The Express.
London, England, 1861-01-01 00:00:00

THE FRENCH DESPATCHES FROM CHINA.

The Moniteur continues the publication of docu-
ments connected with the late proceedings in China.
In a report from the commander of the French
corps of operations in that country to the Marshal
Minister of War occurs the following account of
the plundering of the Summer Palace :
After a rather difficult math we reached the village of
Yam-Ming-Yuen, of sena o'clock ; we followed a read
pavedto with granite flags, and we weed over a handsome
leading the Imperial Palace, the entrance of
which faces the bridge, an is distant only 200 metres ; the
mad between the bridge and the palace is bordered on the
left by a row of stately trees ; on the right is • tarp
square containing a row of fine houses, the residences of the
principal mandarins.
Before bivouacking, I determined to examine the entrance
of the palace, which wee closed by a very strong gate and
by barriers on the right and left. It was said that there
were Tartan in the courts and gardens inside the gates. I
immediately sent two companies of marine infantry to ex-
amine the entrance of the palace and the wood behind, as
well as my orderly officer, Lieutenant de Pine, of the navy.
This officer, hearing a noise inside, summoned them to van
the gates, and receiving no answer, he had a ladder brout,
and scaled the wall, followed by Ensign Viveson. On
reaching the top they saw Tartan armed with pikes, bows
and arrows, and muskets, who appeared ready to defend the
gate. On perceiving our officers, these men retired, and
Lieutenant de Pine got over the wall to open the gate to
our troops.
At that moment the Tartars returned to attack M. de
Phis, ands conflict took plea between him and the men
who were hastening up. He bravely malted, and fired
some shots with a revolver, but was wounded in the left
I head and the right wrist. The Marines went to his &mid-
size* and to that of their officer, IL Vinson, who had re-
ceived a bell in the side, and the Tulare, after a useless
resistance, took to Bight in disorder, leaving behind them
three men killed, and carrying off several wounded.
The noise of the firing having attracted me to the spot, I
made General Collineeu come up with the brigade, and
occupy strongly the first court-yard of the palsies, not
wishing to advance farther during the night in an us.
known place. About 700 or 800 Tartars, who were
behind a series of palaces which extended to the woods,
might have attempted to disquiet our men. But the night
passed without events, and the next day, very early in the
morning, I went to the palace, accompanied by Generals
Jamin and Collinear', by the chief of my eta, and the
English Brigadier Fettle, with whom were Major Sley, of
the Queen's Dragoons, and Colonel Fowley. A company of
infantry preceded es, to aeon our march, but the palaces
were completely evacuated by the Tartan.
I was anxious that our allies should be present at this
first visit to the palace, which I suspected moat contain
great riches. After passing through several apartments of
indescribable splendour I had sentinels pieced everywhere,
and I 'elated two 'Allier, officers to see that no one
entered the place, and that everything should remain as it
was until the arrival of General Grant, who was seat for
iamedistedy by Brigadier Fettle.
The Eoglish officers haying arrived, we consulted what we
had better do with all these riches, and we appointed three
commissioners of each nation with instructions to set apart
the objects of greatest value as curiosities, so that an equal
division might be made ; it would have been impossible to
think of carrying away the whole of the property, our means
of transport being very limited.
Soon after, a further search led to the discovery of a sum
of about 800,000 f., in small ingots of gold and raver. The
sane commission also proceeded to make an equal &via=
between the two armies, which gave about MK to each of
our soldiers. The division among the men was made by a
commission which was composed of all the chiefs of corps,
and of the different branches of the service, and WWI pre-
aided over by General Jamin. The commission having
deliberated in the name of the army, declared that the
latter desired as a souvenir to make a present to the Em-
peror, the Empress, and the Prince Imperial of the whole
of the curious articles carried off from the palace.
The army was SIIIIIDiDIOUI in approving of this offering to
the chief of the state, who will consider it as a mark of
gratitude of his soldiers for having been sent on the most
distant expedition that was ever undertaken.
At the moment of the division between the two armies, I
insisted, in the name of the Emperor, that Lord Hen
should make the first choice for the Queen of England.
Lord Elgin selected a baton of command of the Emperor
of China, in green jade of greet value, and mounted with
gold. A second baton similar in every respect having been
found, Lord Elgin in his turn resolved that it should be re-
served for the Emperor of the French. There was, there-
fore, perfect equality in this first choice.
It would be impossible for me to describe to you, Mon-
sieur is Marimba, the magnificence of the numerous build-
ings which succeed each other over an extent of four
leagues, sad which composes what is called the Summer
Palace of the Emperor, being a succession of plod," all
containing gods in gold, silver, and bronze, of mantic di-
mension. One deity in bronze, a Bouddha, is about 70 feet
high ; gardens, lakes, and objects of curiosity heaped up for
centuries past in the midst of buildings of white marble,
roofed with dazzling varnished tiles of all colours ; add to
that the view over a delightful country, and your excellency
will have but a very feeble idea of what we have seen.
Is each of the pagodas there exia, not object., but whole
store-rooms of objects of every kind. To mention to you
only one fact : there are such quantities of the finest silk
goods, that we have wrapped up in pieces of silk all the
alleles which I seed to his Majesty.
What makes one mad in the midet of all these splendours
of the past, is the carelessness and waste of the present
government, and of the two or three which preceded it ;
nothing is taken care of, and the moat beautiful things,
with the exception of those which ornament the palace
which the Emperor inhabits, are in a deplorable state of
degradation.
In one of the pagodas, that of the carriages, at hall*
league from the inhabited part of the palace, we found two