The Sun.
London, England, 1864-01-12 00:00:00

to their destination an agreement was entered into
between Captain SHERARD OSBORN, R.N., the
officer in charge of them, and Mr. LAY, the Inspec-
tor-General. The principal clauses of this agree-
ment stipulated that Captain OSBORN should take
command of the force for four years ; that he
should be the sole European naval commander-in-
chief, and have authority over all vessels of Euro-
pean construction, or Chinese vessels manned by
British seamen ; that he should obey all orders of
the EMPEROR transmitted through Mr. LAY, but
through no other party—and Mr. LAY, on his
part, undertook to refuse to be the medium of im-
proper or unreasonable orders. These stipulations
were especially necessary to guard against the
barbarity which the Chinese carry into their war-
fare, as we have too good reason to know. As
Captain OSBORN remarked in his remonstrance,
"My force, powerful as it will be for good or
evil, might be directed against the interests of com-
merce or of common humanity. Brutal butchery
might be perpetrated, and I should be powerless to
prevent it. The European-Chinese force, instead
of being a blessing, would become a curse to the
Chinese people, and to the best interests of Europe
in this empire." Prince KUNO, however, declined
to ratify this agreement, and in his letter of instruc-
tions to Captain OSBORN, dated July, 1863, he styles
him Assistant Commander-in-Chief, and tells him
that he is to co-operate with the Chinese Com-
mander-in-Chief, and to consider himself under the
I orders of the Governors-General, of Two KEANG,
and of KEANG-SOO, and to take their instructions
as to the disposal of his force from time to time.
Captain OSBORN upon this distinctly declined to
accept the office of commander, pointing out that
the position he would be placed in would be
entirely opposed to the understanding on w'iich
the British Government had allowed him, and the
men under his command, to enter the service to! the
Emperor of CIIINA, and alsc'that, fettered kir such
conditions, any naval operations he might under-
take would be practically useless. Such may be the
Chinese system, he says contemptuously, adding
that if such be the case, their unfitness for military
or naval operations is sufficiently explained. The
Regent still refusing to ratify the agreement upon
which Captain OSBORN very properly insisted, that
officer intimated to him that he should proceed to
disband the force under his command. He further
proceeded to communicate with Sir F. BRUCE,
requesting his instructions as to the disposal of the
ships, and pointing out to him that there might be
some danger in entrusting such formidable vessels
to the rowdies and pirates who throng the port of
Shanghai. Sir FREDERICK BRYCE was fully sen•
sible of the mischief that might ensue from such a
course, and immediately intimated to the Regent
that her MAJESTY'S Government would not have
agreed to the organisation of so powerful a force
had they not understood that it was to be placed
under the control of an officer in whom they could
rely, and that, consequently,he should refuse permis-
sion for the transfer of the ships until he had
received further instructions. Captain OSBORN
consequently applied for information respecting the
funds for the maintenance of the force, to which the
Ambassador very shortly replied that the Imperial
Government had, as we know, abandoned the
scheme of the flotilla, and that Captain OSBORN
must, therefore, take charge of the officers and men
and ships, with a view to proceeding the former to
England, and to disposing of the latter to the best
possible advantage. The Regent further desired
Captain OSBORN to accept 10,000 taels as a remu-
neration for his labour, a compensation which that
officer will probably consider very inadequate !titer
the anxiety and exertion he has undergone, the
disappointment to his natural ambition, and the
I unsatisfactory termination to the whole affair. We
have cause to feel grateful to hire for having by his
firmness and prudence kept out of an awkward
position, which would very likely he,,ve ended in
bringing discredit upon our nation, and in iden-
tifying us with acts totally opposed to our princi-
ples and feelings. It is gratifying to find that Sir
FREDERICK BRUCE expressed warm approbation of
the course pursued by Captain OSBORN, and that
the captains and commanders of the force under his
:;barge unanimously declared their approval of his
Iconduct, and their conviction that he had preserved
them from an essentially false position. All that
remains to be done now is to settle the necessary
expenses, and we cannot but hope that, if the matter
is brought courteously but firmly under the notice
of the Regent by our Ambassador, who should
express at the same time surprise and displeasure
at the slight put upon England by the recent trans-
action, Prince KUNG will be too prudent and
politic to wish giving further offence to a formidable
Power. At all events, this course should be pur-
sued without delay, and we must await the result
of it before anticipating the necessity of further
proceedings.