The Sun.
London, England, 1864-10-01 00:00:00

The Capture of Nankiu.

FOREIGN OFFICE, SErT. 30.
The despatch dated July 29, 1864, of which the
following is an extract, has been receivod by Earl
Russell, her Majesty's Secretary of State for Foreign
Affairs, from Mr Adkins, acting British Consul at

Uhinkiang :
I have the honour to inform you that the city of Nankin,
so long the centre of disaffection in China and the point
from which so many bands of ruthless plunderers have
started on their raids upon the peaceful and wealthy cities
of Central China, has been captured by the Imperialist
Army under the command of Tseng-kwo-chuen, the Go-
vernor of Chekiang, and brother of the Viceroy of the pro-
vinces of Kiang Nan and. Kiang Su. _ _

The city was stormed on the 19th of this month through
a breach, caused by a mine sprung under the wall, near the
east gate. Rumours of its capture reached me on the day
following the assault, but I paid no attention to them, having
been so often deceived by reports of Chinese victories. On
the 24th of this month, however, I obtained a copy of the
memorial to the Throne, formally announcing the capture.
On the following day I started for Nankin in her Majes-
ty's ship Blaney, intending to congratulate the Chinese
Commander in Chief on the auspicious termination of his
two year's siege. I found his Excellency at the camp out-
side the south gate of the city.
When the Imperialists made good their entrance into the
ctty, they found that the palace of the TienWang, the leader
of the rebellion, and the claimant for many years past of
Divine honours and attributes, had been burnt to the
ground. It is said the impostor and his immediate attend-
ants lie buried in its ruins. lam inclined to credit the
rumour, for the city has been closely blockaded since Ja-
nuary last, and I think that nothing but a desperate sortie
would have enabled him to get clear.

But the most important fact of all is the capture of Chung
Wang. This person has for many years teen the most rest-
less and determined of all the desperadoes Tai-ping-dom
has sent forth. Ho it was who threatened Shanghae in 1860 ;
he was Admiral Hope's antagonist in his operations near
Slaanghae ; he fought against Col. Gordon at Soochow.
He tried to introduce the foreign elements into his levies,
and was said by rebel sympathisers to be the main hope of
the Tai-ping cause in its declining days. After the assault,
he managed to leave the city with a few followers, but he
was captured three days subsequently by a party of ca-
valry. I was much pressed to visit the Chung Wang in
his confinement, but declined, as I had no personal

acquaintance with him.
On the day following my interview with the Comman-
der-in-Chief, I rode into the city and visited the breach.
Words cannot describe the utter desolation of everything
within the walls. The thoroughfares traversed by me were
the streets between the south-west and east gates, and those
between the south-west and south gates. On either hand,
the houses left standing had the appearance of having been
tenantless for years, while the gaudy gateways, denoting
the residences of the wangs or princes, opened in most in-
stances on to courts full of brick-bats and charred timbers.
As for the side streets, they were many of them overgrown
with jungle four feet high.
During my ride through the city I saw a great numbed
of unburied bodies, and in many places the smell was so
offensive that both myself and Lieut. Lee, who accom-
panied me, were almost overpowered. But on the whole
I came to the conclusion that the rebel force in the city
at the time of its capture could not have been very
large. The Imperialists, according to their own
account, spared very few able-bodied males, so that the
dead lying in the streets would be a fair criterion of the
strength of the garrison. I estimate it at 10,000 men, against
50,000 under the imperialist commanders.
I think a ride through the streets of Nankin, as they are
at present, would satisfy the most ardent advocate of the
rebel cause of the dreadful hollowness of the system they
support. Some 11 years ago the Tai-pings took Nankin,
then one of the finest cities in China. Ever since its cap-
ture it has been their headquarters. In it the chiefs of the
movement built their tawdry houses, and from it they
i ov
and ern
whenmen t andth
city
is retaken
it
organiza-
tion
are
dis-
patched their plundering bands in all directions. Mean-
while the
entirely works
ofcivl
neglected,
is found to be a wilderness of houses.

FRIGHTFUL CATASTROPHE.—A frightful caws•
trophe took place a few nights ago at Geneva. One of the
large houst s on the quay, near the grand post-office, was
burnt to the ground, and 13 persons who resided in it burnt
to death. Several persons who were rendering assistance
received injuries, particularly a surgeon, who had his
shoulder dislocated,

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