The Sun.
London, England, 1853-08-18 00:00:00

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LONDON, THURSDAY, A UGUST 18, 1853.

Whatever may be the political result of the
pending struggle in China, it is tolerably certain
that vast commercial advantages, at any rate,
must accrue to the world at large from the extra-
ordinary enterprise adventured upon by TAE-
PING-WANG and his attendant revolutionists. In
all likelihood the reigning, or TAT-SING, dynasty
is even now inevitably doomed to destruction.
According to every reasonable probability, the
hitherto dominant 'race of the Mantchoos must
before long become utterly exterminated. There
are prospects, moreover, of Buddhism vanishing
from that portion of Asia before the divine light
of Revelation—of Idolatry being permanently sub-
verted by the Iconoclasts—of nearly 400,000,000
Pagansl being gradually won over to Christianity.
A
more l these events are apparently each day more and
obviously within the limits of rational cal-
culation. Yet though none of these anticipations
be realised, though the Emperor MEN-Tin be not
overthrown,
osufbmsearinTtint a thoughsooria, gh
the native Chinese remain
cehthough
heretofore to the conquering race
the Trimarti be still wor-
shipped and the
truths
of
Holy Writ be still re-
jected for the fables of the Shaster, it must be
manifest to the mosvitili
sufperficial observer that the
pending struggle
necessarily prove so far
beneficial in its influence th
d
way for a more extendedi commerce, an
t will prepare the
civilisation.
therefore for a more enlightenedtie doot:deduction
scarcely for
Alreand
That, we take it, is a
a moment to be disputed.
barriers which have hitherto excluded the the
the world from even occasional intercourse With
the population of the celestial
empire, have, be;
broken down in consequence of this great r;oeial-
bouleverscment. It were scarcely rational to dream
of their restoration. Its practicability may be
questioned without much appearance of extrava-
gance. Recent experience assures us that the
insurgents lack the will, as late events have clearly
enough shown that the Imperial Government
needs the power of restoring the old worn-out
system of insulating the Chinese multitude within
the confines of their own territory. It may,
therefore, be calculated upon with something like
certainty, that good in the long run must accrue
to mankind at large from the outbreak of this
astonishing revolution.
The vastness of the Chinese empire has recently
been illustrated in these columns, by particulars
calculated to impress upon the popular mind the
importance of passing
to what occurrences. In addition
has before been
ourselves,
by observed upon the sub-
jectother facts of a similar character
may not altogetherbfoerinst,an unacceptable. It is insig-
nificant,
that the
the Chinese race, instance, as showing the fecundity of
Proper increased population of China
1711, durin, from 28,605,716, as it was in
6 the reign of
102,328,258, during the° .04 KANG-HE, to
sotthtitne it con-
, an 4 that within a century frreolgontiolf KEENaitiNG,
Was
latt in 1812,
, ;3fer4sbly more than tripled itself,
to othless than
OuriV,,the reign of KEA-Kmo, it
s6l
6,,e,1,;t
361,2.11,900—attaining, according
Ayi: r--1 : eansu4:-the enormous aggregate of . 5 0..1 00
1... i .:Fs* '7-2. * rt
' - Tbee-;friis4 before oblierved, united to the 13' 411..
', 'r
c\
° - 'C:7; \ ';'-‘-‘:•'-)7}

t.`"V

lation of the independent pfovinees—Mongolia,
Tibet, Turkistan, &c.—a population estimated at
some 40,000,000, would yield a total of upwards

of 400,000,000 !
Further tokens of the magnitude, wealth, and
prosperity of China may be enumerated in refer-
ence to the variety and splendour of its chief
cities, as well as in regard to the multiplicity of
its natural productions, and the astonishing
minuteness of its system of agriculture. The cul-
tivation of England has been commended by
EmEnsoN as so remarkable in appearance, that he
describes the landscape as seemingly touched into
beauty by the pencil, instead of being seamed by
the plough and raked by the harrow. The cultiva-
tion of China is mentioned by travellers as imparting
to many districts an aspect of yet more carefully-
detailed improvement. Almost perpendicular
acclivities are there clothed by art with the
utmost luxuriance of vegetation. It was once sug-
gested, if we recollect rightly, by the Hon. Baronet
the Member for Hertfordshire, that much fruitful
soil might be reclaimed in this country by a dimi-
nution in the number of our hedges, so that the
crops might extend to the utmost limits of the
lines of demarcation. A similar economy of space
has evidently been aimed at among the Chinese,
from the circumstance of agricultural toil with
them having turned almost every spot of culti-
vatable ground to advantage.
As to the populous cities of China affording
evidence of the wealth and general prosperity of
the population—it may be remarked, that within
a distance of merely two hundred miles, there are
situated along one portion of the bank of
the Grand Canal five of the largest cities in the
empire, that is, between the port of Hang-
chew and the great river of the Yang-tzse-
kiang. Conspicuous among them, of course, is
the beautiful city of Sou-chew—a city famous
forits silk manufactories, adorned with palaces of
marble and bridges of granite, embowered in the
luxuriant foliage of the green willow and the
black bamboo, the cypress, and the mulberry—a
city comprising in its urban and suburban guar-
, ters no less than two millions of inhabitants.

Hong-chew, however, is still more populous, con-
taining, it is believed, nearly as many inhabitants

as the wonderful capital of China, Pekin, the
latter, as is well known, numbering from 2,000,000
to 3,000,000 as its population.
It was as recently as the middle of the seven-
teenth century that the gigantic and fruitful
territory, some of whose marvels we have
here been considering, was conquered, after
a struggle of thirty years' duration, by a
Mantchoo Chieftain, who thereupon established his
family upon the Imperial Throne under the title
of the TAT-SING dynasty. During the two hun-
dred years which have followed, numerous efforts
have been made for the replacement of the MING
dynasty, or that of the native Sovereigns, and for the
displacement of the Tartar conquerors from Mant-
chooria. Hitherto without success, notwithstand-
ing the fanaticism of the adherents of the van-
quished house. TAE-PING-WANG, indeed, is the
only successful opponent of the Manchoos who has
yet made his appearance. There can be little
doubt that this formidable leader has enlisted in
his cause others than the Asiatic neophytes of
Christianity. It cannot but be conjectured that
he has contrived to turn to good account those
implicated in that vast political conspiracy known
as the Triad Society, which was described
with great minuteness several years back by Dr.
GUTZLAFF. A society pledged to restore the
Ming Princes to power, and to overthrow the
race of Tartar Sovereigns. During the last hun-
dred years especially, in fact ever since 1736, the
Triads have spread through all parts of the
country, have extended their influence among all
classes of the community, and have adroitly
enough succeeded in keeping up the system of
their secret organisation. They are described as
somewhat resembling the European Freemasons—
having their lodges and their signs, recognising each
other not merelyby particular pass-words, but even
by their manner of handling cups and dishes, by
their mode of wearing their dresses, and by their
manner of exchanging salutations. It is impos-
sible not to feel persuaded that a society exercis-
ing such extraordinary influence as the Triad
Society notoriously has long done, more particu-
larly among the poorer classes of the Chinese com-
munity, can have remained idle duiing the course
of recent occurrences, or can have crowned by any
such inopportune indifference their prolonged and

perilous organisation. It is tolerably certain,
therefore, that in the late struggle against the
imperial partizans, the ranks of the insurgents
have been swelled by the Triad conspirators,
as well as by the converts to Christianity.
The pending revolution, in fact, is one of
at once a political, a social, and a religious
character. It is the rising of a populous native
race against the descendants of a handful of
daring conquerors. It is the outbreak of
a multitude inimical to barbarism and friendly to
civilisation. It is the march of a modern army
of Iconoclasts resolved upon the destruction of
idolatry, and upon the establieshment of a belief
in Hebraic Revelation. The singular adventurer,
therefore, who has placed himself at the head of
the insurgents, has displayed wisdom in securing
to his cause the force of these hitherto scattered
incentives—and, while acting thus sagaciously, has
enlisted on his side the sympathies, at least, of
the majority of the races of Christendom.

The willing acceptance by the House of Com,
mons of the Lords' amendments to the Govern.
went of India Bill, including the rejection of the
clause relating to the salt monopoly, created great
and general astonishment ; but still greater sur-
prise was manifested at the unexplaine 1 absence
of the Right Hon. Baronet the Member for Droit-
wich during the discussion. That Sir JOHN
PAKINGTON should manifest a deep interest on the
subject was considered certain. Its intrinsic im-
portance, and the vast influence it exercised over
the happiness and welfare of the Hindoo popula-
tion, would alone suffice to ensure the attention
it merited frail any man of ordinary humanity.
But it had further claims on the Right Hon.
Baronet. His constituents, indeed all the inha-
bitants of the district in which he resided, were
naturally anxious to obtain a free trade in salt,
and thus to open a new and very considerable de-
mand for their staple manufacture. He had
therefore maturely considered the question in all
its bearings and all its details, and satisfied him-
self of the justice and expediency of the required
concession. The powerful and. convincing argu-
ments by which he sustained his motion for the
addition of the clause, subsequently expunged in
the Upper House, proved that he was no luke-
warm advocate. He entered heart and soul into
the cause. With him it was no mere party ques-
tion, intended only to damage his opponents.
t:avats
Ihisemixighnitstersthan
rThe notion that he could put the Government
or the time being completely in the wrong—
' couldexpoYselt% the habit of acting, and that he
the President of
ighross and palpable inconsistency of
did not, of course, .. India Board and his colleagues
I the most of his pc',:tittlnainish his anxiety to make
inducement to i-; his
was every possible
apparent apathy and in'dif.,l3 exertions ; and the
1 of his absence on such an erenc© which admitted
eovfenthomseoreconfidently
to the opinions
of appeal_
suppo,teizi.. Hon. Gentlemen who generally
B--inuly-0
inexplicable. "Where is
with whom he
Sir
;or was the more
was asked on every side, and i'thPAICINGTON ?''
accorded the leadership in the contestthose to the
Right Hon. Baronet, contented thernsei,e withmerelyprotesting against the omission of the''clai e,
and pressing the propriety of some concession on
the part of the Double Government for the miti-
gation of the universally acknowledged grievance.
The doubtful matter was, however, yesterday
cleared up : Sir JOHN PAKINGTON had, it ap-
pears,s intention to offer some
given notice of his
to the
amendment remarks on the motion for agreeing
amendment of the Lords. But the House sat at
a very unusual hour, and not onlywas no specialin-
timation given of the change, butt there was nothing
on " the orders of the day" to show that there
-
would be any deviation from the ordinary course,
or that the time of meeting would in any decree
be
.accelerated. It ' was, therefore, by surprise
. A that the easy victory was achieved 5 and