The Sun.
London, England, 1863-12-12 00:00:00

succession to Lord Cathcart. His chief troubles in

Canada arose from his unflinching impartiality, and
his determination to deal with both the vexatiously
hcstile sections of the Queen's subjects—the Upper
and the Lower Canadians—on a footing of equality.
After the rebellion of 1837-8 the Upper Canadians,
who were loyalists, demanded and obtained com-
pensation for their losses; the Lower Canadians were
refused, as the rebellion was chit fly fomented and
notoriously supported by them. When Lord Elgin
was compelled by an adverse N ore of the Assembly on
his Ministers to form an administration from the
French section of the community, the Lower
Canadians determined to take their revenge,
and accordingly they brought in their bill of
indemnity. Great excitement prevailed in Mon-
treal., When the Governor-General gave his
assent to the bill the loyalists showed their
loyalty by booting the Queen's representative, by
burning down the Parliament house, by setting
some valuable libraries on fire, and by summoning
an inflammatory meeting for the purpose of procur-
ing the recall of Lord Elgin, as having "seriously
impaired her Majesty's royal authority, and endan-
gered the' peace and tranquillity of the province."
Her Majesty's Government replied to this demon-
stration by creating (1849) the obnoxious Governor-
General a peer of the United Kingdom, as Baron
Elgin of Elgin. The Governor-General soon entirely
reversed, by his sound wisdom and calm judgment,
the unfavourable opinions of the Canadians; and
he left his high office with universal esteem, having
also acquired the respect and approbation of the
Home Government, and of six successive colonial
secretaries, for his unrivalled administrative capa-
city. He had promoted the best interests of Canada,
he had developed its commercial and agricultural
resources, and he was the author of the famous
reciprocity treaty with the United States of June
5, 1854. He returned from Canada June 9, 1855,
was appointed Lord-Lieutenant of Fifeshire, and
was entertained at a splendid banquet, attended by
men of all parties in the State.
His lordship was at home but for a few years. Troubles
arose in China towards the end of 1856, which caused a
second war with that country, besides convulsing parties
at home, and plunging the nation into the muddy whirl-
pool of a general election—all on account of the lorcha
Arrow, which the Chinese boarded as a vessel under
native register, and the British, impersonated by Sir
John Bowring, a distinguished member of the Peace
Society, claimed as bearing the British flag. It is
little use telling once more the disagreeable tale of the kid.,
nappings and assassinations by the Chinese, and the hunt-
ing down of the Chinese in their creeks by the British.
Lord Elgin, a man of singularly impartial and judicial mind,
was sent out as special Ambassador in 1857. At Galle he
met General Ashburnham, who startled the party with an
alarming story of the disaffection of the North-Western
Provinces of India. At Singapore he took it on himself to
ayto China, and sent them
resolved not to leave Singa-
poreodnivetrot
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nithseeiirf
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till ample and complete arrangements had been made
for the transmission of this fsyee to the scene of mutiny.
Vessels also were specially sent by his lordship's orders to
the Straits of Anjier to divert the transports of the 90th and
82d Regiments, so as to avoid the detour through the
Straits of Malacca. After providing completely against
the contingency of a rebel attack at Calcutta, Lord Elgin
went on to China, and arrived at Hong Kong on the 6th
of July. The resistance of Delhi was prolonged, and the
rebellion rapidly spread throughout India. Baron Gros, the
French Plenipotentiary, was not likely to join his English
colleague for some months. There were three courses open
to Lord Elgin—to remain at Hong
Kong to take Canton,
or to render an important service to Lord Canning at Cal-
cutta. He chose the third course. Within 36 hours after the
disastrous intelligence from India had been received L'ord
Elgin was on his way to India, on board the Shannon, com-
manded by the noble and still lamented Captain William
Peel. Arrived at Singapore, his lordship was encouraged
in his resolves by a flattering addles,: from 28 leading
English merchants at that place, cordially concurring in
the steps he had taken to divert the expeditionary army.
Here he heard the awful details of the massacre at Cawn-
pore. Within 21 hours 400 tons of coal were taken in, 300
men of the troops wrecked in the ill-fated Transit were
picked, up, and his lordship telegraphed to Lord Canning his
imminent arrival with 1,700 men, including the blue-jackets,
for the defence of Calcutta. Lord Elgin was received -en-
thusiastically at Calcutta, and he remained there till his
Chinese force was replaced by 1,500 marines. He arrived
at Hong Kong again, after a voyage of 17 days, on the
20th of September ; on the 16th of October his colleague,
Baron Gros, also arrived. All the world knows the story
of Chinese treachery, and the consequent bombardment of
Canton. The Chinese accounts of Lord Elgin, and their
treatment of him and Baron Gros, are characteristio. A
spy was placed on his movements, to record the daily exer-
cise of the troops, to watch his lordship's countenance, to
mark
and so on. Yeh
told Lord the
ot to be opened by
treaty, and advised him to " adopt the policy of Bonham,"
so that, like that worthy but not astonishingly great
he might
Go-
vernor of Hong Kong, " get the Bath." Lord
numberEgn o n ofo e
thatt the B
Cantonritish
ve ships,
81gin's life was only saved at Mang-ga-ta by French men-
et- war ; his lordship was "grateful to Go-loso-lun (Baron
Gros) and merrily feasted him, praying him to drink wine
with him." " Elgin passed day after day at Hong Kong,
stamping and sighing." That must have be an uncommonly
peculiar scene in which his lords Lip took the chief part on
the 4th June, 1858. Kweiliang and Hwa-Shama, two pleni-
potentiaries of high rank, arrived at Tien-tsin to confer with
the two foreign " barbarians." Lord Elgin met the two
celestials in a joss-house. Lord Elgin's powers were first
read out to the Chinese, who eagerly listened while the