The Sun.
London, England, 1865-03-02 00:00:00

I,r SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS,

TIMES.—The news from China is that every part
of the vast Empire is more or less distracted by
insurrection, brigandage, and discontent. Even the
distant western provinces, far away from its and chid'
traffic, have each their little rebellion ; and the rich
Sz'chuen, where every Chinaman is said to be well
fed and well dressed, has an immigration of the old
Taeping locusts feeding on its fatness. It is the
normal condition of an overpeopled country, with a
chain of Government rotten and rusted in every

link. The only matter which greatly interests its
practically is to know how near these people are to
our commercial ports, and what effect they are likely
to have upon our interests. We heard some time
ago that seven provinces had been proclaimed in the
Pekin Gazette that a great number of cities had been
just taken and sacked, and that a seaport which was
about to be opened to our trade had been attacked
and destroyed. But when we are now told that the
disorganised bands of the Taepings are in consider-
able force in Fohkien, and hold a large portion of
Chekiang, and have had hard fighting in Kiangsi,
the ordinary reader derives about as much informa-
tion from these tidings as if he had been given to
understand that they had taken possession of that
hemisphere of the moon which is hidden from human
observation. It may be useful therefore to those
who may desire to retain some general knowledge
of the progress of events in the extreme East to
state that these two provinces of Kiangsi and Fohkien
occupy that part of the empire which extends from
about 150 miles south of our treaty port of Ningpo
to a point about 100 miles north of Canton, and
that this region includes the habitations of nearly
40 millions of inhabitants and the larger portion of
the. coast line between Canton and Shanghai.
Fohkien is a maritime province, and contains our
two treaty ports of Foochow and Amoy, and
Kiangsi is the province -which lies immediately
behind it, inland; and extends lip to the Yangtie
river. Its name indeed is said to mean " the Pro-

vince West of the River." From the statement o:

our correspondent—who now appears to think that
Canton itself is again in danger—it would appear
that the operations of the insurgents are not con-
fined to these provinces, and it may be generally
assumed that the disturbances include all the coast
countries which lie between Ningpo and Canton, and
also the mountains and vast tea districts which lie
inland from this coast. It would be scarcely worth
while to offer this explanation, except to point out
that, although the marauders have been driven away
from the celebrated 3Q miles radius round Shanghai,
the countries they still infest are districts in Which
we ha-Ve a special interest. We have a great although
not quite a regular trade at Swatow; and Amoy and
Foochow are two treaty ports, whence we export its
mense quantities of tea. From the districts lying
behind these ports all that tea is brought down. The
new rebel chief who, with an army of 50,000 well-
appointed troops, has established himself at a city
called Chang-chow, within easy distance of Amoy,
seems inclined to cultivate the good graces of our
merchants, and hopes to be allowed to .occupy the
treaty Dort of Foochow. It is evident, indeed, that
these caiefs are capturing large cities in the imme=
diate neighbourhood of Swatow, Amoy, and Foo-
chow, and it seems unavoidable that we must again
be brought into contact with them, at places where
it is by no means so easy to deal with them as it was
at Shanghai. At Amoy there is no separate Euro-
pean settlement as there is at Shanghai, and Foochow
is situate some miles up a narrow river of difficult
navigation. In both these ports the Chinese and the
European merchants are mixed up together in their
habitations, and there would be great disaster if
these places were sacked or burnt. We do not mean
to suggest that there is any great danger of such an
occurrence, but it is as well to be aware of the posi-
tion. It will account for the intelligence that the
Janus, the Flamer, the Dove, and the Swallow are
all now lying at Amoy. It seems very hard that we
never can be allowed to trade in peace with this
strange people, and that a Government so intract-
able to foreigners and so absolute in many respects
over their own subjects cannot or will not keep their
own cities in a state of defence against mere bri-
gands. So, however, it is, and there seems to be no
help for it. We may congratulate ourselves, however,
that there is no longer a costly China eXpedition
engaged in this far East, and as we must employ
a large navy somewhere or other, and as the
China trade is very profitable and very necessary to
us, perhaps we ought not to repine at having to keep
a ship or two and a few gunboats cm the coast of
China, where they see more service and are not more
costly than they would be while expending their
stores in the Channel or sunning themselves in the
Mediterranean, This is the pleasantest way of
looking at the. affair but, after all, we cannot help
thinking that we ought not to have to do this work,
and that the time may come when we may not be
able to spare the men and ships to do it. Our prin-
cipal object, however, in calling attention at this
moment to the Chinese news is to deprecate what
seems to be a very imminent danger of European
and American vagabonds being branded together to
oppose Asiatic vagabonds. The remedy for the de-
sultory rebellion, which seems to find favour with
the public of Shanghai, is that the Chinese officers
shall, each in his city, district, or province, employ
any European or American leader of mercenaries
who may happen to be at hand. Wild adventure
and rapid fortune are said to offer themselves as the
certain prizes of this occupation. D'Aiguebelle, the
leader of a Franco-Chinese contingent, is reported
to have returned to France with immense wealth
accumulated during 15 months' service. There are
thousands of martial adventurers in France who have
been strongly excited by so seductive a success. Not
only France, but Belgium, Spain, Italy, and Eng-
land herself, might in a few days show a large
number of daring freebooters all ready to cut
slices with their swords out of this great China
pudding. It is quite certain, however, that the
security of English merchants would be greatly
increased, even at Swatow, or Amoy, or Foochow,
if we had several bands of these chivalrous hire-
lings in our immediate neighbourhood ? For our
part, we would rather trust to force or negotia-
tion to make terms with an army of Teapings
than try conclusions with a civilised bully who had
a crew of half-disciplined cosmopolitan ragamuffinS
at his back. About ten years ago the Portu-
guese of Macao were in the habit of fitting out
convoy fleets, which undertook for a certain hire
to protect the fishermen of the coast from the
Chinese pirates. This lasted for some time, and was
very profitable to the Portuguese ; but the exac-
tions, cruelties, and robberies of these "protectors"
became at last so unendurable that the Chinese
fishermen and villagers, aided perhaps by somerival
convoymen, watched an opportunity and burnt the
convoy fleet and massacred all the Portuguese officers
and sailors, shooting them down in the very suburbs
of Ningpo. Of course some inquiry was made in Eu-
rope, and Lisbon was in a ferment ; but after the cir-
cumstances had been investigated the conduct of these
men was found to have been so atrocious that it was
thought better to let the whole matter slide into
oblivion. This was but the natural end of any
merely mercenary force. What happened on the sea
ten years ago would happen in multiplied instances
on the land now ; and whether the leaders were Eng-
lish, French, or American, they and their followers
would soon become greater pests than even the
Taepings themselves. We submit that instead of
encouraging these hireling bands the policy of Eu-
rope ought to be to unite and put them down. The
time seems to be now come when our policy towards
China should be to keep just force enough to protect
our trade, and to leave the rest to the Chinese Go-
vernment. We have arrived at the position which
was anticipated by the late Lord Elgin in his address
to the merchants of Shanghai. The moment seems
opportune to remind them of the wise advice then
given. "lam of opinion," said Lord Elgin, " that
when force and diplomacy shall have done all that
they can legitimately effect, the work which has to
be accomplished in China will be but at its com-
mencement." The work thus designated by Lord
Elgin was pointed out byhim to be of a mixed moral
and physical character,—the first, and by far the
most difficult, "to win a way for Christian civiliza-
tion among a sceptical and ingenious people." But
" at the same time," said Lord Elgin, the machine-
facturing West will be in presence of a population
the most universally and laboriously manufacturing
of any on the earth. It can achieve victories in the
contest in which it will have to engage only by
proving that physical knowledge and mechanical
skill applied to the arts of production are more than
a match for the most persevering efforts of unscien-
tific industry." This prediction is now performed.
Force and diplomacy have gained all their reason-
able conquests, and ought only to be used to pre-
serve what has been won. It is in the spirit of Lord
Elgin's counsels that we desire to keep these rowdy
bands out of China.
POST.—The prospect of a visit from the Prince of
Wales on the occasion of the opening, this sum-
mer, of the Dublin Exhibition, will, we are sure, be
hailed with lively satisfaction by the people of Ire-
land. The sister isle has in truth some reason to
complain of the indifference manifested by the long
line of Sovereigns which, for the past seven cen-
turies, have ruled her to make themselves personally
acquainted with the country over which they
asserted dominion, and the people whose allegiance
they claimed. In 1172 Henry 11. crossed the Chan-
nel on a mission of conquest ' • and it is on record
that John, Richard U., and Henry V. visited that
small portion of Ireland known as the Pale with
intentions similar to those of their predecessor.
Centuries rolled on and Ireland again was visited
by royalty, by James 11., to fight out on Irish soil
those final battles which decided the fate of the,
Stuart dynasty, and simultaneously by William 111.,
to vindicate successfully at the point of the sword