The Express.
London, England, 1856-12-30 00:00:00

THE CHINESE QUESTION.

Advice, from Alexandria beyond those published
lin the Evros* of yesterday from Trieste reader it
possible to obtain a tolerably complete and connected
view of the recant occurrences at Canton.
It has more than once been mentioned by oar cot.
respondent at Hong Kong that the intercourse
between the British authoritios and the Governor of
Canton has for some time been embarrassed with
growing difficulties, the result of the unredressed
grievances of British merchants. On the tith of
October the Chinese authorities consummated their
career of arbitrary violence by seizing a lorcha under
British colours, and making prisoners of the crew,
It is stated on good authority that they cut off the
heads of four of the crew. The Consul, Mr. Parkes,
the British agent on the spot, prooeeded first on
board the lorcha, and afterwards endeavoured to
obtain an interview with the mandarins. on
board the lorcha he wee menaced, and the man.
darins refused to give any kind of explanation of the
proceeding.

The Consul immediately despatched intelligence of
these events! to Sir John Bowring, of Hong Kong,
and also to Sir Michael Seymour, who was on the
spot, and reprisals were commenced in a mild form
by the seizure of a mandarin junk, which Commodore
the Hon. C. O. I. B. Elliot, of the Bybille, took and
sent into Hong Kong. Meanwhile the Consul sent
in a strong remonstrance to Teli, the governor of the
city, to:which no answer was returned. Finding a:1
his efforts vain, Costal Parkes renounced further
attempts at conciliation, and a naval force soon ap.
puled on the scene.

On the 18th of October Sir Michael Seymour
despatched from Hong Hong the screw corvette
Encounter, 14 guns, and the steam sloop Sampson, 8,
for Whampoa in the first instance, with a large tome
of marines and blue jacket.; and the steam sloop
Barracouta followed with further detachments,
Admiral Seymour himself then proceeded to Canton,
and undertook the direction of the operations. The
British and other traders were officially warned of
the posture of affairs, and commercial transactions,
which for a week before had been little more than
nominal, were suspended.
The river in front of Canton is rather broader
than the Thames at London Bridge, but the depth
of water does not exceed two fathoms, while the
narrow passages by which amen is gained to it on
the eastern side of the island of Whampos have a
depth not exceeding a fathom and a half. The city
is externally guarded by five forts, of which two are
on the land side and two on Pearl river. These
were attacked and taken by our countrymen on the
24th of October. An attempt was then made by
Admiral Seymour to terminate the difficulty without
further hostilities, but the Chinese Governor would
neither give satisfaction nor grant an interview to
the British Commander.

Admiral Seymour then determined to attack the
city itself. A well, composed partly of sandstone
and partly of brick, surrounds Canton; it is about
30 feet high and 25 feet thick, and is mounted with
cannon. Against this wall a fire was opened on the
27th of October, and by the 29th a practicable breach
had been opened through which the troops entered.
The Governor's palace, situate in the south-western
part of the new city, was gained, but appears not to
have proved a position worth holding, for the
troops were withdrawn in the evening with a loos of
only three killed and 12 wounded.
A further attempt which wu now made to negotiate
proved vain, and it was then resolved to attack the
old, inner, or Mantchou portion of the city, divided
from the southern by a high massive stone wall, and
containing the garrison of Canton. This part of the
city was bombarded on the 3rd and 4th of Nov.,
and on the 6th the Burnouts destroyed twenty-
three war junks. Another interval of reflection was
then granted to the Chinese Governor, but at the date
of the last accounts from Canton which had reached
Hong Bong no signs of an accommodation were
discernible.

The Imperialist garrison of Canton was in a very
weakened state. The governor bad raised the pay
of common soldiers from six to eight dollars a month.
Itaweilin-foo, the capital of the adjoining province of
Kwangsi, wu closely invested by the insurgents,
who, it was thought, would probably attack the
Mantchou governor as soon as his new embarrass-
ments became known.

Our fleet of war ships in the Chinese Sus is at
this particular time large, u wall be seen by the fol-
lowing list :

AT GONG KONG.
H.M.S. Calcutta .... 64 Captain Hall.
Winchester.. 50 Captain Wilson.
Coromandel... 3 Lieutenant Nares.
Hercules . Hospital ships.
Minden ....
AT WHAMPOA.

H.M.S. Sybille 40 Commodore Elliot.
Encounter.. 14 Captain O'Callaghan.
Bittern .... 12 Captain Bate.
Sampson .. 6 Captain Hand.
Comps .... 14 Captain Jenkins.
AT CANTON.
H.M.S. Barracouta.. 6 Captain Fortescue.
AT WOOSUNO.

H.M.S. Pique 36 Capt. Sir F. W. Nirolion
Hornet
_ _

The sloop Comas has lost eight of her linos, which
her commander was compelled to throw overboard in a
tempest in the Formosa Channel. Admiral Sey-
mour only arrived at Hang Kong from his northern
cruaie ten days before the commission of the outrage
which he is engaged in avenging.