The Sun.
London, England, 1862-06-28 00:00:00

[4O 145
10 11

CHINA.

The Overland China Mail of May 10 says in its
summary :—" There has been a third combined
naval and military expedition against the rebels
during the past fortnight, which has resulted in the
capture of a town containing loot to the value of
130,000 dols. The force engaged on this occasion
amounted to about 6,000, of whom 2,000 were
Chinese and the rest English and French. On the
27th ultims, a reconnoitring force proceeded to a
place called Nan-hsiang, 12 miles to the westward
of Shanghae; a little beyond which the rebels had
a stockade. On approaching to view the place the
party was fired upon, and an officer, Capt. Brown
of the sth, seriously wounded ; some of the Chinese
also were killed, and some wounded. Next day,
after full preparations, the place was stormed and
taken, and one of the defenders killed, the others
having evacuated the works when they saw defeat
inevitable. As they were running away, we killed
25 of them with our guns. The place was found to
be one of the numerous stockades that have been
pushed forward in the direction of Shanghae, and
which are very difficult to capture without artillery,
The forces were, upon this stockade being taken,
immediately advanced in the direction of Kah-ding,
a walled city about as large as Shanghae. After
marching along a good road and through a beautiful
country with fine thriving crops, the troops
reached the southern suburb of ]fah-ding and took
up their quarters in the best houses they could find.
A few rebels on horseback came in front of the
wall in the course of the afternoon, but a marine
sentry shot one of them, and the others rode away.
On Wednesday the 30th the commissariat boats ar-
rived with more guns and stores, and a plan of
attack was at once arranged, to be executed the fol-
lowing morning. The rebels spent the night in
strengthening their defences, and at half-past two
next morning our guns were placed in position, and
the troops remained in readiness to fire as soon as
there was sufficient light. Accordingly, at 5 a.m.
a fire was opened on the city from the French
pieces, the Naval Brigade howitzers, the mountain
guns of the Royal Artillery, Govan's 24-pounder
howitzer, and a park of mortars simultaneously. In
In half an hour the enemy was silenced. In
ten minutes more the ditch was bridged over by
boats,and a scaling party advanced with ladders and
entered the city, killing one man on the walls and'
about 20 in the streets. The storming party,do•
opened one of the city gates, and the troops marched
in to the music of the French band. The loot was
brought together and taken charge of by the Eng-
lish, to be afterwards fairly divided by the loot com-
mittee; anyone suspected of private plundering was
searched by a guard appointed for the purpose. Among
other traces of foreign leanings on the part of the re-
bels were found some cherry brandy and porter as
well as arms and ammunition. There were 1,500
prisoners taken, and a committee sat down to deli-
berate what should be done with them. Fifty, who
were recognised as men of more importance than
the rest, were handed over to the Taoutae for punish-
ment. Many of the prisoners were branded on the
checks with the Taeping characters—a practice in
vogue among the rebels to arrest the allegiance of
the wavering. The loss on our side is confined to
a few trifling casualties, as may easily enough be
supposed, while the number of rebels who were
killed by our cannon is between one and two thou
sand. The country people were seen flocking back
to their homesteads as our troops returned to Shang-
hae. Of course this is all very satisfactory, and
may lead to the very best results both for ourselves
and the country ; the danger looming in the future
being that the allies may wish for " concessions" in
return for their trouble when the work is done.
Such a wish, if acted upon even in the form of mo-
derate demands, will stamp them as sordid and mer-
cenery, and give to England in China a character
which it were better she should not possess. From
the increased value that the imperial rulers will
now attach to our friendship, the best results may
be expected, but we must allow all new maraca
of respect to be spontaneous, or very nearly so,
It is very certain that but for our own interest,
and that alone, we should never have fired a
gun upon the Taepings, and it will never do to
-urn rnnnrl ont3 not. raWLITa for illy ,o.1.610,V•lo ocr
vices we are accidentally rendering to the im-
perialists. There is another matter of n -
gret, and that is that while we are stigma-
tising the rebels as robbers and bandits, we should
take their treasure and divide it among ourselves,
while their victims are starving in Shanghae, and
asking in the most piteous tones for food and cloth-
ing, which, indeed, is given them in some measure ;
but what, after all, can a small community, how-
ever charitable, do to relieve, anything like ade-
quately, the wants of so many ? It does not ap-
pear, however, to have occurred to the naval and
military officers to whose keeping the honour and
dignity of England is at present confided, to make
any other use of the enormous loot continually
falling into their hands than that of dividing it
among themselves and their men. The good Sama-
ritan has recovered the purse of the man who fell
among thieves, but we regret to say that he has
put it in his pocket and given the landlord two-
pence to furnish the victim with a meal. It will not
escape observation, when these events come to be re-
viewed at a distance, that the recovery of the poor
people's property costs us little more than an
hour's consumpton of powder and ball ; in fact,
the mere trouble of demanding it. It would be dif-
ficult to say which are the more shameless robbers
of the two, the Tacpings who spoil the people, or
the English forces who retake the spoil and share
it among themselves, while those originally robbed
are famishing in Shanghae. It may be questioned
whether the whole history of warfare can record a
parallel example of forgetfulness, utter forgetful-
ness, of all propriety to this loot-hunting game
which Admiral Hope is now engaged in. An expe-
dition against the rebels is now shown to be so
harmless to those engaged in it, that we may expect
.to hear of gentlemen giving their wives and sisters
a picnic in front of the next town that is besieged,
when we have no doubt that much amusement could
be had among the Engineers and Artillery by allow-
ing the girls to point the guns. And this is the sort
of warfare in which the heart of the jaded and ha-
rassed soldier is to be cheered with loot. The occa-
sion
is altogether too engrossing to admit ofrecollec-
lions having reference to people who are naked and
starving; besides, it is disagreeablteowhahveen
drawing your share of the plunder the fact
thrust upon you that the poor wretchbcbreoducohfianlgl
hin
e
the corner of the nest street was ro
possessed by these terrible Taepings, and could per-
haps, with the Loot Comtmeniteteeew'ere s kin
fasted permission,
ned about
point out the jewels tha
hter when he had a
the ankles of his wife or daug
home of his home and food and smiling faces about
his hearth. There is every reason to believe that
England's chivalry is likely to be kept a profound
secret from the people of China so long as her
affairs are under the present guidance. The Chinese
never in all their history knew whet chivalry
meant, and they are no nearer that knowledge than
ever. Meantime the troops and marines are in
high glee, forgetting as fast as possible what
danger means, and lulled in this dangerous sleep
by spoils to whose original owners they occasionally
pitch a biscuit as they walk along the streets of
Shanghai.
Next in importance to Shanghae, where matters
are moving so gaily, comes Ningpo, from which we
have dates to the 30th ult. At that port affairs are
taking a different tarn, and the repose of the last
five months is gone.
It appears that certain demands were made on the
'rebel chiefs, whose men had fired on the English
and French ships, and no satisfaction having been
obtained, all communication between the foreign
settlement and the city has been cut off, and the
latter is about to be blockaded. It seems that on
29th ultimo the rebel prince assembled all his
adherents and trusty followers, along with the
chiefs, in his council hall. He then addressed them
in a strain inimical to foreigners, saying that he bad
had enough of their insolence, and urging that it
was now time to " eat them up." Accordingly ha
tions :
moved and carried the two following resolu
1. That a reward of 1,000 dols. should beas k pai
to
d to
any rebel. soldier who should bring in a
k b
Harvey.
the prince the head of Consul Freler
.c t
d rhead for
2. That a reward of 100 dole. be pal Po

failure.

all other European heads. Another rebel expedi-
tion has started for Chusan, the last having been a
_ .

From Japan there is no news of importance. The
yielding up of the treaty ports, which should
have
been opened this year, is causing great dissatisfac-
tion among the smaller merchants; the large homes
arc not favourable to the multiplication of port::.
In Hong Kong there is some uneasiness felt at
the growing scarcity of water, and the rainy sea-
son cannot come a moment too Roon. The volun-
teers are making rapid advances in their drill ; in
uniform on parade they present the appearance of
a very fine body of men. The weather continues
moderately warm.

THE HANDEL FESTlVAL.—(Yesterday.)

The third and last of these performances was
quite worthy of its precursors, and gave a noble
climax to a most successful celebration. Everything
tended as on Monday to the complete enjoyment
of the event. The sky, which in the morning hal
been cold and lowering, again cleared up as the day
advanced—and about noon the Palace and land-
sepeewoetrheerbwatihseed, hoinwoonveer,glow of radiance. Had
it
ben
the
their minds to come. The
rai pwubayl ic h
stationsad
werep
thronged as usual, and before the time of com-
mencement the 15,000 ticket holders were
fairly in their seats, in addition to some
thousand others who thronged the building
upon payment. This attraction will not seem ex-
traordinary when our readers bear in mind that the
" Israel in Egypt," which was the oratorio of the
day, is distinguighed by containing some of the
grandest choruses of Handel, and, of course, with
the wonderful force of voice that was as-
sembled, the chorus in particular was
the ignsic the public wished to hear.
•
Nevertheless, though less required than by the
the "Messiah," where the airs and recitatives
form on thp contrary so striking a feature, the solo
executants on this occasion were not of inferior
power. They still presented Madame Titiens and
Madame Dolby,together with Madame Rudersdorff,
Mr. Sims Reeves, Mr. Weiss, and Signor Belletti.
Despite their diminished opportunities, all these
artists displayed their accustomed force and ex-
cellence. Madame Sainton-Dolby gave most im-
,pressively the air, " Their land brought forth,"
as well as the other assigned her, " Thou shalt
bring them in," honourably partaking with
Mr. Sims Reeves the great merit of
the duet, " Thou in thy mercy." Signor
Belletti and Mr. Weiss renewed all their old cele-
brity in the noble duet, " The Lord is a
man of war ;" whilst Mr. Sims Reeves, in the
grandly defiant air in which the threats of the
Egyptian host is described—" The enemy has said"
—poured out his superb voice with all the echoing
tone of a trumpet- -and won--though against etiquette
—a
well-deserved encore. For Madame Titiens,
however, was again reserved the chief honours
of the day, owing to her magnificent delivery
of " Thou didst flow"—in which her wonderful tones
seemed to sweep the extent of the building, and of
the jubilant air " Sing ye to the Lord,'—that was
almost worthy of the lips of a Prophetess. Of the
execution of the choruses we can only repeat the
eulogies we so heartily bestowed on Monday.
They were delivered with not merely a power of
sound far transcending anything yet listened to,
but with a musical taste, knowledge, and feeling
which made them an enjoyment just as great in
an artistic as a vocal sense, Time, colour, sentiment,
no quality was wanting to develope faithfully these
grandest of all harmonic combinations—to reveal
their minutest beauty, together with their most
astounding power. Take as an instance the four
which mark the opening of the first part—the im-
pressive sadness of " The Children of Israel"—
the surging spirit of "They loathed their
drink," the sublime enunciation of "He spake
the word"—one of the most perfect inspira-
tions which ever expanded the mind of Handel,
and the wonderfully constructed Hail-storm
chorus, with all its variety of antiphonal
effects, and its combinative art, which suggests in
the fusion of its separate voice parts, the flow and
o.baideuee of waves, each of these was diserimi-

sated with a vigour, fire, and precision, that
whelmed the heath in a feeling of as much
wonder as enjoyment. And quite worthy of
these, in the second part, was the delivery of " I
will exalt him"— a perfect burst of sublime
energy. " Thy right hand, oh, Lord,' which had
a spirit that was most extraordinary, and still
finer, perhaps, than either. " And with the blast,"
which comprehended so many of the features
of the three. All these again were ren-
dered with a power, taste, and feeling that
were every way as honourable to the singers as
the music. In conclusion, we feel bound, with the
world at large, to tender our acknowledgments
to Mr. Costa, to whose skill, vigour, and decision
so much of the success of these great performances
have undeniably been owing, and who, with the
members of the Sacred Harmonic Society and
the directors of the Crystal Palace, may'
be fairly congratulated on the great success
which has crowned their labours on this
occasion. We feel convinced that every one
that has heard and is qualified to judge of these
performances,whether he beEnglishman orforeigner,
will readily admit that they have fulfilled an
i
end which is not more honourable to our national
love of music as an enjoyment than to the position
we have arrived at in its cultivation as an art.