Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-07-17 00:00:00

THE BRITISH EXPEDITION

TO CHINA.

ch we now inhabit, is
g. Victoria. 'the cao.tal .
built at the base of a very steep 'NIL atie extends, perhaps,
about two miles from end to End bungalows
id 15
generally consist of three rooms about as: feet long as
feet high,' all opening upon a verandah, son:" bedrooms,
and a set of detached offices for the Chinese. The
pleasantest of these bungalows are those which are
situated highest up the hill, and which overlook the
harbour and the enemies' country beyonsi•
Kpassed this morning on the ve renda:l of a friend's
house, and we agreed that to suggest to .
the European
mind an idea of Victoria and its scenery we must
imagine (ourselves to be :looking down upon a
Scotch loch—Locli Lomond or Loch Long w,'ll do.
-
We must create by imagination a handsome city of lia ht,
airy houses upon the margin of the waters. and climbine'
up the hills. We must fill the lake with shipping of every
nation, and we must pour over all the hills the glare of an
tastern sun. An English tourist in Scotland, who has
imagination enough to make these corrections in his re •
miniscences of the north, may fancy he has seen what I
see from my friend's bungalow. Let us look a little
closer, and with the aid of a good glass.
In the harbour, besides the Chinese boats so comfort-
ably fitted with their neat bamboo work, besides, also,
several large junks with their great sightless eyes painted
in the bows, their lofty sterns, and Itheir:mat sails, there I
Is a fleet of 04 European merchant vessels. whereof 10 are
steamers. The Yankee and the Dutch flags float about
with the Union Jaek, for it is Sunday; and every floating
thing, from the Yankee Challenge, 2,030 tons, to the little
British Squirrel steamer, of 50 tons, rejoices in its dis-
play of nationality.
But above, and more important than these vehicles of
opium and rice, ride the vessels of war. From the verandah
of this bungalow we can count 13 pennants. There lies ,
the Calcutta with her three tiers of guns and her Admiral's flag, and, dwindled into specks by comparison with her , I
greatness, those saucy little gunboats with their two long
guns each--the Btptard, the Forester, the Haughty, ,
the Opossum, and the Staunch—seem ready for any i
mischief. There is a French steamer also, and a '
French brig of srar flying their tricolour ; and the Yankee 1
steamer San Jacinto, with her fifteen long guns, adds the
stars and stripes to this diselay of warlike force. The
Acorn, the Elk, and the Bittern brigs of war ; the Coro-
mandel, the Fury, the Cruiser, the Hong Kong, the
Hornet, the Niger, and the Sir Charles Forbes steamers ;
the Starling gunboat and the Sibylle ship are gone '
up the Canton River, whither it is said that these gun-
boats will follow on Tuesday or Wednesday. Imperial
junks have been discovered in several of the creeks, and
a junk hunt is imminent. Perhaps it may take place on
Tuesday, which is the day fixed upon by the Governor to
Celebrate the Queen's birthday ; perhaps it may be post-
poned until that day has been loyally honoured with
more peaceful cheers. There are not wanting, how-
ever, people who shake their heads and say that junk
hunti g will be found a dangerous pastime, that
the guns on hoard the junks are as heavy as
those on beard the gunboats, and it is whispered that
white faces have been seen through the portholes. I hope
to tell you something of all this from a near view by the
next mail, but whether white or black, or copper-
coloured, I doubt whether the crew of the Raleigh, who
are to man the boats, will see much of those faces when
they get within hail. At long bowls the Chinese will
fight, and may do damage; but, although we have taught
them something, even those who shake their heads habi-
tually do not imagine that they have yet learned to fight
an Englishman hand to hand.
I mentioned the Raleigh. It seems now to be perfectly
Understood here that she was run ashore " according to
act of Parliament," that the rock was laid down in no
Chart, and was even unknown to the Chinese fishermen,
and that the lead was going. It is a pointed rock—so
Pointed that it has not two square teet that will hold the
lead, and 10 fathom of water close up to it. It is said
that Captain Koppel, whose misfortune every one corn.
naisserates, is to have an opportunity of exploding his
annoyance by leading one of the intended junk-hunts.
uaptain Elliott is to lead the other.
Meanwhile thelltaleigh has settled into the mud. Some
say that her guns and stores are to be removed, and that
She is to be blown up ; others that a tender to get her up
for 40,000 dols was unadvisedly refused ; others that she
IS to be sold to the highest bidder ; but all rumours tend
to the same result, that the ship was gone, and that a
great victory will appear in the Pekin Gazette.
All this time we have been standing upon the verandah
enjoying the cool breeze and looking down upon the rich
fleet of merchantmen and the strong fleet of men of war
opium, and silver, and silk, and pent-up thunders.
We have given no thought to the " hostile shores "
Of China, yet just across is the land of the enemy. His
rocky mountains seem to rise from lashind the last line of
shipping, and probably would be still more nearly ap-
proachei by them but for a circlet of low rocks which
rise like the crater of a volcano in the midst of the strait,
letting the blue water, however, eddy in the hallow. At
the foot of those lofty hills is an enemy's battery of four
guns. But although there is a great noise of firing among
these sisterly ships, which are always saluting each other,
and whose kisses are of the heartiest smacking sound, yet
the four Chinese guns never join in the pastime. The
braves of Mr. Commissioner Yeh bide their time until the
strips be gone home, and the police of the town are dis-
banded. Rusticus expectat."
Meantime, white the Mandarins are issuing nonsensical
proclamations against all who supply us barbarians with
fool, we are actually saving the Cantonese from starva-
tion. Rice went up in price in the m trket of Hong Kong
100 per cent. in 48 hours, and the rise was occasioned en-
tirely by the demand at Canton. This wicked and rebel-
lious city, which all men in these parts—English, American,
Dutch, and Chinese—agree in anathematising, is now in
the depth of suffering. Tne insurgents have stopped
the rice countries to the East, the locusts have destroyed
all the crops in the West, the English and Americans are
buying up the rice from Siam and elsewhere, and Canton
is literally kept from Starvation by the people whom they
have driven out of their factories, and upon whose heads
they have set prices not always justly estimated. If we
were to blockade the river we might produce an extent of
misery in Canton which would reverse all authority,
and expel Mr. Yeh without any application of force. Bat
this would be very cruel and very useless. If we smite,
the Chinaman must see the hand that smites, or he
will not believe. " Sir," said a military man who is no
mean authority, " you must blow your way through Can-
ton at the point of the bayonet, and you must hold the
city in the name of the three allied powers."
I have not time to pursue this fruitful topic, for the
mail is now closing. The last morsel of news is that
Captain Barnard, of Her Majesty's ship Racehorse,
has just returned from Foo chow-foe, and reports that
some terrible fighting, or rather slaughter, has occurred
among the Chinese above that city. Mutilated bodies in
quantities of 20 and 30 at a time floated past the Race-
horse as she rode at anchor. The supposition is that the
Imperialists have gained an important advantage, for the
teas are now coming down from Foochow, which would
seem to sho'sv that the impediment created by the troubles
had ceased.