The Express.
London, England, 1853-05-30 00:00:00

CHINA.

The latest dates from China are to the 11th of
April. The American, French, and English ships of
war on the coast of China have, on the urgent requi-
sition of the Chinese authorities, consented to guard
Nankin, Shanghai, and the mouths of the great
canal, against the rebels.
The great drama of Chinese polities is rapidly ap-
proaching a denouement, and perhaps a tragical one.
The insurgents are around Nankin, a few marches
from Shanghai, and commanding the sources of the
supply of grain to Pekin. A permanent stoppage in
this supply is equivalent to a famine in the capital
itself, a contingency which has always been dreaded
by the Chinese government, and which was
made use of by Mr. Alcock in 1848 to compel
the local authorities to listen to reason. He laid an
embargo on all the grain boats destined for Pekin,
and the Taontae, dreading lest an order for his head
should precede an investigation into the affair, se-
ceded to the Consul's demands. It does not appear
that the insurgents have as yet been successful in
their attack upon Nankin, but a battle is reported
to have taken place. It is not clear whether the
application has come from the Emperor himself or
his uncle, the Viceroy of Nankin, but in either case
it has been granted. Sir G. Bonham with two or three
armed yew* has started for Shanghai ; the Hon. H.
Marshall with his great steamer, the Susquehanna,
is on his way to the same place, and is said to have
declared that he would carry his vessel right up the
Yang-tse-kiang to Nankin. The British, therefore,
have been called in to support a sinking dynasty,
and for the second time in history, the outside barba-
rians may fairly expect to get inside the celestial em-
Fre' . Meanwhile, there is a report that the rebels
have adopted a speedier method of bring the war to
a conclusion. Daring their progress they have fre-
quently, after making one attack on the walled cities,
contented themselves with laying waste the sur-
rounding country, and suddenly advanced still fur-
ther to the north, towards their ultimate object,
Pekin. They are said to have tried this manoeuvre once
more, and by a masterly retreat to have abandoned
Nankin, and) poured their forces along the road'
to the capital. Should they reach it unbroken,
and be assisted by the mob of the suburbs, it would
appear that the Emperor must fly, though he may
have resources which we at this distance are unable
to estimate, and there must be tribes to the north-
ward whom, as a last resource, ho Gan summon to
his assistance. Intelligence, however, is more quickly
diffused in China than in most Oriental countries.
The tale of our much abused Lama at Darjeeling was
a proof how far the impression of coming disaster to
the Tartar dynasty had extended, and we have
little doubt that the progress of the rebels is as well
known in Yonnan, on the western border, as in
Shanghai on the Yellow Sea.

(From the Overland China )tail, April 11.)
The rebellion has assumed an importance lately which
attracts general attention, both among natives and
foreigners, while our neuron of authentic information are
few and tardy.
Our latest advice, from the north lead us to believe that
Nanking, though closely invested by the insurgents, still
holds out, although the fears and expectations of the people
have led to repeated report. of its having been taken; and
its imminent danger, as well as a knowledge of the dis-
astrous results likely to ensue to the Imperialists
on its fall, are shown in the urgent request for foreign
help, made by Luh Kienynig, Governor-General of the Two
Kiang, through the Taoutae at Shanghae.•
More to the southward the cities of Kiu-kiang, in Kiang-
-61, and of Han-yang and Wu-chang, in Hu-peh, are re•
ported to have been re-occupied by the government troops,
which merely means that the insurgents have voluntarily
abandoned those cities, probably for the purpose of con-
centrating all their disposable force before Nanking.
It is extremely difficult to learn the truth concerning the
state of affairs among the Imperialists; and the manifestoes
obtained from the people as having emanated from the
leaders of the insurgents, arc unsatisfactory as to their
intentions, numbers, and successes. Their plat appears to
be to press onwards towards Peking with their whole force,
leaving no reserve to cover their rear or occupy their con-
quests; consequently, all the districts they pass over re-