 4th. By the terms of the arrangement China recognised the independence of Korea, ceded to Japan the Liaotung peninsula together with Formosa and the Pescadore Islands, and agreed to pay an indemnity of 200,000,000 taels in eight instalments. It was arranged that Japan should occupy Weihaiwei temporarily pending the execution of the provisions of the treaty. Barely was the ink dry on the treaty before it was made evident that Japan was not to be permitted to enjoy the complete fruits of her victory. A movement projected by Russia, France, and Germany was set on foot with a view to nullifying the provision relative to the cession of the Liaotung peninsula. The principal ground put forward to justify this intervention was that the territorial integrity of China must be maintained. It was a hypocritical reason—but it served. Recognising the force of the combination against her, Japan sullenly agreed to forego the prize she had won in consideration of the payment of an extra indemnity. A decent interval was allowed to elapse before the true meaning of this manœuvre on the part of the three European powers was revealed. The first indication of it was conveyed by rumours which were set afloat at the close of 1896 in reference to the conclusion of a treaty between China and Russia giving the latter power the right to extend the Siberian Railway to Manchuria and to occupy and fortify Kiaochau, while she on her part agreed to defend Port Arthur and Talienwan, As events proved, the stories in circulation were well founded as far as the main fact of the conclusion of a treaty giving Russia wide powers in Manchuria was concerned. But in the working out of the details there was a striking change made by the substitution of Germany for Russia at Kiaochau. The ostensible cause of the German occupation was the murder of two missionaries, subjects of the Kaiser. It has always been suspected, however, that the move was part of an understanding entered into with Russia, under which Kiaochau was to fall to Germany as her share in the proceeds of the Russian Treaty, However that may be, Germany's appearance at Kiaochau was quickly followed by the advent of Russia at Port Arthur and by the adoption of measures for the consolidation of Russian power in Southern Manchuria. The course of events was watched with anxious interest by friends of China, who saw in these acts a situation full of menacing possibilities for the future. Great Britain, in accordance with an agreement arrived at at the time that the Japanese evacuated the port, on May 24, 1898, occupied Weihaiwei as a counterpoise to the German and Russian encroachments, and it also availed itself of the opportunity to secure an extension of its territory on the Kowloon peninsula and the adjacent mainland. But these measures had little influence on the general situation in China which rapidly became worse as Russian ambitions were the more plainly revealed by successive acts.
The period to which these events refer was one of great diplomatic tension. The Chinese Government, staggering under the successive blows inflicted upon its authority, became a mark for the attentions of aspiring European powers. Efforts made to stay the process of disintegration only served to bring into prominence the magnitude of the pretensions, which were set up. It seemed to observers that the break-up of the Chinese Empire was rapidly impending. One form which the unequal war waged at Peking between the weak and effete Chinese officialdom and the bold, self-assertive diplomacy of Europe took was a struggle for commercial concessions—chiefly railway concessions. When the Chinese tore up the rails of the Shanghai-Woosung Road it was thought that they had washed their hands for a long period of railways. But the question, though thrust into the background, was never out of sight of the trade representatives of the various European powers, who were alive to the vastness of the possibilities which centred in railway expansion in China. From time to time timid and tentative efforts were made to re-open the question, and they were so far successful that in one or two directions small lengths of line were built, the most notable of these being the railway from Peking to Tientsin (which was opened in 1897), and a line connecting Tientsin and Taku on the one hand and Kinchow and Newchwang on the other. These lines together are part of what is now known as the Northern Railway, and from their position they are of great importance. But they touch only the outer fringe of the empire and the real exploitation of railway schemes was left to the period referred to. Then the matter was pushed in sober earnest. It seemed a point of honour with each of the rival European powers to obtain as large concessions as possible. Great Britain, Russia, France, and Germany were the principal figures in the struggle, but the United States also took a hand in it, while Belgium, pushed forward and backed by Russia, cut in as occasion offered. The net result of it all was that by 1900 concessions for the construction of upwards of 5,000 miles of railway had been made, while grants for more than 2,000 additional miles were under consideration. One of the earliest of the schemes sanctioned was a railway 700 miles long connecting Peking with Hankow in the Yangtse basin. The concession for this line was obtained in 1896 by a Belgian syndicate which had strong support in France. A second project for linking up Hankow and Canton, practically a continuation of the Peking-Hankow railway, was launched by an American syndicate. In the French sphere of interest schemes embracing a mileage of 800 were sanctioned, while Germany had concessions for the construction of 845 miles of line in Shantung, and Russia (apart from Manchuria) was interested in enterprises north of Peking, the mileage of which aggregated 150. Besides these great railway undertakings commercial enterprises of a highly important character were launched in these busy days in Peking. The most conspicuous of the number, perhaps, are those embodied in the concession of the great British financial group known as the Peking Syndicate. This body secured in 1897 the valuable right to work coal and iron mines in the province of Shansi—an area containing much undeveloped mineral wealth. Included in the grant obtained from the Government was a concession for the construction of branch railways to connect the mines with the river navigation in adjoining provinces and with main lines of railways. The project, as representing the first real effort that had been made to develop the magnificent material resources of China on scientific lines, was of more than common interest and importance. Later, when the concessionaires got to work, they were impeded in their operations by the obstructiveness of the Chinese Government, which put obstacles in the way of the execution of the railway clauses of the agreement. Nevertheless, the operations of the syndicate have been on an extensive scale, and have done much to infuse a spirit of scientific commercial enterprise into the Chinese of the area in which the mines are situated.
Not without indifference were these startling evidences of the growth of foreign influence regarded by the Chinese masses. The patriotic sentiment was outraged by the apparent inability of the Government to withstand the pressure put upon it by the foreign representatives. The Chinese saw in these concessions, with the occupation of Port Arthur, Kiaochau and Weihaiwei, a deep-seated conspiracy against the integrity of the Empire and the independence of the race. For a time there was merely vague discontent, but gradually there came into existence a movement which gave vent to the popular feeling in a prolonged orgy of riot and outrage which was destined, before its end, to bring the Chinese dynasty to the verge of ruin, and to involve China itself in incalculable damage. A factor which lent strength to the movement—if it was not in intimate relation with it, was a coup d'état which in 1898 led to the relegation of the young Emperor Kwangsu to retirement, and the placing of supreme power once more in the hands of his aunt, the Dowager Empress. The Dowager Empress was supported by the most reactionary elements in the country, and she personally manifested a bigoted hatred of all foreigners and the innovations which they brought in their train. Outwardly, however, the movement to which we have referred was a popular ebullition, with aims which ran counter to governmental authority. The motive force was supplied by a secret society, known by the name of I-ho-chuan, literally, Patriotic Harmony Fists, or to adopt the most expressive English synonym—Boxers. The organisation has a ritual in which gymnastic posturing plays a considerable part, and upon this for special purposes of the anti-foreign crusade was cleverly grafted a cult of occultism, well calculated to attract the ignorant and superstitious. Full membership was held to confer immunity from bullets, to enable initiates to walk on air, and to do many miraculous things. The propaganda, with this attractive embroidery, soon made itself felt in the fertile soil of Chinese nationalism. Numbers flocked to the Boxers' standards wherever they were raised, and soon the outside world had evidence of the tendencies of the movement.
The first symptom of the outbreak was rioting in Southern Pechili in January, 1900. No steps were taken by the authorities to quell the disturbances, and as they were gradually assuming a more serious aspect, the diplomatic representatives at Peking, on January 27th, made a joint protest to the Tsung li Yamen, demanding the publication of an edict proscribing the Boxer organisation and their doctrines. The Chinese authorities after their usual manner, attempted to evade responsibility, but, finding that the European powers were in earnest, they intimated that they would issue the required edict. A proclamation of some kind was made, but it ​was utterly futile, and the revolutionary movement gained new strength and activity with the immunity it enjoyed. Towards the end of April outbreaks occurred at Tientsin, directed by a branch organisation known as the Sect of the Red Fish. Native Christians were the special objects of attack, and property belonging to the French missionaries greatly suffered. Urgent protests were lodged against the lawlessness of the mob, but the authorities either would not or could not control the disruptive forces which had been let loose. Soon the outbreak extended to Peking, and the streets became full of roughs who attacked native converts and insulted every foreigner they met. At length the rioting took the alarming form of tearing up the rails, and so severing communication with the coast. Impressed with the growing seriousness of the situation, the diplomatic representatives called for assistance from their respective squadrons, and some four hundred and fifty men were sent up. The trouble now assumed an even graver form. Violent outbreaks occurred in North China, and to the destruction of the railway at Paoting Fu, was added the murder of Messrs. Norman and Robertson, two missionaries at Yunching, and the wholesale assassination of native Christians wherever met with. A culminating feature of the occurrences was the murder of the Chancellor of the Japanese Legation in the streets of Tientsin. The seriousness of the situation had by this time impressed itself upon the foreign Governments, and soon a strong fleet—the largest ever seen in Chinese waters—assembled at Taku. But the crisis had now got beyond the point when any naval demonstration, however imposing, could ameliorate it. The Boxers caught up in their movement all classes of the population. In some places the officials openly identified themselves with it; in others they were powerless to resist it. Later it became perfectly evident that the Government itself was deeply involved in the propaganda. At Peking, as June advanced. the position of affairs, owing to the calculated inactivity of the authorities, became alarming. The Boxers carried on their crusade against the foreigners with increasing violence and determination, murdering and destroying wherever the hated influence was apparent. An urgent call from the Legations to the Admirals for reinforcements led to the prompt despatch from Tientsin, on June 10th, of a mixed force of fifteen hundred sailors, under the personal command of Admiral Sir Edward Seymour, the senior naval officer on the station. The detachment entrained for Peking, but at Lo-Ja they found that the permanent way had been destroyed, and that the route was barred by a large body of Boxers. As he had with him only three obsolete field pieces, and a badly equipped commissariat, Admiral Seymour deemed it advisable not to attempt to proceed. He conducted a masterly retreat to a point outside Tientsin where he remained entrenched until his little force was relieved by a column of allied troops on June 25th. On the following day the united force marched into the foreign settlements, taking their wounded with them in safety. While Admiral Seymour's expedition was proceeding, momentous events had occurred elsewhere. On Saturday, June 16th, owing to the menacing character of the situation in Chihli, the Admirals sent in a demand for the cession of the Taku forts before the next morning. The Chinese not only rejected the ultimatum but commenced hostilities against the fleet. The inevitable result followed. The forts were successfully attacked by the fleet, and finally occupied by the allied forces. Two days after these occurrences the Tsung li Yamen sent a notification to the Embassies demanding their withdrawal by 4 p.m. the following day. The reason assigned for this step was the attack by the Allies on the Taku forts, but the general concensus of opinion of those who had opportunities of watching on the spot the development of the crisis, is that the Chinese authorities were already at this period so deeply involved in the anti-foreign movement that the Taku affair only indirectly influenced their action. However that may have been, the foreign ministers declined to entertain the demand of the Yamen. They were influenced in their decision by the palpable inability of the Chinese Government, even if its good faith were beyond reproach, to afford adequate protection during the journey to the coast, and by the unavoidable necessity which would arise of leaving thousands of native Christians who had taken refuge in Peking to be slaughtered by the Boxers. When it became known that the Legations intended to remain, the situation swiftly advanced to a tragic dénouement. On the very next day the German Minister, Baron Von Ketteler, was brutally murdered in the Peking streets while on his way to interview the Chinese Ministers. The attack made on him was the work of imperial soldiers, and there can be little doubt of the direct complicity of high-placed officials in it. Its grave significance was too obvious to be ignored by the greatest optimist amongst the foreign ministers. Immediately measures were taken to place the Legations in a condition of defence to withstand the attacks which it was clearly seen were impending. Before twenty-four hours had elapsed the historic siege of the Legations had been entered upon. The details of that thrilling episode in Chinese history are too fresh in public memory to require to be related here. It is only necessary to say that after weeks of almost continuous fighting, during which the defending force showed a splendid spirit of valour and endurance, the Legations were relieved by an international relief column, which, leaving Tientsin on August 3rd, and pushing steadily onwards, arrived before Peking on August 13th, and almost immediately raised the siege. On the day previously the imperial family had taken flight into Shansi en route for w:Si-an-fu, where it was to remain for many months in a not too honourable exile. The foreign military occupation of the Chinese capital continued for a rather lengthened period, and even when the main forces were withdrawn strong detachments were left behind as a permanent measure of protection. Apart from the humiliation involved in this measure the Chinese Government had to pay dearly for the ineffaceable infamy of its conduct. The Peace Protocol, finally arranged between the envoys of the Treaty Powers and Prince Ching and the late Li Hung Chang, provided for the payment of an indemnity of £65,000,000, spread over a period of 39 years, and for a revision of commercial treaties on lines which were little to the taste of the reactionary Chinese officialdom. Eventually three new treaties were concluded, one with the United Kingdom, the second with the United States, and the third with Japan. Under the British Treaty Changoha in Hunan was opened to foreign trade, and the arrangements with the United States and Japan provided for the inclusion of Mukden, Tatunkow, and Antung, in Manchuria, amongst the Treaty ports.
China was not involved as a belligerent in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–5, but the titanic struggle between the giant power of the north and the little island empire profoundly affected her interests directly, and indirectly it has exercised, and still is exercising, a powerful influence on her people. The stirring of the dry bones of Chinese life, which is one of the remarkable international phenomena of the day, is, there can be little doubt, an aftermath of the war. The spectacle of the Japanese triumphing over the colossal might of Russia by virtue of her thoroughgoing adoption and intelligent application of Western principles of life and government, has created in the minds of the ​Chinese people a divine discontent with the old order of things, and from one end of the empire to the other the spirit of reform is abroad. Men who formerly shouted arrogantly with the crowd that China was all-sufficient and needed nothing from without, are now crying aloud in the market places for the introduction of the features of European civilisation, which has enabled to be performed what seems to the Eastern mind to be the greatest miracle of the age. He would be a bold man who would prophesy how far the movement will go. Chinese conservatism, though it has been driven from its entrenchments by the events of the past few years, is still lurking in the background, and circumstances may in the future, as in the past, bring it into active life once more. Looking, however, at the depth and intensity of the popular desire for changes designed to be a buckler against the assaults from without, which aforetime have brought such lamentable humiliation upon the empire, it would appear that China has at last really reached the parting of the ways. The telegraphs, the posts, and the railways, which are covering the vast dominions with a network of civilised organisation, are infusing new blood into the outworn arteries, and the rapidly growing native press is educating the inhabitants to new conceptions of life. Official policy, too, is taking to itself more and more of the progressive views which dominate the best systems of Western government, while the machinery of government is being in many respects improved by the mere elimination of old abuses. In time there is hope for China—hope that she may yet rise to the full height of her greatness and take her position in the world as one of its mightiest forces. The fears entertained in some quarters that a real awakening on her part would be of disastrous import to the peace of the world are probably chimerical. The Chinese are traditionally an unaggressive race, and there is no reason to suppose that the adoption of Western ideas would work a change within their nature.
Whatever danger there may be for Western nations in the regeneration of China lies probably exclusively in the industrial sphere. There, indeed, we may look for startling results when the teeming population of the empire is organised on scientific lines and its energies are turned to the production of manufactures of which Europe and America have now practically the monopoly. But the competition, strenuous though it will be, will not necessarily be destructive, for we may rely upon Western energy, aptitude and pliability of thought, providing means by which the handicap of cheap Eastern labour will be met. In any event there will be no disposition to place obstacles in the way of Chinese progress if her victories are sought exclusively in commercial fields.
* ↑ Referring to this sale, Dr. Eitel says: The purchasers of those lots who may be considered as the first British settlers in Hongkong were the following firms or individuals, viz., Jardine, Matheson & Co.; Heerjeebhoy Rustomjee; Dent & Co.; Macrica & Co.: Geminell & Co.; John Smith; D. Rustomjee; Gribble, Hughes & Co.; Lindsay & Co.; Hooker & Lane; Holliday & Co.; F. Leighton & Co.; Innes, Fletcher & Co.; Jamieson & How; Fox, Rawson & Co.; Turner & Co.; Robert Webster; R. Gully; Charles Hart; Captain Larkins; P. F. Robertson; Captain Morgan: Dirom & Co.: Pestonjee Cowasjee, and Framjee Jamsetjee. This sale was followed by the erection of godowns and houses, and the building of a sea wall, the road alongside of which was thenceforth (in imitation of Macao parlance) called the Praya. The following places were the first to be utilised for commercial buildings and private residences of merchants, viz., West Point, the Happy Valley, Spring Gardens, the neighbourhood of the present Naval Yard (Canton Bazaar), the sites now occupied by Butterfield & Swire, the Hongkong Hotel, by the China Mail, the Hongkong Dispensary, the slope below Wyndham Street, Pottinger Street, Queen's Road Central (the Bazaar), etc.
* ↑ Narrative of an exploratory visit to the Consular Cities of China, by the Rev. George Smith, M.A., p. 332.
* ↑ Narrative of an exploratory visit to the Consular Cities of China, by the Rev. George Smith, M.A., p. 384.