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

The Re bels and the Imperialists in China,

(Fran, .z an Occasional Correspoulent of the Times.)
SHANGHAT, Aug. 5.
Major Gordon has wrested another walled city
from th e hands of the rebels—Wokong, lying di-
rectly s oath of Soochow. He left Quinsan on the
25th of July, and appeared before the walls on the
28th, having captured two strong stockades en
route, at a place called Kapoo. The usual earth-
works, had been thrown up outside the east and
west gates, which the rebels manned as the disci-
plin ed troops approached, showing symptoms of
an in tention to make a vigorous defence ; but their
determination was not proof against the appearance
of a body of 500 men in their rear, and they corn-
ny :need a retreat towards the city, which a vigorous
charge by the 6th Regiment converted into head-
long flight. Having thus cleared the country
Gordon made dispositions for an attack on the city,
but the rebels had lost heart ; a few shells were
pitched at the walls without eliciting a single shot
in reply, and in as short time a deputation of man-
darins offered to surrender on condition that the
lives of the garrison were secured. Tais was, of
course, agreed to, and Wokong, with 3,000 prisoners,
passed iota possession of the Imperialists, with a
loss of only one European officer and 15 men killed
and wounded. If the Imperialists are able to hold
Wokong its capture will be of considerable import-
ance, 8.9 its position on the Grand Canal enables its
possessors to interrupt communication by that route
between Soochow and Hangchow, and further pre-
ludes an irruption of the rebels into the country
around Sooakiong, unless they venture to leave
Quinsan and Wokong in their rear, which, judging
from their antecedents, they would certainly not
venture to do. But a report was current in the
settlement yesterday that he had already been
obliged to abandon it and concentrate on Quinsan.
Indeed, to separate a force of only 3,000 men by a
two days' march in the face of the powerful garrison
at S oochow would be the extreme of rashness, espe-
cially as that garrison has received an accession of
strength which will render the tenure even of
Quinsan problematical. For acme time rumours
have been afloat in Shanghai that an expedition was
prep acing in aid of the rebels, that Europeans were
being enlisted, and arms collected under the auspices
of Gen. Burgevine ; but every one desired to think
them untrue, loth to believe that a man who had
earned so much respect as Burgevine undoubtedly
has should have allowed himself to be drawn
into a condenened cause. Unfortunately there
is no longer room for doubt ; Burgevine him-
self is believed to be in Soochow tit the present
moment, toi;ether with many of his old officers, who
have left or i one ground or another since his seces-
sion from the command. Hayes, Gibb, and Rhode,
all form a:ly in command of regiments of disciplined
Chinese, are said to be his right-hard men, and he
has, be sides, about 300 Europeans of all sorts, some
as officers, some as fighting men. The question
now '.s, will the rebels give him and his officers suffi-
cien t power ? If they do, there is nothing to pre-
ver.t a force equal to Gordon's in quality, and far
superior in numbers, from being raised within the
next three months, and all the latter's generalship
not enable him to maintain himself against
;greatly superior numbers of equally good troops.
-Hitherto the rebels have not given any command
to such Europeans as have joined them, employing
them merely as counsellors to their chiefs, and
profiting by their knowledge of gunnery. But it
is unlikely that Burgevine would have joined
them unless the position he was to occupy
'as clearly defined, and was such as would
enable him to discipline and direct men with-
out interference. In the meantime, until he has
succeeded in instilling a certain amount of organi-
zation into a sufficient number, Soochow is safe ;
the disciplined Chinese would never take a breach
defended by 300 Europeans, even if Gordon were
to risk an attack; and the latter's hope of fright-
ening them out by scouring the country in their
rear must be at an end, for Burgevine will dispel
their fears. Latterly, until the present moment,
the rebel cause has been declining, but it is not um-
31kely that the accession of so much strength and
imil;.tary knowledge may enable them to recover all
their lost ground. The present is perhaps one of

the most critical crisis of the rebellion, and if the
British authorities do not act with energy may
eventuate in the return of the rebels to the gates
of Shanghai, and the loss of all the country that after
so hard fighting has been wrested from their hands-
Burgevine commenced his new career by a very
dashing act. Dr. Macartney, late his military
secretary, now a military mandarin in the service
of the Futai, and in command of Suoukiong, went
up hence to that city in a small steamer called the
Kiachao on the evening of the Ist inst. He left her
about a hundred yards from the wills and rode to-
wards the west gate, but had hardly passed over
halt the distance when one of the Europeans who
had been left on board ran up breathless to say that
Burgevine, with about 30 Europeans, had seized the
steamer. Dr. Macartney hastened into the city to
turn out the troops, and then galloped back to the
entrance of the creek, where he had left a large
barge as he passed up, hoping to be able to sink her
across the entrance bofore the steamer could reach
it ; but she had left, the Kiachao passed safely out,
and is now, doubtless, under the walls of Soochow.

The brilliant successes which Major Gordon had
achieved with the handful of men whom the jealous
parsimony of the Futai allows him had afforded
strong ground for hope that, with Sherard Osborne's
powerful aid, the extinction of the Taeping rebel-
lion would not be long delayed. The limits within
which they held power were being gradually drawn
tighter around them, and if only the mandarins
could have been induced to grant Gordon a larger
force there would have been little doubt that the
close of the wet cold season would have found them
confined to the close neighbourhood, if not within
the walls of Nankin. In Chekeang their case is
still worse than in Kiangse. After overrunning a
great portion of the province with extraordinary
rapidity, they have been compelled, almost equally
rapidly, to abandon it. Since Ningpo was recap-
tured, in May, 1862, Tzechee, Fungwha, Yayaou,
Shaugyn, Shaoshing, and Shaotsan, have succes-
sively been recovered, besides other cities of minor
_note. The country to the south of Hang-chow
Bay and of the Tsientang has been completely
cleared of their presence, and Hangchow itself,
the third city y in their possession, lies an easy
prey to the Imperialists as soon as they can
collect sufficient energy to march against it. But
the jealousy and
antipathy to foreigners of the
highest local authority cramps the movements of
the disciplined
Chinese in Chekeang as much as
parsimony here has prevented Gordon's operations
from bearing their full fruit: The Fatai, of Ningpo,
is one of the old, occlusive, anti-foreign school, and
views with intense jealousy%
a presence of foreigners
in military commend within his Government. The
disciplined troops are too formidable for him to dis-
band; besides, the rich merchants of Ningpo, the
principal sources of his revenue, Are
alive than he to their value, but 4happily more
indulges his
spite by refusing to allow them to
undertake any
offensive operations. There are two distinct bodies
of disciplined Chinese in the Ningpo Provieees one
Franco-Chinese, of 1,500 men, under the ceeetaand
d'Aigabelle, formerly an officer in his Imperial
Majesty's navy, which garrisons Shaoshing and the
country thence to the Hangchow Bay; the other'
Anglo-Chinese, consisting of 1,000 men, commanded
by Colonel Cooke, formerly one of Ward's officers,
which garrisons Ningpo, and likewise keeps an eye
on Yuyaow, Fungwha,
and Tzechee. The former, to
use siChinese eepTessl • er), stinks in the nostrils of both
mandarins and inhabitants ;
the subordinate officers
are lawless and uuseeeptflons,
and the men are only
too willing to emulate the looting propensities of
their superiors. The Taotai is very anxious that they
should go to Chapoo, capture it and garrison it, by
which means they would be removed to one corner of
the province, out of his way; but they demur, and
tile Fntai of to their having th© , opportunity of
Feting. The Anglo- UnineSe are in much better odour,
are better officered, and kept well in hand ; the Tao
tai would be delighted to get rid of the French and
increase tho strength of this contingent if he could
accomplish that object. It is by this force co-
op-rating with Gordon's that some of the principa'
parts in the autumn campaign would have I),_en
played, had not Burgevine disarranged every plan.
The Futai is now before a not very large but strong

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 Hangohow 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 towithdraw 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 wore 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 extentsuplptliis edabhyazreacrrduoiutss
from among the rebel prisoners.
experiment to place menyaertws naarmdfdroisincitphlieneenwemhiych's
ranks in possession of the arms
alone give superior strength to his own followers,
but Gordon says he can rely on them. If the rebels
now gain
any successes, however, their fidelity will
be sorely tried. Dislike to removal from Soonkiong,
however,is not the only reason for their leaving
this
eontingent, as many hive foiled 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, bat 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 past Fading, Tai-tsan,
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 wells 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 cease, 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 co 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, which 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 Laurick. 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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