The Sun.
London, England, 1841-01-08 00:00:00

SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS

FROM THE DAILY PAPERS OF YESTERDAY.
(From the Morning Chronicle.)
The joy excited by the glorious triumphs of British
arms and policy in the East, has hardly had time to
subside before intelligence of successes, equally bril-
liant and equally important in another quarter of the
globe, comes to give a fresh impulse to the national en-
thusiasm. Never. even in the days of Chatham, did a
Session of Parliament open under more glorious aus-
pices than that which will shortly commence. Syria
rescued—the strongest fortress in the Emit captured in
a single day—the empire of our Turkish ally rescued
from impending danger and its independence secured 'uy
the guarantee of the Great Powers—the balance of
power in Europe restored, and the prospect of a general
war skilfully averted ; add to these, our Indian em-
pire extended end secured, the throne of our ally in
Affghanistan este Ilithed by the defeat and submission
of his rival, and the moral influence of the British
name spread far and wide, into the very heart of Asia ;
and, though last, not least, the speedy and complete
settlement of our dispute with China, by a treaty which 1
satisfies the offended honour of the British flsg, provides 1
for the compensation due to British subjects, and holds
out the promise of incalculable advantage in our futuee
commercial intercourse with the Celestial Empire—
these are results which, in the course of one single
vacation, have attended the policy of an Administration
which its opponents are pleased to designate as " weak
and incapable." If the Government by whom these
great results have been achieved are " weak and incapa-
ble," what shall we say of the Opposition, by whom their
policy was thwarted, their motives attacked, and the
very steps which have led to the most signal successes
denounced as rash, impolitic, and ruinous With re-
ference to this very Chinese war, which has terminated
in a manner so advantageous for the most important
interests of the country, what were the conduct and
language of the Conservative party ? Were not Mi-
nisters upon the very brink of being turned out because
they had not counselled abject submission to the indig-
nities heaped by Commissioner Lin upon the British
fl ie, and the injuries inflicted on British merchants ?
Will any one now any that it would have been better
for the nation if Sir James Graham's motion had
been carried, and a resolution of the House of Com-
mons, condemning the policy of the Chinese war,
had been sent by way of instructions to the Admire'
of the British fleet, when on the eve of commencing
operations? It is itnpos,ible to conceive a question
upon which the personal credit of the leading men on
both sides was more completely staked, than upon the
policy and prospects of the war which has just been
concluded with China. The remoteness of the scene,
the novelty of the circumstances, and the vast popula-
tion and singular nature of the empire with which we
hail to deal, all conspired to render the issue doubtful,
and test the sagacity and foresight of those who ven-
tured to predict the result. The gloomy forebodings
of the Tory leaders are fresh in the recollection of our
readers. The following is the view of the question to
which Sir James Graham, the leader and organ if the
Tory party, upon that occasion pledged his reputation.
We give it in his own words :
" I am persuaded that this is no ' little war,' to be con-
ducted on a peace establishment, and to be terminated in
a day. My belief is, that the attendant circumstances of
tie war will not be leas formidable than the magnitude of
the interests at stake. If this war is really to take place,
it ie to be carried on at the most remote point of the
habitable globe—at a point where the monsoon must con-
stantly interrupt the communications between the forces
which we employ and those who are to direct their ope-
rations—a point very distant from our ports and arsenals,
and where the squadrons and the forces which we employ
must be exposed to dangers without end—a point accessi-
ble only after a long voyage which will transport our
troops into a burning climate, where the new scenes to be
encountered will be to them an object of horror, and
where energy soon dies away. When we see, on the part
of those who are her Majesty's present advisers a most
pertinatious adherence to an erroneous course repudiated
both by experience and reason—when we see that they have
attempted Lo force on a proud and powerful people a course
of proceeding to which the weakest would not tamely
submit—when we see nothing done, nothing attempted by
that Government, while her Majesty's Superintendent is
left without instructions, and without an adequate force to
Ruppert him; when we see this. I cannot help asking the
Heim if they believe that the people of England will re-
pose confidence in an Administration, which by its misma-
nagement has destroyed a trade which has flourished for
centuries ; and, in additi in to the losses and indignities
we have suffered, has plunged us into a war, in which suc-
cess will nut be attended with glory, and in which defeat
will be our ruin and our shame ?"
It is superflous to add a word of comment. Here
is the formal, deliberate declaration of one of the leading
Tory statesmen, adhered to, with the illustrious ex-
ception of the Duke of Wellington, by the whole party.
The rerdy is written in events. Could it be more
speedy, more conclusive, or more overwhelming ?
( From the Morning Herald.)
The news from India which we published yesterday,
in a third edition, is of the very highest importance.
Our military demonstrations on the coat of China, an ,1
throughout the whole sphere of our oecrations in India,
would appear to have been crowned with the most
wonderful success. There seems, in fact, a fair pro-
spect of adjwiting, on most honourable terms, our
quarrel with the Chinese ; while the surrender by Dust
Mahomed, of his person, to the British troops has re-
moved the most formidable of the obstacles to the pa-
cification of Affghanistan. We have, all along, dis-
approved of the principles, in vindication of which our
Government thought fit to wage war on the Celestial
Empire. We have, all along, regarded as roost im-
politic, our interference in the affairs of Affghanistan.
Our opinions on these points have not been in any de-
gree modified by the results of the enterprises in ques-
tion. Mere success in its prosecution will not convert an
unjust into a just quarrel. But, on the other hand, it were
uncandid to deny, that as failure in these military enter-
prises would have covered the present Ministers with
obloquy, so, in common fairness, success ought, e ow:-
verso, to secure for them a considerable degree of cre-
dit. That measure of credit we most cheerfully concede
to them. Up to the present point, they, undoubtedly,
seem to have been most successful. Should the ulti-
mate resul. a p-ove less propitious than they promise to
be, Ministers must not, however, shrink from the abuse,
which, according to this doctrine of chances, will yet be
their assured portion. For our own parts, we rejoice
at the success which has crowned our arms by land and
sea. We rejoice, because the skill and bravery of our
soldiers and sailors constitute a rich portion of our na-
tional inheritance—of that inheritance, which it were
not only discreditable, but perilous, to see lessened.
We rejoice, moreover, because as failure its our expedi-
tions to China and Affghanistan Might have shaken
our Indian empire to its base, so success, if not abused,
may enable us to strengthen our position, and to
retrieve, what we cannot avoid deeming the inherent
error of tile expeditions themselves. We may now, in
truth, act in the spirit of Faistars precept, and " turn
disease into commodity." From China especially, the
accounts appear to be satisfactory. According to our
narrative, Admiral Elliot, after sundry successful mili-
tary demonstrations, was admitted to the honour of an
interview with the Emperor, found his Imperial Ma-
jesty in a very gracious humour, and arranged the pre-
liminaries of a treaty, on the basis or ample compensa-
tion to England, and the: establishment of a new com-
mercial arrangement en more liberal terms than have
ever been conceded by the Chinese. The amount of
indemnity to be paid by the Chinese is stated to he two
millions for the opium destroyed, and one million to-
wards the cost of the English expedition, This, as far
as we may judge, appears a . most favourable ar-
rangement for this country, yet it would not seem
to have given satisfaction in India. Our correspon-
.dent in Bombay writes in the following strain .
I am concerned to state, that the opinions of all par-
ties, in all quarters, whether in India or China, who have
heard the news, are still mere decided and unanimous:
There is one feeling of nniversal indignation and dismay
expressed at the turn which things have taken. The Chi-
nese have already got us fast in the trap they laid for us,
into which we seem to have walked with our eyes open--
"negotiation"--and there we will flounder till the objects
of the expedition are undone. The very return of the
Admiral and his forces from the 'Yellow Sea is a great
triumph to them, and will at once be represented through-
out China as a victory. If we transfer our negotiations
to Cantone'the consummation is completed. Famine, and
pestilence, and shipwreck, arc already doing their work.
Give "dee Chinese time, and them for their allies, they will
apwedily cripple our strength, and claim the victory. The
cr,urses which might have been pursued isy Admiral Elliot
are so numerous, that it seems most extraordinary even as
the mere doctrine of chance, ho should have stumbled on one
so much out of tise way
From its first sailing asfrothtist?.n which he has actually fallen.
petlition has taken seemnis to6lnhg
guaranteedapore, every step the ex•
verse of what was ave been precisely i the
orre-
expected for it n Eng-
land, or what the most ordinary prudence would hate
pointed out. Passing over the early parts of its progress,
the Admiral's line of proceeding on entering or: terms
with the Emperor seems as simple as
possible.
Compen-
sation for our past losses, and fur the expenses ofa td he cx-
pctiliti were the first things to be procured
sOtion ought to have been taken up as strong and as anPe°a;
Chusaii as possible. till every tittle of the agreement
this head was fulfilled. Arrangements were to be msaodne I
Aryl irsisted on for securing our trade on a broad and safe
eoundalion• But with the Chinese commercial treaties
are worse than so much waste paper, unless we have a
force at hand ready to compel their fulfilment. They would
have laughed at our beards had we dreamt of such a thing
as good faith on their part an hour after our armaments
were withdrawn."
There may be some force in the observations of our
correspondent ; :but to us, we will confess, these observa-
tions appear decidedly unreasonable. It is, let it be
observed, by no means clear that Admiral Elliot will
permit himself to be trepanned into any indefinite scheme
of negotiation. It is by no means clear, that he will
relinquish possession:of Chusan, or leave the coast of
China, under the stipulated compensation shall have
been made good. When it is borne in mind, moreover,
that, perhaps, for the first time within tho range of his-
torical record, the Emperor of China has 'become a
direct party to a commercial treaty with foreigners, it
may cot be ,too great a stretch of magnanimity to
give his Impefial Majesty credit for inter ding to Keep
hip word. " enelf4et 3blie opin on in China, j

' of Admiral Elliot's apparent submission to the Emperor
—what, let us ask, is Chinese opinion to us ? If the Empe-
ror shall observe faith with England, he will be perfectly
justified in preserving as large a measure of importance
as he can, in the eyes of his own subjects. We are dispo-
sed, in truth, to fear that some portion of the disappoint-
ment manifested by our countrymen in India, in refer-
ence to Admiral Elliot's arrangements, may be caused ,
by a violent anxiety to re-establish at all hazards, the
opium trade with China. Now, we do trust, that
neither Admiral Elliot, nor his official superiors, will
seek to abuse the advantages which have been vouch-
safed to us, by an attempt to force upon the Emperor
of China a trade which his Imperial Majesty most
justly deems to be prejudicial in the highest degree to
the best interests of his subjects. It may be well, per-
haps, to demand, and to accept, compensation for the
opium destroyed ; but to seek to re-establish the opium
trade on the old conditions, after the efforts of the Empe-
ror of China to suppress it, could be regarded in no other
light than as a most tyrannical exercise of the law of
force. A great revolution is evidently approaching in
India ; and it we do not greatly mistake the signs of the
times, the colonial empire of England is about to re-
ceive a mighty augmentation. The force of circum-
stances would seem likely, with scarcely an effort on
the part of this country, to transfer to us the dominion
of the Punjaub of Lahore, and, perhaps, of Affghanis-
tan. To govern India wisely, is, however, a matter in-
finitely more important than to add to the extent of oar
Indian territories ; and we do trust, that the eclat of
these recent successes will not be allowed to pass away,
without leading to extensive changes in the whole of our
economical arrangements in that interesting portion of
the British empire. The industrial energies of British
India want scope ; they stand in need of a fair field for
their exercise. Let Mat be secured to them, and more
shall have been done to strengthen the real power of
England, than may be supplied by fifty successful ex-
peditions to China, or to Affghanistan—if the success
shall extend no farther than to mere military operations.
( From the Morning Post.)

In China, so far as we can gather from the present
accounts, everything yet remains to be done. Some
fighting had taken place at Macro, and also at the port
of Amoy, of which the ample details we have given
elsewhere will be found interesting and curious. But
neither of these affairs seems to have been of great im-
portance, or to have produced any considerable effect.
The grounds for the statement of the French Consu!
at Malta, which was telegraphed from Marseilles to
Paris, that " the affairs of China are on the point of
being terminated," and that " the Englieh were to re-
ceive three millions sterling as indemnity," are such
as would far better hare vs arranted the statement
that the affairs of China are very far from being
terminated, and that the indemnity or satisfaction
the English are to receive, and when they arc to re-
ceive it, are as little known at this moment as they
were the day after the opium smugglers at Can-
ton were induced by the bills of Captain Elliot on
the British Treasury to surrender their illicit cargoes.
All that was known at Chusan about the matter
at the date of the latest intelligence was that the
British Admiral had proceeded to Peiho, where he had
several interviews with a mandarin wearing a red button,
and said to be the third man in rank of the Celestial
1 Empire, and that on the return of the Admiral from this
mission the utmost secresy was maintained as to the in-
cidents or result of these conferences. That the Admiral
himself was satisfied with what took place was naturally
enough inferred ; but in this feeling, if he really enter-
tained it, the Admiral must have sto id alone, for all
other persons were dissatisfied that this armed negotiator
should have returned without having accomplished any
one substantial object of his mission. At Chusan all
rests upon supposition. It was supposed that Queen
Victoria had been recognised by the mandarin with the
red button, not in the old style of " a barbarian tribu-
tary," hut as the " Queen of a great nation." A mighty
acquisition this, truly, to have extorted from the
gentleman with the red button ! Again, it was sup-
posed that the negotiations were to be transferred
tom the neighbourhood of Pekin to either Can-
ton or Ning-po. Again, it was supposed that the
Emperor had promised to send Commissioners to Can-
ton to investigate the conduct of Governor Lin, and
subsequently to confer with the British representatives.
Again, it was supposed that the basis of a Treaty had
been laid down, in virtue of which the said Lin was to
be tried for his violence and insults. And again, it was
supposed that something had been said, though nobody
knew what, about an indemnity to the English of three
millions sterling. The upshot of the matter is, that
nothing had been done, and that the British Admiral
had consented to have the questions he was sent to de-
cide, and the demands he was expected to enforce,
bandied about from one Chinese functionary to another,
and the negotiation respecting them transferred from
the heart of the empire to one of its extremities, where
negotiations have heretofore been carried on with no
very prosperous issue. The Emperor of China, it was
said, had offered to give up to the British the island of
Lintin, if they would evacuate Chusan ; but to
this the Admiral had refused to accede, much to
the dissatisfaction of the garrison of the latter,
who evidently do not relish the prospect of being com-
pelled to winter in a place the unhealthy climate of
which has already committed fatal ravages in their ranks.
(From the Times.)
The intelligence published in our second edition yes-
terday brought down the transactions of Admiral El-
liot with the Chinese to the 30th of September, and
was such as to raise in the minds of many a sanguine
hope that the Chinese quarrel would be speedily termi-
nated, or at least that hostilities would cease. Indeed
to talk of " hostilities"in such a case is ridiculous, if
the word be meant to imply a recourse to warlike ope-
rations. The interest excited in the present instance
has not been of a military or naval character.
Few people felt the least doubt, or s'sspense, or
anxiety respecting the result of whatever degree of
force might be applied to the objects of the expedi-
tion, which was exclusively penal. A party of police-
men despatched after a herd of pitable runaways
(offenders it would be harsh to call the Chinese peo-
ple), might have stirred the blood as much, and by their
success would have caused as much national pride and
triumph, as any victory that could have been gained by
Admiral Elliot, or any concessions, whether commercial
or political, that could have been extorted from the
brother of the sun and moon at Pekin. Yet how this
opium tempest is to be ultimately quieted, the voluminous
letters of yesterday do very vaguely and imperfectly in-
struct us. Chusan was still in possession of the Bri-
tish troops and authorities, of whom there seems to
have been a mournful certainty that a shocking num-
ber would perish through the unwholesomeness of the
climate. The .26th Regiment alone had, at the date of
the above advices, 545 (or two-thirds of the whole bat-
talion) on the sick list. Should this go much further,
even a Chinese force might succeed in recapturing the
island. Among the statements made, it is not easy to
determine which may be worthy of credit. A nego-
tiatioa was said to have been promised by the Emperor,
who would send a man to Canton to treat ; thus gain-
ing as much time as possible, and fixing the scene of the
discussions at as great a distance as possible from Pekin,
a scheme not unnatural for any personage who had in
prospect a demand upon him of a large sum of money,
by way of indemnity to those British dealers in opium
who had been checked in their laudable endeavours to
force a poisonous trade upon the territories of an un-
willing Power. It was said at the same time, but
somewhat inconsistently, that the Emperor had already
agreed to pay to Great Britain the enormous sum of
3,000,0001. sterling, but whether for the benefit of
the opium merchants, or in compensation to the British
Crown for the cost of the expedition, or how to be dis-
tributed between them, is not specified, nor is there
any distinct or ascertained authority given for
that important fact. There are further allegations, on
the strength of private letters, that the British squadron,
stationed at or near the mouth of the Canton river,
have cannonaded and captured the forts of the Bocca
Tigris, and that some of our men-of-war have proceeded
tie towards Cantou ; ataillthet a blockade of the river
was to be rigorously enforced. It seems to be supported
by more tangible authority that there was some partial
fighting in the immediate neighbourhood of Macao,
where.... a few lives were lost on both sides, a small
Chinese
hmose fort taken, and the cannon spiked. Governor
Lin is reported to be in disgeace, and Chusan is to be
retained until Great Britain has received her money.
From ell this mass of statements collectively con-
sidered, we hive little doubt thit some symptoms
of submission had been exhibited`, by the Chinese
Government, but that a definitiver''eettlement of the
grievances alleged by Lord Palmerton had been ar-
rived at, or any near approach to one, beifor the
letters recently publishell came away,"pithout absolutely
d, flying that such may have been the case, we see at
least no proof, nor even ground of pr'obability, in the
communications referred to. The nests from India is
of a more authentic, as well as more decisive, nature.
Thu sovereignty of Lahore has been 'snatched by a fa-
tal accident from the hands of Nou-Nahal Singh (grand-
son to the famous Runjeet), who had succeeded for one
day upon the death of his father, Kurruck. The
Prince thus prematurely cut off is said to have been a
sworn enemy to England. But. a more important cir-
cumstance is the surrender of the turbelent Dust Ma-
homed to Sir Wil:inin lll‘Naughten, our Minister at the
Court of Shah Soojah. Alter being more than once de-
feated, and a fugitive for his life, this usurper finally gave
himself up, and restored a better chance of security
to our north-western frontier. The Nepaulese, how,
ever, on the opposite side, are asserted to be in motion
b but
it
with a formidable force, instigated, as we are told,
y China.
iclainnomtabye noute sbtei o ntreude, norat Othueglpltreits, for the
sake mo-
ment,t
sake of our great Indianq andempire, nd especially for that
l
off
indiscriminate
Company
and itself,
to be disguised, that the system
o
senseless parsimony, pursued so
obstinately by the late Lord W. Bentinck, was such as
to hold out the strongest baits to war or insurrection on
the part of all the native Powers. From all quarters
we learn that by the Noble Lord the Indian army was
reduced to a scale of numbers and of general efficiency
below what had been known to India since the days of
Mr. Hastings. It was not merely the native rank and
hie, but the amount of European officcrs, which was

cut down without mercy or the least regard to prudence ;
and, as it were in emulation of the Royal army of Great
Britain, the troops were everywhere severely and
ruinously overworked. A return of the Eurepean
force now actually effective in the East would
show to what straits Lord Auckland must have been
lately driven to find men for the double operations
beyond the Indus and in the Chinese seas. There is,
as we have heard stated on the most respectable autho-
rities, no parallel to the existing weakness of our mili-
tary resources ; and without a large addition to the
estimates, military as well as naval, in this Session,
the most ordinary services of India, the Mediterranean,
and North America, will be left absolutely unprovided
for. The good fortune which has attended us in All.
ghanistan is not a contingency on the permanence of
which we can rely, and the only sure expedient for
guarding against the appearance of other Dust Ma-
homeds, is the continual maintenance of a force which
may place us beyond the reach of average misfortune.
An occasion may offer for touching on the Egyptian
news (which, however, is not of prime interest or im-
portance) in connexion with matters nearer home.
(From the Morning Alvcrtiscr.)
The approaching Reform festival at Leeds is looked
forward to with the deepest interest by all classes of the
community. The Liberals look forward to it with fond
and sanguine hopes, because they confidently anticipate,
from the proceedings on the occasion, a new and
powerful impetus to the popular cause. The Tories
look forward to it with fear and trembling, because
they clearly foresee in the events of the day the post-
ponement for an indefinite period of their long-cherished
expectations of an immediate advent to office. Nor arc
these the only classes of politicians who regard with a
peculiar interest the approaching festival at Leeds. The
Chartists are not indifferent parties in the matter.
They look forward to the occasion with mingled emo-
tions of hope and fear—with the hope, on the one
hand, that they may convert it into an occasion of
confusion, disorder, and mischief ; and with the fear
on the other, that their perverse and wicked purposes
may be frustrated by the foresight of those who have
got up the meeting. And so we hope they will ; but
they can only be so by the adoption, on the part of the
enlightened and judicious friends of free principles, of
measures of precaution. It is, we are informed, sup-
posed by one of the Reformers of Leeds that no other
precaution can be needed against a Chartist demon.
stration on the occasion, than what will be afforded in
the price of the tickets to the dinner—that price, mode-
rate though it be, being above and beyond the means
of the Chartists generally. There is, doubtless, some
force in this ; but we warn the friends of the ballot,
household suffrage, and triennial Parliaments, in
Leeds, against trusting too implicitly to this as a secu-
rity against Chartist mischief. It is to be remembered
that a mere handful of persons, possessed of superior
stentorian capabilities, and resolutely bent on what, in
expressive though homely phraseology, is termed " a
row," may, by acting in concert and with pertinacity,
disturb a meeting consisting of some thousands of per-
sons, and offer a very serious interruptioft to its pro-
ceedings. To be forewarned is to be forearmed ; and
it were to be deeply deplored it the proceedings of a
meeting from which we anticipate such essential service
to the cause of good government, were to be in any
degree disturbed, through want of a few precautionary
measures, by a class of persons of whom it is difficult
to say whether their folly or their wickedness be greatest.
We are gratified to learn that the pending festival will
be attended by the most distinguished Reformers from
all parts of the country. We are no less pleased to
be informed that a perfect unanimity of sentiment will,
in all probability, characterise the speeches which
will be delivered on the occasion. This latter is of
unspeakable importance. The proceedings of the day
will derive their greatest moral weight, next to that
derived from the character of the speakers, from a sub-
stantial accordance in the purposes and plans unfolded
in the speeches. Nothing could be more judicious than
the conduct of the Leeds Reform Association in limit-
ing their objects to the three great principles we have
already named. They are not only principles of para-
mount importance, but they are calculated to command
the concurrence and co-operation of a far greater num-
ber of intelligent and influential Reformers than any
ether that could be mentioned ; and, as the associa-
tion is based on these principles, and limits its lehoure
to their recognition and adoption by the L aster°,
we trust that the speakers on the approachwe a-
sion will also, one and all, restrict their observations
to the vindication and advocacy of these momentous
principles.