The Sun.
London, England, 1841-11-05 00:00:00

back again ; that two boats full, indeed, had actually
arrived ; and though the information continued Without
any definite.authentiCation, no doubt seemed to be enter-
tained that the fortifications would be immediately re-
built, armed, and garrisoned afresh, so soon as our troops
snored northward. The fact of the Kwang;chow-foo re-
ceiving the despatches in person, is of itself an indica-
tion of how speedily the ChineSe themselves' bad made
the discovery of the different sort of persons they had
now to deal with from those who formerly conducted the
business of the negotiation, and dealt in it as if it were
indeed a business, and the sole one wherewith the
expedition had occasion to concern itself. The alter-
ation was felt immediately in the change of 'Conduct
manifested towards the English residents in Can-
ton ; the customary insolence vanished ; and the
studied rudeness experienced in passing along the
streets seemed at once exchanged for deference and
respect. - Here was indeed a change from men, not
measures ; for the powers and instructions under which
Sir Pottinger acts, differ almost in nothing from
those of. Captain Elliot ; the characters of the men are
nearly as much dissimiar as their powers are alike.
The Mayor of Canton, on afterwards coming on a mis-
sion to the Plenipotentiary, was refused admittance, and
handed over to Major Malcolm, the Private Secretary.
On the 12th Sir H. Pottinger issued a notification in-
forming the British merchants generally of his inten-
tions, and warning them to keep themselves out of the
way of danger. It is a plain, straightforward, manly do-
cument. The truce with which Capt.-Elliot so unnecessarily-
tied our hands on the 27th May, has, singularly enough,
been maintained with a show at least of a little good
faith on the part of the Chinese, and as long as this lasts,
Sir H. Pottinger very properly states that he will . hold
himself bound by the terms granted by his predecessor .
but we hear no nonsense about "great ',respect for the
Chinese, or scrupulous good faith of illustrious indivi-
duals ;" the authorities nh're told at 'once that the slight-
est infraction of the- tritee' Will lead to a renewal of 'active
hostilities within the province, and-that it is accordingly
to be borne in mind, that 'such an' event is not only
highly probable, " from the well4inderStood perfidy and
bad faith of the provincial officers themselves,: but • also
because they are compelled at any moment, by orders
from the Imperial Cabinet, to set aside and digavow their,
own acts. This is speaking intelligibly and to the point,
and accordingly the change of feeling prothiced amongst
the officers of the expedition seems to have been instan-
taneous, 'and almost magical. Our mercantile corres-
pondents write so cheerfully, andin such spirits, that it
is difficult to suppose the writers the same as those
whose tone for these two years past has been so uniformly'
melancholy and desponding. The Canton truce was a
purely local one—affecting only the southern pro-
vince, and accordingly, as preparations proceeded for
moving towards the north, the terror of the southern
authorities, became -extreme. Ten—some say twenty—
millions of dollars are believed to have been offered the
Plenipotentiary to induce him to alter his purposes. In
answer to the question as-to the nature of the protection
which would be afforded to British life and property at
Macao, and as to how far the Portuguese Government,
in case of emergency, might be depended on—Sir 11.
Pottinger referred to the statements in his official notifi-
cation ; hinting to them, that Hong Kong was now the
proper place for British subjects to seek safety ; and
that experience should have taught them how far Portu-
guese. good faith was to be relied on : adding, at the
same time, that the same protection which was left for
vessels in the roads might, in case of emergency, be
made available to the residents on shore. On the 21st
the fleet, consisting of nine ships-of-war, four armed
steamers, and 22 transports, sailed northward for Amoy.
The Admiral continues urgent for more ricer steamers ;
and the Medusa and Ariadne, of exactly the same
armament with the Nemesis, . that is traversing 32-
pounders, left Bombay on the 29th ultimo. A strong
force of seven ships of war and one steamer, with
troops and transports, remains jor service at Hong Kong
and in Canton river ; so that while our principle con-
sideration is directed to points further north, the people
in the southern province will have no want of attention
should their conduct require a little castigation—a con-
tingency much more than probable. The land force
mustered in all nearly three thousand bayonets. The
fleet of transports amounted to forty.
Such is a brief outline of the occurrences in Southern
China betwixt the 20th June and 24th August, and
tneagre as is the intelligence which it coatains, our
friends at home must look for little of more recent
date or -pregnant interest for some months to come.
We hare already stated that the tone of the whole of
our Chinese correspondence had altered ; and al-
though we 'do not think that its lbrmer tenor was
more gloomy and desponding than the circum-
stances warranted, we consider that, so far at least
as their views of the celerity with which matters are
likely to be settled, the anticipations of our friends
are much too sanguine. It is obvious that the Admiral
and Plenipotentiary have kept their own secret, and that
much of what is known here as unquestionable fact
is matter of idle and vague conjecture at. Macao.
We on the 17th and 21st of July put our readers in
possession of the opinions and intentions of the Pleni-
potentiary and Admiral, of which nothing whatever
seems to have been known at Macao, though rumours
and conjectures have brought them pretty near to the
greater part of the facts, excepting, always, as to the
duration of the war, in reference to which the China
merchants appear to entertain very different notions
from those of the parties about to conduct it. We can
neither blame nor greatly marvel at this ; but we are
bound to caution our friends at home against lending too
ready an ear to the contents of their present China cor-
respondence, or to the letters founded on these, likely tube
despatched from Bombay. The merchants at MaCao have
written partly in ignorance, partly in over-sanguine antici-
pati( )11 of what will immediately be done; and these send-
ments'are likely enough to be re-echoed from Bombay by
those who rather illogically argue, that because their
correspondents are on the spot, they must therefore know
better than we do Who are thirty days removed from it;
forgetting that the people at Macao are wholly in the
dark as to what is perfectly known in India—the autho-
rity under which the Plenipotentiary acts, and the views
entertained by him and Sir William Parker, as wallas
by the Governments—supreme and local—as to the
ultimate termination of our operations. Our readers
will recollect that so far back as July we informed them
that the strictest blockade would immediately be imposed
on the river and southern shores of China; and this. much
of the arrangement only has been temporarily interfered
with by the treaty with the Cantonese which the Pleni-
potentiary found in force: so soon as this is broken—as
it undoubtedly speedily will be—the primary arrange-
ment' will be put into effect. The total suspension of
trade we- stated as certain to ensue ; and this Sir 11.
Pottinger has notified in his address. We know no set
of men who will more cheerfully acquiesce in any amount
of individual sacrifice or inconvenience that may be
required of them, on considerations of publiC benefit,
than the British merchants in China. The fleet has
sailed north, as we stated that it would do, and will
proceed to occupy Ning-po and Atnoy, where it will
remain for six months inactive. This is the term to
• which many of our Macao correspondents limit the
arrangements of the whole expedition altogether. Chusan
will not be occupied until the sickness prevalent there
in September. and October shall have passed over. The
expedition Jo the Yellow Sea will take place as early in
spring as the state of the weather will permit. Such
we stated before to have been the plan of the Admiral
on leaving Bombay ; nothing has occurred so much
at variance with his expectations as to lead him to
alter it ; and we know that up to the 21st of August
it had not been altered. Sir W. Parker on leaving us,
did-not expect that the affairs in China would be settled
in less than sixteen or twenty months ; and to that effect
he had the dock-yards, arsenals, and marine stores
at Bombay,. Trincomalee, and Madras, inspected and
reported. on, with a. view to the assistance or repair of any
of the heavy ships of the squadron which might, during
that protracted period, have become injured : we know
of nothing that can have, meanwhile, occurred to make
him imagine that the term of his duties will be abridged
to a shorter span than he had in July last prescribed.
We have no doubt that Sir Henry Pottinger and Sir
William Paiker will do all that becomes a British Pleni-
potentiary- and a British Admiral ; and that their efforts
will ultimately be crowned with that triumphant success
which has invariably attended the arms of England when
directed by fitting counsellors, and wielded by proper
hands : they can attempt- no more, and they can look
for no more. It were the most rash and preposterous
of attempts to endeavour, amidst the mass of discordant
materials wherewith we are furnished, to prophesy or
prescribe a term for the conclusion of our present ope-
rations ; but we are most strongly convinced, that that
assigned to them by the China correspondents—antici-
patieg as it does the probable arrival of the Bombay
river steam flotilla, and the British reintbrcements that
Left England in July—is infinitely.ton limited.
[FROM THE s:sat.]
The llonourable Company's steamer Atalanta arrived
here on Sunday evening, the 2fitkult., from China, bring-
ing intelligence to the 24th August. .
Amongst her passengers arc Commodore Sir, J. J.
Gordon Bremer, and the late Commissioner Captain
Charles Elliot.
The only intelligence of importance she brings witl
her as to our operations there, is a plain, manly, straight
forward proclamation by Sir Henry Pottinger, the new
plenipotentiary, which will be found subjoined.
The Sesostris, which left this on the 17th July,
reached Macao on the 9th August.
A frightfel typhoon had blown over the alinnsp Seas
on the 21st and 2Gth July, and done fearful damage to
the shipping.
The following is an extract of a private letter from
Hong Kong, dated 18th August :
The fleet consists of— •
74. Wellesley, Captain Maitland--Sir W. Parker,
Commander-in-Chief.
Captain Herbert. -
Captain Bourchier.,
Captain PriLchard..
Captain Smith. „
CaptMa
,Nin.s.
Bentinck, Snrveying.
Starling, schooner.
Sesostris, steam frigate,
Captain Ormsby. -
Queen, armed steamer.
Phlegethon, iron steamer.
Nemesis, do. do.

74. Blenheim,
38. Blonde,
28. Alligator,
42. Druid,
26. Herald,
18. hyacinth,
18. Pylades,
16. Cruizer,
16. Columbine,
18. Modeste,
10. Algerine,
12. Royalist,
6. Sulphur.

The fleet of transports consists of forty-four vessels ;
we muster three thousand bayonets.
Every thing is in a great state of preparation for our de-
parture, and only wait the arrival. of Sir Pottingcr, and
the Queen leaves to-day to bring him over from Macao ;
the first of our operations is to be the reduction of Amoy,
then the devoted Ting-hae—where the fleet and forces
winter. Strong opposition is expected at Amoy,' but no
Chinese, or China army, can stand against the long-tried
courage of the English troops.
Sir G. Bremer hauls down his flag from the Wellesley
to-day, and Admiral Sir W. Parker shifts from the Blen-
heim to that vessel.
1 The Alligator, Hyacinth, and Royalist—late Mary Oor-