The Express.
London, England, 1860-12-14 00:00:00

T
behind

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atm, sad carried on hones to
___.;-chaer, and thaass, in 4116 sense state, in one of the
cu of the country, to Pekin, when they were placed in
dae♦soas, and remained so until ten days ago. Mr. Parkes
was beaten when he did not instantly reply to a question,
and Mr. Loch because he could not speak Chinese. Within
the last week these atrocities have been discontinued, and
they have met with some consideration. It ►ppears that when

the-party wee returning from Tungehow, where you will
remember Kr. Parkes went to remonstrate against the
Tartars encamping on the ground appropriated to the
British army, they arrived at Chang-ki•-wan, where the
battle of the 18th was fought, and seeing preparations for
an attack, they consulted together whether to charge
through them, or to apply to San-ko-lin-sin, who was •
abort distance behind, for a paw. They resolved on the
latter course. He received them with insult and abuse, and
made prisoners of them. They do not know where the rest
of the captives are, but suppose them to be with San-ko-lin.
sin's army, whether in or out of Pekin is not known.
The Summer Palace is about five miles by a circuitous
road north-wait of this camp, outside the earthwork. A
description of it is given in Staunton's account of Lord
Ifacartney's embassy, and other works on China, but no
pen can describe correctlyathe scene that boa taken plaos

there within the two last days. Indiscriminate loot has
been allowed. The public reception hall, the state and
private bedrooms, ante-rooms, boudoir,, and every other
apartment has been ransacked ; articles of vertu, of native
and foreign workmanship, taken, or broken if too large to be
canted sway, ornamental lattice work, screens, jade stone
ornaments, jars, clocks, watches, and other pieces of me-
chanism, curtains and furniture—none have escaped from
destruction. There were extensive wardrobes of
every article of dress ; coats richly embroidered in
silk and gold thread, in the Imperial Dragon pat-
tern ; boots, head-dresses, fans, kc., in fact, rooms
all bed filled with them. Store rooms of manufac-
tured silk in rolls, such as may be bought in Can-
ton at 20 dole. to 30 dole. per piece. By a calculation made
in the rooms, there must have been 70,000 or 80,000
pieces. Hundreds were thrown down and trampled on, and
the floor covered thickly with them, men were ;throw-
ing them at each other, and all taking as many as they
could carry. They were used instead of rope to secure the
loading of carte filled with them. Throughout the French
camp were hundreds of piece., some heaped up, others used
to make tents or beds and ooverlida.

In the afternoon yesterday, a party of French went
through the apartments with sticks, breaking everything
that remained—mirrors, screens, panels, &c. Itis said that
they did so in revenge for the barbarous treatment the re•
twined prisoners, their countrymen, had received.
' A taeasury containing a large quantity of gold ingots and
eyes° wirer is under charge of a guard, and is to be divided
between the English and French.
The total value of property &Mewed would amount to
• large instalment of the indemnity claimed.

In one of the ante-rooms of the state bed-room at the
Summer Palace, the treaty of Tientsin in English and Chi-
nese, signed by Lord Elgin, was found. It had been thrown
on the ground by some one, and lay iu the heap of broken
articles, till the English paper evidently attracted the eye
of the pence who discovered it.

A general order from the British Commander-in-Chief
desired that all articles taken by otfioen and men were to
be sent in for sale by public auction for the benefit of the
army, which we. done. AU were permitted to have the
articles they had brought away for themselves valued, and
have the option of taking or rejecting them. Many beau-
tiful curios and souvenirs were thus obtained at a nominal
price. The sale realised 32,000 dollars, which, with the
value of the treasure, estimated at 61,000 dollars, is to be
divided as prise money on the spot.
Much dissatisfaction has been expressed at the decision
of the Commandevin-Chief that only; those of the troops

who marched from the lost halting place on the 6th are to
participate in the prize money, all the mat, those at the
depot at Tong-chow and °nowhere, being excluded.

The Comm;ader-in-Chief and general ;floors have waived
their right to share. A gold jog of great value was pre-
sented to the Commander.in-Chief by the army. Nearly all
the articles were sold at very high prices, large enamelled
sad inland vases and ornaments realising full Shanghas
prices for such articles, the fact of their having been the
property of Hien Fuug adding an imaginary value to every-
thing. The scene where the sale Ives held in the temple
lernsehi, occupied by head-quarters, was worthy of the
pencil of an artist. Had his Imperial Majesty handed over
the whole of the contents of that palace, uninjured, it
would have sold for an enormous amount, more than three-
fourths having been destroyed or taken by the French.
All round the vicinity of the palace sit large enclosures,
parks, or cemeteries, with trees of gams magnitude ; and
many stone bridges over wallahs, the country being very
dry at present. Branching off from the palace are several
paved roads, and just outside of it is the French camp by
the side of two large lotus ponds. It is reported that they
are to leave that plaos to-day and take up a position on
oar left. They wish to take the west gate of the city,
which is the only one open, but it is objected to, as the i
Emperor's brother, the Prince Hung, would not be able
to enter the city, should he be induced to return
hom the country to which, it is said, he has fled.
We propose to take one of the gates on the north
ride near to this camp, and shall do so as soon as
the siege guns, which have been ordered up, arrive.
I have not learnt what is then to be done. It is sup-
posed the army will not enter Pekin in any case, but that
the officers will be allowed to do so with a pain. The utter
destruction of the interior of the Summer Palsr.e, where, be
it remembered, Lord Amherst, as ambassador from Eng.
land, was insulted, is but small punishment for the Em-
peror's contumacy, and the treatment of the prisoners who
were captured whilst on • peaceful mission ; yet the like
visitation being inflicted on the palace in Pekin might be
impolitic, though deserved. That would not only utterly
destroy the present government, but prevent the organisa-
tion of • new one under our protection, should it be desira-
ble to do so.

The prompt release of the prisoners on our near approach
to the capital proves that only a firm policy can snooped
with this government. It is to be hoped that the lame will
be persisted in, and that no terms short of our demand will
be accepted. Whether we shall treat before the rest of
the prisoners are released is not made known. If San-
ko-lin•sin remain obdurate notwithstanding the defeat of his
army at all points, we may have to do so, or the end will
never come.

At sunrise of the morning after we arrived here, a salute
of 21 guns was fired by the artillery to announce our posi-
tions to the prisoners, and to our cavalry and artillery which
bad creased our trail and gone on to the Summer Palace,
expecting to find the army there.
The Emperor is reported to have gone to his palace, Ze-
bol, in Tartar', where Lord ilacartney was received. He
has thirteen wives with him.

P.S. The siege gang have arrived, and I believe the gate
will be summoned to-morrow. There is a report that a
put of the Summer Palace is on fire. The buildings are
many and detached, yet I think it very probable they will
be destroyed, the feeling being so strong against the
Chinese on account of the barbarous treatment of the
prisoners.

The following is a separate account of the affair'
at the palace :
The French column, together with Col. Fettle's Brigade of 1,
Cavalry, advanced on Yuen•mio•yuea, the English column
rather nearer Pekin. a large body of the enemy having been
observed (near the village now occupied by us). The French
entered with only two casualties, two officers being wounded
by the eunuchs of the palace. The following day no signs
of the French being visible, the English fired 21 guns to
attract attention, and later in the morning the Commander-
in-Chief learned where they were. Lord Elgin, Mr. Wade, Sir
H. Grant, Sir& Napier, and their respective staffs proceeded
to the palace, and found the French had been comfortably
established there, and that. a great portion of the principal
valuables bad been already taken away, leaning the heavy,
but leas valuable articles for the English, or at least what
things the French could not carry they left form. No de-
scription can give an idea of the splendour of this residence.
The entrance or reception hall is paved with marble, and
painted with gold, azure. and scarlet in the most gorgeous
style. The throne of the Emperor is of beautiful carved
dark wood, and the cushions, embroidered with gold
dragons, attracted general admiration ; every inner chamber
and ..loon was very handsomely fitted lip, and the rolls
of silk, satin, and crape, all of splendid workman-
ship, splendidly furnished cummerbunds and pugearees for
the French soldiers, who appear to have adopted our cus-
tom in this respect. The dude stone aud china 'sere of great
value, and some Sevres china of Louis Qustirre would
have delighted the oyes of many a curio fancier ; aud a
presentation sword, with the English coat of arms, studded
with gems, and evidently of antiquity, gave rise to sonic
speculation. The last treaty of Tientsin was also

found, and the immense quantity of loot of ;a
kinds made it almost impossible to know what
take away. Some idea of the quantity of silk
may be given by the fact that fowls, old pots. /ie.,
were wrapped in the most costly silks and satins. All tk,
ladies bad disappeared, but their little Japanese dogs, son,.
thing resembling aging Charles spaniel, were running about
in • distracted state. Mr. Wade secured some valuable
books and papers, some we believe for the British Museum.
The Emperor bad left the day before, but his destination is,
I believe, unknown. It is said that • panic took place
amongst the French, and that they evacuated the puke%
returning, however, when the alarm subsided. One thing
is certain—our allies took can of themselves.

Camp before Pekin, Oct. 13,1800,

Lag evening nine sowers of the Sikh cavalry were re.
leased, and came into camp. They bring the dietrunieg
news that Captain Anderson and Mr. de Norman died
from the effects of the brutal treatment received from the
Tartars, the former on the 81,1 a, the latter on the 11th day
after they were captured. The wounds caused by the cools
binding their wrists, insufficient food, and other inhuman
tortures, had caused their death. One of thee! Sikhs, a
sergeant, was found with them. He survived, and has
made a deposition of the facts. They are all Adelina
much, and it will be long before they an return to duty.
They were brought from a town some thirty or forty miles
off, to which they were conveyed soon after their capture.
No information has been obtained shout the two other
Europeans, Captain &abeam and lir. Bowlby, Timis
special correspondent.
The Emperor accedes to all our demands. Harry Parkes
and Colonel Stephenson, the Deputy-Adjutant-General, went
to a Hall of Reception outside, this morning, to confer with
Hung Key (late Hoppo of Canto). They told him the city
would be bombarded if it was not surrendered at noon.

The siege guns were in position, and other artillery ready
to open fire, at the hour appointed, when, at a quarter
before twelve, Hung Key came.out and said all oar demands
were wooded to—the gate was open and no resistance would
be made.

The generals and staff, with the Punjaubees and 67th
Regiment, than entered the outer sent inner gates, awl
ascended to the ramparts and took possession of the gate
and annmber of brass inns (thirty, I believe), end mounted
our gnus in their place. The British Jack and the French
Tricolour were hoisted, the former on a high pole by the
side of the gate, the latter out of one of the portholes,
when they show that Pekin is in the occupation of the
allies, and that the vaunted invincibility of the Imperial
Celestial City was a myth.
The wall is 60 feet wide and paved, and the troops inside
have their tent, pitched on it. The only thing the Chinese
asked was that the Chinese coolies should not be allowed
to eater the city. This was conceded.

Diplomacy will now again take the place of war, and we
aball watch with great anzietyand doubt the successful result.
It is reported that the general intends to return to Tientsin
in about a fortnight under any circumstances, desiring not
to be overtaken by winter ; if he does we have no security
for the fulfilment of any stipulations, and the war will
have to be renewed after the season.

We might winter in Pekin as well as at Tientsin, as our
numbers would be but a small per centage on its popula-
tion, said to be two millions. It is said we shall not treat
until the remainder of the prisoners are accounted for.
The pressure of the people is said to have had great
weight in inducing the authorities to yield.
I believe that their yielding now, under pressure, is the
mama as at Tientsin in 1858 ; and that if we retire from
hence they will again break their engagements. There is
DO other guarantee for us than keeping the ground we have
gained, having beaten the army out of the field.
Letters were found in the palace from San-ko-lin-sin to
the Emperor, assuring him of his confidence in being able
to annihilate us by the arrangements he had made on the
road at Chan-kia-wan, where the battle of the 18th ultimo
wan fought. He begged the Emperor to have no apprehen-
sions as to the results; that having ascertained how few our
numbers were, he was confident he could surround and de.
'troy us.

Tim garrison of Pekin is reported to be 60,000 to 70,000
men, or 8 standards of 8,000 each ; but probably not three.
fourths of that number saint.

There were a few guns on the wall opposite to our bat•
tory, and our works for riflemen extended to within 190
yards of the wall.

ben-ko-lin-sin, it is said, wee in Pekin this morning.
(for Commercial Intelligence, ace p. 41.)

INDIA.

The following telegram ham been received at
Mr. Renter's office :

BOMBAY, Nov. 16.
The sth Europeans have mutinied at Dinapore,
and have been disbanded. One man was shot.
The combination against the income tax con•
tinues to be maintained in Bombay.