The Sun.
London, England, 1863-09-29 00:00:00

and well-garrisoned city named Foyang, which has
delayed him for the past three months, and which
he is bent on taking before attacking Hangchow.
He will not allow the disciplined troops to either
assist him or advance against Hangchow by them-
selves, so Col. Cooke will probably leave this city on
his left, attack Chapoo, and march northwards to
act in conjunction with Gordon.
In the meantime Gordon is in straits from want
of proper supplies of ammunition, which General
Brown declines to give him, because the Chinese
Government have not yet paid for previous supplies
lent them. Anxiety to secure payment for whatever
munitions of war he may disburse is doubtless, in
the abstract, commendable ; but it may be carried
to an extreme and become the reverse of economy
in such a case as the present. The disciplined
Chinese are the security on the strength of which it
was judged possible to withdraw a regiment of Eng-
lish and a regiment of native troops, and a battery of
artillery from Shanghai, without endangering the
safety of the settlement; and it is, therefore, of the
greatest moment that the force should be kept on a
thoroughly efficient footing. Great part of its
strength is moral, arising from the prestige it has
acquired, and one of the principal qualities which
has contributed to the maintenance of this power is
the energy of its movements and the force and rapi-
dity with which its blows were delivered. To refuse
Gordon shot and shell is, then, to deprive him of
the means of action, by so doing to lower his
prestige, and, consequently, to weaken the pro-
tective force of Shanghai. Risking the non-
payment for a few thousand pounds worth
of shot and shell is certainly preferable to
risking the reflux of the rebels to the gates of
Shanghai and the necessity for the maintenance of
another English regiment to protect the English
settlement from their inroads. The removal of the
force from Soonkiong to Quinsan entailed the loss
of a number of its oldest members, men who had
accumulated money while in the service from loot,
had opened shops, had families, &c., and did not
care to desert all for a new city. The place of
these has been to a great extent supplied by recruits
from among the rebel prisoners. It is a hazardous
experiment to place men yet warm from the enemy's
ranks in possession of the arms and discipline which
alone give superior strength to his own followers,
bat Gordon says he can rely on them. If the rebels
now successes, however, their fidelity will
besogrealiyn ytarnied. Dislike to removal from Soonkiong,
however, is not the only reason for their leaving
this contingent, as many have found their way to
Ningpo and enlisted there, especially men from the
Rifles, which Cooke commanded previous to taking
command at Ningpo. Chinamen are incomprehen-
sible beings. Certainly Quinsan itself presents no
very great attractions as a residence to counter-
balance the imminent prospect of an engagement at
any moment with an enemy immensely superior in
numbers, lying at an inconsiderable distance. The
walls enclose a very considerable space of ground,
including the Quin•san (Wonderful Hill), from
which the city derives its name ; but the number of
houses is small, and they are mostly of inferior
quality. The city is old, and the walls are in many
places dilapidated on the outside, but the rebels had
very greatly strengthened the defences within, espe-
cially at the gates. At the Little West Gate two
walls had been erected inside the outer one, the
latter having also been much raised. The strength
of the place consisted, however, principally in its
water defences. From the West to the East Gate
the walls are washed by the Soochow Creek—a
broad canal, so called, which leads out of the Wong-
poo at Shanghai, and runs pest Kading, Tai-tsars,
and Quinsan, to Soochow, and thence to Nankin.
Other parts of the wall are also protected by moats,
though of less width, and had Gordon not frightened
the rebels out by his manoeuvres an assault would pro-
bably have been attended with great loss. Soochow
is distant about 20 miles, and its walls are discernible
on a clear day from the summit of the hill of which
I have spoken. There is a pagoda on the top,
which looks nearly as old as the hill itself, and the
ruins of a joss-house evince the taste of the priests
in selecting as a residence a spot where a cool breeze
is always obtainable, even with the thermometer at
131 deg. in the sun, as it was on the day I visited the
spot. An admirable view of the surrounding country
with its network of creeks is, of course, commanded
from it; but no busy population, no fields of corn,
nor other sign of prosperity_ and cultivation meet
the eye. A few wiles east of Tai-tsan, all signs of
cultivation caase, the country is deserted, the fields
are overrun with rank herbage, the creeks half
choked with rushes and duck-weed, and the farm-
houses ruined and tenantless. The little plantations
with which the latter are always surrounded give
tokens of long neglect, the hedges are ragged and
broken, the little creeks leading up to the houses
choked with herbage, and the water-wheels lie rot-
ting by their sides. Everything betokens complete
desolation ; the very birds seem to have deserted the
district. Nearer to Soochow, I believe, cultivation
reappears; but around Quinsan the country is still
a desert. Only a small portion of the area enclosed
by the walls is covered by houses ; large portions
are overgrown with grass, others bear evidence of
having once been the sites of considerable buildings;
but these are now literally levelled with the ground.
A number of tombs lie, or rather stand—for Chinese
tombs are upright—immediately at the foot of the
hill; but they, too, are ruinous. It is scant praise
to say that Quinsan is less dirty than some Chinese
cities I have been in, but it is the utmost that can
be awarded it. Much is being done by its new
possesors to clear away the rubbish which has
accumulated in the principal streets; but the by-
lanes are, as usual, receptacles for every kind of
filth. There are as yet few inhabitants besides the
military and keepers of eating-houses, whieh spring
up, as though by magic, in every newly conquered
city.

The latest news from Japan, though of warlike
operations, is of peaceful tendency. The Dutch,
Americans, and French have each had severe actions
with the batteries at Shimonoseki, in the inland sea,
and have each inflicted severe punishment on their
adversaries. The Medusa was fired on in passing
through the sea towards Yokohama; she slowly
pursued her way, replying with effect to the fire to
which she was subjected by the Japanese batteries
and two armed vessels, and left after having been
hulled 17 times and lost four men killed and five
wounded. The Wyoming sought the encounter to
revenge the attack on the Pembroke, but she, too,
had to retire before superior force, after having
planted an 11-inch shell in the boiler of the Lance-
field, which the Prince of Chosen recently bought
for £125,000, and sunk the Lauriok. The French
sent two steamers—the Tancrede and Semiramis—
which silenced two batteries, landed an armed party
and destroyed the magazines, and marched an armed
party into the neighbouring town, to the mayor of
which they notified that the inhabitants need be
under no apprehension, as the only intention was to
punish the batteries for an unprovoked attack on a
French vessel. While they were ashore a strong
force was observed marching down on them with
several field-pieces; but a few well planted shell
from the Semiramis had the effect of causing their
retreat.

Admiral Kuper was reported likely to proceed
shortly to the Prince of Satsuma's territory ; so it
is to be presumed that he and Colonel Neale have
determined to look to him personally for payment
of the £25,000 and surrender of Richardson's mur-
derers, which conditions yet remain unfulfilled.

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